FREEMASONRY has sometimes been fashionable, sometimes persecuted, frequently misunderstood.  Its standing has varied between welcome acceptance and appreciation on the one hand and dismissal as irrelevant or vilification as pernicious on the other. Where does the truth lie?   The author has taken the opportunity of a major anniversary to examine how a single masonic unit has interacted with the social, business, professional and public life of the small but influential city of Winchester over 200 years.

The story is told through the exploits and achievements of some of the most interesting of the 650 or so individuals who have been involved during that time.  It is for the reader to decide whether or not their influence has been for good.  Along the way an insight is given into the distinctive way Freemasons approach their public and private avocations and the many illustrations help bring the story to life.

DAVID SERMON, a retired Chartered Surveyor, has lived in Winchester for more than forty years.  In this time he has specialised in the residential property field and run his own Surveying practice.  For 10 years he represented St Paul’s Ward on the City Council and was Mayor of Winchester in 1972. He is an enthusiastic Freemason, a member of several lodges and chapters and has published research papers as well as articles in the masonic press. He writes a regular column in Hampshire, the County Magazine.

ISBN 0-9544405-0-1 

Available from selected local bookshops, or direct from the author: