Cost
How much does Freemasonry Cost?
First thing to note as we get reminded frequently is that Freemasonry certainly isn't 'free'! However it is an increasingly affordable hobby and to illustrate this we have laid out the costs below.
Initial Joining Fee
The initial joining fee is made up of a small donation to charity, all of the books and literature required for your initiation. At Evingar this all amounts to £127.00 in addition to our annual subscriptions below. Our dress code of a black or dark suit, white shirt and black tie will be required if not already owned.
Annual Subscription
Every year we pay subs to cover the cost of renting our meeting location, administration costs and our much smaller subscriptions to both the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight and the United Grand Lodge of England. Last year (2021) this amounted to £150.00 per member. There are costs for regalia that might be required over the coming years, these start from about £30.00 for your first one and steps up if you chose to progress further (second hand regalia items are widely available).
Dining
After every meeting we have an optional 'festive board' (dinner). This at Evingar costs £18.00 per meal for three courses. Drinks are extra on top of this.
Visiting
One of the greatest joys of Freemasonry is visiting other Lodges to meet more Masons, visiting new buildings or as a nice evening off when working away from home. Being a member means you can visit any Lodge in the country and barring any dining costs it is complete free to do!
Charity
There is no obligation to pay anything to charity at all and our members are mindful never to give more than they can afford. However we do as an organisation raise a significant amount of money for masonic and non-masonic charities and on a typical night you can expect a couple of optional raffles and a collection to help members who require some short term assistance.