Royal Masonic School for Boys
The Royal Masonic School for Boys was a school maintained by the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. The charity began in 1798 to assist sons of deceased or impoverished Freemasons; its own school opened in 1857. Those dates refer to different stages of its work.[1]
The institution before the school
A separate boys' charity was established in 1808 by the Royal Naval Lodge of Independence under the Moderns Grand Lodge. It combined with the older institution in 1816 under the patronage of the Duke of Sussex. Royal patronage continued under William IV, whose support in 1832 brought “Royal” into the institution's title. Its familiar name, Royal Masonic Institution for Boys, was formally adopted in 1868.[1]
Grants and the Wood Green school
Initially, the institution paid towards clothing and education at local schools. This provision, known as out-education and maintenance grants, continued after the opening of its residential school at Wood Green in 1857.[1]
An engraving published in The Builder on 18 November 1865 depicts the Wood Green premises. Wellcome Collection identifies the engraver as John Walmsley, working after John Gascoine and H. C. Maguire. The printed caption names Edwin Pearce and S. B. Wilson & Son as architects. The image records the earlier London building, rather than the later school at Bushey.[2]
Bushey and closure
The school moved to Bushey, Hertfordshire, in 1903. A junior school opened alongside it in 1929. Falling enrolment led to the merger of the junior and senior schools in 1970 and closure in 1977. The institution continued educational and maintenance grants after the school closed.[1]
The boys' and girls' institutions signed a merger trust deed in 1982. The resulting Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys became active in 1986.[1] The boys' memorial cross, font and war memorial plaques were subsequently preserved at the Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth.[3]
The Bushey buildings
The Bushey complex was built between 1899 and 1902 to designs by Gordon, Lowther and Gunton. Historic England describes a group of red-brick buildings with stone dressings in a free Tudor Gothic style. Teaching and boarding accommodation was arranged around a quadrangle, with a hall at the rear and a cloister along one side.[4]
A tall entrance clock tower dominates the symmetrical front. A shield above the entrance bears the initials RMIB and the date 1900; inside, the entrance hall has Gothic vaulting and a broad staircase leading to a gallery. The buildings were listed at Grade II in December 1974, while the school was still open.[4]
Surviving records
The Museum of Freemasonry holds admission registers, beneficiary files, financial accounts, school records and papers concerning the closure and sale of the Bushey premises. Access restrictions apply to parts of the collection.[1]
Related articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Museum of Freemasonry, Royal Masonic Institution for Boys archive collection, AIM25, reference GBR 1991 RMIB, biographical history and scope. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- ↑ Wellcome Collection, Royal Masonic Institution for Boys, Wood Green, London, reference 24538i.
- ↑ RMS for Girls, Our History, section “The Chapel”. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Historic England, Former Royal Masonic School for Boys, National Heritage List for England, entry 1173362.
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