The Order, that is the Grand Lodge of England, purchased the premises in 1926 for £10,000 to use as a orphanage, this was because of the prolonged arguments at Grand Lodge over the question of legal ownership of the R.A.O.B. Orphanage at Aldridge (near Walsall), these premises being paid for, but not owned by the Order.
It took the Order nearly six years to raise the funds to complete the purchase together with a further £12,000 that was spent in adapting the premises specifically for our requirements. To raise the necessary funding for the purchase, and more importantly to furnish the orphanage, members were urged to “buy” a brick or a yard of turf at a cost of one shilling (5p.) each. They were presented with a numbered certificate to commemorate their purchase, although it was not intended as a deed of ownership.
Since Grove House is built of stone and not bricks, could it be that this is where our present and past Grand Secretary’s learnt the art of parting members from their money? Occasionally these certificates are produced today by the descendants of donors in the hope that there may be some monetary value to the estate of the member.
Grove House orphanage was officially opened on Easter Monday, 1927 by the former Lord Mayor of
London Bro. Colonel and Alderman Sir Louis Newton Bart., and the parade of members took three hours to march from Harrogate Railway Station with four brass bands. In those days the Railway Station was not at its current location, but was situated on the Leeds Road, not too far from the present Prince of Wales roundabout.
The Grand Lodge Offices moved into Grove House in 1926, having previously occupied the living room of Brother Wilson-Marsh in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire). He is the third (up until this date) Grand Secretary to have been expelled from the Order.
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