Kent Museum of Freemasonry

The Kent Museum of Freemasonry stands in St Peters Place, Canterbury, between the city’s two railway stations. Administered by the Freemasonry Province of East Kent, it occupies a small building close to the public car park in Pound Lane. The museum holds an Arts Council Accredited collection of masonic objects and documents. Glassware, porcelain and paintings share display cases with historical manuscripts and regalia. Among its treasures are the original Anderson Constitutions from 1723 and five 19th-century stained glass windows rescued from a demolished London hall. The collection spans all Masonic orders and ages, with around three thousand books in the library. Thirty display boards guide visitors through the exhibits, explaining their significance. The oak entrance door was donated by the comedian Jimmy Edwards from Hales Place. The museum opened in April 1933 after F. G. Haywood supervised its construction in 1930. It closed briefly in 2011 for redevelopment and reopened the following year in a new walk-through layout. Visitors find glass cases filled with porcelain, paintings and masonic regalia arranged in chronological order. The stained glass windows cast coloured light across the room, while the Anderson Constitutions sit under protective glass. The library shelves hold volumes on individual orders, research references and historical topics. A series of boards explains the meaning of symbols and the evolution of Freemasonry. The oak door frames the entrance, linking the modern display to its donor’s Edwardian past.