Mystic Rose Conclave No. 464

Sadly, no records of the Founders’ meetings prior to the Consecration have come to light and so what follows has been gleaned from the few Founders who are still able to throw light on those early days and Knights who joined or were associated with the Conclave during its infancy.

R.Ill.Kt. Lt. Col. Gerald Southwell, Intendant-General at the time perceived there was a need for a Conclave in the Southampton area of the Division. The seed having been sown, germinated thanks to the enthusiasm of several Knights including Fred Quenault, Bill Whitfield, Jim Beaney and Ken Lamper; with much of the initial work being carried out at Fred’s home in Sycamore Avenue, Chandler’s Ford, “aided by generous amounts of liquid refreshment”.

Over time more Knights showed interest in the project and by the time of the Consecration at Winchester Masonic Centre on 31st March 2000 a total of 15 Knights petitioner presented themselves before the Consecrating Officer. In alphabetical order
they were:

• Jamieson Arthur Beaney, Rose of Wessex Conclave No 236 – Appointed Almoner
• Douglas James Biggar, Cathedral Conclave No 398 – Appointed Standard Bearer (L)
• Michael John Goody, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Appointed Junior General
• Eugen Robert Eduard Fredinand Hantke, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Appointed Standard Bearer (C)
• Godfrey Timothy Harper, Naval & Military Conclave No 35 – Appointed Sentinel
• Charles Bryan Hubbard, Cathedral Conclave No 398 – Appointed Marshal
• Jeffery George Cecil Hurst, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Appointed Herald
• Kenneth Ernest Lamper, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Enthroned Eminent Viceroy
• Frederick Francis Quenault, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Enthroned Most Puissant Sovereign
• Thomas David John Quigley, Cathedral Conclave No 398 – Appointed Recorder
• John David Quigley, Cathedral Conclave No 398 – Appointed Prefect
• Hedley John Sara, Holy Rood Conclave No 319 – Appointed High Prelate
• Phillip Henry Symondson, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Elected Treasurer
• Michael James Leslie Whelan, Magnaura Conclave No 380 – Appointed Orator
• William Whitfield, Forest Rose Conclave No 265 – Appointed Senior General

R.Ill.Kt. Lt. Col. Gerald Southwell, Intendant-General Consecrated the Conclave, and Enthroned the Sovereign, P.Kt. Frederick Quenault. V.Ill.Kt. Ron Morrison Consecrated and Enthroned the Viceroy nominate, P.Kt. Kenneth Lamper.

The remainder of the Consecrating team were as follows:

And so, the life of Mystic Rose Conclave No 464 began! Though it has recently come to light that the Founder’s original choice of name was “Milvian Bridge” but this was rejected by Grand Imperial Conclave on the grounds that there already existed a Conclave of that name in Colchester. If only the Founders had thought to put the word “The” in front of it, what would No 515 been named?

Although Consecrated at Winchester, Woolston was to be its regular meeting place and the first regular meeting was held there on 27th April 2000 when Companion Dennis John Monks became the first to be installed as a Knight of the Red Cross of Constantine in Mystic Rose.

Sadly by 2002 for various reasons five of the Founders were no longer members; their loss creating difficulties in covering all the necessary offices for delivery of meaningful ceremonies and the wealth of knowledge and experience they had brought to the Conclave. Thankfully the remaining Founders and dedicated knights from other Conclaves rallied to the cause and Mystic Rose survived.

By 2010 only four of the Founders could be considered as “active” but fortunately the enthusiasm of some of the Knights who had by then been Installed into the Conclave saved the day.

This fluctuation in its fortunes seems to be a recurring theme with sudden reductions in numbers being followed, after a while by a stream of new members. Our membership always hovering around twenty; currently at seventeen. However, with
these fluctuations it was, in 2016, thought prudent for financial reasons to reduce our meetings from four to three per year. The third Monday in February First Thursday in September and First Tuesday in November.

In 2001 the Conclave had the joy of Installing into the Order E.Comp David Raymond Anderton, a Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight; he became M.P.S. in February 2005. Coincidentally, in April 2006 he Installed E.Comp Trevor Charles Gulliver, the Provincial Prior of the Knights Templar into the Order.

In 2008 the first Most Puissant Sovereign Ill.Kt. Fred Quenault died but on a happier note another founder, Ill.Kt. Jamieson Beaney, who had continued to be an activemember of the Conclave, in 2011 was appointed Deputy Intendant-General.

Members who have served the office of Most Puissant Sovereign

The first Recorder of the Conclave, Ill.Kt. Bryan Hubbard, on many occasions added a post script to his minutes thus; “After leaving the Conclave room, the knights refreshed themselves with libations from the bar before moving into the dining room
to enjoy a pleasant meal in good company and later departed for their homes in peace and harmony”.

Whilst many things in this world have changed since Consecration in 2000, this aspect of our evenings has certainly not and may that continue to be the case “till time with us shall be no more”.