What is the history of Lodge Perfect Unanimity?

Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 150 EC was consecrated on 7 October 1786 in Madras and stands as the oldest surviving lodge in the District Grand Lodge of Madras. In the 1793 Freemason's Calendar, the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity appeared as No. 199, listed as No. 1 Coast of Coromandel with a revival date of 1786 1.

The lodge arose from the union of the Provincial Grand Committee of Athole Lodge No. 152 and the Regular Provincial Lodge operating in Madras, as reported by the District Grand Lodge of Madras. This unification of Atholl and Regular Masons in 1785/1786 preceded the union of the two rival Grand Lodges in England by 27 years, according to the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India.

An earlier incarnation of Lodge Perfect Unanimity initiated Nawab Umdat-ul-Umara, eldest son of the Nawab of the Carnatic, in 1775, a milestone documented by the 1723 Constitutions site. In 1857, Bro. Ranganath Sastry was initiated into Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 233, becoming the first Hindu admitted into Freemasonry, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India.

Regarding its meeting places, Madras Musings notes that the lodge originally met at Fort St. George and later on General Collins Road in Vepery, Madras. The lodge eventually acquired its own property on Mount Road, Madras, which was acquired by the District Grand Lodge of Madras in 1905.

Bro. Ranganath Sastry stands as one of the most historically significant members associated with the lodge, having been admitted into Freemasonry in Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 233, Madras, in 1857. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India states that he became the first Hindu to be admitted into Freemasonry.

Another prominent figure in the lodge's history was Sir Archibald Campbell. The Grand Lodge of India records that Sir Archibald Campbell served as Worshipful Master of Lodge Perfect Unanimity (No. 150 E.C.) in 1906.