What is the history of Lodge Perfect Unanimity?

Lodge of Perfect Unanimity No. 150 EC carries a history tied to the earliest expansion of Craft Masonry in Southern India. The lodge was consecrated on October 7, 1786, making it the oldest surviving lodge under the District Grand Lodge of Madras, operating today under the United Grand Lodge of England. It was originally established through a local union of the Provincial Grand Committee of Athole Lodge No. 152 and the Regular Provincial Lodge operating at Madras—achieving a local reconciliation between the Atholl ("Ancients") and Regular ("Moderns") traditions long before the 1813 union in England.

The lodge maintains an unbroken record of operation, having never fallen into abeyance throughout its existence 1. C. L. Lucas served as its first Worshipful Master 1. In 1800, under the leadership of its Master, Bro. Kerr, the lodge proposed establishing a charity school in Black Town 1. In 1803, when the old Stewards' Lodge ceased meeting, its jewels were formally handed over to Lodge Perfect Unanimity 1.

During the 1830s, the lodge saw a marked revival in membership and prosperity under Bro. John Carnac Morris, who served as Worshipful Master for several years before becoming Deputy Provincial Grand Master in 1837 1. Membership rose from approximately ten brethren to over fifty during his tenure 1.

The lodge is notable for several historical milestones in Indian Masonry. Umdat-ul-Umara, the Nawab of Carnatic, was initiated into the lodge in 1775, becoming the first recorded Indian Freemason. In 1857, Ranganath Sastry was initiated into the lodge, becoming the first Hindu admitted into Freemasonry.

Over its history, the lodge met at multiple locations across Madras, including Fort St. George, Vepery, and a classic building erected on the Marina in 1831, which was later sold to the police for use as state police headquarters. In 1883, the lodge acquired property on Mount Road, adding a meeting room designed by architect R. F. Chisholm.

Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 150 EC has numbered among its membership key figures in the administrative, architectural, and social history of Madras, as well as notable Masonic leaders in the region.

Bro. Ranganath Sastry became the first Hindu admitted into Freemasonry upon his initiation into Lodge Perfect Unanimity in 1857, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of South India.

Civic and professional leaders also occupied the Master's chair. Robert F. Chisholm, the architect responsible for several prominent public buildings in Madras, served as Worshipful Master of Lodge Perfect Unanimity during its centenary year in 1886, according to Madras Musings. Bro. N. Subramanyan served as Master of the lodge in 1903, as also noted by Madras Musings.

The lodge has additionally been served by prominent regional Masonic leaders. Sir Archibald Campbell, an Indian Civil Service officer who served as District Grand Master of Madras from 1922 to 1934, was Master of Lodge Perfect Unanimity in 1906, according to the Grand Lodge of India. Later in the twentieth century, District Grand Master of Madras Kumar Ravindranath Menon joined Lodge Perfect Unanimity in 1973 and served as its Master in 1991, as recorded by the District Grand Lodge of Madras.

Lodge Perfect Unanimity No. 150 EC has occupied several meeting places across Madras (now Chennai) throughout its history. In its early period, the lodge convened at the first Freemasons' Hall in Madras 1.

According to the District Grand Lodge of Madras, the lodge later convened at a Masonic Temple constructed by the Beach in Madras in 1840, a building later utilized as the Directorate General of Police headquarters. The District Grand Lodge of Madras further records that the lodge met at a Masonic Hall in Vepery and was housed temporarily at Chesney Hall.

The lodge eventually acquired a permanent home in a building on Mount Road, which it later sold to the District Grand Lodge of Madras in 1905. Today, the lodge meets at Freemasons Hall on Ethiraj Salai (formerly Commander-in-Chief Road) in Egmore, Chennai, as noted by the District Grand Lodge of Madras.