02/03/2026
Brethren from the Columbanus Lodge, 9941, proudly dusted off their ancient relics to represent Somerset Freemasonry by displaying them at the Royal Bath and West Showground at the end of February.
No, not their newly installed Worshipful Master and his Officers, but a fine selection of classic motorcycles. Columbanus is a travelling lodge for motorcycle enthusiasts and the occasion was the annual Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show, always greatly anticipated as the first big show on the calendar.
This was the first time the Lodge exhibited at the show and were able to do so thanks mainly to the efforts of newly installed Worshipful Master Rob Bullen, who did all the administrative legwork. It would also not have been possible without the tremendous support of the Somerset Provincial team, who loaned the exhibition stand.
The stand attracted a great deal of interest over the course of the weekend, and it was surprising how many brothers came forward, unaware of the existence of the Lodge.
The display included bikes from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, including some very rare bikes that turned lots of nostalgic heads from visitors to the show. This included Worship Brother Rob Bullen’s 1952 BSA B31 and 1959 BSA Gold Star, Worshipful Brother Kent Baxter’s 1964 Lambretta, Worshipful Brother Malcolm Cupis’s 1979 Yamaha XS1100 and 1983 Honda CB1100F, Worshipful Brother Richard’s 1977 Honda Gold Wing and beautifully engineered 1976 Kawasaki Z400 Chopper and Worshipful Brother Dave King’s 1996 Triumph Thunderbird.
With the event being such a success, Columbanus is now planning to follow the example and attend plenty more through the season.
The Lodge is based in Keynsham and meets five times a year – on the third Saturday of May, June, July, September and with installation in January. It travels to temples in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire as well as Somerset. Meetings tend to be very relaxed in nature and are always followed by a carefully planned ride. All the members have more modern machines which tend to be more commonly used for the meetings!
If you are a Masonic biker and would like to learn more about Columbanus you can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/columbanus9941 or otherwise please contact the Secretary, Jeff Penfold, [email protected]
