The Provincial Priory of Kent | History of the Provincial Priory of Kent

The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta in England and Wales and Provinces Overseas

Province of Kent
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History of the Provincial Priory of Kent

The history of the Knight Templar Province of Kent is quite unusual. For a long time, it has been closely associated with that of Surrey, and for two periods existed as a Province with effectively no members at all!

I have put together a simple timeline below which shows the development of the Province via its three main executive Officers, The Prior, by whichever title he was known, his Deputy or Sub-Prior and the Vice-Chancellor, or Administration Officer.

In researching the timeline, I gratefully acknowledge the work of Eminent Knight David DeVille of Surrey in his The History of the Provincial Priory of Surrey at the Advent of the Third Millennium, 1864–1999.

I am amazed at some of the happenings of the early years, and the importance of the early Preceptories, some long gone, or at least removed from Kent; surprised how the moving of just one Preceptory from one tavern to another could reduce a Province to nothing.

I challenge all the Preceptories of Kent, if they have not already done so, to write their history, and I further challenge any enthusiastic historians amongst you to put together and publish a full history of KT in Kent.

Yours in the Bonds of the Order

Peter Wise
Vice-Chancellor, 2012

	Provincial Commandery of Kent
	Provincial Grand Commander
1847	Dr. Robert T. Crucefix
1850	Dr. Robert T. Crucefix deceased.
1856	The Kemys-Tynte Preceptory No.48 was Consecrated and the Provincial Grand Conclave of Kent was formed by Patent by ME&SGM, Col. Charles Kemys Kemys-Tynte, both on 19th March.

	Provincial Grand Conclave of Kent
	Provincial Grand Commander	Deputy Provincial Grand Commander
1856	Eminent Sir Kt. Henry J. Hinxman, M.D.
1859		Sir Kt.Shadwell H. Clerke, R.A.
1865	Sir Kt.Shadwell H. Clerke, R.A.		Installed at Woolwich
1866		Sir Kt. Captain N.G.Phillips	Became Prov Prior, East Anglia
1868		Sir K. William Smith, C.E.
1870		Sir Kt. Captain W.F.Portlock Dadson, R.B.G.
1874	Sir Kt.Shadwell H. Clerke, R.A. resigned		No Preceptories left in Kent.
1880			Temple Cressing Preceptory No. 45 moved within Kent Boundary, to- Greenwich!
1880			Black Prince Preceptory No. 146 Consecrated at Canterbury

Provincial Priory of Kent & Surrey
1880	Provincial Prior	Sub-Prior	Treasurer & Registrar/V-C
	Gen. John Studholme Brownrigg, C.B.	Raymond H. Thrupp	J.R. Boor	Treasurer & Registrar
1882		Lt.Col. George H. Haldane
1887			A.H.Bateman
1889	Lt.Col. George H. Haldane	Horatio Ward
1892	Col Gerald Noel Money, C.B.	Horatio Ward
1895	Rt.Hon. Earl of Onslow, G.C.M.G.	Horatio Ward
1899		H. Ward retired, not replaced
1901		S.G.Kirchhoffer	Lt.Col. H.P.Sankey	Registrar
1905			Lt.Col. H.Grier
1908	Lt.Col. Sir Francis S. Moon, Bart.	William Russell	John Alexander Braik
1911	William Russell	Arthur Humphrey Bowles
1917		John Ashmead Pruen, M.A.
1920	Captain The Hon. George R.C. St.Vincent Harris
1921		George Anthony King
1925		Sir George Anthony King
1926			George Edmund Walker Bridge	Vice-Chancellor
1928		Hugh Charles Knowles	Lt.Col.Aylmer George Galloway
1931		Lt.Col. Aylmer George Galloway	George E.W. Bridge
1932	Captain The Hon. George St.Vincent Harris, M.C.			Lord Harris, son of Lord Harris!
1941		Lt.Col. Aylmer George Galloway	Lt.Col.Aylmer George Galloway
1942			Gordon Duff Powell
1945			Major Thomas Charles Moore Johnson
1947				Lord Harris made ME&S Grand Master
1951	Lt.Col. Aylmer George Galloway	Captain Alexander Mckenzie-Smith	Wing Cmdr. Ronald Frederick Jessup
1952			Frederick George Bell / T.C.M.Johnson
1953			Major Arthur James Boot Dickson

	Provincial Prior	Sub-Prior	Vice-Chancellor
1956	Captain Alexander Mckenzie-Smith	Frederick William Friday	Major Arthur James Boot Dickson
1966	Frederick William Friday
1970		Captain Bartholomew Foskett, M.C.	Reginald Fielding Jones
1972		John Frederick Spalding, M.Sc., J.P.
1978	John Frederick Spalding, M.Sc., J.P.	Revd. Canon Peter Churton Collins
1979		Dr. Roy James Edney
1982	Dr. Roy James Edney	Charles Edward Whitfield
1989		Wilfred Charles Hammond	Andrew Struthers Semple
1991		Keith James Breading
1992	Keith James Breading	Noel Alfred Brian Grout
2001		Kessick John Jones,
2004	Kessick John Jones	Peter John McIntyre	Michael George Harridine
2006			John William Arthur McCully
2008			Peter John Wise
2012	Peter John McIntyre	Colin Paul Tunbridge
2015			Kelvin Alan Gane
2015	David Jordan	Terence William Tanner	Colin Gordon Smith
2017			Pieter Swinge
2019		Pieter Jan Swinge	Dennis Dean

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Provincial Commandery of Kent

Provincial Grand Conclave of Kent

Provincial Priory of Kent & Surrey