Greenspond - The Orange Order

The Orange Order

The Orange Order was formed in Ireland in 1795 to honour the defeat of James II of England by William of Orange at the Battle of Boyne on July 12, 1690. The Orders origin spawned from distrust and conflict between Protestant and Catholic groups in the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland during severe economic problems in the 18th century.

By the 20th century the Orange Order had become a worldwide movement, with over 5000 lodges worldwide, 1700 of them in Canada alone.

The first members of the Orange Order in Greenspond joined in St. John's around 1870. Some of these men were, Charles Whitemarsh, Thomas Wornell, Edward Meadus, Sylvester Green, Job Granter, Ethelred Carter, William White, and Sr. James Burry. Around 1875 the Burnette Lodge number 28 was formed in Greenspond and had its first meetings in Fred White’s store.

The first Orange Hall in Greenspond was built in 1880, which was shared by Greenspond’s two lodges, Burnett and Glover. Glover Lodge number 33, named after the Newfoundland Governor of the time, Sir John Glover, was formed from a split among the Anglican and Methodist Burnett members.

Unfortunately the Hall was destroyed by fire in 1898, causing the two lodges to hold meetings elsewhere. The Burnett Lodge held meetings at the St. James Society of United Fishermen Hall and the Glover Lodge met at the Blandford Society of United Fishermen Hall. In 1900 the Glover Lodge bought John Oakley’s shop and made it into their Orange Hall, while the Burnett Lodge bought the old Court House.

The hall that burned down was eventually restored by the Orange Young Britons (LOYBA), who were very active in the 1880s. They named their lodge “No Surrender, number 29”, and their first master was George Burry of Greenspond. The LOYBA went dormant in the early 1920s until it reorganized in 1929. Another group, the Royal Black Preceptory, number 647, was formed in 1904 named “William Johnson RBP 647” and used the Glover Orange Hall. The first worshipful preceptor was a Mr. Edward Carter of Greenspond. This lodge went dormant in 1986.

A Greenspond resident, Kenneth Oakley began correspondence with Newfoundland’s Prime Minister and Grand Master of the Loyal Orange Association, Sir Richard Squires, in 1914 to inquire about uniting the Burnett and Glover lodges in Greenspond. Oakley was the Worshipful Master of the Glover Lodge, and with over 150 members by 1914, the hall was no longer big enough to accommodate them.

Therefore, in 1920 the Glover Lodge completely renovated and enlarged their hall. Four years later, the two lodges, Burnett and Glover, amalgamated and under the new charter the united lodges became Greenspond Loyal Orange Lodge, number 205. In the 1970s the hall was renovated once more by free labour which included a new roof, windows, siding and interior work.

In Greenspond, Orangemen paraded around the New Year but the fishermen always paraded on Candlemas Day (February 2). The parades were attended by Anglicans and Methodists, and eventually by the Salvation Army as well. They were usually large celebrations with a band and banners. The height of Orange activity in Greenspond occurred around the war years (1939–1945). Even when Orangeism was declining across the country Greenspond continued to thrive. In 1981, for example, Greenspond received a plaque for the most initiations in Newfoundland, presented to them by the Grand Master R.W. Bro. Renea Locke. Just three years later in 1984, however, the Lodge in Greenspond was inactive.