Congratulations to W.Bro Peter Phazey of Good Samaritan Lodge No.7654 and Prudhoe Castle Lodge No.7065, both of which meet at Mickley Masonic Hall, on completing a fantastic fifty years of uninterrupted service to the Craft.
Peter was initiated into Freemasonry in February 1972 into, the now erased, Bywell Lodge No.7739, which also met at Mickley Masonic Hall, on the same meeting as his father, as they had both been proposed into Freemasonry by his cousin. On the Lodge’s erasure, in 2017, he became a joining member of both Good Samaritan Lodge and Prudhoe Castle Lodge shortly after its sad demise.
He occupied the Master’s Chair, in Bywell Lodge, on a remarkable seven occasions, and has also occupied the Master’s Chair in Prudhoe Castle Lodge and Good Samaratin Lodge. In total he has occupied the Masters Chair on an incredible thirteen occasions. He was acknowledged for his dedication to the Craft in 1992 when he was appointed to the rank of Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon, receiving subsequent promotions to Past Provincial Grand Registrar in 1999, Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 2007 and finally to Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden on the evening of his celebrations.
He was Exalted into Prudhoe Royal Arch Chapter No. 7065 in May 1975, occupying the Chair of Most Excellent on four occasions in 1990, 2001, 2005 and finally 2008. He is currently the Chapter’s Director of Ceremonies, an office he has held since 2013. He was acknowledged in Provincial Grand Chapter in 1996 when he was appointed to the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Sojourner, receiving subsequent promotions to Past Provincial Grand Registrar in 2000 and then Past Provincial Grand Scribe Nehmiah in 2004.
Peter was born on March 2nd 1944 in Greenside, Ryton and has lived most of his life in the cottage at Greenside where he was born, a cottage which has been in his family for a period of some 200 years, and which, in his great grandfather’s time, was a shoemaker’s shop. Peter attended school at Ryton and started his working life as an apprentice joiner in Wickham and then went to work as a trainee site manager at Bellway. From there he moved to Williamson Construction and worked as site manager at Durham Cheshire Homes. When the project was complete a dinner was held to which Peter was invited as site manager, where he met several notable persons also at the dinner including the actor Bill Travers, of Born Free, who opened the building, Lord Lambton, who resigned as a government minister following the Profumo scandal, and the disc jockey Alan Freeman. Peter later worked as a section site manager on the construction of the Byker Wall and after this he worked as a private builder, but in later years worked as a site manager during the construction of Durham University Hospital.
Apart from his Freemasonry and his family, Peter’s other great interest in life has been Ballroom Dancing which he started at quite a young age. Peter’s wife, Janet, is also a keen dancer and when Peter was Master and Director of Ceremonies at Bywell Castle Lodge, it was a rule that there couldn’t be a coach on a Thursday night because that was Dance Night.
He was a keen runner and also a keen Rugby Player playing for Ryton Rugby Club, from age 14 to 20, as a Wing ¾, Wing Forward, and Scrum Half. Peter was also a member of the Boys Brigade at Greenside, continuing through to his early 20’s, by which time he had attained the rank of Lieutenant having completed formal training in youth leadership.
Peter and Janet have four children, all girls, and five grandchildren,
Northumberland Freemasons congratulate Peter on his magnificent achievement and on the well deserved Provincial Promotion.
Many thanks go to W.Bros Les Ashworth and Stephen Kirtley for the submission of this article and photographs.
If you have a story, event or news item you would like to have published on the Provincial website, or social media, please get in touch with our Communications Team at news@northumberlandmasons.org.uk