PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: [October 2026]

This privacy policy describes how and why Downshire Lodge No. 2437 (“we”, “us”, or “our”), meeting under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) within the Masonic Province of Berkshire, collects, stores, uses, and protects your information when you visit or interact with our website at downshire.epicentres.net (the “Website”) or otherwise communicate with us.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

What personal information do we process? When you use our contact form, send an email enquiry, or interact with lodge services, we may collect personal details such as your name, email address, telephone number, and message contents. If you are a member or visiting Freemason, we may process Masonic details (such as lodge membership and rank).
Do we process sensitive personal information? We do not intentionally collect special category data via the public website (e.g., health, religious beliefs, or biometric data), unless voluntarily provided in dining requests (e.g., severe dietary or accessibility requirements).
Do we sell or share your data for marketing? No. We never sell, rent, or trade personal data to commercial third parties.
Why do we process your data? Primarily to respond to membership enquiries, communicate lodge news, organise meetings/events, and manage administrative records in line with Masonic custom and governance.

1. Who We Are & Data Controller

Downshire Lodge No. 2437 is an unincorporated fraternal association governed by the Book of Constitutions of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and operating within the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Controller is the Lodge Secretary / Lodge Committee of Downshire Lodge No. 2437.

Meeting Location: Wokingham Masonic Centre, 7 Reading Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 1EG.
Contact: [email protected]

2. What Information We Collect

We collect information depending on how you interact with our Website:

Enquiries and Prospective Members: If you reach out through our contact forms or email to express interest in joining or learning about Freemasonry, we may collect:
Full name
Email address and telephone number
Location / postal area
Any personal notes, questions, or background details you voluntarily supply.
Visiting Brethren and Members: If you contact us regarding visiting, summonses, or attendance:
Full name, rank, mother lodge name/number, Grand Lodge registration number
Dining preferences or dietary requirements (if dining at the Festive Board).
Technical & Usage Information: When you navigate our Website, our servers may automatically log basic technical data, such as:
IP address, browser type, operating system
Pages viewed, referring URLs, and timestamps.
(This data is anonymised or aggregated where possible to monitor site performance and security).

3. How We Use Your Information (Legal Bases)

Under the UK GDPR, we only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so:

Purpose	Category of Data	Lawful Basis
Responding to membership enquiries, public questions, or visitor requests	Contact details & correspondence	Legitimate Interests (evaluating prospective members, answering public enquiries)
Managing lodge administration, summonses, and meeting attendance	Contact details, Masonic credentials, dining records	Legitimate Interests / Contract (fulfilling duties to members and regular attendees)
Dietary requirements for Festive Boards / dining events	Dietary & health notes	Explicit Consent (voluntarily provided for catering safety)
Website security, maintenance, and technical integrity	Server logs, IP addresses	Legitimate Interests (preventing abuse, diagnosing errors, securing systems)

4. Sharing and Disclosure of Information

We do not sell, rent, or commercialise personal information. We may share information only in limited operational circumstances:

Provincial & Grand Lodge Hierarchy: Where necessary for the administration of Freemasonry, member verification, or joining procedures, relevant details may be shared with the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire or the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).
Catering & Venue: Names and dietary restrictions may be shared with our dining stewards or the catering staff at Wokingham Masonic Centre solely to prepare meals safely.
Technical Service Providers: Third-party IT hosting, DNS, or mail servers assisting with the delivery and maintenance of downshire.epicentres.net.
Legal Requirements: If required to do so by applicable UK law, court order, or regulatory body.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Essential Cookies: Our Website may use strictly necessary cookies to ensure the website functions securely and displays correctly.
Analytics / Functional Cookies: If enabled, anonymous analytics cookies help us understand page popularity and identify navigation errors. You can manage or disable cookies at any time via your browser settings.

6. Data Storage and Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational security measures designed to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, alteration, loss, or disclosure.

Our website employs TLS/SSL encryption for data in transit. We ensure that any digital storage used by lodge officers adheres to modern access control standards.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as is strictly necessary:

Prospective Member Enquiries: Kept for the duration of the enquiry process and up to one year following conclusion, unless you join the Lodge.
Visitor and Dining Bookings: Kept until the event and associated accounting/catering reconciliations are complete.
Lodge Historical Records: In accordance with long-standing Masonic practice, historical records (e.g., minute books, past installation programmes, lodge histories, and roll of members) are maintained indefinitely for archival and historical research purposes.

8. Your Legal Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You can ask us to delete your personal data where there is no lawful reason to retain it.
Right to Restrict or Object to Processing: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or request restrictions on how we use your data.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent (such as dietary notes), you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Lodge Secretary at the email address provided below.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): www.ico.org.uk

9. Third-Party Websites and External Links

Our Website contains links to external sites, including the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire (berkspgl.org.uk), United Grand Lodge of England (ugle.org.uk), and social media platforms. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory updates. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when revisions were made.

11. How to Contact Us

If you have questions, comments, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled by Downshire Lodge No. 2437, please contact:

The Secretary
Downshire Lodge No. 2437
Wokingham Masonic Centre
7 Reading Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 1EG
Email: [email protected]

Implementation Note

If your website utilizes a third-party contact form service (e.g., Formspree, Netlify Forms, or WordPress plugins) or analytics suite (e.g., Google Analytics / Plausible), ensure you link or list them under Section 4 / 5.