About
A directory built for the person outside the door
There is no shortage of masonic websites. There is a shortage of straight answers to the question a candidate actually has: who do I write to, and what will they ask me?
What this is
The West Gate is an independent directory of recognised regular grand lodges, and a petition introduction service. It exists to close the gap between a man's decision to enquire and the secretary who can act on it. 178 jurisdictions across 65 countries are listed, with their provincial and district bodies where those exist.
What this is not
It is not a lodge, a grand lodge, an obedience or a masonic authority. It cannot admit anyone, and it does not speak for the craft. Every petition is decided by the jurisdiction that receives it, under its own rules. No payment is solicited for membership, and no one can be made a Freemason by filling in a form.
How the directory is compiled
Entries are built from the jurisdiction's own publication: the list of provinces maintained by the United Grand Lodge of England, the official sites of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and the published contact pages of state and national grand lodges. Each record carries a verification state:
- Verified — address, website and minimum age checked against the jurisdiction's own publication.
- Directory-listed — assembled from a reputable public directory and the jurisdiction's website, pending confirmation of each field.
- Unverified — the jurisdiction is known to exist, but its public contact route has not yet been confirmed. Enquiries for these are handled manually by the introduction desk.
Where a jurisdiction publishes an email address for candidate enquiries, it is recorded and used. Where it publishes only a contact form or a postal address, the enquiry is queued for manual dispatch rather than sent to an address we cannot verify. We would rather be slow than wrong.
Corrections
Grand lodges merge, move and occasionally change their arrangements. If an entry is out of date, tell us through the address on the privacy page and it will be corrected. Officers of a listed jurisdiction may ask to have their entry amended or their contact route changed.
Independence and funding
The platform takes no payment from grand lodges for inclusion and carries no advertising. Running costs are met by the operator. There is no affiliate arrangement with any lodge, regalia supplier or travel service.