Catalogue description Records of the Watford District of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity Friendly Society

The records relate to several different Lodges and consist mainly of the minutes taken by each Lodge at Lodge Night meetings and ledgers relating to contributions made each Lodge Night, although there are a large number of reports relating to the central Order. There is, however, a framed certificate of admission of John Edwin Baldwin to the Perseverance Lodge, he having introduced the most members to the Lodge in the years 1893-1894, which is coloured and shows the kind of award that members were encouraged to work for.

On 1st January 1990 all the Lodges in the Watford District transferred their financial engagements to a new accounting centre, the Cassio Lodge No 10,053. The following Lodges operate the benevolent, charitable, welfare, social and ritual activities:

British Queen Lodge, Pinner No 3681

Good Intent Lodge, Watford No 6264

Perseverance Lodge, Watford

Phoenix Lodge, Watford No 125

Pride of Watford Lodge, Watford No 8083

St Dunstans Lodge, Radlett No 7111

Nationally and locally the Order supports medical research, hospitals and many charities by donations and fund raising schemes.

There is a central insurance activity trading as Manchester Unity Assurance and operating from Manchester and a Hospital Scheme was introduced in 1990. The Order is looking to expand its financial services activities to meet the new demands of the present and future generations.

Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity Friendly Society

deposited on 6 December 1985 on behalf of the Lodge Secretaries (Accession 2177), 10 December 1987 (Accession 2330), 30 June 1989 (Accession 2435), (Accession 2436) and (Accession 2437) and 29 April 1993 (Accession 2808)

Accessions 2177, 2330, 2435, 2436, 2437, 2808

• Watford, Hertfordshire
• Northwood, Hertfordshire
• Radlett, Hertfordshire
• Nonprofit Organisations
• Nongovernmental Organisations

Introduction

The Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity Friendly Society was founded in 1810 as a mutual self help group to provide relief other than that of the parish when the member fell on hard times. An Oddfellows' document of the eighteen-twenties claims that the name of the Oddfellows was given to the Order by Titus Caesar, "from the singularity of their notion", though it is more likely that the term 'Oddfellow' derives from the early history of the Society which drew its members from different or odd trades and crafts.

The foundation of the Society was the logical outcome of the former trade guilds. The Society is a non-profit making organisation composed of self-governing branches, known as "Lodges". Many of the Lodges originated from the meeting of men following a particular trade or profession with a desire to care for a member when he was ill to give him a decent burial and to support his widow and family. Based on the principal of mutual self help the ideals spread rapidly at a time when, if the breadwinner of the family was ill, nothing was available but parish relief.

The Order is a federal organisation in which there are national officers, general rules and common ceremonials that are observed at branch meetings, but in which the local branches have considerable autonomy especially over their funds; the rules of the central body provide scales of contributions and benefits applicable to all members, but individual branches are responsible for the management of their funds and their distribution.

The Order suffered a decline of membership, along with many other Friendly Societies, when the National Insurance Act was introduced in 1911, and again at the formation of the National Health Service in 1948. However, it is still in operation today.

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