Privacy policy
Our privacy policy which governs this site
Privacy Policy
Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Cheshire
Registered Charity Number: 512541
Last updated: 25 August 2026
1. Introduction
This privacy policy explains how the Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Cheshire (“we”, “us”, “our”, “the Province”) collects, uses, stores and protects personal data when you visit cheshiremarkmasons.co.uk, contact us through this website, or become or remain a member of a Cheshire Mark or Royal Ark Mariner Lodge.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data lawfully, fairly and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).
Please read this policy alongside our Cookie Policy, which explains how we use cookies and similar technologies.
2. Who we are and how to contact us
We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used.
| Data controller | Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Cheshire |
| Charity number | 512541 |
| Postal address | 2 Oakhill Close, West Derby, Liverpool, L12 0JR |
| secretariat@cheshiremarkmasons.co.uk | |
| Data protection contact | The Provincial Grand Secretary |
If you have any question about this policy or about how we handle your personal data, please contact us using the details above.
3. The personal data we collect
3.1 Information you give us directly
Website contact form. When you complete the “Get In Touch” form we collect your full name, email address and the content of your message. Any additional personal information you choose to include in your message is also collected.
Correspondence. If you email, write to or telephone us, we collect the contact details you use and the content of that correspondence.
Membership information. If you join, or apply to join, a Cheshire Mark or Royal Ark Mariner Lodge, we collect information necessary to administer your membership. This may include your name, home address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, Craft and Mark Masonic history, lodge and office held, dates of advancement and promotion, and subscription and dues records.
Health and dietary information. Where you provide it voluntarily for catering or accessibility at a meeting or event, we collect dietary requirements, allergies or access needs. This is used only for that purpose and deleted once the event has passed.
3.2 Information collected automatically
Server logs. Our web hosting provider automatically records technical information when you visit the site, including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. This is used for security, fault diagnosis and to keep the site running reliably.
Cookies. We use only a small number of strictly necessary cookies, and we do not track visitors. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.
3.3 Photographs
We publish photographs of members, Provincial officers, and attendees at meetings, charity events and social occasions. Photographs of identifiable individuals are personal data. Where practicable we seek consent before publishing photographs in which an individual is clearly identifiable, and we will remove any photograph on request — see section 9.
3.4 Information from other sources
We may receive information about you from your Lodge Secretary, from the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, or from a proposer or seconder in connection with an application for membership.
4. Special category data and Freemasonry
Information showing that a person is a Freemason may be regarded as revealing philosophical beliefs, which is “special category data” under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and requires additional protection.
We rely on Article 9(2)(d) of the UK GDPR — processing carried out by a not-for-profit body with a philosophical aim, in the course of its legitimate activities, with appropriate safeguards, relating solely to members or former members or to persons who have regular contact with it in connection with its purposes.
We do not disclose personal data revealing membership to anyone outside the organisation without your consent, other than where we are required to do so by law. Where you have consented to your name and photograph appearing on this public website — for example as a member of the Provincial team — that consent may be withdrawn at any time.
5. Why we use your data, and our lawful basis
| What we use it for | Data used | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries made through the contact form or by email | Name, email, message content | Legitimate interests — responding to a person who has approached us. You have chosen to contact us and expect a reply. |
| Administering membership, subscriptions and Lodge records | Membership information | Legitimate interests in running a membership organisation, and Article 9(2)(d) for any special category element. |
| Sending notices, summonses, newsletters and Provincial communications to members | Name, contact details | Legitimate interests — keeping members informed about the organisation they belong to. |
| Catering and accessibility arrangements for events | Dietary and access requirements | Consent, and explicit consent where health information is involved. |
| Publishing names and photographs on the website and social media | Name, image, office held | Consent. |
| Charitable giving, Gift Aid and donation records | Name, address, donation details | Legal obligation (HMRC record-keeping) and legitimate interests. |
| Website security, maintenance and fault diagnosis | IP address, server log data | Legitimate interests — keeping the website secure and available. |
| Complying with legal, regulatory and charity-law obligations | As required | Legal obligation. |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have assessed that our interests do not override your rights and freedoms. You have the right to object — see section 9.
6. Who we share your data with
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for marketing purposes. We may share it with:
- The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons (Mark Masons’ Hall, London), where required for the administration of the Order, including registration of advancements, promotions and returns.
- Lodge Secretaries and Provincial officers within the Province, on a need-to-know basis for the administration of membership.
- Our service providers, who process data on our behalf under written contracts requiring them to keep it secure and use it only on our instructions. These include our website hosting provider, pandr.uk, and our email provider, pandr.uk.
- Professional advisers, auditors, HMRC, the Charity Commission or law enforcement, where we are legally required or permitted to disclose information.
7. Third-party content on this website
Some pages include content hosted by third parties. When such content loads, your IP address and certain technical information may be sent to the provider, which may set its own cookies. This happens under the third party’s privacy policy, not ours.
- YouTube / Google — embedded videos and, where used, embedded maps on our Lodge directions page. See the Google Privacy Policy.
- Facebook (Meta) — social media links. See the Meta Privacy Policy.
Our website also contains links to other websites, including other Masonic Provinces and charities. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.
8. How long we keep your data
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out above.
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Contact form enquiries that do not lead to further contact | [12 months], then deleted |
| Enquiries that lead to membership | Retained as part of membership records |
| Membership records of current members | For the duration of membership |
| Membership records of former members | [6 years] after membership ends, after which a limited historical record (name, lodge, offices held, dates) may be retained for archival purposes |
| Financial and Gift Aid records | 7 years, as required by HMRC |
| Dietary and health information for events | Deleted after the event |
| Website server logs | [As set by our host — typically 30 to 90 days] |
| Photographs published on the website or social media | Until removed on request or no longer relevant |
Historical records of Lodges and their members form part of the Province’s archive and may be retained indefinitely for historical research, in accordance with Article 89 of the UK GDPR.
9. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- Be informed about how your data is used — this policy.
- Access the personal data we hold about you (a “subject access request”).
- Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure of your data in certain circumstances.
- Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
- Data portability — to receive certain data in a machine-readable format.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to object at any time to direct marketing.
- Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
- Not be subject to automated decision-making. We do not carry out any automated decision-making or profiling.
Photographs. If you appear in a photograph on this website or our social media channels and would like it removed, contact us and we will remove it without needing a reason.
To exercise any right, contact us using the details in section 2. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge. We may ask you to verify your identity before we act on a request.
10. Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including serving the website over an encrypted HTTPS connection, restricting access to membership records to those who need it for their role, keeping website software and plugins up to date, and protecting the members’ area with individual accounts and passwords.
No transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you send us sensitive information by email, please be aware that ordinary email is not encrypted end to end.
11. International transfers
We aim to store personal data within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area. Where a service provider processes data outside the UK — for example a hosting or email provider — we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or a UK adequacy decision.
12. Children
This website is intended for adults. Membership of the Mark degree is open only to those who are already Master Masons, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be published on this page with the date it was last updated. Where changes are significant, we will draw them to the attention of members through the usual Provincial communications.
14. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first using the details in section 2 so that we have the chance to put things right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk