Place:Greenspond, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Greenspond is a community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Greenspond is one of the communities that comprise an area called Bonavista North, in Bonavista Bay, on the northeast coast of the Island of Newfoundland. These communities have a shared history in that they were settled by people from England, predominantly from the West Country: Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire.

Greenspond is one of the oldest continuously inhabited outports in Newfoundland, having been settled in the 1690s. In the first 100 years after settlement, the people of Greenspond lived from the bounty of the sea. The community thrived and became a major trading centre because of its proximity to and its position on the main sea lanes and was known as the "Capital of the North".

History

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The fabric of the church is deeply woven into Greenspond's history. The early settlers from the West Country of England brought their religious affiliations with them. The first visit by a clergy was Rev. Henry Jones of the Church of England, who under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel served in Bonavista Bay in the 1720s. His first trip to Greenspond was in 1728 but the first church came much later. St. Stephen's Church was opened in 1812 and owes its construction to the efforts of Governor Sir John Thomas Duckworth who had allocated funds for the building of the church. In 1829 a resident clergyman, Rev. N.A. Coster, was appointed to Greenspond followed by Rev. Julian Moreton in 1849. Moreton wrote: "the mission of Greenspond ... is the largest ... in the diocese of Newfoundland, extending along the 70 miles of coast and requiring a journey of 200 miles to visit all its stations." The size of the mission facilitated the enlargement of the church in the 1850s.

Wesleyan Methodism made its first appearance in 1796 when Rev. George Smith, a travelling missionary from Trinity, organized a small Methodist class in the community. Services were held in stores and private houses, and, with the assistance of laymen, Methodist membership gradually increased. In 1862 Rev. John Allen became Greenspond's first Methodist clergyman in a mission that extended from Flat Islands to Musgrave Harbour. In 1873, the first Methodist church was opened with a seating capacity for 600. It served the congregation until 1965 when it was torn down to make way for a new building. In the late 19th century the Salvation Army came to Greenspond and built a citadel up on the Island. Later, as membership grew another larger citadel was built down by the main road. There were never many Roman Catholics in Greenspond. In 1826 there were 500 Protestants and 100 Catholics but many of them were to move elsewhere. The 1874 census shows 945 Church of England adherents, 499 Methodists, and 79 Roman Catholics. In 1901 there were only 18 Roman Catholics listed. Nevertheless, they built a small Roman Catholic chapel in Pond Head.

The Orange Order

The Orange Order was formed in Ireland in 1795 to honour the defeat of James II of England by William of Orange at the Battle of Boyne on July 12, 1690. The Orders origin spawned from distrust and conflict between Protestant and Catholic groups in the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland during severe economic problems in the 18th century.

By the 20th century the Orange Order had become a worldwide movement, with over 5000 lodges worldwide, 1700 of them in Canada alone.

The first members of the Orange Order in Greenspond joined in St. John's around 1870. Some of these men were, Charles Whitemarsh, Thomas Wornell, Edward Meadus, Sylvester Green, Job Granter, Ethelred Carter, William White, and Sr. James Burry. Around 1875 the Burnette Lodge number 28 was formed in Greenspond and had its first meetings in Fred White’s store.

The first Orange Hall in Greenspond was built in 1880, which was shared by Greenspond’s two lodges, Burnett and Glover. Glover Lodge number 33, named after the Newfoundland Governor of the time, Sir John Glover, was formed from a split among the Anglican and Methodist Burnett members.

Unfortunately the Hall was destroyed by fire in 1898, causing the two lodges to hold meetings elsewhere. The Burnett Lodge held meetings at the St. James Society of United Fishermen Hall and the Glover Lodge met at the Blandford Society of United Fishermen Hall. In 1900 the Glover Lodge bought John Oakley’s shop and made it into their Orange Hall, while the Burnett Lodge bought the old Court House.

The hall that burned down was eventually restored by the Orange Young Britons (LOYBA), who were very active in the 1880s. They named their lodge "No Surrender, number 29", and their first master was George Burry of Greenspond. The LOYBA went dormant in the early 1920s until it reorganized in 1929. Another group, the Royal Black Preceptory, number 647, was formed in 1904 named "William Johnson RBP 647" and used the Glover Orange Hall. The first worshipful preceptor was a Mr. Edward Carter of Greenspond. This lodge went dormant in 1986.

A Greenspond resident, Kenneth Oakley began correspondence with Newfoundland’s Prime Minister and Grand Master of the Loyal Orange Association, Sir Richard Squires, in 1914 to inquire about uniting the Burnett and Glover lodges in Greenspond. Oakley was the Worshipful Master of the Glover Lodge, and with over 150 members by 1914, the hall was no longer big enough to accommodate them.

Therefore, in 1920 the Glover Lodge completely renovated and enlarged their hall. Four years later, the two lodges, Burnett and Glover, amalgamated and under the new charter the united lodges became Greenspond Loyal Orange Lodge, number 205. In the 1970s the hall was renovated once more by free labour which included a new roof, windows, siding and interior work.

In Greenspond, Orangemen paraded around the New Year but the fishermen always paraded on Candlemas Day (February 2). The parades were attended by Anglicans and Methodists, and eventually by the Salvation Army as well. They were usually large celebrations with a band and banners. The height of Orange activity in Greenspond occurred around the war years (1939–1945). Even when Orangeism was declining across the country Greenspond continued to thrive. In 1981, for example, Greenspond received a plaque for the most initiations in Newfoundland, presented to them by the Grand Master R.W. Bro. Renea Locke. Just three years later in 1984, however, the Lodge in Greenspond was inactive.

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