A year of fellowship, good humour and charitable giving by Devonshire Freemasons has resulted in £3,179 being raised for hospice care and Teddies for Loving Care, with four hospices across Devon each receiving a donation of £750.
The fundraising was led during the 2025–26 Masonic year by Provincial Wardens Mark Wildman and Tim Coleridge, who served from April 2025 to April 2026.
Each year, Devonshire Freemasons appoint two Provincial Wardens who, together with other Provincial officers, support Installation Meetings held by Lodges throughout the county. For Mark and Tim, their year in office meant travelling across Devonshire and joining fellow Provincial officers at Installation Meetings and the dinners which followed them.
Following each Installation Meeting, the assembled brethren were invited to guess the length of the speech given by the senior Provincial officer presiding over the dinner, with each guess costing £1. Specially designed pocket handkerchief squares, badges and napkins commemorating the Wardens’ year were also sold.
Through the generosity of those taking part, the various activities raised an impressive £3,179.
With hospice care a particular focus of support within the Province, Mark and Tim decided that the bulk of the money should be divided equally between four hospices serving communities across Devon. Each received £750, accounting for £3,000 of the total raised.
Supporting hospice care across the county
The four donations were presented during visits to St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth, Hospiscare in Exeter, North Devon Hospice and Rowcroft Hospice.
At St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth, Mark Wildman and Tim Coleridge presented £750 alongside Penny Hannah.
St Luke’s is an independent charity providing specialist care and support to people with progressive life-limiting illnesses in Plymouth, South West Devon and East Cornwall. Its services support patients and families both at home and at its specialist unit in Turnchapel.
The presentation also reflected an existing relationship between Devonshire Freemasons and St Luke’s. In September 2025, Devonshire Freemasons announced a three-year partnership with the hospice designed to provide ongoing support from Lodges, the Province and national Masonic sources.
At Hospiscare in Exeter, Tim Coleridge presented a further £750 with Sarah Smith and Danielle Vinnicombe.
Hospiscare provides specialist care for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families across Exeter, central and east Devon. The independent local charity covers an area of more than 1,000 square miles and provides care at home as well as through its specialist ward, outpatient services and supportive therapies.
A third £750 donation went to North Devon Hospice, where Heidi Orton, Philip Mason (Provincial Communications Officer) and Tim Coleridge were pictured with the presentation cheque.
North Devon Hospice has been providing care and support to people affected by life-limiting illnesses since 1984. Today it supports around 3,000 people each year, with care delivered in patients’ homes and from its hospice sites at Deer Park in Barnstaple and The Long House in Holsworthy.
The fourth hospice donation was presented at Rowcroft Hospice, with Mark Wildman, Kate Holmes and Tim Coleridge marking the occasion.
Rowcroft is an independent charity providing specialist palliative care to people with progressive life-limiting illnesses and their families across South Devon. Its services include inpatient care as well as community and Hospice at Home teams.
Together, the four presentations placed £3,000 directly into hospice care across Devon.
The final £179 supports Teddies for Loving Care
That left £179 from the year’s fundraising, and Mark and Tim chose another established Devonshire Masonic charitable initiative to receive the balance.
The £179 was presented to Kevin Jones for Devonshire Teddies for Loving Care.
Teddies for Loving Care is supported within the Provincial structure of Devonshire Freemasonry. The scheme provides teddy bears for children receiving medical care, offering a small but reassuring source of comfort at what can be a frightening or upsetting time.
A year of service with a lasting result
The fundraising grew out of one of the most enjoyable aspects of Provincial life: brethren from different Lodges meeting one another, sharing an Installation dinner and taking part in a little friendly competition.
By the end of Mark and Tim’s year as Provincial Wardens, those £1 guesses, together with the sale of the specially produced items, had become something much more substantial.
The result was £750 for each of four hospices and £179 for Teddies for Loving Care — the full £3,179 raised during their year in office.
The hospice donations also complement the wider emphasis placed on Community Engagement and hospice support by Devonshire’s Provincial Grand Master, R.W. Bro Nicholas A. Ball.
For Mark and Tim, it provides a fitting conclusion to a year spent travelling throughout Devonshire: money raised among Freemasons enjoying one another’s company has gone back into organisations caring for people and families throughout the county.
