The first Freemasons Lodge in Sleaford was the Hope Lodge No 423. It was established in 1818 and met at the White Hart Hotel in Sleaford. This Lodge ceased to operate in 1828.

In 1856 the St Botolph’s Lodge No 588 which was established in Boston in 1851, transferred to Sleaford. It met at the Bristol Arms Hotel in Sleaford (now Bristol Arcade) and later at the Corn Exchange. Freemasonry flourished in the town and by the late 1800s it was clear that larger premises were required.

In 1902, J W Sharpe – a local man and member of St Botolph’s Lodge – informed the Lodge that he had purchased some land in Watergate with the intention of building some lockup shops. He suggested that rooms above could be let to the Lodge. The decision to accept his offer was to significantly change Freemasonry in Sleaford. Following completion, the Lodge rooms above the shops formally open on 14th January 1903. (The plaque outside the building dated 1902 refers to the upstairs rooms.)

Freemasonry now had its permanent home in Sleaford and on 13th April 1916 the Sleaford Masonic Building Company Ltd was established to look after the premises. It has done so for 105 years.