Last updated: 30 October 2026
Who we are
This website is run by Purbeck Lodge No. 4355 (“the Lodge”, “we”), a lodge of Freemasons in the Province of Dorset under the United Grand Lodge of England. The Lodge is the data controller for the personal information collected through this website. Contact the Lodge Secretary about anything in this notice at 4355@dorsetfreemasonry.info or by post at Branksome Masonic Hall, 57 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole BH14 9BT.
Membership records for Freemasons are also held by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Dorset and the United Grand Lodge of England. Those are covered by UGLE’s data protection notice.
What we collect and why
| Information | Why we use it | Lawful basis | How long we keep it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enquiry and contact forms: name, email, phone (optional), town, how you heard of us, your message | To reply to you and, if you wish, arrange to meet | Your consent, which you give on the form and can withdraw at any time | 12 months from your last contact, unless you go on to join |
| Members’ area: name, email address, whether you are a Lodge officer, and the date you last signed in | To let members sign in and see Lodge documents, agendas and photographs | Our legitimate interest in running the Lodge for its members | While you are a member. Removed within 3 months of leaving the Lodge |
| Activity log: which officer added, changed or removed a file, news post, event or member, and when | Accountability, and to investigate any mistake or misuse | Our legitimate interest in keeping members’ information secure | 3 years, then deleted automatically |
| Documents and photographs uploaded to the members’ area | To share Lodge papers and memories with members | Our legitimate interest in running the Lodge for its members | Agendas and summonses: 3 years. Minutes and Lodge documents: kept as part of the Lodge’s records. Photographs: until removed on request |
| Names and photographs shown on the public website | To tell the Lodge’s story and promote its activities | Consent of each living person named or shown | Until consent is withdrawn |
| Technical data: IP address and browser details in web server logs | To keep the website secure and working | Our legitimate interest in running a secure website | Up to 30 days, held by our hosting provider |
Information about Freemasons
Knowing that someone is a Freemason can be sensitive. Freemasonry requires a belief in a Supreme Being, so membership may be treated as information about a person’s beliefs. We only process members’ information for the purposes of the Lodge, as a not-for-profit body, and we never disclose that a living person is a Freemason on the public website without that person’s consent.
Who we share it with
We do not sell your information or use it for marketing, and we do not use advertising or analytics trackers. We use these service providers to run the website, under written contracts that require them to protect your information:
- Netlify: hosts the website. Netlify is based in the United States; transfers are protected by the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses.
- Supabase: stores enquiries, members’ area accounts, documents and photographs in its London (UK) data centre.
- Resend: delivers members’ sign-in codes, and emails enquiries to the Lodge Secretary.
We may share information with the Provincial Grand Lodge of Dorset or the United Grand Lodge of England where it is needed for your membership, for example when you are proposed as a candidate.
Your rights
You have the right to ask for a copy of your information, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to withdraw consent at any time. Contact the Lodge Secretary and we will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Keeping it secure
The website uses encryption (HTTPS) throughout. The members’ area is available only to people the Lodge has invited, who sign in with a one-time code sent to their email. Officers, who can see and change members’ information, must also confirm their identity with an authenticator app. Members are signed out automatically after 30 minutes without activity.
Documents and photographs are stored privately in the UK and can only be opened by signed-in members, through download links that expire after a few minutes. Members can see only their own entry on the members’ list. Every change made by an officer is recorded in an activity log.
If something goes wrong and members’ information is seen by someone who should not see it, the Lodge Secretary will record it, tell the people affected where appropriate, and report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours where the law requires.
Changes to this notice
We will update this notice if anything changes and show the date of the latest version at the top.