Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are (The Data Controller)

St Matthew of Wyke Lodge No. 8563 is a regular Masonic lodge warranted under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and operating within the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire.

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, St Matthew of Wyke Lodge No. 8563 is the Data Controller of the personal data collected through this website and related correspondence.

Lodge Address:
Chilcombe Down House, Chilcombe Lane, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1HA.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect and process personal data when you interact with us or express an interest in Freemasonry:

• Contact & Inquiry Details: If you reach out to us via email or our contact channels, we collect details such as your name, email address, telephone number, and the content of your message.
• Membership Inquiry Data: If you inquire about joining St Matthew of Wyke Lodge, we may collect basic background information relevant to membership eligibility and communication.
• Technical & Hosting Logs: Our hosting infrastructure (Google Firebase Hosting) automatically records standard technical connection data such as your IP address, browser type, and requested pages for security and service delivery.
• Website Analytics Data (Optional): Where you give your consent via our cookie banner, we use Google Analytics (GA4) to collect aggregated, pseudonymised information about how visitors use our website (such as pages visited, time spent on pages, approximate geographic region, and device type).

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under Article 6 of the UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases to process personal data:

• Legitimate Interests: To correspond with you, answer your inquiries regarding the Lodge, provide guidance on Freemasonry, manage incoming membership enquiries, and maintain the security of our website.
• Consent: For placing optional Google Analytics cookies on your device to measure website traffic, and where you voluntarily provide specific personal details when requesting further information. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the Cookie Settings control below or by contacting us.
• Legal Obligation: Where processing is required to comply with statutory accounting, reporting, or legal obligations.

4. How We Use Your Information

Your personal data is used solely for genuine Lodge, Masonic administrative, and website improvement purposes:

• To reply to your questions and provide information about St Matthew of Wyke Lodge and Freemasonry in Winchester.
• To arrange informal introductions or meetings if you are interested in joining.
• To maintain internal lodge administration and archival records where appropriate.
• To understand aggregate visitor traffic and improve the structure and content of our website (only when analytics cookies are accepted).

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal data with third parties for commercial or marketing purposes.

5. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We only share personal information in limited, necessary circumstances:

• Lodge Officers: Relevant Lodge committee members (such as the Secretary, Membership Officer, or Worshipful Master) who need the information to address your enquiry.
• UGLE and Provincial Grand Lodge: If your inquiry progresses towards an application for membership, your information may be processed in conjunction with Masonic administration.
• Web Development & Technical Administration: Website development, technical maintenance, and database administration are managed by Datatee (datatee.co.uk) acting as our appointed Data Processor under strict confidentiality and security standards. Datatee processes technical records solely on our instructions and does not use personal data for independent purposes.
• Hosting & Analytics Providers: Our website and cloud assets are hosted on Google Firebase Hosting, with optional traffic measurement via Google Analytics (provided by Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC) when you accept analytics cookies.

6. Data Storage, Security & Retention

We take appropriate administrative and technical measures to protect your personal data from loss, unauthorized access, misuse, or alteration.

Retention Periods:

• General inquiries that do not result in a membership application are typically retained for up to 12 months, after which they are securely deleted.
• If you become a candidate or member of the Lodge, your records are retained in line with Masonic administrative, historical, and archival standards.
• Google Analytics event data is retained in accordance with standard Google Analytics 4 retention settings (typically up to 14 months).

7. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You have the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal information corrected.
• Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing.
• Right to Restriction: You can ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
• Right to Object: You can object to the processing of your data based on legitimate interests.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent (including analytics cookies), you may withdraw it at any time.

8. Cookies & Tracking

We respect your privacy and do not use third-party advertising, remarketing, or behavioural profiling cookies. We only use optional Google Analytics cookies if you explicitly click “Accept All” on our cookie banner.

• Strictly Necessary Storage (`wyke_cookie_consent`, `wyke_theme_preference`): Stored in your browser’s `localStorage` to remember your cookie consent choice and your selected Light/Dark display theme across pages.
• Google Analytics Cookies (`_ga`, `_ga_PXDCEE3RXZ`): Set only if you accept analytics. These first-party cookies assign a randomly generated client identifier to distinguish unique visitors and calculate session and page-view statistics across our website. They expire after up to 2 years, or immediately if you withdraw consent below.

9. How to Contact Us & Lodge a Complaint

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise any of your data rights, or have concerns about how your data is handled, please contact the Lodge Secretary using the details below.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe our processing does not comply with UK data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113 • Website: ico.org.uk