In Pictures: Pro Grand Master officiates as hundreds of Freemasons attend day of ceremony at Blackpool's Winter Gardens

Mark Matthews, from Southport, became the leader of the 8,000 Freemasons from more than 300 lodges across the area.

The installation was conducted by a team of high-ranking Freemasons from the United Grand Lodge of England in London, the governing body of some 200,000 members.

The importance of the event to Freemasonry in West Lancashire was accentuated by the attendance of Jonathan Spence, Pro Grand Master, so called because he acts on behalf the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent. It was the first time in 41 years that the Pro Grand Master had officiated.

The day was a great display of pageantry, with all the participants wearing their regalia, aprons, chains and collars, parading with all the dignity and grandeur befitting of such a grandiose occasion.

The ceremony was in two parts, with Mark also being installed as Grand Superintendent of the Royal Arch Province of West Lancashire, in an even more colourful pageant.

A celebratory lunch was enjoyed by all in between the two ceremonies where Mark and Jonathan both addressed the diners. A wine and canapes reception completed the day’s events.