From the Minutes of the meeting preserved in The Grand Lodge of England; we find the text of the "Deputation" from the Grand Master : to Impower and Authorize our well beloved Brother Pomfret .......... that he do, in our place and stead, constitute a regular lodge, in due form at Fort William in Bengal in the East Indies ....... .

This was signed and sealed the 6th day of February 1729, and in the year of Masonry 5732 (which shows that Grand Lodge used the Anno Lucis {AL - The Year of Light} in dating the Masonic era - as the Grand Lodge of Scotland still does). The Lodge at Fort William - that is, Calcutta - appears in the Engraved List of 1730, as No. 72, and was for the members of British regiments.

It used to meet at Fort William in Calcutta. A golden lion, rampant gardant, supporting a regal crown between the forepaws, was adopted as the Coat of Arms. In 1729, Bro. Captain Ralph Farwinter was appointed Provincial Grand Master for East India in Bengal. Bro. James Dawson was appointed as Provincial Grand Master for East India.

The Lodge at Fort William stayed with the Modern Grand Lodge of England during the split between the Modern and Ancient Freemasonry in 1767. From 1781 to 1785, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal was in abeyance owing to war in South India.