FOR many years the Freemasons has been widely regarded as an exclusive, secret society, made up of middle-aged men who perform strange handshakes.

But now, with its membership falling, the organisation is coming out of the shadows.

The organisation -- which has more than 3,000 members in nearly 8,000 lodges throughout England and Wales and 30,000 more members overseas -- has decided for the first time to advertise for new recruits

Andrew Sykes, from Sharples, a member of the Bolton and Bury branch, believes there is a future for the Freemasons. He blames a lack of awareness of the organisation for the decline in recruits and said there is a need to "spread the word".

Traditionally, people become Freemasons mainly as a result of family tradition or upon the introduction of a friend.

He said the group now needs to try harder to boost numbers. "Like all voluntary organisations, there is a decline in membership. We think it is because people are not aware of the attractions."

Graham Gibbons, press officer for the Bolton district, said there are many positive aspects of being a member.

He stressed there is a strong social side to being a Mason, with regular events also open to their partners and families.

Despite Freemasonry being brought more into the open, there are still certain conditions which must be met before becoming a member.

Members must be over 21 and have no past convictions. They must also, of course, be male.

But why are there no women members? The Freemasons say it boils down to tradition. The early stonemasons were all male and the position of women in society was different from today.

However, there are two separate grand lodges in England restricted to women only. FOR many years the Freemasons has been widely regarded as an exclusive, secret society, made up of middle-aged men who perform strange handshakes.

But now, with its membership falling, the organisation is coming out of the shadows.

The organisation -- which has more than 300,000 members in nearly 8,000 lodges throughout England and Wales and 30,000 more members overseas -- has decided for the first time to advertise for new recruits

Andrew Sykes, from Sharples, a member of the Bolton and Bury branch, believes there is a future for the Freemasons. He blames a lack of awareness of the organisation for the decline in recruits and said there is a need to "spread the word".

Traditionally, people become Freemasons mainly as a result of family tradition or after being introduced by a friend.

He said the group now needs to try harder to boost numbers. "Like all voluntary organisations, there is a decline in membership. We think it is because people are not aware of the attractions."

Graham Gibbons, press officer for the Bolton district, said there are many positive aspects of being a member.

He stressed there is a strong social side to being a Mason, with regular events also open to their partners and families.

Despite Freemasonry being brought more into the open, there are still certain conditions which must be met before becoming a member.

Members must be over 21 and have no past convictions. They must also, of course, be male.

But why are there no women members? The Freemasons say it boils down to tradition. The early stonemasons were all male and the position of women in society was different from today.

However, there are two separate grand lodges in England restricted to women only.