One of the highest ranked Freemasons in Kent has hit out at the organisation's portrayal in smash BBC drama The Gold.

The six-part series, which concludes on Sunday, charts the tale of the Brink's-Mat gold bullion robbery and the ensuing police investigation - much of which took place in the county.

It depicts scenes which show police efforts hindered by Freemasons on the force looking to protect one of the key suspects, Kenneth Noye, who lived in West Kingsdown.

Noye, portrayed by Jack Lowden, is shown as being a member of the same Freemason lodge as senior police figures and tipped off about the investigation.

But Mark Estaugh, provincial grand master of the West Kent Freemasons, says it is simply perpetuating myths of the 'brotherhood' which is perceived as being cloaked in secrecy.

Speaking to KentOnline, he explained: "I knew nothing about The Gold until I received an angry email from someone saying 'this is appalling, this is nonsense'.

"So I have now watched the first two episodes. But they were disappointing.

"There was an investigation by Hugh Bonneville's character [as DCI Brian Boyce, leading the investigation] and he gets a couple of people in and says 'right, no drinking, no gambling, no Freemasonry'.

"If he'd said no golfers or people who drive on the left-hand side of the road or whatever it would be equally ludicrous."

Freemasonry has been on a major push over the last 20 years to portray itself as more open and transparent after years of remaining coy over what it did and any power it wielded.

So the grand master - who said there are some 340 lodges across the county with just under 9,000 members - admits to being "frustrated" at "hackneyed old perceptions" being dramatised now.

He adds: "The main thing we stand for is we're a brotherhood of people who come together to develop each other and themselves and benefit the community.

"What I will say is in every organisation of hundreds of thousands of people, people join for various reasons.

"Freemasonry is many things to many people. Some like the mysteries, some the history, some the benevolence. Some like to belong.

"It cannot be denied that, over the years, there may have been some people who felt it could benefit them.

"But there is nothing, whatsover, for the 35-years plus I've been a Freemason, that I've ever been able to put down, that by being a member, I got X or I got Y.

"It's sadly disappointing that some hackneyed things are said in The Gold. There's nothing wrong with Freemasonry - I can tell you that for a fact.

"I'm an honourable man and I wouldn't be associated with anything illegal, immoral or fattening. What I can't account for is every Freemason."

It is true that Noye was a member of a lodge in Hammersmith - and while not proven, it is possible serving police officers were members of the group. Certainly it is believed bullion and other precious metal dealers belonged.

However, Noye, who was found guilty of handling the stolen bullion and jailed, was ultimately expelled after failing to pay his subscriptions.

He went on to further notoriety after murdering 21-year-old electrician Stephen Cameron in what was dubbed the 'road-rage killing' on a slip-road of the M25 at Swanley in 1996. He evaded capture for two years before finally being hunted down in Spain, arrested, and ultimately jailed again when returned to the UK. He was released in 2019.

Adds the 62-year-old grand master: "Kenneth Noye is clearly an all-round bad egg. How he managed to get into the membership of a lodge, I don't know.

"He should never have been admitted as a member. I don't know how that happened - it wasn't in my province."

But the perception of Freemasonry as a secret cloak and dagger organisation continues to persist.

Despite all its efforts to reveal what it says is the truth of the organisation - and highlight its charitable endeavours - it remains mired in the past by public perception.

It is thought this was amplified following the Second World War. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler persecuted Freemasons during the Holocaust believing them as colluding to bring down the German state.

As a consequence, following the end of the war, Freemasons in the UK went underground for several decades, refusing to reveal details about their activities. By the time it decided to address some of the issues, perceptions had stuck.

Explains Mr Estaugh: "It adopted the same 'never explain, never complain' approach the Royals have.

"It adopted that for 30-odd years and that in itself proved hugely counter productive.

"Because when you don't answer questions - when you get a slap and you don't hit someone back - they'll assume you were guilty and deserved it.

"We've never been shy of identifying ourselves, but as time has gone on there's been peculiar situations where certain councils and bodies have said you must declare if you're a Freemason. Well, I don't know for what purpose. I could declare I like orange juice, but whether that means I'm going to be any more or less likely to be a good or bad guy, I don't know."

It is a view compounded by shows such as The Gold which hints at its power in its society, while the symbolism, rituals and ceremonies of initiation only enhance an uncertainty by many as to what it seeks to offer its members.

The organisation admits that its level of secrecy has hindered its recruitment over the years - with the numbers in Kent once three times its current roll-call.

Yet, surely, it is that very air of mystery which acts as its most powerful recruitment force?

The retired Mr Estaugh, who has held his exalted role since 2015, says: "It's good to dispel some of these perceptions, but in doing so sometimes you take away some of the mystic. And the thing that drew me to masonry was what was behind that door.

"It does act as an attraction. The concept of secrecy doesn't exist - and any part of the ceremonial aspect of masonry you can find online.

"However open and transparent you are, those who won't accept you're getting insight into what there is behind that curtain will never believe you.

"As for the secrecy, there are two points to make. One is that there is none - it's all publicly disclosed. But, two, we don't want you to see the Christmas present before you unwrap it.

"The whole ceremony of admission into a lodge and the other stages you take, which are full of significance and symbolism about living an honourable life we want people to come in and experience this in a joyful way. It's something you never forget. Why spoil the surprise?

"Reading the ritual of the ceremony of initiation - which is freely available - will mean nothing to you. But if you come and join and are part of this, it's just overwhelmingly amazing. The secrecy is the surprise."

The aspects of the initiation in details are one of those secrets he alludes to.

'We don't want to subvert society. It's all nonsense, it doesn't happen...'

Believe what you read, and it involves rolling a trouser leg up to show you are a free man and exposing your breast to prove you are not a woman, among others. Women, it should be pointed out, cannot join any lodge - only dedicated ones for women, of which there are just two. The debate over that, however, is for another day.

So what, you may ask, is the 'secret handshake' we hear so much about, all about?

Freemasons can chart their history back to between 300-400 years ago - dating back to when the stonemasons were established to pass on their knowledge of their specialist skills.

With many, back then, unable to read or write, the only way to show you had qualified as a stonemason and were able to work on building a cathedral or castle, for example, was, says Mark Estaugh, by a word, a special handshake or a sign.

"That's where the passwords and handshake come from," he explains. "They were just tokens of representation as to what level you are at in your own journey to some sort of personal evolution.

"But it's been misconstrued. We don't want to subvert society. It's all nonsense, it doesn't happen."