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Masonics

A compilation of the privileges and mysteries of Freemasonry

 

ATHOLL

Ahiman Rezon is theConstitution of the Antient Freemasons or ‘Atholls’. It was written by Laurence Dermott in 1756. It remains the foundation for the Masonic Constitutions of Ireland, Scotland and six Grand Lodges in the USA and Canada.

 

The extant 124 ‘Atholls’ have an association which promotes their heritage and the historical perspective of the Antient’s Grand Lodge. The Association of Atholl Lodges can be found at:

www.antients.co.uk

 

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LODGE NIGHT 1759

Lodge Night 1759 is a reconstruction of moderns Masonic working in the mid 18th century.  It is performed for lodges and masonic groups for entertainment, instruction and to help them raise money for charity.

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LET’S TALK CRAFT

Historical and Masonic talks are available, each of 35 – 45 minutes, all with artefacts and illustrative backdrops.

 

18th CENTURY MASON – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THOMAS DUNCKERLEY - COSTUMED - THE MODERN’S EMMISARY FOR FREEMASONRY

A BROTHER’S ASSISTANT – THE LAURENCE DERMOTT STORY - COSTUMED - THE ANTIENT’S FORGOTTEN GRAND SECRETARY

THE GREEN FIELDS OF FRANCE – THE HALL STONE JEWEL - DISPLAYED - FOCUSING ON THE GREAT WAR

EXCHANGING THE SCEPTRE FOR THE TROWEL  - DISPLAYED - ROYALTY in FREEMASONRY & the SECRET SOCIETIES ACT

A WELL RESPECTED MAN ABOUT TOWN - ODE TO A MASON - DISPLAYED - 60 YEARS OF A BROTHER MASON

PROSPECT of FUTURITY - POWERPOINT – DEATH IS A FUNNY THING!

THE IDIOSYNCRASIES of LAURENCE DERMOTT GS - LECTURE [QC] - QUIRKS & CUSSEDNESS of LD

AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER - POWERPOINT - THE HERITAGE of BLACKS & SLAVERY in the AMERICAS

 

All can be given in Lodge [in Call-Off] - being historical some can also be performed at white tables in the presence of non-Masons and guests.

 

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FREEMASON’S HALL LONDON

The current building in Great Queen Street London came about with the raising of £1.3m from the Masonic Million Memorial Fund.

The Fund ran from 1920 to 1937 and was to commemorate the fallen brethren of the Great War.

As such it is the largest memorial to WW1 in Europe and requires ongoing financial support.

                            

 

 

 

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

 

 

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SCRUTINEERS

To enter The United Grand Lodge of England for their ¼ communications and Investitures brethren have to pass through ‘scrutineering’. This is undertaken by a band of volunteers who conduct signing-in and check the records [and attire] of visiting brethren. Then when the Most Worshipful demands of His Pursuivant “Are they ranged under their respective banners”. The response is assuredly given ‘To the best of my knowledge’. Reference to them can be found in the Masonic Year Book p34. Their Lodge is Scrutator No9379. OED: A person who examines and scrutinizes.

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RESEARCH

Pieces of research and enquiries are undertaken of general, masonic, conflict and historical interest. A large Masonic library of books is at hand. Often the help of QCCC and the Library and Museum in London is called upon, and freely given.

 

 

 

 

 

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KENT LODGE No15

Kent Lodge No 15 is the oldest Antient lodge in existence that can show continuous working from 1752. Joining members of the Masonic fraternity, under the jurisdiction of UGLE, are welcome.
New initiates into freemasonry need to ask…and you will receive.

 

Take a look at these family trees. Kent 15 is top left.  Larger versions can be sourced on:

 

http://www.freemasonry.london.museum/tree/index.html

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KENT 15 - ITS PLACE IN MASONIC HISTORY

Kent 15 SymnolLondon Rank

London Rank was instituted by the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught in December 1907 to recognise the services to the Craft of Past Masters of London Lodges which provided London masons with an honours system, comparable with that already existing in the provinces, which could be used to reward long and meritorious service.
The first appointments were made in 1908 and were limited to 150 every year. H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, in his first message to Grand Lodge on 7th June 1939, after his election as Grand Master, granted the rank the new designation London Grand Rank.    

 

A full list of the first recipients (in lodge number order) of London Rank was published in ‘The Freemason’ on 8th August 1908.

Reconciliation in the Air

At the turn of the 1700’s into the 1800’s background work was afoot to try to bring about a reconciliation of the Antient and Modern Grand Lodges. The prominent Antient lodges of the time were to be involved, and particularly Kent No 8.

The Lodge of Promulgation.

This special lodge was constituted in 1809 to facilitate a future union of the Grand Lodges of the Moderns and Antients.  Within this early work was the task of overcoming the differences between the two systems in operation and bringing the rival factions more into line, thus paving the way for a friendly alliance.  This of course finally came about with the Union of 1813. Throughout this period it is noted that the committee members to represent the Antients were to be the present and past grand officers with brothers Dewsnap, Cranfield, McCann, Herron and Ronalds (Herron was WM in 1803).


After the Union a Lodge of Reconciliation commenced work, mainly trying to harmonise ritual, and between the years 1813 and 1816 it is noted that brothers Richard Carr and Chris Crawley of lodge No15 attended on several occasions (Crawley was WM in 1812). Proof positive if any were needed that No 15 was active in the higher echelons of masonry throughout this period of harmony which later, no doubt, led to its accolade of being permitted to use their unique title. Hence between the relevant years of 1816 and 1820 No 15 was truly at the centre of the Masonic universe. This being a time when lodges were following the fashion of giving themselves names in addition to numbers and to further differentiate themselves from the name of the hostelry in which they met.

The Union

The six sons of the longest reigning male monarch George III (1760–1820) were all masonically connected, the first of which was Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820) a soldier and a strict disciplinarian. During his period abroad he agreed to become Provincial Grand Master for Lower Canada for the Antients and certainly helped their cause. In 1791 there were only 3 Antient lodges but by 1813 there were 20. On his return to the home country his interest extended to other Orders of freemasonry including being Grand Master of the Knights Templar.  On the resignation of the 4th Duke of Atholl in 1813 as the Antient’s GM he became Grand Master. 

    
It was Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent, (1767–1820) GM of the Antients who gave way to his Brother Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex, (1773–1843) GM of the Moderns since May of 1813 in succession to the Prince of Wales (later George IV) to be the first GM of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. Thus harmony was restored by the guide given by these two royals. The Union came about on St John’s Day (December 27th) 1813.

The Nomenclature

So it was the Lodge which met at the Ship & Anchor, Quaker Street, Spittalfields who on the 13th January 1752, accepted the Antient Constitution and was allotted a warrant No 9. On 27th December of the same year with the erasure of No 7, Lodge No 9 became Lodge No 8, by closing up. All warrants were re-issued and signed by Lord Blessington in 1758. At the union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 Lodge No 8 became No 15 by alternate number allocation between Antients and Moderns, which it remains to this day.  With the onset of the fashion to give lodges names (other than their reference to the tavern they met), in 1816, HRH Duke of Kent, gave his consent that Lodge No 15 be called the Royal Kent Lodge. On his death in 1820 the name was dropped as it was deemed a ‘personal permission’. It has been known as Kent Lodge ever since that time.

Records and Histories

The greatest treasure of Kent lodge is its warrant which is exhibited (albeit hermetically framed) at every meeting.  It is dated 17th May 1758 and replaced the original warrant which no longer exists.  It does however confirm the date of the Constitution of the Lodge being 1752 and boasts Dermott’s signature as Grand Secretary.  In his short printed book entitled Memorials of Kent Lodge No. 15 (1903)E H Buckeridge, who was the Lodge Secretary 1895-1931, records extracts from the minutes of Lodge No 8 noting that book No 1 transactions was lost but thereafter gives several listings in date order presumably from book No 2 from 1st January 1793 onwards. Other records regrettably are very sparse.

Honours 

In 1908 following the introduction of London Rank Kent Lodge No15 was 'invited' to submit a name of a worthy recipient. They chose the Treasurer Bro. Edward Stimson (his descendant relative is Treasurer today and that family have held the post of Treasurer for over 100 years). In 1910 another Kent Brother EH Buckeridge (the writer of two histories and long time secretary) was so conferred.


Uniquely, London Masonry has its own honours system, London Grand Rank being its only appointment and Senior London Grand Rank its only promotion, with no past ranks. Having listened to the views expressed by Lodges and Chapters, the London Committee has withdrawn the recommendation that a Junior London Grand Rank be introduced, and this has been accepted by the Grand Master. The London honours system, Craft and Royal Arch, will remain exactly as it is. However, the proposals for active offices, which will not be Ranks but appointments, will remain, as these are needed for ceremonial and administrative purposes.


Extracts from the EH Buckeridge The History of Kent Lodge, No. 15 (1914), are as follows:


April 1908 – Letter from Grand Secretary re Conferring London Rank on some one brother for “long and meritorious service, equivalent to what is known as provincial or District rank”. Bro. Edward Stimson, P.M., was unanimously selected for that distinction, and the Brethren presented him with suitable masonic clothing; for which Bro. Treasurer returned thanks.

October 1908 – Bro. E Stimson was invested by Bro. W.F. Grimmett, P.M., with the Masonic clothing of London Rank, and he afterwards recalled the many instances of support and assistance Bro. Stimson had rendered as a Member, W.M. and Treasurer for so many years. Bro. C. James also referred in very gracious and felicitous terms to bro. Treasurer's genial and courteous manner to every Member of the lodge, and expressed the wishes of the brethren that he might be spared many years to be with them. Bro. Stimson thanked the Brethren for their kindly appreciation of his services as “Father of the lodge” and the oldest Past-master remaining.

February 1910 – A communication from Grand Lodge was read, stating that the M.W.G.M. had conferred upon Bro. E.H.Buckeridge, P.M., Hon. Sec. of the Lodge, the distinction of London Rank. The W.M. then informed the Hon. Secretary, that suitable Masonic Clothing would be presented to him by the Lodge.
       

      

Association and Mess


Work as early as May 1909 commenced in forming an ‘Association’ for London Rank holders and the report of same can be seen as supportive. However, the first dinner in connection with the London Rank Mess, inaugurated by those Metropolitan Brethren who have been singled out to be the first wearers of the gold and purple of this new and important office, was held on Wednesday, June 2nd 1909. The enthusiasm displayed by those present augured well for the future and dining was to feature strongly.

“London Rank” Brethren
From an article in The Freemason dated 8th August 1908 the following has been extracted:


To the credit of the Met Brethren it may be said and readily acknowledged that although they suffered under this disadvantage [of not having honours akin to Provincial ranks] they never allowed it in any way to slacken their zeal for the order or their energies on behalf of the Masonic Charities. For scores of years past the Masonic workers in the Metropolis, having no goal in sight except the reward of their own conscience and the congratulatory remarks of their fellow members, have laboured on doing equally satisfactory work with their Provincial Brethren. To give a detailed account of the agitation which has from time to time been going on for the division of London Lodges into Provinces or Districts, and for the proper recognition of the services of Metropolitan Past Masters, would occupy more space than is at our disposal in this issue. Suffice it is to say that the legitimate aspirations of every member of a London Lodge to receive a reward for long and faithful service has been adequately met by the creation of “London Rank”, The names of those who are the first to be placed on the “Roll of Honour” will be handed down to posterity as distinguished members of the Order whose faithful and zealous services won for them by the votes of their fellow members, a worthy and suitable recognition which will find a permanent record in Masonic history.

 

 

Conclusion

Co-incidentally in 2010 an enquiry was made for a photograph of Bro.Grimmett (ref. October 1908 above) from Elspeth a distant relative:

 

Re: W F Grimmett [Master 1889]

Following your enquiry to FM Hall Library I have dug out the only two [of 11] minute books for our 250 + years which cover that period. Many were lost but of the two the 1882-1906 is with me and I have copied the relevant pages. Also a list from one of the various four lodge histories extant.

Sadly none of my records or documents holds any photographs. I think they were not common pre 1900 although there is one of Queen Victoria in the minutes [when she died].

I guess the only trace you have by way of confirmation is the years span and his noted address and occupation in 1884 [Walworth Road – Coal Merchant]. An age of 28 noted maybe will give you a time line as he would have been born in 1856.

 

     

Kent Lodge No15 has been a part of Masonic history from the mid 18th century boasting an ‘Antients’ warrant and as such played a significant part in the Union of 1813. With the leap to the 20th century and the introduction of a honours system for London it was natural Kent Lodge would feature. May it continue to hold its place in the 21st century !

 

No 15 - A VERY ROYAL HERITAGE

Introduction

The premier lodge of research, Quatuor Coronati No 2076, has guidelines regarding the content of papers it will receive. Sadly this generally does not include lodge histories, which is a pity, as some have a lot to say about the history of Freemasonry. Similarly UGLE does not ‘recognise’ any events prior to its inception at the Union of 1813. Such matters are deemed not within its bailiwick. It is said that the average life of a lodge is about 30 years and assuming this is 1813 onward and is modal it raises the question of those that fall as outliers. Therein must be a hidden canon of information, especially within the oldest ‘Antient’ lodges.

Laurence Dermott

A name that became inextricably linked with the Antients but to a greater degree past over in the historical annuls of mainstream freemasonry. Not quite an unsung hero although quite an enigmatic figure but rather the stalwart of Antient Masonry and prior to his death in 1791 and the union of 1813 a colossus of the world of the Antients. It is worth quoting from Denslow’s 10,000 Famous Freemasons a description of Dermott; 

He has be variously described as “sarcastic, bitter, uncompromising and not altogether sincere or veracious” on the one hand but as “the most remarkable Mason that ever existed” on the other.

 


Dermott, as Grand Secretary, signed the re-issued warrant of Lodge No 8 in 1758, a seminal fact in itself. This paper will above all focus on reviewing the histories, as recorded, of No 9, later (by closing-up) No 8, at the Union No 15, and now Kent Lodge No 15. The ‘Royal’ heritage will be explored!

The Immigrant

Laurence was born in Ireland, thought to be in the Roscommon area. Thus it was in 1748 Dermott came to England as a poor man, a journeyman painter joining, as many others had, a lodge that was under the Premier Grand Lodge, then transferring his allegiance to the Antients No 9, which later became No 8 (now No 15 Kent). About a year later he switched to Lodge No 10 (now the Royal Athelstan No 19), also thought to have met at Spittalfields, reason not known.
He settled in the area around Stepney and at some point married, the reference to this being in his last Will and Testament much later when he bequeathed his estate to his wife Elizabeth. There is no reference to be found of children from this union. Having arrived as a journeyman painter he is recorded much later as being a wine merchant and the best one can assume is that he made good and, with what now would be referred to as entrepreneurial skills, improved his lot in life succeeding in trade and business along with other merchants of the time. But he suffered ill health from the quintessentially 18th century disease of gout.                                              

What Schism ?

Gould’s The History of Freemasonry is a basis from which it could be said that the lodge that came about, the Grand Lodge of the Antients, was schismatic in form or, in other words, a breakaway from the Premier Grand Lodge with masonry thereafter wrenched asunder.  The alternative view is given by Neville Barker Cryer, the popular writer and lecturer who, in the preamble to one of his talks entitled, ‘Some Reflections on the Formation of the Grand Lodge of the Antients’, said;

It has never been satisfactorily explained to me what drove the few brethren from five lodges who met in the Turks Head Tavern, to form what was by today’s standards a breakaway grand lodge and the perpetuators of a schism.

 

 

Having posed the question he, on further examination of the topic, comes to the conclusion that a schism it certainly was not, although it probably seemed so at the time.  Rather it was their only way forward, to erect a lodge ‘according to the old institutions’.  They were simply establishing the right for another style of Freemasonry to function and be available. Unless the lodges that formed the new Grand Lodge were under the jurisdiction of another Grand Lodge then there could not have been a schism. Lodges in this period were by dint of being ‘private’ and likely non assigned, QED. 

London and its Masonic Lodges

Overall Dermott’s masonic activity throughout his period as Grand Secretary 1752-1771 can be described as anything but smooth.  As stated he was gruff, which to some extent is explained by the gout. He gave lectures, directed ceremonies, inspected lodges and instructed them. Likewise he dealt with petitions and complaints and he was paid one shilling for each certificate he signed. There are pages and pages written about his constant disagreements with friends (and enemies) which show more and more his cantankerousness. He was given a jewel for his great services that was to be his own property but it was noted later (generously) that he delivered this jewel to his successor Mr. William Dickie, with whom he was constantly at variance. It was worn by succeeding Grand Secretaries. He also endowed the lodge room with a Masters Chair, valued at £500, a noble gesture either showing that he had succeeded in business, or he was re-circulating those shillings. This was the world of Lodge No 8.  


A further insight can be gained into the later part of the 18th century through Roy Wells book Freemasonry in London from 1785 which is the history of Domatic Lodge No. 177 and picks up the story of how lodges operated under the aegis of the Antients Grand Lodge and particularly the influence of Laurence Dermott, he being mid-way through his second stint as Deputy Grand Master at that time.  They originally met at the Ship Tavern in Holborn, and like many other lodges moved from place to place.  It also details the life of a Craft lodge and highlights the difficulty in tracing back for historical purposes the heritage of a lodge, as with many others, references to new warrants, purchased warrants and missing pages from lodge records.  But nonetheless a reasonably full account of lodge activity throughout this period can be found within its pages. Laurence Dermott features as the principal name on 177’s warrant of 1786.

The Meetings of Grand Lodge

The meetings of Grand Lodge were in essence formal affairs with a considerable amount of administration to be dealt with, various proposals to be heard and decisions to be made, there was nonetheless an element of jollity and ribaldry.  This juxtaposed with the formality and correctness of whether a Grand Lodge was opened in ‘due form’ or ‘ample form’ (the latter being with his Lordship presiding (if ever)), showing Dermott’s pernickety attention to detail. From his book of Constitutions, wherein songs are recorded, there seems to be an expectation of singing and merrymaking, all of course whilst partaking of copious amounts of liquor and consuming a hearty meal. 

Aloofness

Tendencies towards aloofness can be found in the Builder Magazine which says the Grand Lodge of Ireland ‘issued’ the first Grand certificate ever handed to a mason by his Grand Lodge.  The first of these certificates that ever crossed the sea was carried by Laurence Dermott and exhibited with pride and by him at the Grand Lodge in London.  This document is the oldest document of its kind ever issued by the Grand Jurisdiction.  Said to be warrant number 1 of the Lodge meeting at Mitchelltown, County Cork, and said to be on the estate near the mansion of the Lord Kingston, the Grand Master.  This lodge claimed to have worked as a regularly constituted St John’s lodge for 50 years previous to the issue of its Grand Warrant.  For many years these St John’s lodges held aloof from the Grand Lodge and did not apply for regular warrants of constitution.

The Royal Arch

The subject of the Antients and the Royal Arch, and Dermot’s role in it, and those dratted moderns would probably make a paper in itself. So suffice it to say for our purposes here we need only acknowledge that in the mid 18th century the Royal Arch probably existed in some form or another.  But who had original claim on it remains somewhat confusing.  If we take from the book of Grand Lodge 1717–1967;

…after 5 years of existence of a supreme and independent body made up of “Modern” Royal Arch masons, “Antients” began to react for in 1771 it appeared the signs in their Grand Lodge were movement to form their own so called Grand Chapter as a counter blast, in the realisation that, by the setting up of the New Grand Chapter, these “Moderns” Royal Arch masons had firmly established themselves as the chief exponents of the degrees.

 

But set against that in the paper The Story of Royal Arch Masonry by Trevor Harris he states that times were changing for the Moderns in 1765 when they set up a committee of ‘in chapter assembled’ at the famous Turks Head Tavern in Soho. And he states this would eventually lead to the formation of a Grand Chapter. Apart from new chapters being formed in provinces as far as London was concerned it was not until 1776 that the Grand Chapter was formed under the title The Society of Royal Arch Masons under the Excellent Grand and Royal Chapter. This alarmed Lawrence who saw the initiative being taken away from him by the Moderns and as attack was the best means of defence he claimed that the Antients had formed their own Grand Chapter in 1771 pre dating the Moderns by at least 5 years.  It was one of the greatest Masonic myths and bluffs of all times because Laurence was never going to let the Moderns get the better of him. Kent Lodge formed its chapter in 1890.

Ahiman Rezon

Copious reams have been written as to why Laurence Dermot should have entitled his constitution Ahiman Rezon.  A quote from a short talk as published in the Masonic Service Association of the United States says;

Freemasonry has many curiosities and indeed many mysteries as yet unsolved. Among the former are the several of misunderstood words with odd or involved meanings’. ‘Ahiman Rezon was the title given by Dermott to the book of Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of the Ancients of England. Presumably the words are of Hebraic origin, but no one has yet settled on a translation so authoritative that all are satisfied. “Will of selected brethren” “secret of a prepared brother” “royal build” “brother secretary” “intimate brother secretary” “a prepared brother”, are all suggested meanings by various scholars who had used various Hebrew words and their compounds as possibilities.


 

Scholars also disputed the pronunciation of Ahiman Rezon, we will leave that for others to ponder, and the point here is that if there is a first level idiosyncrasy, this is it! As for the meaning the academic Dermott had in mind when he first used the syllables as a title; who knows! But through all this it has to be said that his great work, his constitution prevailed and having seen the light of day in 1756 was his major work, his Constitutions. Later Thomas Harpur, being an extremely active member of both Moderns and Antients Grand Lodges, as well as a multiple lodge member, was keen to apply his skills to the benefit of both Grand Lodges assisting administratively, with the Grand calendar for the moderns and editing the 1800 edition of Ahiman Rezon. Overall he went on to edit the 6th, 7th and 8th editions.  The 8th edition being published in 1813 proved to be the last. The earlier reprints were of course edited by Dermott himself, with his usual vitriol in the opening pages against the Moderns. It is said that the very first edition would also have had the same vitriol had it not been for his dog chewing the manuscript just as it was ready for print. The edition of 1807 has a list of lodge pre Union and lists No 8, but of course unnamed.

The Grand Secretary and his Power Base

It has to be recognised that Laurence was constantly competing with the Moderns and their power driver, Thomas Dunkerley. Thomas was known to be the first emissary of Freemasonry and carried a warrant to inspect the Craft wherever he found it.  He, being the illegitimate child of King George 11, was a man of high standing, and a tour de force.  Dermott, keen to imitate such standing was determined to have as the Grand Master of the Antients at least an aristocrat, even if he couldn’t be of the blood royal.  Through his connections in Ireland he secured one or two in the persons of Lord Blessington and Lord Killie, but was soon courting the Athol family who not only had Scottish Masonic connections but who’s third Duke was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland.  This is of course a well known story and involved procuring the patronage as Grand Master of the 3rd Duke. Regrettably he died within a year and was replaced by the 4th Duke, a young man of 19 and not a Mason who was ‘fast tracked’ through the degrees and in a week was made Grand Master.

The Grand Masters

Every Grand Master of the Antients was installed in his own private apartment or room with none attending Grand Lodge for this purpose.  In fact they rarely attended for any purpose.  From time to time they were appraised of the business of the Grand Lodge and no doubt their acquiescence sought. The power lay to all intents and purposes with the officers of the Grand Lodge, the most dominant claiming to be acting on behalf of the Grand Master.                                                                                
The role of Grand Master in this period was solely one of a figurehead.  It may well have been that once or twice a year papers for signature were put before him but in all other respects the day to day business of the Grand Lodge was undertaken by the Grand Secretary.  There are many Antients lodges extant that proudly boast that their warrant, assuming it is the original, or a faithful facsimile, bears the signature of Laurence Dermott. There was little regard for who the Grand Master may have been or whether or not His signature should also appear on their documentation. Remember that none of the Grand Masters ever attended Grand Lodge in his time.


Deputy GM or Pushed Upstairs

Dermott relinquished the post of Grand Secretary in 1771 after nineteen years and was appointed Deputy Grand Master, a position he held until 1777. This seems to have been recognition for his many loyal years as Grand Secretary, but to the cynic it may seem to have been simply a ‘push upstairs’ to clear the way for a new Grand Secretary, that would possibly lead the way to a more liberal attitude and progress towards what was obviously being worked on in the background, that of a union with the Moderns.  That union came about in 1813 but any researcher will acknowledge that this started some two decades earlier. In Laurence’s time there was absolutely no possibility of a union and the phrase, ‘over my dead body’, would have been his brusque retort.  The sheer nature of compromise, give and take, would have been anathema to Laurence, so one can imagine that this elevation to a greater or lesser degree facilitated a change programme.  He died in 1791.

Reconciliation in the air

In 1784 it appears that the previously mentioned Thomas Harpur (in relation to later editions of Ahiman Rezon) was in London and recorded as visiting Somerset Lodge No 2, which was a modern lodge.  What is certain is that in 1787 he joined a modern’s lodge in England, Globe Lodge No 15 (now No 23).  The membership records show of Harpur that he was recorded as a silversmith residing in Fleet Street.  He served as Master 5 times in the 1790s.  He went on to join several more moderns’ lodges being the founder of Harodium Lodge No 467.  Another great name from the past, William Preston, was the chief founder of Harodium Lodge and later Harpur joined Preston’s lodge of Antiquity No 1 (now No 2).  Harodium was absorbed into Antiquity in 1794.  In addition Harpur joined Peace and Harmony No 60 and The Lodge of Nine Muses No 408 all showing his working activities being in and around the area of Fleet Street.  Interestingly this increasing interest in modern’s lodges seemed to be of no hindrance in his progression as an Antient mason.  In 1784 he joined No 4, now the Royal York Lodge of Perseverance No 7 where he met Laurence Dermott.  That led to him joining Lodge No 5 which is now Albion Lodge No 9. 


An 1801 annual return from the Grand Masters Lodge shows Harpur’s name under that of the Duke of Atholl together with the name Edward Harpur, son of Thomas, who was also shown as a jeweller. In 1828 the Grand Masters Lodge received a communiqué from Harpur resigning the office of Treasurer which he had held for more than 34 years.  To this point he had always been considered a Past Deputy Grand Master of the Moderns whilst still continuing his rise up the Antients Grand Lodge hierarchy. He was appointed joint Grand Secretary in 1792 alongside Robert Leslei and Deputy Grand Master in 1801, a position he held until the union of 1813. Obviously a diplomat and facilitator but there were others and about this time some of the members of No 8 come onto the scene. A lodge would be formed later bearing the ‘reconciliation’ epithet.

The Lodge of Promulgation

This special lodge was constituted in 1809 to facilitate a future union of the Grand Lodges of the Moderns and Antients.  Within this early work was the task of overcoming the differences between the two systems in operation and bringing the rival factions more into line, thus paving the way for a friendly alliance.  This of course finally came about with the Union of 1813. Throughout this period it is noted that the committee members to represent the Antients be the present and past grand officers with brothers Dewsnap, Cranfield, McCann, Herron and Ronalds (Herron was WM in 1803).


After the Union a Lodge of Reconciliation commenced work, mainly trying to harmonise ritual, and between the years 1813 and 1816 it is noted that brothers Richard Carr and Chris Crawley of lodge No15 attended on several occasions (Crawley was WM in 1812). Proof positive if any were needed that No 15 was active in the higher echelons of masonry throughout this period of harmony which later, no doubt, led to its accolade of being permitted to use their unique title. Hence between the relevant years of 1816 and 1820 No 15 was truly at the centre of the Masonic universe. This being a time when lodges were following the fashion of giving themselves names in addition to numbers and to further differentiate themselves from the name of the hostelry in which they met.

The Union

The six sons of the longest reigning male monarch George III (1760–1820) were all were masonically connected, the first of which was Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820) a soldier and a strict disciplinarian. During his period abroad he agreed to become Provincial Grand Master for Lower Canada for the Antients and certainly helped their cause. In 1791 there were only 3 Antient lodges but by 1813 there were 20. On his return to the home country his interest extended to other Orders of freemasonry including being Grand Master of the Knights Templar.  On the resignation of the 4th Duke of Atholl in 1813 as the Antient’s GM he became Grand Master.

 
It was of course Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent, (1767–1820) GM of the Antients who gave way to his Brother Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex, (1773–1843) GM of the Moderns since May of 1813 in succession to the Prince of Wales (later George IV) to be the first GM of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. And thus harmony was restored by the guide given by these two royals. The Union came about on St John’s Day (December 27th) 1813.

The Royal Heritage

Thus it was the Lodge which met at the Ship & Anchor, Quaker Street, Spittalfields who on the 13th January 1752 accepted the Antient Constitution and was allotted a warrant No 9. On 27th December of the same year with the erasure of No 7, Lodge No 9 became Lodge No 8, by closing up. All warrants were re-issued and signed by Lord Blessington in 1758. At the union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 Lodge No 8 became No 15 by alternate number allocation between Antients and Moderns, which it remains to this day.  In 1816, HRH Duke of Kent, gave his consent that Lodge No 15 be called the Royal Kent Lodge. On his death in 1820 the name was dropped as it was deemed a ‘personal permission’. It has been known as Kent Lodge ever since that time.


So what brought about this “Royal” connection? It is only through delving into the archives and printed material referencing the Lodge’s history that light throws an insight.  Initially it has to be said that the minute books of this old lodge are not in tact.  In fact, of the completed minute books from number 1 (1752-1792) to date number 15 (1985-2002), most are missing. The ones that do exist are numbers 2, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, and the current one 16.  Of the early ones number 2 spans the years 1793–1806 and the next one in situ being number 7 for years 1882–1906.  So it can be seen little help can be found from the original documents as it would be number 3 1806-1834 that covered the relevant period of the union. However, this does not quite accord with a printed reference to minute books to be found in History of Kent Lodge No 15, a later historical compilation produced for the 250th anniversary celebration in 2002, which shows that in addition, 4,6,8,9,11 should exist.

Records and Histories

The greatest treasure of Kent lodge is its warrant which is exhibited (albeit hermetically framed) at every meeting.  It is dated 17th May 1758 and replaced the original warrant which no longer exists.  It does however confirm the date of the Constitution of the Lodge being 1752 and boasts Dermott’s signature as Grand Secretary.  In his short printed book entitled Memorials of Kent Lodge No. 15 E H Buckeridge, who was the Lodge Secretary 1895-1931, records extracts from the minutes of Lodge No 8 noting that book No 1 transactions was lost but thereafter gives several listings in date order presumably from book No 2 from 1st January 1793 onwards.  Now as this book ended in 1806, it becomes a small mystery as to why the list runs on beyond that date.  However, it does and on 18th March 1816 records that a brother Crawley proposed that this Lodge be called;

The Royal Kent Lodge and likewise do Masonic honours to the same.

 

 

Carried, nem.con. Knowing that the next relevant date would be in the 1820s a further search of this same book does have listings for 1819, 1821, 1823, but regrettably none of them refer to the name of the lodge (sic). Nor can information be gleaned from the same author, vis EH Buckeridge in his History of Kent Lodge No 15 dated 1914. This second edition is more voluminous but essentially repeats the 1903 edition predominantly extending its references and listings from the relevant transactions to the date of its publication. In this regard the entry for 18th March 1816 is slightly extended to record the note The Royal Kent Lodge this proposition was brought before the lodge;

...after the consent of the use of the same and been obtained from HRH The Duke of Kent, the father of the late Queen Victoria, and sometime Grand Master of the Antients.

 

 

Again a search in the vicinity of 1820 (the Duke of Kent died 23rd January that year) does not expand on matters other than the entry dated 25th June1821 has a reference to the Spittalfields Act and the wording;

…the personnel of Kent Lodge, and several of the lodges working in the East of London…

 

 

Thereby showing that the Royal name had dropped out of use by that date. In the same entry there is an indication of the power of this lodge whereby it records, in respect to the Spittalfields Act, that the Hon. Sec. of the lodge a Brother Collcott (WM 1798) had been waited on by a committee of journeymen weavers for the lodge to endeavour to gain an interview with HRH The Duke of Sussex, our most worshipful Grand Master, to support their petition in the House of Lords against the bill now pending in Parliament to repeal the said act. The Act was repealed in 1824 and as a result the opening of the British ports to French silks soon produced a rapid decline in the industry; however, the Prince Regent, later George IV, gave £5000 to the distress funds of the weavers.


The other interesting item in this book is that after 1881 the listing shows ‘end of book VI’. The next listing is for 11th January 1882, presumably book VII. This source may be relevant although, regrettably, as stated earlier this, and many other books no longer exist. It is believed some were destroyed around the time of the 2nd World War.


Having earlier stated that Kent Lodge had originally been No 9 (1752) No 8 (1752-1813) and No 15 (1813 onwards) does not strictly accord with the details to be found in Freke Gould’s book entitled The Atholl Lodges,  this publication being post 1813 lists No 15 lodge with its precursors being Nos 9 & 8 respectively but showing them as meeting at Temple and Sun (1752), City of Norwich (1758).  Whereas the more recognised history show the meeting places for No 15 being Ship & Anchor (1752), Vernon (1752), City of Norwich (1758).  This is also the nomenclature in John Lane’s Masonic Records 1717-1894 which is considered the ‘bible’ for most Masonic researchers. This confusion highlights the difficulties of aligning historical facts and dates when attempting to collect evidence, happily at least some accord sufficiently to prove the case.

More Curiosities

In the Buckeridge history of 1914 there is a curious footnote to the facsimile of the 1758
(re-issued) warrant which states:

...the warrant for No 6 and the warrant for No 8 are the 2 oldest warrants in existence issued by the Antients Grand Lodge.

 

Interestingly, and merely anecdotally, it is suggested that the nineteen ‘Red Apron’ lodges, being those who appoint a Grand Steward each year, should have numbered 20 at their formation. The missing one being lodge No 15, of course.


On another royal tangent William Henry, the Duke of Clarence (1765-1837) the third son came into free Masonry in 1786 and elected Past Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge in 1787. He ascended the throne as William IV in 1830.  From the History of Kent Lodge 1752-1952 it is seen that in 1794 under the warrant of No 8 and by a warrant granted under the Patronage of His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence various brothers were dubb’d Mark Men, Mark Brothers and Ark Brothers. The working of other degrees, RA, Mark, KT, were permitted under Antients’ warrants. There is an OLD KENT MARK LODGE (OK unnumbered), now over 150 years old which has obvious historical links to Kent Lodge.


Throughout the aforementioned book, History of Kent Lodge 1752-1952, it rather oddly misspells warrant as warrent.


The Centenary of 1852 was celebrated and a Warrant issued, taking its constitution year of 1752 as the commencement. A jewel in the form of a star suspended on a pale blue ribbon was struck, however, it bears the year 1858. These are few and far between although a handful still exist.
The Bi-Centenary Warrant of 1952 permits a ‘bicentenary bar’ to be appended to the centenary jewel. No such bar has ever been traced. The celebrations for this milestone took place on 10th January 1952, a magnificent event if the Banquet Programme is any guide. It was attended by almost 400 VIP’s, members, friends and guests. Brother D W Lusty was in the Chair.

Longevity

 

Kent Lodge No 15 is a keen supporter of the Association of Atholl Lodges. It likewise upholds their mantra of maintaining heritage and not allowing the old ways to decline and die out. They seem to have always met on Wednesdays and can boast being the oldest Antient Lodge with ‘unbroken regularity’.

Conclusion

An Antient Lodge was constituted 1752 and warranted as No 9, when re-warranted in 1758 it was No 8, After the Union of 1813 it became No 15. When naming came about in 1816 and by dint of a personal permission granted by the Grand Master, the Duke of Kent, it became the ‘Royal Kent Lodge’. Following the death of the Duke in 1820 the ‘Royal’ was dropped.
In the modern era, the Lodge remains proud of its low number and is known as Kent Lodge No 15. It looks forward to many more years of success, whilst recognising the changing times, none more so than in Freemasonry.

Postscript

Never can it be said that Don Quixote wasn’t an optimist. He tilted at windmills regardless of the consequences.  Lately, in 2009, as a matter of supreme optimism Kent Lodge No 15 has endeavoured to reclaim its formal and first name; Royal Kent Lodge. The path will be long and arduous and the protocols and procedures daunting. However, whilst there is a Duke of Kent ruling as Grand Master [of UGLE] it might just be that he would want to emulate his forebear and grant as a personal permission for the re-titling of Kent Lodge to ‘Royal’.

Post Postscript

A venture in 2008 by the members of the Royal Household to form a lodge called Royal Household Lodge looked destined for the rocks. The use of ‘Royal’ can only be by official permission, although the crux of the matter in this case seemed to be their desire to use the Royal cipher E11R on their regalia.  A watching brief on this case will be kept!


On a brief perusal of the UGLE Directory of Lodges it can also been seen that in the Grand Masterships of the last three Dukes of Kent the lodges formed that bear the Royal title amount to 21 [1813-1820], 0 [1939-1942] and 2 [1967 to date]. So the chances of reclaiming a title in this modern age is minimal and probably without precedent. But Masonic life can be lived in hope and somewhere, someone will continue to ‘tilt’. But masonic windmills are very sturdy.

References

 

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TEMPLARS - THAT'S WHERE THEY ARE

TemplarNew Age writers speculate greatly on the ancient traces of Freemasonry and other esoteric ponderable's. The inevitable conclusion simply begs the question that as Knights Templar crop up time and time again; where are they now? They must exist somewhere and I wondered if it was in Europe, possibly France?

By logging onto one of the search engines and simply calling up Knights Templar out will pop a list that ran to 9 templar organisations or “like” associations and with Templar links. e.g:

 

But before we think too much about Knights Templar let’s just tidy up what we mean by KT in the Masonic sense – many organisations, secretive and otherwise, were thought to have gone “underground” especially at the time of the Secret Societies Act (where Freemasonry was exempt) whereby societies hid themselves under the legitimacy of Freemasonry. Interestingly that led to the buying and selling of early warrants to operate as Masonic lodges and legalise these meetings and need I mention any other than the Royal Society itself.  As for Masonic KT as we know it, the earliest dates that are reliable are 1777 when activities in England and to some extent in Ireland, worked rituals under Chapters (by word of mouth).  The United Religious Military and Masonic Orders of the Temples of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, in England and Wales and provinces overseas therefore came about.  So effectively joining the previous two degrees of Knights Templar and Knights of Malta. It was not until 1791 that the Grand Conclave was formed encompassing 7 encampments and Thomas Dunkley was installed as the Grand Master.  It really took until 1885 however, when Knights Templar were regularised and is today’s highly valued within Masonic circles with membership, ceremonies and degrees practised in 190 preceptories.  A candidate for installation into Knighthood must be of the Christian faith, a Master mason and a Royal Arch mason.

The history of the Templars in a very much foreshortened form.  The International, Ecumenical and Military Order was founded in Jerusalem in 1118 by Hughes de Payens, Geoffrey de Saint-Omer and seven other noble knights.  The Order was consecrated for the protection of pilgrims and the defence of the Holy Land.  The founding knights took monastic vows and were known as “The Poor Knights of Christ”. King Baldwin II, the King of Jerusalem installed the Order in part of Palace of Jerusalem, thus Solomon’s Temple became their residence and armoury and from which the first reference of Knights of the Temple or Templars began.

It remains in question what they did for the first nine years but little policing of pilgrim routes took place. Apparently a lot of excavating under the temple mound did take place and thereafter their wealth seemed to escalate and their fame increase ? However, it cannot be denied that they played a great part in the three religious crusades, as did many other orders of chivalry. This was a way of getting your sins expunged by the Papacy.

In 1128 the Order was confirmed by Pope Honorius II who gave it who gave it a strict rule dedicated by Saint Bernard, the first Abbot of Claivaux and founder of the Cistercian Order. (Cistercian monks are so called due to their ability, in those days, to harness and use water systems in dry and arid lands and as such make themselves secure in their religious bastions with ample supplies of reserviored water, hence the word - cistern).  These Knights of the Temple received the white vestment as a symbol of purity to which in 1146 Pope Eugenius added “the red cross with two bars”.

The battle honours of the Templars were legion but later with the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the infidel Saladin, they withdrew to Acre and there they remained for the best part of 100 years. Eventually that city was taken and William de Beaujue their Grand Master dying in its defence.  The surviving Templars and New Grand Master were the last to leave that city and the Order withdrew to Cyprus but retained a headquarters in the Temple monastery in Paris. (even in those days it was an international order).  Their downfall came with the envy and greed of Philip the Fair, King of France who was greatly in their Order’s debt. (By this time they had become what we would know today as an international bank taking credit notes for transactions anywhere in the known world).  In 1307 he planned to seize their processions in France.   It was on Friday 13th (the unlucky 13th) that the final act took place when on that day in October 1307 the Templars were rounded up and imprisoned and thereafter put to the flame. But as they were only answerable to the Pope Philip set about coercing the Pope to act against them. Without any evidence of wrong doing Pope Clement V finally yielded and in 1312 issued a Papal Bull suppressing the Order.  The Order reverted to its original status as a Secular Military Order of Chivalry. Their then Grand Master Jacques de Molay it is said, under torture of having his feet roasted, (they later dismembered and he was known to carry them around in a linen sack from a wheeled chair) refused to admit any wrongdoing and remained imprisoned for 7 years later to be burned at the stake in March 1314. Their lands and processions were seized and handed over to the new custodians known as the Knights of Saint John.

It remains a mystery what became of them. On the historical front it is said some took their ships and found safe haven in the more liberal (non Catholic) parts of Europe. Some it is thought found their way to Scotland where there is considerable reference to them in Rosslyn Chapel, Near Edinburgh. There is speculation that when the battle of Banockburn turned in favour of the Scots due to the appearance of many warrior knights in white. These were likely Templars but those matters are for the history scholars who try to traverse the gulf of time through the middle ages from which a lot is lost.

What happened to them as an organisation; not purely an order of warrior monks.  It is said that prior to his martyrdom in 1314 Jacques de Molay invested Jean-Marc Larmenius with his powers; he was then recognised as the new Grand Master following de Molay’s death. He gathered up the dispersed remnants of the Order in 1324 and gave the Order a Charter of Transmission which is the Order that governs them today.

They continued in secret with an uninterrupted line of Grand Masters until 1705.  In that year a number of French nobles at a convention of Templars in Versailles elected the Philip, Duke of Orleans, later Regent of France as the Order’s 41st Grand Master.  This provided a renewal and legitimisation of the Order as a Secular Military Order of Chivalry.

After the Duke’s death in 1723 three Princes of Bourbon were Grand Masters of the Order until 1776 when the Duke de Cosse Brissac accepted the Grand Mastership and remained in office until his execution during the French Revolution in 1782.  Having foreseen the coming events he passed the archives and the Charter of transmission to Radix de Chevillon which enabled it to survive the revolution. In fact it went through a period of prosperity in France until the early 19th century, with many people of high office seeking admission.

Imagine the scene when King Louis XVI was executed and the French Revolution had run its bloody course. It was reported that many in the crowd who witnessed that execution left the guillotine square exclaiming the discourse “Jacques de Molay you are avenged”

Between 1818 and 1841 there was great expansion in the Order with over 20 Convents in France in addition to Priories set up in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.  There were also legations known to be established in Sweden, Brazil, India and New York. In 1940 when France and Belgium were invaded the Prince Regent Emile Joseph Isaac Vanbenburg who lived in Brussels ensured the Order’s survival by handing his rights (as Grand Master) to a neutral Portuguese nobleman, Count Antonio Campello Pinto de Sousa Fontes.  When he died in 1960 the appointment was passed through his Will to his son, Count Fernando de Sousa Fontes, the current Prince Regent. (and it is he who is now the Grand Master of the Order). The whole period from 1840 to date is known as the Prince Regent Period and for the first decade of this period the Grand Mastership was held by Edward VII of Great Britain.

It could be believed that with this lineage The Supreme Military Order Temple of Jerusalem, as it is now known and described above is more likely than not to be the genuine succeedents of the 1118 Order, those Poor Knights of Christ.

The aims of the Order are Christian and are:-

In addition to which there is their raison d’etre:

To maintain the monuments, archives and history of the Knights Templar

 

 

Admission to the Order is open to men and women over the age of 18 to which there are various levels including:

 

Successful applicants are made postulants and have to posse’s respectability and the noble virtues and motivation, among them a willingness to support the aims of the Order. Applicants are sponsored by a knight of dame, interviewed by the Magistral Grand Prior and either the Magistral Grand Chancellor or the Grand Marshal.

Successful applicants are made postulants for a year and upwards and after serving that time and displaying the honourable sentiments are elevate to “knight in waiting”. Then at a bi-annual ceremony become a Knight [or Dame] of the Order (KTJ).

The Grand Prior of the Supreme Military Order Temple of Jerusalem
[ORDO SUPREMUS MILITARIS TEMPLI HEIROSOLYMITANI], says:

 

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS – SO THAT’S WHERE THEY ARE !! – HOWEVER THIS ORGANISATION BECAME LATENT IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY LATER TO EMERGE FROM ITS CRYSALIS AT A REFORMED CHURCH CALLING ITSELF ‘OLD CATHOLIC’. HOPEFULLY THE TEMPLAR IDEALS WERE NOT LOST ALTHOUGH PRACTISING FREEMASONS WERE NOT WELCOME.

 

ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND

Order of Scotland SheildThe creme-de-la-creme of masonics or so they would wish you to believe is the Royal Order of Scotland. Really not much to do with Scotland but very popular mainly because it is difficult to gain membership. As with all other Masonic Orders to main requirement is to be a master mason for a period of time. In his case it is added to invariably by needing to be in two other ‘Christian’ orders, usually KT or RC and in some cases having to have been through the Chair of one or both. As with other popular orders the main interest is its exclusivity and the knowledge that it is a hard grind to gain access. The waiting list per grouping is long (there are 8 groupings in the country with a further 30 around the World). So on pre-qualifying and a wait of about three years the brother is accepted and has to pass through two degrees. These take place at the same meeting and the first disappointment is that he in one of, say, six, or a dozen going through. All together and hand-on-shoulder fashion. The he is regaled with the most stupid ceremonies, cobbling together many aspects of other degrees, all conducted in a Rupert Bear, rhyming couplets fashion. It is truly silly. But he will be in the company of an elite gang with whom he may well find solace and Masonic romance.


It is claimed the Order started in 1741 but (loosely) goes back to Robert the Bruce albeit he had bee in his grave for 300 years, but in essence it saw a vast resurgence after the Union of 1813 when the staunch ‘Anti’s’, the Antients were still disenfranchised by the marriage of the two grand lodges and took their ideals and membership to the Royal Order. This was harking back to the days of almost a century before when the Jacobite cause was at its fiercest. The Antient Brethren from Scotland and Ireland who formed the Grand Lodge of the Antients (Atholls) where very much against the politics of the day politics of the day. The drain on the Masonic purse to the Whig establishment was barely tolerated. Hence the breakaway but these protestations lingered and when some sixty-odd years later the Union came about they resurrected and these brethren took their working tools to greener and more ‘antient’ pastures in the Royal Order. Only a theory but worth the paper it’s written on. As for the Order it can be said to be very popular, hard to gain admission and total bull-s**t !

 

 

DUE or AMPLE FORM?

Introduction

Sitting in Grand Lodge for the Quarterly Communications you will be struck by the use of the term ‘In Ample Form’ as part of the opening and closing. For clarity in later parts of this paper it has to be noted that the Quarterly Communications are usually always presided over by the Pro Grand Master, if not the Grand Master. So what is ‘Ample’ form when in lodges the term ‘Due’ form is used ?

Laurence Dermott GC

In an earlier paper on the Idiosyncrasies of Laurence Dermott, essentially following up on a book on this colossus of Freemasonry, the following was stated:

Whereas meetings of Grand Lodge were in essence formal affairs with a considerable amount of administration to be dealt with, various proposals to be heard and decisions to be made, there was nonetheless an element of jollity and ribaldry.  This juxtaposed with the formality and correctness of whether a Grand Lodge was opened in ‘due form’ or ‘ample form’ (the latter being with his Lordship presiding (if ever)), showing Dermott’s pernickety attention to detail. From his book of Constitutions, wherein songs are recorded, there seems to be an expectation of singing and merrymaking, all of course whilst partaking of copious amounts of liquor and consuming a hearty meal.

 

 

Dermott clearly was pernickety about this, as he was with many other aspects of his Antient Freemasonry. Bearing in mind Grand Masters rarely (if ever) attended Grand Lodge, the kernel of this pontificating may be surmised. His use of the word ‘lordships’ need not be taken as a lord of the realm, although in his era this was usually the case, with the Earls of Blessington, Killie and the Duke of Atholl being the first three. The term is more generic and refers to the Grand Master. This of course was the essence of Laurence’s power as without a Grand Master present he could rule the roost as the Grand Secretary. Two aspects of this state of affairs are noted:

‘Every Grand Master of the Antients was installed in his own private apartment or rooms and in no case did any of them attend Grand Lodge for this purpose.  In fact they rarely attended for any purpose.  From time to time they were appraised of the business of the Grand Lodge and no doubt their acquiescence sought. The power lay to all intents and purposes with the officers of the Grand Lodge, the most dominant claiming to be acting on behalf of the Grand Master’.

‘The role of Grand Master in this period was solely one of being a figurehead.  It may well have been that once or twice a year papers for signature were put before him but in all other respects the day to day business of the Grand Lodge was undertaken by the Grand Secretary.  As an interesting footnote there is long and tedious argument by Matthew Bywater  as to whether the signatures of the 4th Duke were bone-fide, or whether they had been made ‘on the GM’s behalf’ by Laurence himself.  There are tortuous researches into the quality of handwriting and style that seem to neither prove nor disprove anything.   What however is the case, is that, for the main part Laurence Dermott’s signature was significant.  He certainly signed all the warrants throughout his period and that signature seems to have been sufficient to carry the day.   There are many Antients lodges extant that proudly boast that their warrant bears the signature of Laurence Dermott’.

Other References

When scanning the literature it is not hard to find references to this Due or Ample quirk, some from abroad, vis:


Masonic Terms Defined

Form:
A lodge is always opened and closed in Form on the degrees of Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft except when the Grand Master presides.


Due Form:
Meaning according to the ancient usages and customs, the laws and ritual of the Grand Lodge. A lodge is always opened and closed in Due Form on the degree of Master Mason except when the Grand Master presides.


Ample Form:
The Grand Master may open and close a lodge in shortened form to save time.  His power and authority are "ample" to accomplish his purpose, regardless of the manner in which he does it.


The Masonic Word a Dictionary

AMPLE FORM: Opening or closing of any Lodge or Grand Lodge by the Grand Master; opposed to "due form" or "full form" which is according to the prescribed ceremonies. Even when the full form is used in opening or closing a Grand Master's ceremonies are said to be conducted in "ample form." When Grand Lodges and Lodges are opened or closed by qualified officers other than Grand Masters or Masters, they are sometimes said to be opened or closed "in form."

TRUE RESOLUTION LODGE

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Washington was formed in 1903-4 and 16 years later a group of men, led by R.R. Lawrence, contacted this Grand Lodge for a dispensation. This was granted September 29th, 1919.


On July 26th, 1920 at a stated communication of True Resolution Lodge No. 16 UD in Vancouver BC, Most Worshipful Grand Master E.H. Holmes along with Grand Senior Warden W. D. Cole and DDGM A.H. Huddleston were in attendance. The gavel of Authority and the Peg of Knowledge were given to the Grand Master where he proceeded to open a Grand Lodge in Ample Form for the consecration, dedication and constitution of True Resolution Lodge and the installation of its officers.


The Grand Marshall proclaimed that True Resolution Lodge was regularly constituted, dedicated and its officers installed. This was followed by an address by our first Worshipful Master R. R. Lawrence who expressed great approval of the consolidation and his willingness to be submissive to the Grand Lodge and its officers. After a brief lecture by the JW, business was completed and the Lodge closed in due form.

All is Clear

The stipulated forms are; FORM; DUE FORM; AMPLE FORM and it hinges on ‘who’ presides. In the case of regular lodges their meeting being presided over by the Worshipful Master (assuming work up to the 3rd degree) DUE FORM is correct.


Only when a Grand Master is presiding is the term AMPLE form appropriate, as is the case with Provincial, District and Metropolitan Grand Lodges and Grand Lodge itself. It now becomes very clear why Dermott became pernickety about the term Ample as rarely (if ever) did a Grand master attend Grand lodge. This is stated in relation to the Antients Grand Lodge, it may not be correct for the Moderns Grand Lodge. So in the absence of the Grand Master who else will officiate and still correctly open and close in ‘Ample' form ?

Pro

The rank of Deputy Grand Master or Assistant Grand Master does not suffice in respect of this quandary. However, Grand Lodges often have a ‘Pro’ Grand Master with such powers vested as with the Grand Master (OED; per pro – by proxy). The confusion that often arises is that ‘pro’ means ‘programme’ as in assisting with the programme of work. But in many ways this is more akin to the role of  ‘Vice’ as in Viceroyal. Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India and carried out his duties on behalf of the Monarch and with full powers thereof.
The role of ‘pro’ was in place in the Moderns Grand Lodge before the Union of 1813 and in the mid 1700s an ‘Acting’ Grand Master became known as the Pro Grand Master. However, in 1782 The Earl of Effingham formally assumed the office when the G M, the Prince of Wales, was elected Grand Master. Grand Lodge then decided:

That whenever a Prince of the Blood did the Society the honour to accept the office of Grand Master, he should be a liberty to nominate any peer of the realm to be Acting Grand Master.

 

 

This is the nub of the matter ! The rank (Acting/Pro) is only created when the head of the Fraternity is a Prince of the Blood Royal, probably giving rise to the misconception of ‘assisting with the programme’ of work, although granted this is a distinct part of the job. Therefore when acting as such (as Grand Master) the term ‘Ample’ is correct.            

Conclusion

Regular lodges are ‘due’ and when (and only when) the Grand Master or his Pro presides are they ‘ample’. Let’s hope that one day each lodge will have a Grand Master (visiting) in that role and therefore can experience the latter. Hopefully no lodge will have to endure opening only in ‘form’, although to be correct on some times it should.

Reference

Lawrence, 1st Earl of Zetland, was first Pro Grand Master in 1834. The Premier (Moderns) had two acting Grand Masters: Thomas 3rd Earl of Effingham (1782-9) and the Earl of Moira (1790-1813) both standing in for Royals (Cumberland and the Prince of Wales). No need for anything similar in the Antients. I presume that the Pro has full power in UGLE as that is his purpose, when the GM is absent. 


(Martin Cherry – Librarian FM Hall – London)    Jan 2010

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HERMES

Hermes is the great Messenger of the gods in Greek mythology as well as a guide to the Underworld. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travellers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travellers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of  athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.


His symbols include the tortoise, the cock, the winged sandals, and the caduceus. In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury, who, though inherited from the Etruscans, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.

Hermes was depicted on the wand tops of the Deacons in Antient’s working. Moderns did not initially have deacons as the Wardens undertook the floor work.

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THE PROSPECT of FUTURITY

PAUL GARDNER traces the story of William Holroyd Price a Son of Wales and the advent of cremations.

Price Augustus Fredrick The Duke of Sussex was born on 27th January 1773, the 6th son of George III, known as the “Mad King” and in his adulthood was to bless freemasonry as another of its Royal Grand Masters.

In the first half of the 19th century London started to see the move to public cemeteries as churchyards were filling to capacity This was given a boost in 1843 by the first royal to be buried at the first public cemetery, Kensal Green. That was the Duke of Sussex. He wanted his second wife to join him in his grave when she died and of course that would not be allowed at Windsor as she was a commoner. It was further boosted by his sister Princess Sophia being buried there five years later as she wanted to be close to her favourite brother. She had a terrible life being confined to court as her mother, Queen Charlotte’s, companion. She was blind for the last ten years of her life. It led to a real estate rush with anyone who was anyone trying to get a plot on the main Broadway of the cemetery, or at least as near as they could. Kensal Green became famous.


Prior to its fame Kensal Green, being one of the world’s first garden cemeteries and the doyen of London’s magnificent seven, received its first funeral in January 1833.  The cemetery was innovative in having most of the site consecrated by the Church of England but reserving the eastern spur for dissenters and others to practise their own rights.  Today, people of many faiths and denominations are buried throughout the cemetery.  The plan for this first London cemetery was initiated as early as 1821.  The cemetery eventually being established by Parliament in 1832 during a cholera epidemic; a coincidence that implicitly made a case for reform.  But further more radical reform was to come about half a century later !

Other burials include some 500 members of the titled nobility and over 55 individuals noted in the Dictionary of National Biography.  Kensal Green is the resting place for Sir Mark Isambard Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the mathematician Charles Babbidge; the novelists Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope and William Makepeace Thackery, Lord Byron’s wife and Oscar Wilde’s mother. Charles Dickens’s in-laws and Winston Churchill’s daughter; an army doctor and surgeon who attended Nelson at Trafalgar; the creator of Pears soap and the original W H Smith; and of course many others.  The cemetery boasts some 140 Grade I and II listed buildings and monuments including a magnificent Anglican chapel, a dissenter’s chapel and the main gate.  It was predominately designed in the spirit of an English country park emulating plans including those of Eton Hall and Syon Park.  The cemetery was much commended for its beauty and tranquillity. It also houses West London Crematorium, a later addition.

Back in 1882, the Council of the Cremation Society was requested by Captain Hanham of Blandford, Dorset, to undertake the cremation of two deceased members of his family who had left expressed instructions to that effect. The Home Secretary, when applied to, repeated his previous objections and the Society was thus unable to comply with the request of Captain Hanham, who consequently erected a crematorium on his own estate and proceeded to cremate his wife and mother on 8th and 9th October. Captain Hanham himself died about a year later and was also cremated there. Although these events excited much comment in the Press, the Home Office took no action.

In 1884 William Holroyd Price, a medical doctor, sticking to his belief that nothing should contaminate the soil and no doubt distressed by the death of his 5 month old son, decided to carry out a cremation. Dr. Price claimed to be a Druid High Priest and performed the rites dressed in a white tunic over green trousers. The child was born on the 8th August 1883 to his wife Gwenllian after he had dreamed of a god like son whom he blasphemously named Iesu Grist (Jesus Christ).  Devastated at the loss and a firm advocator of cremation as the Druids had always been, Price planned to cremate his son on the hilltop of East Caerans above Llantrisant on the 13th January 1884.  Using a paraffin cask adapted for the purpose, in the evening of that night 2 local colliers saw smoke rising from the hill and discovered the macabre event. 


Later an inquest was held which showed that the child had probably died from convulsions and returned a verdict of death from natural causes. The trial at Glamorganshire Assizes in Cardiff was held on Tuesday 12th February and Price was charged with causing a public nuisance by cremating a baby who had not been registered before an inquest.  Dr Price in defending himself brilliantly proclaimed “it is not right that a carcass should be allowed to rot and decompose in this way, with the resultant wastage of good land, pollution of earth and water and air and a constant danger to all living creatures”.  Following the 2 day trial he was discharged. The result of the trial, announced in February, 1884, was the breakthrough the Cremation Society had been waiting for. Mr. Justice Stephen delivered his all important pronouncement that cremation is legal provided no nuisance is caused in the process to others. Following this, Dr. Price tried to claim 3,000 guineas damages against the police for preventing the completion of his son's cremation. He was, however, awarded the nominal sum of only one farthing. After this success Price successfully cremated the remains on the 14th March and commemorated it by having 3000 oval shaped medals struck in bronze which he sold at 3d each.

The year 1902 was memorable because it was in this year that there was passed an Act of Parliament for the Regulation of burning of human remains, and to enable burial authorities to establish crematoria. Cremation had achieved a form of governmental regulation and it thereby became officially recognised in the highest quarters. The new Act of Parliament gave powers to the Home Secretary to make Regulations which were published as Statutory Rules and Orders in March 1903. Prior to this in London the Council of the Cremation Society was seeking a site for a crematorium on the north side of London and, after many years of failure, at last succeeded in obtaining a piece of land adjacent to Hampstead Heath. In 1900, at the instigation of the Council of the Cremation Society, the London Cremation Company Limited was formed with the object of establishing a crematorium on the new-found site. The necessary funds were obtained and a distinguished architect, Sir Ernest George, R.A., was appointed to plan what was to become one of the most well known crematoria in the whole of the world, namely Golders Green.

Parliament, having given its formal sanction to cremation in 1902, had the backing of the Church of England. It argued there were no theological problems with cremation as no variation in the form of burial could affect the resurrection of the body. In 1910, however, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey insisted that Sir Joseph Hooker’s remains be cremated if he were to be interned there. All subsequent burials at the Abbey have been of cremated remains.

As for Dr Price he had four legitimate children, and probably plenty of illegitimate ones. Iesu Grist (died 1884 and cremated), Hiarlles, Iesu Grist II (renamed Nicholas) and Penelopen. As with any ‘Son’ he had his eccentricities. The most bizarre being his robes and costumes, always topped off with a headdress made of a whole fox skin including the head. Dr Price's cremation took place on East Caerlan fields near where the farm currently stands. He never lived in this house. His own home was demolished and replaced by Zoar Chapel on High Street. At the grand age of 93 in 1893 his faithful wife knelt by his side to ask if he would take some cider, his response was; no give me champagne and after sipping he closed his eyes and died. Gwenllian was determined to carry out his final wishes on how to dispose of his body and so the first pre-arranged cremation in Wales took place.  Admission tickets were issued for this main event on the 21st January 1893 and people began arriving as early as 4 a.m. and by the time of the funeral it was estimated 20,000 people were in Llantrisant where a carnival mood prevailed and the pubs ran dry.  A romantic eccentric to the end.  A True Son of Wales.

This detective story began with the purchase of a broken Royal Arch Centenary Jewel on Ebay assigned to Chapter of Charity No 187 and dated 1769 so presumably struck after 1869.  The hallmark was for 1882 but the inscription on the reverse said ‘Companion William Holroyd Price’. Could this man, a Son of Wales, have been a freemason? 


Initial searches were via Quatuor Coronati confirmed no references to a brother by this name in their records. A later enquiry to the Library and Museum of United Grand Lodge of England in London also confirmed that they had no references to him. So the trail then ran back to the seller of the jewel who said it had come from her grandfather who presumably knew Price through his Masonic activities.  Contact followed with the Provincial Grand Lodge of South Wales and the Secretary’s and Scribe E’s of various lodges and chapters and in particular the Chapter of Charity.


The trail looked extremely good and it was likely this was a lost mason for whom history had dealt an interesting hand.  However, soon afterwards the  train hit the buffers when the Scribe E of Chapter No 189 confirmed that from their extant records a William Holroyd Price had been exalted to that chapter in 1882, a 36 year old “surveyor of  taxes”. 
Sad as it was, the masonic connection had ended, but nonetheless a very interesting story of an eccentric was revealed.  No doubt had Price been so minded, being socially conscious, he would have made a good mason.



Everyone at sometime will encounter the ”Prospect of Futurity”. In masonic terms it is  brought into focus in the ceremony of the 3rd degree, the ‘raising’ to a master mason, when the candidate is invited to reflect on the awesome subject of death. But, having symbolically re-enacted the colourful character of Hiram Abif, the candidate is happily reunited with the brothers of his labours. Perhaps this is best taken as a practise or rehearsal for the real event at the end of a brother’s passage on this Earth.  Death is a funny thing !

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ANNO LUCIS


Masonic years are 4004 prior to the calendar in use today, although commonly rounded to 4000.

This is why:


Ussher now concentrated on his research and writing and returned to the study of chronology and the church fathers. After a 1647 work on the origin of the Creeds, Ussher published a treatise on the calendar in 1648. This was a warm-up for his most famous work, the Annales veteris testamenti, a prima mundi origine deducti ("Annals of the Old Testament, deduced from the first origins of the world"), which appeared in 1650, and its continuation, Annalium pars postierior, published in 1654. In this work, he calculated the date of the Creation to have been nightfall preceding 23 October 4004 BC. (Other scholars, such as Cambridge academic, John Lightfoot, calculated their own dates for the Creation.) The time of the Ussher chronology is frequently misquoted as being 9 a.m., noon or 9 p.m. on 23 October. See the related article on the chronology for a discussion of its claims and methodology.


Scholar, professor of divinity, and vice-chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, who subsequently became Bishop of Meath and, in 1625, archbishop of Armagh. He is noted as a strict exponent of the Mosaic cosmogony. Taking biblical accounts of the period from the Creation to the time of classical civilizations literally, in ad 1650 he famously published a book entitled Annales veteris et novi testamenti in which he set out his calculation to show that the earth was created in 4004 bc. This was widely accepted and from 1701 was printed in the margins of the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible. Later, Bishop Lightfoot asserted that it was in fact nine o'clock in the morning of 23 October 4004 bc when the world first came into existence.


James Ussher

Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland

 

See

Armagh

Enthroned

1625

Ended

1656

Predecessor

Christopher Hampton

Successor

John Bramhall (from 1661)

Ordination

1602

Consecration

1626

Other

Professor, Trinity College, Dublin,

 

Born

4 January 1581
Dublin

Denomination

Church of Ireland

 

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LIFEJACKETS & KNIGHTHOODS


This item is attributed to John Hamill, the Director of Special Projects, UGLE.


The tribulations within the Royal Naval Lodge took up an inordinate amount of the time not only of the premier Grand Lodge itself but of its Committee of Charity (which in addition to its charitable function worked as a sort of Board of General Purposes) and the special Committee set up to investigate the charges laid against members of the lodge. The reason Grand Lodge took such an interest was money. The premier Grand Lodge had large debts resulting from the building of the first Freemasons’ Hall in 1775 and its later extension and renovation. To reduce the debts they introduced a Liquidation Fund and required lodges to pay a levy to the fund in respect of each of the members of their lodge. The investigation committee found that Royal Naval Lodge owed £168 – 4s – 6d in registration fees to Grand Lodge, had paid nothing into the Liquidation Fund in the years 1799, 1805 or 1807 and had made no returns of names or monies since April 1807.
As so often happens, the problems in the lodge centred around one character: Francis Columbine Daniel. A successful surgeon and apothecary, Daniel was a strong minded character of decided views who brooked no opposition. He was a member of lodges under both the premier and the Antients Grand Lodge and had a great interest in charity. He persuaded members of the Royal Naval Lodge to set up and fund a charity to clothe and educate the sons of indigent or deceased Freemasons, which in 1816 united with the similar charity under the Antients Grand Lodge to become the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. Outside Freemasonry, Daniel is remembered for two things: inventing an inflatable life vest for sailors, which won him gold medals from both the Royal Humane Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and gaining a knight hood by accident. Attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace he joined what he thought was a queue waiting to be presented to the King and was somewhat amazed when he was asked to kneel and had each shoulder tapped with a sword! Having been dubbed he could not be “un – dubbed” but his accident caused a major review of the procedures for the installation of future knights.

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A POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE

This phrase features in the ‘opening’ of the 3rd degree in freemasonry when the Wardens are asked “What is a centre” and the response is “a point within a circle from which every part of the circumference is equidistant”, then followed by “that being a point from which a Master Mason cannot err”. In 18thc ritual this would have been”…..… from which the Master cannot err’. What therefore does this mean? A vexed question of which a lot has been written, Makey for example:

As knowledge of the customs of gilds, fraternities, churches, and of popular customs in the Middle Ages is increased it becomes ever more evident that the two Sts. John Days were in everybody's mind the two fixed points of the year, and that where we measure time in our minds from New Year's Day (St. John the Evangelist's Day was equivalent to it) they measured it from two extremes, one the shortest day in winter, the other the longest day in summer.

The early prominence of these two Days in Masonic customs need not there fore mean that the days were chosen for their religious significance; it rather may mean that they were chosen for their convenience as a calendar. It is doubtful if Masons ever thought of the Sts. John as their Patron Saints until a late period; from the records of the Mason Companies (as noted on another page in this Supplement), some of them took St. Thomas as their Patron.

The Monitorial Lectures make it plain that the two Parallel Lines represent the Sts. John Evangelist and Baptist, not in their theological significance but in their sense as a calendar; the days named after those, Saints, rather than the Saints themselves, are denoted.

Since those days were the two extremes of the year, the sun is correctly represented as swinging in its circuit between them, for it cannot move south this side of the fixed point of the day named for the Evangelist nor go north beyond the fixed point of the day represented by the Baptist. The two days are the limits of its circle, therefore the circle is shone set between the lines. The Point Within the Circle represents the year, a year of work, a year out of a man's life; at least it does if the history of its use is a true guide to its symbolic meaning. To follow that guide is not to narrow the symbolism down to a mere fact in the calendar, but is to canalize it, and to hold it fast to its Masonic meaning, lest commentators wander off into regions that have no connection with Freemasonry.

Is this credible and does it leave the reader more vexed. What is of more interest is the Washington Monument, which if the conspiracy theorist’s are correct is just one of the Masonic symbols in and around Washington DC. As the theory goes the Founding Fathers were predominantly masons who were starting a new world order based on the principles of Freemasonry.

What is not known about this monument is the fact that when seen from above the circular plinth on which it stands is a perfect circle and the ‘point’ of the capping pyramid forms exactly….. A point within a circle !

It is worth contemplating if there is any ‘specific’ significance to such a construct as a point within a circle.

Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy," the "father of modern physics," the "father of science," and "the Father of Modern Science."

The motion of uniformly accelerated objects, taught in nearly all high school and introductory college physics courses, was studied by Galileo as the subject of kinematics. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots.

Galileo's championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime, when a large majority of philosophers and astronomers still subscribed (at least outwardly) to the geocentric view that the Earth is at the centre of the universe. After 1610, when he began publicly supporting the heliocentric view, which placed the Sun at the centre of the universe, he met with bitter opposition from some philosophers and clerics, and two of the latter eventually denounced him to the Roman Inquisition early in 1615. In February 1616, although he had been cleared of any offence, the Catholic Church nevertheless condemned heliocentrism as "false and contrary to Scripture", and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it—which he promised to do. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, he was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy," forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest, dying in 1642 (aged 77).

Europe was dominated by the Catholic faith, especially Italy, Spain and to a lesser degree France who had all supplied Popes to the Vatican See. Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy. Although in the great part of his reign he brutally suppressed the influence of the Protestant Reformation in England, a movement having some roots with John Wycliffe in the 14th century, he is more popularly known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry's struggles with Rome ultimately led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. He changed religious ceremonies and rituals and closed down the monasteries, while remaining a fervent believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church following the annulment of his marriage to first wife Catherine of Aragon and the marriage to his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Royal support for the English Reformation began with his heirs, the devout Edward VI and the renowned Elizabeth I, whilst daughter Mary I temporarily reinstated papal authority over England. Henry also oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. He is also noted for his six wives, two of whom were beheaded.

A turbulent 300 years ahead in England flipping between Protestantism and Catholicsism and against a backdrop of wars and conflicts with Europe with their unshakable Catholic faith.

The first Grand Lodge was formalised in 1717 and took the title The Pemier Grand Lodge of England. This was only 75 years after Galileo was incarcerated and perished  for his radical beliefs. Where would these beliefs be allowed to surface and flourish ?
By the end of the century, with sedition rife and the worries of a copycat French Rebvolution [1789-1799], secret societies legislation was envisaged by 1790’s.

The Unlawful Societies Act of 1795 came about and the most prominent of the radical bodies which sprang up after 1789 was the London Corresponding Society.  In 1794, a number of its leaders were arrested and tried for treason.  These trials were unsuccessful, but subsequent legislation and internal difficulties had by 1797 reduced the influence of the L.C.S.  From this time, an increasingly close alliance developed between Irish republican movements and those on the British mainland, with the formation of societies of United Englishmen and United Scotsmen on the Irish model.  The situation became more tense and on April 19 1799, the House of Commons debated the report of its secret committee.  Pitt rose to announce the measures proposed by his government.  The suspension of Habeas Corpus was to continue, and powers would be sought to move prisoners about the country as the government sought fit.  Pitt continued:  ‘we must proceed still further, now that we are engaged in a most important struggle with the restless and fatal spirit of Jacobinism, assuming new shapes and concealing its malignant and destructive designs under new forms and new practices. In order to oppose it with effect, we must also from time to time adopt new modes, and assume new shapes.’  Not only should the societies mentioned by name in the secret committees report, the L.C.S., the United Irish, the United Britons, the United Scotsmen and the United Englishmen, be suppressed, but all societies of this type should be made unlawful.  Pitt described the characteristics of the societies he wanted to outlaw: ‘These marks are, wicked and illegal engagements of mutual fidelity and secrecy by which the members are bound; the secrecy of electing members unknown to the bulk of the members; presidents and committees, which, veiling themselves from the general mass and knowledge of the members, plot and conduct the treason – I propose that all societies which administer such oaths shall be declared unlawful confederacies…’

Such wide ranging legislation was bound to create problems by inadvertently catching in its net harmless and respectable activities.  Many of these difficulties became apparent when the bill came to committee on 6 May.  The restrictions on lectures created difficulties for such places as the Inns of Court and Chancery, and exemptions for these were added to the bill.  Exclusions from the restrictions on printers were inserted for the King’s printer and the two university presses.  The kind of absurd situation to which the bill could potentially give rise was illustrated by one exchange in which an MP asked ‘whether astronomical lectures came under the exempting clauses, as the Justices were not compelled, but only allowed to grant licences’.  Pitt replied that such occasions ‘might be made a cloak for seditious lectures’.
                                                                       
One major difficulty which had become apparent was the position of freemasons.  The provisions of the bill against the use of secret oaths in societies potentially placed freemasons in a difficult position, although arguably these oaths were outside the scope of the bill since they were not seditious.  More problematic was the requirement that initiations should take place in a public meeting.  The grand lodges must also have been uneasily aware that they did not have a comprehensive register of members of the sort required by the bill, and that the compilation and distribution of such a register would have been an enormous undertaking.

The actions of the Antients Grand Lodge and the assurances given to Pitt convinced him that the Grand Lodges were determined to ensure that freemasonry could not be used as a front for radical activity, and at the committee stage of the bill Pitt himself accordingly introduced amendments to exempt them from the act.  He proposed what was essentially a system of self regulation operated by the Grand Lodges.

Following considerable debate and discussion the amendment envisaged a system whereby the Grand Secretaries would each year deposit with the clerks of the peace a certificate containing details of the time and place of meeting of all approved lodges in the county, together with a declaration that the lodges were approved by the Grand Master.  All lodges were to keep a book in which each member was to declare, on joining, ‘that he is well affected to the constitution and government of this realm, by Kings, Lords, and Commons, as by law established’.  This book was to be kept open for inspection by local magistrates.  The Grand Lodges were thus to be made responsible for policing freemasonry; lodges whose names did not appear on the return made by the grand Secretaries would be criminal conspiracies.
                                                     
Thus we now know why lodge warrants and furniture were sought after when they came on to the market. Many societies, debating and otherwise, were keen to hide their light under the bushel of Freemasonry. These were ‘SECRET’ places; more so places where debate and free thinking could take place away from the politics of the church hierarchy.

The main legacy of the 1795 act was the various returns made to the clerk of the peace.  The returns of printers, continued until 1865 when the restrictions on publications and reading rooms were lifted, are a vital source of information on the history of provincial publishing.  The returns of freemasons, continued up to 1967 and still preserved in county records offices, have been little used as a source of Masonic history.  The returns are probably fuller for the earlier nineteenth century than later; in 1920 the London clerk of the peace estimated that only half the lodges made returns.  However, the Act seems to have been appreciated by grand Lodges, which perhaps felt that it gave them some standing in law and also provided a potential means of proceeding against lodges acting irregularly. In 1920, Grand Lodge circularized lodge secretaries reminding them to make their returns, prompting the secretary of a lodge in Clapton to write to Lloyd George urging him to repeal the old act.

Much later as a result of the Second World War and a lack of Parliamentary time for legislation a compromise was agreed whereby the Attorney General agreed not to prosecute any freemasons’ lodges under the terms of the act, and clerks of the peace were asked to accept returns without comment. Consequently, it was not until the major criminal law reform of the 1967 Criminal Justice Act that the 1799 Unlawful Societies Act was finally repealed.

This confirms that the ‘body’ of masonry was elitist, educated and upper class with a fair proportion of aristocracy tinged with Royalty. The influx of ‘thinkers’ and agnostics, seeking truth through science cannot be ignored. For these were the men who would have taken to heart Galileo’s theories and easily accepted that the Sun was the centre of the universe, quite the antithesis of the Papalcy who stuck to the dogma of the Earth being the centre point.
Therefore it is not inconceivable that freemasonry ‘does’ hold a great and inviolable secret…..That hidden behind the veil has always been a body of men, thinkers and radicals, who know the Sun is the centre and the Earth revolves around it, and they retain an echo of this truism in their ritual. A point within a circle !

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AM I NOT a MAN and A BROTHER

The heritage of blacks and slavery in the Americas is well documented. What is not so well understood is the role of blacks in freemasonry. Maybe 99 out of 100 masons do NOT know what Prince Hall Freemasonry is? Slavery in the America’s spanned 1619 till 1865 and for most school students revolved around the need for labour to work the plantations of the Americas.

The British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.  The Act gave all the slaves in the British Empire their freedom.  The British Government paid compensation to the slave owners. The amount that the plantation owners received depended on the number of slaves they had. For example the Bishop of Exeter’s 665 slaves resulted in him receiving £12,700.

British captains who were caught continuing the trade were fined £100 for every slave found on board. However, this did not stop the British slave trade.  When in danger of being captured by the British Navy captains often reduced the fines they had to pay by ordering the slaves to be thrown into the sea.

The history of slavery in the USA began soon after the English Colonial colonists first settled in Virginia and lasted until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution.  Before the widespread establishment of chattel led slavery much labour was organised under the system of bonded labour known as indentured servitude.  This technically lasted for a period of 4-7 years for black and white alike and was a means of using labour to pay the costs of transporting people to the colonies.  By 1662 court rulings had established the racial basis of the American incarnation of slavery. This was to apply chiefly to the Africans and people of African descent and occasionally to Native Americans. Because of the Southern colonies devotion of resources to a labour-intensive tobacco culture the slave trade was rife. By the end of the 17th century they had a higher proportion of slaves than in the North. However, slavery was widespread in the Northern agricultural areas.  The majority of slave holding was of course in the Southern US. According to the 1816 US censure nearly 4 million slaves were held in a total population of just over 12 million. (1/3rd)  In the 15 states in which slavery was still legal the wealth of the US in the first half of the 19th century was greatly enhanced by the exploitation of labour of enslaved African Americans.  But with the Union victory in the Civil War the slave labour system was abolished in the South.

The pitiful cargo being!

It is worth reflecting on why this population of Africans were considered fodder for slavery. It is clear they were considered a racial underclass and worth little more than animals but added to this there is the Christian dogma that in Old Testament Biblical terms they had the “Mark of Cain”  known to show itself as brown skin.  They were damned from the beginning.  It is not the purpose of this paper to dwell on the suffering and hardships of slaves, their plight is well documented.  Suffice it to say their treatment and life was grim and full of abuse following the culture that they were no more than animals to be worked to death.  For example the popular punishment for those who ran away was, on capture, to shackle them in stocks and with a sledge hammer break their ankles.  This then on healing meant they could barely walk and hobbled.  The practise was known as “hobbling”.  In addition to this beatings and whippings were legendry and the only worth to a plantation owner and his overseers was work or death.  Death of a slave was not an issue as a new batch could be easily and cheaply purchased when the next slave ship docked.                                                                                                

So where did our mighty Country and Empire stand in all of this ? Our sea captains, merchants and nobility were heavily engrossed in this three-way trade. Outbound to Africa with goods, across to the Americas with slaves and the return leg to Bristol or Liverpool with sugar or cotton. This incidentally brought down the price of sugar in England and made it affordable to many. And many a fortune was made. All protected by Parliament with the Navy shielding these vessels from the ravages of piracy on the high seas. The Indies were often the disembarkation point with Jamaica taking on this role as one of the British outposts. In the case of the slaves any name (concocted in fun by the slave marshal) was charcoaled on a card strung around their neck.

Eventually slavery was abolished by Parliament in 1805 when the law came on to the Statute Book in 1807 making it illegal to trade in slaves. This, however, did not end the trade or our ships participation in it. It took till 1833 for the final Abolition Act to hit the Statute Book; the triggers were:                                                                                       

 

  1. UK ACT of 1833

The American War of Independence 1775 to 1783 also forms part of the wider backdrop inasmuch that the British were loosing their colonies in the Americas and many a troubled fight was enacted on that continent. We all recall the exploits of  General Woofe and his scaling the Heights of Abraham;  a signal victory at Quebec. But the die was cast and regardless of our best efforts the cause was lost. Distance being the main factor. To fight a war across the Atlantic with the obvious supply-line issues was never to be successful.
                                               
Also known as The American Revolutionary War it was a war between the kingdom of Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the North American continent.  The war was the culmination of the political American revolution whereby the colonists overthrew British rule. Throughout the war the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy the coastal cities; but control of the inner countryside where 90% of the population lived largely eluded them, due to the relatively small land army.  In 1778 after an American victory at Saratoga France entered the war against Britain.  Spain and the Netherlands joined as allies of France over the next 2 years.  The French involvement proved decisive with a French naval victory at Chesapeake leading to the surrender of the British army at Yorktown in 1781.  The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war and recognised the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by what is now Canada in the North and Florida in the South and the Mississippi river to the west.  But it was against this military mire the main character in our look at Prince Hall freemasonry emerges and specifically we can look at the South Staffordshire Regiment 38th Foot.

Significant landmarks in the history of the Americas were:

                                                           
The American Civil War is sometimes referred to as the War for Southern Independence and this probably better describes its backdrop against slavery.  On April 12th 1861 confederate General Gordon Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbour, South Carolina.  The war had begun. It ran for 4 years until May 1865 when the last confederate army surrendered.  The war took many thousands of lives; destroyed property valued at $5 billion and brought freedom to 4 million black slaves.  The open wounds are not completely healed more than 140 years later.

The chief and immediate cause of the war was slavery. The Southern states including the eleven states that formed the Confederacy depended on slavery to support their economy. Southerners used slave labour to produce crops especially cotton.

By 1860 the North and South had developed into 2 very different regions.  Divergent social, economic, land and political points of view dating from colonial times gradually drove the two factions further apart.  Each tried to impose its view on the country as a whole although compromises had kept the Union together for many years. By 1860 the situation was explosive.  The election of Abraham Lincoln as President was viewed by the south as a threat to slavery and ignited the war.  The North was firmly established as an industrial society and labour was needed, but not slave labour. Immigration was encouraged from Europe to work in factories, build the railroads of the north, and settle the west.

'Bring me your huddled masses’, proudly exclaimed the epithet on the Statue of Liberty. Very few settled in the South. The South resisted industrialisation and manufactured little.  Almost all manufactured goods had to be imported, southerners therefore opposed high tariffs and taxes that were placed on imported goods which increased the price of manufactured articles.
                                                                                                                

In the early days of the USA loyalty to one’s state often took precedence over loyalty to one’s country. A New Yorker or a Virginian would refer to his state as “my country”.  The Union was considered a voluntary contract entered into by independent sovereign states for as long as it served their policies to be so joined.  Gradually as the gulf got greater the states one by one began to cede from the Union thus driving a wedge into the potential unity of the States. What became the linchpin were the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution:

And the Gettysburg Address:


And the Bill of Rights:


This war marked the death knell of the slavery in the States. It was fought brother against brother, father against son and family against family, the north against the south. In that war the total of both sides fatalities was greater that all the losses suffered by the Americans in all the wars since, including Vietnam. That being 634,000. Ostensibly it was a war of States seceding from the Union but really became a war of different lifestyles. The North being progressive and industrialising and the South be agricultural with its cotton plantations and ubiquitous slaves to maintain it. As we know after long and complex battles and fighting the North was victorious.

Abraham Lincoln won re-election and slavery and the way of the South was doomed forever. He was proud to have a Black Cavalry Regiment as a ‘guard of honour’. Thus slavery was formally abolished in America in 1865. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth the following year whilst attending Ford’s theatre.                                                                                                                   

This is the Pictorial Story of Slavery. It was made to look almost ‘charitable’!


                                                                                                  
The Masonic input at the time of the American War of Independence, in which the South Staffordshire Regiment, the 38th Foot, was fighting between 1775 -76 being stood down in Boston in February 1777. It happened that the regiment’s soldiers were to be stood down either with half pay or no pay and more or less left to their own devices until they were recalled to duty. This as you can imagine led to all sorts of shenanigans and goings-on. And so it was for a certain Sgt. Bates who was without a foreseeable future and no income. But he was a freemason and if nothing else resourceful.


He came in contact with a free Negro and for a fee ‘made him a mason’. So it came about a first black freemason? His name was Prince Hall.


This negro’s father Thomas on arrival in the Americas had had the tag ‘Prince Hall’ hung around his neck. The early details of Thomas Prince Hall’s life are uncertain., Taking his father’s name our Prince Hall was probably born into slavery around 1735, received his freedom in 1775 before establishing himself as a tradesman in Boston.


So Prince Hall was made a mason being initiated with 14 other black men on 6 March 1775 and he, with Bates, went on to do this several times and in fact made quite a cottage industry of it initially through the Irish lodge No. 441. These men eventually went on to form their own Lodge and were granted a warrant by the Moderns or Premier Grand Lodge as African Lodge, No.459. But how did this happen?                                       

Lodge No. 441, Irish Constitution, was attached to the 38th regiment of foot garrisoned at Boston Harbour in 1775.  The Master of the lodge being Sergeant John Bates.  When the British army left Boston in1776 the lodge granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as African Lodge No. 1 and as such they were allowed to go in procession on St. John’s day as a lodge to bury their dead but they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic work.  For 9 years these brethren together with others who had received their degrees elsewhere assembled and enjoyed their limited privileges as masons. In 1784 Prince Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England through a worshipful master of a subordinate lodge in London (No. 55) for a warrant or charter.  The warrant for African Lodge No. 459 of Boston is the most significant highly prized document known to the Prince Hall free mason, the Prince Hall Fraternity.  The legitimacy of Prince Hall free masonry is traced to this document and it is on this, more than any other factor, the case rests.  It was granted on September 29th 1784 and delivered in Boston on April 29th 1787 by Captain James Scott, brother in law of John Hancock (Signatory of the Declaration of Independence) master of the Neptune. Under its authority, African Lodge No. 459 was organised one week later on May 6th 1787.

The proliferation of Prince Hall lodges moved on apace. African Lodge prospered under Hall’s dynamic leadership and became a source of mutual support for black men in Boston. All American lodges that had not paid any dues for several years were removed from the register of the new United Grand Lodge of England, following the merger between the Antients and Moderns in 1813. This was the case with African Lodge being one of many American lodges that lost contact with Grand Lodge. Therefore African Lodge assumed the role of a ‘Provincial’ Grand Lodge by authorizing the creation of Lodges for black freemasons in other states. 


African lodges remained loyal to England when the other American lodges were declaring their independence and the Grand Secretary relied on Prince Hall for reports on masonry in the Boston area.  While there is evidence of occasional fraternal contact with Prince Hall and African lodge for the most part they were shunned by white masons.  By the end of the 18th century the African lodge had lost contact with England receiving no reply to correspondence. Spurned by other lodges in America and seemingly abandoned by England brethren of African lodge declared their independence in 1827 and developed their own fraternity spread over several States which largely mirrored practises of their white counterparts.  In 1847 they formed a National Grand Lodge to resolve the differences between existing lodges and Grand Lodges.  The experiment was not successful.                                                                                                   

Prince Hall have masons served in the USA military since the War of Independence and most notably later in the All Black Cavalry Regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers (from the times of the Indian Wars) where they had military lodges with ambulatory warrants similar to those of the British Army and other units.  These black cavalry regiments were formed in 1866, fought hostile Indians and Mexicans protected stage coaches and the US mail.

The Indians feared these black men ! They served in segregated units in every subsequent war until racial integration in the USA army in 1952.  40 years later a bronze sculpture was dedicated to them at Fort Levine by General Colin Powell. There are military lodges in England, which may surprise many English masons, in amity with United Grand Lodge of England and most meet on RAF stations. Of them some are chartered by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington and are administered by a District Deputy Grand Master based in Germany.  The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland has 5 military lodges in England under a District Deputy Grand Master living in London.  Four of the Maryland lodges meet on RAF bases at Feltwell, Menwith Hill, Croughton and Alconbury.  Brethren from these lodges visit local English lodges and brethren of both jurisdictions support each other’s fund raising activities.  A fifth Maryland lodge, Norman E Carter Lodge No.136, meets off base at a community centre in Tooting in South London. Many of the members of this lodge are civilians of British nationality. They and their parents originating from Barbados, Ghana, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and Trinidad, as well as other countries.

So Prince Hall is recognised as the father of black freemasonry in the USA.  Prince Hall himself was appointed Provincial Grand Master in 1789 by HRH the Prince of Wales and soon thereafter Prince Hall freemasonry was to spread like wildfire to Philadelphia, Rhode Island and New York City.

Prince Hall died on December 4th 1807 and Nero Prince became master. When Nero Prince sailed to Russia in 1808 George Middletons succeeded him followed by Peter Lew, Samuel H Moody and then John T Hilton.  In 1827 Hilton recommended a declaration of Independence from the English Grand Lodge.  In 1869 fire destroyed Massachusetts Grand Lodge headquarters and a number of its priceless records.  The aforementioned charter was in a metal tube in the Grand Lodge chest.  The tube saved the charter from the flames but the intense heat charred the paper.  It is said that the Grand Master S T Kendal crawled into the burning building in peril of his life to save the charter from complete destruction.  That charter has since been secured between heavy plate glass and is kept in a fire proof vault in a downtown Boston bank.

Despite being stricken from the roll (like all American Grand Lodges were after the 1813 merger of the Antients and Moderns) the lodge styled itself as African Lodge No.1 and separated itself from the English recognised freemasonry.  This led to a tradition of separate, predominantly African American jurisdictions in North America, which are collectively known as Prince Hall Freemasonry.  Due to the widespread racism and segregation in North America it was impossible for African Americans to join many main stream lodges and main stream Grand lodges in North America refused to recognise as legitimate the Prince Hall lodges and Prince Hall masons that resided in their territory.

The name Prince Hall began to be used as a generic title for Black Lodges and this title was adopted officially at a conference in Arkansas in January 1944. Prince Hall Masonry is now the major black Masonic organisation in the world.
In many respects Prince Hall Grand Lodges and lodges are very similar to their main stream U S counterparts.  Prince Hall Grand Lodges were set up in other states, some of which may have been founded by black men initiated as Masons in British lodges. Prince Hall lodges and Grand lodges are established in most of the USA including Alaska and Hawaii and there are 2 Grand Lodges in Canada, one in Africa and 2 spanning the West Indies, Central and South America.

In December 1994 after long and careful investigation the United Grand Lodge of England determined that the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was a legitimate descendant of the African Lodge; thereby recognising its offspring who would also be favourably considered if they likewise wanted recognition.  Since then a large majority of the 51 mainstream US Grand Lodges (one per state) have recognised Prince Hall Grand Lodges within their state. 
                                                                                                   
However, eleven states of the mainstream Grand Lodge refuse to recognise them.  Interestingly more than half of all Prince Hall masonries in the eleven jurisdictions are located south of the Mason-Dickson line. Texas finally capitulated ending a legacy of slavery.                                                                                                                                                        
Politics is a wonderful thing. UGLE recognises the 11 Jurisdictions AND recognises that black masons should be treated as equals. As late as December 2008 UGLE in its Quarterly Communication recognised North Carolina (1870) as a bona-fide PH spurned from New York PH which had been previously recognised in 2002.

Today the Prince Hall fraternity has over 5000 lodges worldwide, forming 45 independent jurisdictions and a membership of over 300,000 masons giving them substantial mainstream recognition. 
                                                                                                                             
The list of famous people in Prince Hall Freemasonry is extensive and impressive:

  1. Civics
    Julian Bond, St. James Lodge No. 4, Atlanta. NAACP National Chairman
    Thomas Bradley, mayor of Los Angeles, California
    Emanuel Cleaver of Eureka Lodge No. 170. mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
    Dwight Evans, Star in the East Lodge No. 55. PA State Representative
    Medger Wiley Evers, NAACP field secretary
    Chaka Fattah, Light of Elmwood Lodge No. 45. Congressman
    Wilson Goode, Sons of Light No. 120. First Black mayor of Philadelphia
    Augustus F. Hawkins. US Congressman California
    Wilson Goode, Sons of Light No. 120. First Black Mayor of Philadelphia
    Benjamin L. Hooks, Former Executive Director NAACP
    Vincent Hughes, Mt. Lebanon Lodge No. 9. State Representative
    Rev. Jesse Jackson, Harmony Lodge No. 88, Chicago, Illinois
    Kweisi Mfume, Mount Olive Lodge No. 25, Baltimore, Maryland. President and CEO, NAACP
    Charles B. Rangel, Joppa Lodge No. 55, US Congressman New York
    Rev. Al Sharpton, Jurisdiction of New York, civil rights leader
    Carl B. Stokes, first Black elected mayor, Cleveland, OH
    Louis Stokes, US Congressman Ohio
    John Street, Philadelphia Lodge No. 74. mayor of Philadelphia
    Michael C. Watson President & CEO, Absalom Jones Foundation
    Lawrence Douglass Wilder, East End Lodge No. 233, Virginia. First US Black Governor, Mayor Of Richmond, Va.
    Andrew Young, St. James Lodge No. 4, Atlanta, Georgia. UN Ambassador, mayor of Atlanta

 

  1. Law
    Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court

 

  1. Commerce
    James Forten, abolitionist/manufacturer
    Richard D. Gidron, president, Dick Gidron Cadillac Education
    W.E.B. DuBois, educator/author/historian
    Benjamin Mays, educator/former president Atlanta University
    Booker T. Washington, educator/founder Tuskegee Institute
    Charles H. Wesley

 

  1. Entertainment
    Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams, actor/ comedian
  2. Exploration
    Matthew Henson, explorer
  4. Military

Daniel "Chappie" James, general US Air Force

Music
William "Count" Basie, orchestra leader/composer
James Herbert "Eubie" Blake, composer/pianist
Nathaniel "Nat King" Cole, American pianist and singer
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, orchestra leader/composer
Alex Haley, author
Lionel Hampton, orchestra leader/composer
William C. Handy, composer

 

  7. Religion
    Richard Allen, founder/first bishop AME Church

 

  2. Athletics
    Ralph H. Metcalfe, Olympic champion
    Scottie Pippen, No. 33, Chicago Bulls/Forward
    Sugar Ray Robinson, mid/light heavy boxing

 

There is no definitive portrait of Prince Hall surviving, all images that exist are taken from descriptions provided by close contemporaries.  Such iconic images caused the shift to mutual support for black men in Boston and became a tool in their emancipation from slavery which today has left a great, though hidden, legacy.                                                                                                
                                                                                                      
There are copious papers and printed matter on the subject. Reference can be made to Quatuor Coronati where at least 9 references in their AQCs. (Vol. 80 – 108). Further research will reveal more of this bleak time, leaving the prophetic question:


am I not a man … and … a brother


Postscript

Born in 1961 issue of a Kansas father and Kenyan mother with slavery as his family heritage – almost 150 years from the abolition in America – the 44th President of the United States of America – Barack Obama

The first black President of the United States. “When there was such a black man in the White House, pigs would fly”, the satirists said and at that seminal moment of 100 days into the job, the world was hit by swine flu ! They had a field day.

Shortly after his first year he, with Democratic support, pushed through a Bill for Universal Health Care, against strong opposition from the Republicans. This will give basic heath provision for millions of blacks, making their life more tolerable, nay, even equitable.

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AND…DID THOSE FEET….!

And did those feet…in ancient times…walk upon England’s mountains green.  These were the words of William Blake (1757-1823) that well known 18th century artist and poet, who himself, was thought to be somewhat of a rebel and protester.  For a long time I thought, because of the words “those dark satanic mills” was a protest poem about the grim and oppressive working conditions in the industrial revolution, especially in the mills of the north.  But, although there is a strong element of reality, and that was the reality of the time of writing, this well known poem hence to become an even better known hymn, proclaims a much greater quandary, a quandary going back to the time of Jesus and the very beginnings of the first century.

The research to this subject came from a (1999) publication by Adrian Gilbert entitled “The Holy Kingdom”.  This is essentially the story of King Arthur, albeit there may have been two King Arthurs, and the lost and forgotten history of England pre Roman times especially in the areas of Wales and the central Midlands.  But, it touched upon the enigmatic figure of Joseph of Arimathea, who I had come across on several occasions in previous books and had often wondered who this character was and how he fitted in with the Christian story and, far more importantly, the embryonic history of the early millennia approximately 50AD onwards.

Now looking to Blake and the mystery surrounding these words which lead to that poignant phrase “and was Jerusalem builded here”. In Graham Phillips’ book “The Marian Conspiracy” (2000), the story of the Virgin Mary is told, also with reference to Blake. Benedetti, an emissary of the Pope had visited England early in the last century to see what evidence there was for Mary having been in this country, and possibly died here, as part of the Joseph of Arimathea cohort. Benedetti visited Elton Manor on Dartmoor partly because of its fame for apparitions (? Virgin Mary) and partly, it may be supposed, for its fame for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work there, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and, Blake’s visit there where he is said to have written Jerusalem. To this day those immortal lines of the hymn are carved over the fireplace in the dining room.

Joseph of Arimathea is one of the peripheral characters in the gospel story.  Always thought to be an uncle of Jesus, he was certainly the man who obtained permission from Pontius Pilate to take Jesus’ body from the cross and have it buried in his own rock  hewn tomb.  There is little detail with reference to him in all of the four gospels in which he is mentioned other than being a rich man and evidently a good disciple, in one context also said to be the Grail guardian.  In one of the gospel’s there is mention of him being an honourable councillor and in another a member of the council so presumably he was somewhere in the political /social/religious hierarchy of the time.

What is known of the family of Jesus Christ is somewhat hazy and not helped by many people having similar, if not the same, names.  It is possible to pull together a view of his family and in this respect what we would see as his extended family.  The prominent characters on the female side are of course Mary, mother of Jesus and wife of Joseph the carpenter, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Joseph, Mary the wife of Colopas, Mary the sister of Lazarus, Mary the mother of John Mark and Mary who aided St Paul in Rome.  However, we can whittle these down to a possible four or five. Prominently, the two who attended the crucifixion, according to the gospels were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph.  It is thought that Jesus had at least four brothers as well as sisters and if we accept that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus there is nothing to suggest that she remained in this condition thereafter.  We can therefore assume that she gave birth to her other children in the normal manner and that her husband was not now Joseph the carpenter (Jesus’ father) he being a much older man by this time being the offspring of Mary and Alpheus now, who was her husband.  Alpheus seems to mean “chief” or “headman”.  This head man or patriarch who held such a powerful position seems to reveal that he could only have been one man the man otherwise known as Joseph of Arimathea.  A further good reason for believing that Joseph was Mary’s husband is not only that he was present at the crucifixion but also he had the authority to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body which he subsequently buried in his own grave.  It is difficult to see how anyone other than the head of a family could have such status to demand such a thing let alone have it granted. After the crucifixion the Holy Land was a turbulent area and clearly unsafe for Jesus’ followers and family. The disciples dispersed and persecution was about. The Essenes at Cumran were burying their secrets the dead sea scrolls and the land was in turmoil.

It seems very likely that Joseph of Arimathea accompanied by Mary Magdalene and other followers possibly up to 70 in number set sail for an island which has since been identified as Cyprus.  Cyprus has links with SW England and Wales because they are both areas of trade at that time for metal ores especially copper.  Copper needed tin to make bronze for weaponry and of course Cornwall was well known for its tin mines.  The question therefore has to be asked as to whether this was the route that the rag- bag of political refugees followed and in due course landed on the shores of England and established their missionary. Therefore, and more ambiguous, what became of this cohort lead by Joseph. It is hard to say; on the one hand it is said that She [Magdalene] married into the chiefly families of Wales and therefore became one of the founders of the English royal blood (therefore giving the lineage back to David).

Alternatively, and somewhat parallel, is the tale of the Virgin Mary who, it is allegorically though of as the GRAIL. The vessel that brought Christ into the world and would carry Christianity onwards through the establishment of the Church. A Church devoted to the Virgin and Catholic dogma. What has to be understood is the nature of the modus operandi of the pending Roman invasion and the hundred of years thereafter when England was Romanised. We need to say that Rome, although a powerful empire builder was not all conquering. It could not have maintained all its territories by force. It would have never had the manpower to do so. Rather it took by threat and quickly made pacts with local rulers and warlords to maintain the country for it with only a small garrison left behind. Then the wider area was given to the rule of a Caesar who would take a native wife, usually the daughter of the local nobility (or King) and therefore cement the alliance. Thus is the history of Britain, festooned with marriages and alliances giving Roman input to the Royal lineage.

In conclusion it was the Christianisation of this fair land established from a much earlier nucleus of Joseph of Arimathea and his followers and the followers of Jesus in 37AD and can be fairly said, from this, that:

JERUSALEM WAS BUILDED HERE…..
.…IN ENGLAND’S GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND!

 

FURTHER PAPERS TO FOLLOW...ENJOY!

 

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