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Article FREEMASONRY IN NORTH WALES AND SALOP. Page 1 of 2 Article FREEMASONRY IN NORTH WALES AND SALOP. Page 1 of 2 →
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Freemasonry In North Wales And Salop.
FREEMASONRY IN NORTH WALES AND SALOP .
BEFORE wo enter on the account of our visit to Shrewsbury , it will be as well , perhaps , if we note some of the chief Masonic antecedents in the history of the Province . Readers of Preston ' s Illustrations will be aware that North . Wales was the
first Province which the Grand Master of England placed in charge of a Provincial Grand Master . The deputation was issued on 10 th May 1727 , and the brother to whom it was granted was Bro . Hugh Warburton . But for some years after the organisation of our present
Grand Lodge , though Freemasonry established itself in the region round about , it does not seem to have obtained at all events a very firm foothold in this district . Prom the earlier published lists of Lodges we find that one meeting at the Fountain , Shrewsbury , and . numbered 128 in Pine ' s
list for 1740 , was constituted 16 th April 1736 . In a later list of Pine there appears one numbered 194 , meeting at the "Angel , Dolgelly , North Wales , " and constituted 17 th September 1743 , while in Cole ' s list for 1763 is one meeting at the "Fox Inn , Salop , " presumably Shrewsbury ,
which was founded on 27 th January 1762 . Of other " Modern " Lodges existing afc the time of the Union and since extinct , but of considerably later date than the fore - going , must be mentioned the " Mercian Lodge , " Ludlow , No . 485 before , and No . 528 after , the Union :
Lodge of St . Winifred , Holywell , No . 545 before , and No . 570 after , the Union ; and the Lodge of Industry , Bridgenorth , No . 578 before the Union , No . 597 after the Union , and No . 391 in 1832 . Besides these , we know there was a Lodge holding under the Grand Lodge of the
"Ancients , " and this is still in existence , being the senior Lodge in the Province , —now No . 117 , but No . 153 of the " Ancients " before the Union . No . 262—being No . 434 on the roll of the Grand Lodge " Moderns " prior to the same epoch—also still lives at Shrewsbury . But there are
twenty-three other Lodges in this extensive Province , of which one only—No . 384 of Bangor , founded in 1827—received its Warrant of Constitution from our late G . Master , H . R . H . the Duke of Sussex . Twenty-four years elapse before we light upon an additional Lodge , namely , No . 597 ,
of Holyhead , warranted in 1851 . Two were born the year following , namely , No . 601 of Wellington , and No . 606 of Carnarvon . No . 611 of Ludlow was constituted in 1853 , No . 755 of Llandudno , in 1858 , No . 998 of Welchpool , in 1864 , Nos . 1113 of Llangefni , 1120 of Ironbriclge ,
and 1124 of Oswestry , were constituted in 1866 , and No . 1143 , Denbigh , in 1867 , and No . 1836 ( Wrexham ) 1870 . All these were warranted during the Grand Mastershi p of the late Earl of Zetland . In 1871 , Lodge No . 1369 was constituted at Bala ; in 1873 , Lodges
Nos . 1432 ( Oswestry ) , and 1477 ( Mold ); and in 1874 , Nos . _ 1488 ( Amlwch ) , and 1509 ( Portmadoc ) . These came iuto being when the Marquis of Ripon presided over our destinies , while since the Prince of Wales has been elected Grand Master , there have been created six
additional Lodges , namely : No . 1575 ( Market Drayton ) , No . 1582 ( Llanidloes ) , No . 1583 ( Towy ) , No . 1594 ( Newtown ) , No . 1621 ( Bridgnorth ) , and No . 1674 ( Rhyl ) , the first three having been constituted in 1875 , the next two in
order in 1876 , and the last in 1877 . It should be added that of the twenty-five Lodges which constitute this important Province , no less than nineteen have been consecrated during the Prov . Grand Mastership of Sir Watkins
Freemasonry In North Wales And Salop.
W . Wynn Bart . M . P ., who was appointed to his exalted office in the year 1852 , by the late Earl of Zetland . So much for the antecedent Masonic History of the Province . As to its interest from an historical and archteological point of view , and therefore one like to prove especially attractive to
Freemasons , there cannot be the slightest possible doubt . Druidical and Roman remains abound . It was in the great battle of Shropshire that the celebrated British Prince Caractacus was defeated and taken prisoner , in the reign of the Emperor Claudius . This is the same of whom history
records—rightly or wrongly , is not material , for it is a gallant story—that when being led captive through the streets of Rome ho expressed his astonishment that a people who were so well provided with palaces at home should have envied him and his people thoir humble
cottages : It is also a memorable district m the wars of our Edward I ., who reduced Wales to bo an appanage of his crown , and it was in Carnarvon Castle that the son of the conqueror—afterwards Edward II ., and the first English Prince on whom the title of Prince of Wales was
conferred—was born . This was m the year 1282 . But peace did nofc immediately follow this conquest , and a border warfare prevailed for many years , in which the sword and battle-axe , tho spear and bow and arrow , played a very conspicuous part . Then came one of the events so
memorable in the annals of Henry IV . ' s reign , when that monarch , at Shrewsbury , completely overthrew the coalition formed against him by the Percies , the Douglas , and Llewellyn . This was in the year 1403 , when Henry Hotspur was slain , and Fallstaff distinguished himself in
the engagement , even to the extent of fighting a " full OCT ' « i * O O hour by Shrewsbury clock against the gallant foemen . Since then , with the exception of events during the wars of the Roses and the Great Civil War , to dwell on which would protract the present article to inordinate length ,
there have been few matters which it Avere worth while to record—afc all events , in these columns . Pass we , therefore , to the main object of this present writing , and let us recount the experiences we have gathered from our visifc to the genial capital of Shropshire , and , indeed , of tho
Masonic Province of which ifc forms a part . As we have already shown , there are two Lodges in Shrewsbury , Nos 117 and 262 , the former of which—No . 153 on the roll of " the Ancients "—was , in the first instance , held under a Military Warrant in the Shropshire
Militia , and became a Civil Lodge in 1820 ; while the latter belonged to tho Grand Lodge of "Moderns , " and was warranted in the year 1788 , on the roll of its Past Masters being Sir W . W . Wynn , the Provincial Grand Master . They are respectively named the Salopian Lodge of
Charity and the Salopian , and the former meets at the Raven , the latter , which is also the moro influential of the two , at the Lion . The two together muster close on a hundred members , but the Lodges keep as much apart from each as possible , and do not seem to exhibit , the one
towards the other , those feelings of love , and that desire for harmonious action , which it is so desirable should exist between fellow Lodges . We met many members of both , and in both cases we found them generally well informed on Masonic matters , as well as genial in their bearing .
The members of No . 117 exhibit a strong desire for a healthy unity of action , and much zeal for the acquisition of further and fuller knowledge of the Royal Art , and to
this end they have established a Lodge of Instruction , which meets every week . In such circumstances , of course , the brethren , and especially the Officers , should in a very short time , become efficient , but it did not
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In North Wales And Salop.
FREEMASONRY IN NORTH WALES AND SALOP .
BEFORE wo enter on the account of our visit to Shrewsbury , it will be as well , perhaps , if we note some of the chief Masonic antecedents in the history of the Province . Readers of Preston ' s Illustrations will be aware that North . Wales was the
first Province which the Grand Master of England placed in charge of a Provincial Grand Master . The deputation was issued on 10 th May 1727 , and the brother to whom it was granted was Bro . Hugh Warburton . But for some years after the organisation of our present
Grand Lodge , though Freemasonry established itself in the region round about , it does not seem to have obtained at all events a very firm foothold in this district . Prom the earlier published lists of Lodges we find that one meeting at the Fountain , Shrewsbury , and . numbered 128 in Pine ' s
list for 1740 , was constituted 16 th April 1736 . In a later list of Pine there appears one numbered 194 , meeting at the "Angel , Dolgelly , North Wales , " and constituted 17 th September 1743 , while in Cole ' s list for 1763 is one meeting at the "Fox Inn , Salop , " presumably Shrewsbury ,
which was founded on 27 th January 1762 . Of other " Modern " Lodges existing afc the time of the Union and since extinct , but of considerably later date than the fore - going , must be mentioned the " Mercian Lodge , " Ludlow , No . 485 before , and No . 528 after , the Union :
Lodge of St . Winifred , Holywell , No . 545 before , and No . 570 after , the Union ; and the Lodge of Industry , Bridgenorth , No . 578 before the Union , No . 597 after the Union , and No . 391 in 1832 . Besides these , we know there was a Lodge holding under the Grand Lodge of the
"Ancients , " and this is still in existence , being the senior Lodge in the Province , —now No . 117 , but No . 153 of the " Ancients " before the Union . No . 262—being No . 434 on the roll of the Grand Lodge " Moderns " prior to the same epoch—also still lives at Shrewsbury . But there are
twenty-three other Lodges in this extensive Province , of which one only—No . 384 of Bangor , founded in 1827—received its Warrant of Constitution from our late G . Master , H . R . H . the Duke of Sussex . Twenty-four years elapse before we light upon an additional Lodge , namely , No . 597 ,
of Holyhead , warranted in 1851 . Two were born the year following , namely , No . 601 of Wellington , and No . 606 of Carnarvon . No . 611 of Ludlow was constituted in 1853 , No . 755 of Llandudno , in 1858 , No . 998 of Welchpool , in 1864 , Nos . 1113 of Llangefni , 1120 of Ironbriclge ,
and 1124 of Oswestry , were constituted in 1866 , and No . 1143 , Denbigh , in 1867 , and No . 1836 ( Wrexham ) 1870 . All these were warranted during the Grand Mastershi p of the late Earl of Zetland . In 1871 , Lodge No . 1369 was constituted at Bala ; in 1873 , Lodges
Nos . 1432 ( Oswestry ) , and 1477 ( Mold ); and in 1874 , Nos . _ 1488 ( Amlwch ) , and 1509 ( Portmadoc ) . These came iuto being when the Marquis of Ripon presided over our destinies , while since the Prince of Wales has been elected Grand Master , there have been created six
additional Lodges , namely : No . 1575 ( Market Drayton ) , No . 1582 ( Llanidloes ) , No . 1583 ( Towy ) , No . 1594 ( Newtown ) , No . 1621 ( Bridgnorth ) , and No . 1674 ( Rhyl ) , the first three having been constituted in 1875 , the next two in
order in 1876 , and the last in 1877 . It should be added that of the twenty-five Lodges which constitute this important Province , no less than nineteen have been consecrated during the Prov . Grand Mastership of Sir Watkins
Freemasonry In North Wales And Salop.
W . Wynn Bart . M . P ., who was appointed to his exalted office in the year 1852 , by the late Earl of Zetland . So much for the antecedent Masonic History of the Province . As to its interest from an historical and archteological point of view , and therefore one like to prove especially attractive to
Freemasons , there cannot be the slightest possible doubt . Druidical and Roman remains abound . It was in the great battle of Shropshire that the celebrated British Prince Caractacus was defeated and taken prisoner , in the reign of the Emperor Claudius . This is the same of whom history
records—rightly or wrongly , is not material , for it is a gallant story—that when being led captive through the streets of Rome ho expressed his astonishment that a people who were so well provided with palaces at home should have envied him and his people thoir humble
cottages : It is also a memorable district m the wars of our Edward I ., who reduced Wales to bo an appanage of his crown , and it was in Carnarvon Castle that the son of the conqueror—afterwards Edward II ., and the first English Prince on whom the title of Prince of Wales was
conferred—was born . This was m the year 1282 . But peace did nofc immediately follow this conquest , and a border warfare prevailed for many years , in which the sword and battle-axe , tho spear and bow and arrow , played a very conspicuous part . Then came one of the events so
memorable in the annals of Henry IV . ' s reign , when that monarch , at Shrewsbury , completely overthrew the coalition formed against him by the Percies , the Douglas , and Llewellyn . This was in the year 1403 , when Henry Hotspur was slain , and Fallstaff distinguished himself in
the engagement , even to the extent of fighting a " full OCT ' « i * O O hour by Shrewsbury clock against the gallant foemen . Since then , with the exception of events during the wars of the Roses and the Great Civil War , to dwell on which would protract the present article to inordinate length ,
there have been few matters which it Avere worth while to record—afc all events , in these columns . Pass we , therefore , to the main object of this present writing , and let us recount the experiences we have gathered from our visifc to the genial capital of Shropshire , and , indeed , of tho
Masonic Province of which ifc forms a part . As we have already shown , there are two Lodges in Shrewsbury , Nos 117 and 262 , the former of which—No . 153 on the roll of " the Ancients "—was , in the first instance , held under a Military Warrant in the Shropshire
Militia , and became a Civil Lodge in 1820 ; while the latter belonged to tho Grand Lodge of "Moderns , " and was warranted in the year 1788 , on the roll of its Past Masters being Sir W . W . Wynn , the Provincial Grand Master . They are respectively named the Salopian Lodge of
Charity and the Salopian , and the former meets at the Raven , the latter , which is also the moro influential of the two , at the Lion . The two together muster close on a hundred members , but the Lodges keep as much apart from each as possible , and do not seem to exhibit , the one
towards the other , those feelings of love , and that desire for harmonious action , which it is so desirable should exist between fellow Lodges . We met many members of both , and in both cases we found them generally well informed on Masonic matters , as well as genial in their bearing .
The members of No . 117 exhibit a strong desire for a healthy unity of action , and much zeal for the acquisition of further and fuller knowledge of the Royal Art , and to
this end they have established a Lodge of Instruction , which meets every week . In such circumstances , of course , the brethren , and especially the Officers , should in a very short time , become efficient , but it did not