Lodge Histories. St. Michael's Lodge, No. 211.

LODGE HISTORIES . ST . MICHAEL'S LODGE , No . 211 .

THERE is no doubt that , as rite interest in Masonic history becomes more wi-. Io-s'inwl , the publication of individual Lodi . e histories will !» ' n * . ** v ftequcnt . li ha : - hern our duty before now to give suitiiiiarie . - ' or outline ;; of the contents of eld Mimito-Books , and man } ' zealous h' -ethren i * . t thelVovim-ps ,-is well as in London , from time to timo-iippioj !* - !*! . the ^ ood work of preparing material for tlc . t historv of Frcem-isoiirv wltic-h the ablest students of our Craft

reknowledgo most readily has yet to bo written . Bro . Brockbank , of Bolton , and Rev . Bro . Harrison , of Oldham , havo recently published sketches based ou minutes—the former of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 221 , Bolton , aud tho latter of tho Lodge of Friendship , No . 277 , Oldham . These sketches were subsequently noticed at somo length in the columns of this journal , and it is with great pleasure that wo now

lay before our readers a somewhat similar sketch of St . Michael ' s Lodge , No . 211 , based on snch Minute-Books as have been fortunately preserved to it . For this opportunity we are indebted to the courtesy of Bro . Charles Greenwood , P . M . and Treasurer , and our first duty is to convey to him onr warmest thanks for his kindness ; our second , to express tho regret wo feel that , as the earlier

Minute-Books havo been lost or mislaid , we aro unable to go further back in onr history than the close of the year 1823 . Wo aro not without hopo that we may somo day find out a means of tracing the progress of the Lodge from its very constitution . In the meantime , however , we mnst content ourselves with such materials as are at our disposal .

St . Michael ' s Lodge , now No . 211 on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of England , was originally No . 290 on the roll of the so-called Grand Lodge of the Ancients . The Warrant , a transcript of which will be found in Vol . YL , p 298 , FREE - IASON ' S CHRONICLE , bears date the 11 th September 1795 , the ( fourth ) Duko of Atholl being at tho time Grand Master , William Dickey Deputy Grand Master , John

Bunn , and Robert Gill Senior and Junior Grand Wardens respectively , and Robert Leslie Grand Secretary . The principal Officers designate in the Warrant are Bros . Michael Dove W . M ., John Betts S . W ., and Joseph Ion J . W ., and the Lodge was to be held at the Dundee Arms , Wapping , on the second and fourth Fridays in the month . It became No . 367 in 1814 , after the Union ; No . 255 in

1832 , and No . 211 in 1863 . The minute books that remain carry us back , as we said , to the close of the year 1823 only , so that there is an hiatus extending over not less than eight-and-twenfcy years , which can only be made good from other and as yet undiscovered sources . The first meeting entered was held on the 9 th of December 1823 , the principal business of the evening being the election of a W . M .

and Treasurer , and the appointment of a Tyler for the ensuing year . For the first of these offices the well-known Bro . Peter Gilkes , already a Past Master of the Lodge , was chosen ; Bro . Southard was re-elected Treasurer , and Bro . Speight was continued in the office of Tyler . Two visitors were present , one of whom , Bro . J . W . Stamford jun ., a paper stainer of Lambeth , and member of the Westminster and Key .

stone Lodge , No . 10 , was proposed as a joining member . Motions were afterwards made to the effect that two brethren should be called upon to pay up their arrears under penalty of having their names erased from the roll of members , the penalty being actually visited on two other members , who , in all probability , had paid no attention to similar summonses . The minute closes with a brief

statement of account , showing a small balance due to Bro . Treasurer , and there is likewise a memorandum to the effect that "the Lodge is indebted to Bro . Bagshaw £ 1 4 s 6 d , " Bro . Bagshaw having filled the offices of W . M ., Treasurer , and Secretary to the Lodge . At the meeting on the 13 th January 1824 , after the brethren written to , in accord , ance with a resolution of the preceding Lodge , had had their names

struck off the list of members , Bro . Gilkes was installed Master , but owing to the absence of his Officers , he was obliged to postpone appointing them till the following month , when Bros . William Boss and J . W . Stamford were appointed and invested as Senior Warden and Junior Warden respectively for the year . A Mr . Thomas Carter , victualler , of Knightsbridge , was initiated afc the same

meeting , and having been found duly qnalified , was successively passed and raised at those held in March and April respectively . On the 11 th May , after parts of tho first and second lecture had been worked , it was agreed that the Lodge shonld adjourn from June to October , but at the same time , that owing to the state of the Lodge funds the subscriptions should be paid for the

intervening months . Nothing of moment happened till the December meeting , when Bro . J . Waring Stamford jun . was elected W . M ., Bro . Southard re-elected Treasurer , and Bro . Speight re-elected Tyler . On the motion of the W . M . elect , a Bro . Townsend of Westminster and Keystone , No . 10 , was proposed as a joining member . It is also noted that Bro . Gilkes was indebted to the Lodge in the sum of one

shilling and twopence , while the Lodge ' s indebtedness to Bro . Bagshaw had been gradually reduced to half-a-crown . In January 1825 , Bro . Stamford jun . was installed W . M ., and appointed Bro . Townsend who had been elected a subscribing member earlier in the afternoon to be his J . Warden . Ifc having been unanimously agreed , on the motion of Bro . Past Master Norris , seconded by Bro . Past Mastei

W . C . Smith , that the bye-laws of the Lodge should bo put in force , the Lodge closed in " perfect harmony and brotherly love . " In February , Bro . Bagshaw , to whom allusion has already been made , was unanimously elected an honorary member of the Lodge in recognition of his many and valuable services as Master , Treasurer , and Secretary . On the 10 th of Biay a motion was made and carried for

the removal of the Lodge quarters from the Three Tnns , Fetter-lane , to some other place , and afc an emergency meeting , on the lGth of the samo month , ifc was unanimously agreed to remove to tbe Burlington Arms , Burlington-street . In the minutes of the Jnn ' Lodge is recorded a letter from Bro . Bagshaw in acknowledgment of the compliment the members had paid him when thoy unanimousl y

Lodge Histories. St. Michael's Lodge, No. 211.

elected him an honorary member of the Lodge . In September of this year it was agreed that '•in consequence of the flourishing and increasing state of the funds , this Lodge do subscribe the sum of CI Is annually in aid of tho funds of the Freemasons' Boys' School . " Ou election day iu December , Bro . Gilkes was chosen to bo W . Master , Iho . Southard Treasurer , and Bro . Speight Tyler , after which Bro .

Stamford W . M . stated ho had attended the Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodgo , when , on the motion of His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex M . W . G . M ., G . Lodge had voted a sum of £ 50 from tho funds of the Board of Benevolence in aid of the subscription to Mrs . Bel-oni , ami on the motion of Bro . Stamford it was agreed that the Lodge should subscribe a guinea towards tho same humane object . At

the same meeting the Lodge appointed a committee consisting of the W . M . and Bros . Townsend J . W ., P . Gilkes P . M . and W . M . elect , and T . Southard P . M . and Treas ., to examine and report upon the Lodge fur . nitnro . In Jan . 1826 took place , as usual , the installation meeting , and when Bro . Gilkes had been inducted into the chair he appointed Bro . Kettrick , formerly of the Bedford Lodge , to be S . W ., Bro . J

Knight being invested at the next meeting as J . W ., Bro . W . D . Townsend being appointed Secretary . A vote of thanks to the retiring W . M . was unanimously passed in recognition of his services in the chair , and subsequently it was announced that that brother had presented to the Lodge " The Volume of the Sacred Law most superbly bound . " At the June meeting it was agreed thafc the

Lodge should be adjourned till September , but for the reason thafc has already been given , it was determined that " the subscription should be continued during the recess , " and at the same time thafc the Tyler should continue to receive his salary . At the same meeting it was agreed that an old P . M . and a Past S . W . should be written to for the arrears of their subscriptions , their names , in case

of non-compliance with the request , to be taken off the list of members . At an emergency meeting , held on Sth August , a Mr . Arthur Bowden , plasterer , was initiated . In September he was passed , and in October raised to the degree of M . M . In December Bro . P . Gilkes was reelected W . M ., and Bro . Stamford P . M . elected Treasurer , the installation and investiture of Officers taking place the following

month , as usual , when , for the first time , we find mention of Deacons and I . G . In March 1827 ifc was agreed that the Lodge shonld again make a move , and in May we find it established at the Wheatsheaf , in Rathbone-place , kept by a Bro . Botchaley . On this occasion a Mr . Thomas Winnington , of Chapel-street , Oxford-street , " Vitleur , " was proposed for initiation . In December Bro . J . Knight

was unanimously elected W . M . for the ensuing year , and Bro . Stamford re-elected Treasurer . The installation took place in January 1828 . On the Sth of April 1828 it was unanimously agreed that a Lodge of Instruction , under the authority of the Lodge , shonld be held at the Holly Bush Tavern , Hampstead . On the 27 th July 1828 , we read that "the ceremony of

initiation was ably performed by the W . M . for instruction- " so that it must be clear to our readers that the influence of so able a man as Bro . Gilkes was not without its effect on the working of the Lodge . Bo ifc mentioned , however , thafc Bro . Gilkes resigned his membership the month following , though he again became a member in the year 1832 , and remained such until his death . In December

Bro . Gillam was elected as W . M . for the following year ( 1829 ) , Bros . Stamford and Speig ht being re-elected Treasurer and Tyler respectively . In January following , Bro . Gillam was duly installed ) and at the next meeting appointed a Bro . Wilson , who had been J . W . during the year preceding , to be his Senior Warden . In April it was resolved that the Lodge should remove to the Blue Posts

Charlotte-street , Rathbone-place , kept by a Bro . Brown , m preference to Bro . Edwards's hostelry in Davies-street , Berkeley-square . No long staywas made here , however , for the very next month ifc was arranged thafc the Lodges should meet at the sign of the Three Compasses , Kensington , and here accordingly the brethren assembled on the 9 th June 1829 , when the Lodge received a considerable accession of strength .

Further accessions are noted in subsequent minutes of the same year , while on the 10 th November it is recorded thafc in the case of a brother proposed as a joining member , " several blackballs were against him , and he was rejected . " In December Bro . Gillam was re-elected W . M ., and the brethren were re-chosen Treasurer and Tyler respectively who had previously held those offices . Afc an emergency meeting held on the 17 th of the same month , it was solemnly resolved to take "into

consideration the state of the throne , " and ifc was forthwith agreed that a " new chair" should be purchased—a contrast in words which even the casual reader might be pardoned for noticing . The installation of W . M . and appointment by him of his Officers for the year followed in due course in January 1830 , and on the same occasion it was resolved to hold a Lodge of Instruction afc the same hostelry ( the Three Compasses aforesaid ) . Bro . Gillam W . M . would seem to have taken a leaf out of

Bro . Gilkes ' s book , for the mention of sections of this or thafc lecture being worked during the term of his Mastership is very frequent , and on 11 th May , when the Lodge—though no notice of the removal is recorded in the minutes—met at the Duke of Sussex , instead of the Three Compasses , the first to the fifth sections , both inclusive , of the first degree were worked . On the Sth June the Senior

Warden proposed thafc tho brethren have a dinner , which was seconded by the W . M . and unanimously carried ( for Thursday the 17 th ) . Thifl minnte , trifling as it may appear to be , is nevertheless deserving of some notice . The expenses , and especially those in the shape of , ; house bills , " which would seem to indicate thafc the brethren of this Lodge did not hold their regular and emergent meetings without having recourse to some kind of refreshment , appear to have been

kept within modest limits ; indeed no mention before this is made of any dinner , and ' we are left to assume that the brethren did not entirely overlook their jnst claims to refreshment after labour . On the 16 th September it was agreed to give a small sum in aid to a distressed brother of the " Lodge of Ireland , " and also to support his petition to the Lodge of Benevolence . On 11 th January 1831 , IJro . George Simons was installed W . Master , Bro . J . C . Smith being the new Treasurer , and Bro . Speight Tyler . At the meeting in