Lodge Histories.

LODGE HISTORIES .

THE ROYAL UNION LODGE , No . 246 . IN previous notices of the History of this Lodge , as compiled by Bro . George Norman , we have reviewed the doings of its members up to the time the Lodge

was removed to Cheltenham , in 1822 . For some time thereafter , we are told , its history flows in an even channel . The days of meeting were altered , the first and third Friday of each month becoming the regular nights of

assembly . Nominations of candidates were frequent , and the Lodge flourished both financially and numerically . As an illustration of Masonic life some sixty-six years ago , reference is made to the minutes in reerard to the first

St . John's Festival , celebrated by the Lodge at Cheltenham , on the 27 th December 1822 . From these it appears the Lodge was opened at 11 a . m ., when an initiation and a raising , with an interval for refreshment " during pleasure , " added to the installation ceremony ,

from the Foundation Lodge , which was then holding its Festival , attending , and bringing the best wishes of its members for the success of the Royal Union Lodge . These visitors , having partaken of refreshment , withdrew , amid

made up the work of tho meeting . This occupied the " middle hours of the day , " after which tho brethren adjourned until 5 p . m ., when , having again assembled , they partook of an "elegant dinner . " A pleasant incident is recorded in connection with this banquet—a deputation

the acclamations of the brethren , and a reciprocal embassy from the Royal Union Lodge was at once deputed to convey the thanks and greetings of its members to their fellows of the Foundation Lodge , This courteous

interchange was repeated at many subsequent Festivals , and served to promote the good feeling which has continued between them to this day . About this time a slight disagreement took place in consequence of the W . M . of

the Lodge ( Bro . Samuel Moss ) refusing to allow certain letters from Bro . Claret to be read in open Lodge . The Provincial authorities were appealed to , and upheld the decision of the Master , who , it was considered , had acted in a

manner strictly Masonic and correct . By a peculiar freak of fortune , one of the members of the Lodge received , some forty-five years later , the outline of the address delivered by

Bro . Moss when he retired from the chair at the time to which , we are now referring . This touches upon the matter of Bro . Claret ' s letters ,

and leads us to suppose that some of the members severed their connection with the Lodge in consequence of what then occurred . Indeed , the " History " states that several Brethren resigned in consequence , and for some time the attendance was prejudicially affected . Two years later

another secession took place among the members , the leader on that occasion being Bro . Moss himself , while a Bro . Harper came to the front as the " moving spirit " of the Lodge . On the 19 th August 1823 an emergency

meeting of the Lodge was held at the Horse and Groom Inn , Gloucester , " for the purpose of joining the Provincial Grand Lodge , and of deciding the best means of aiding the subscription to be made after dinner ; " the subscription

referred to being a collection for erecting a monument to the memory of Bro . Dr . Edward Jenner , the discoverer of the efficacy of vaccination . From the facts set out by Bro . Norman in connection with this meeting , we learn

Lodge Histories.

that Bro . Jenner ' s father was Provincial Grand Master of Bristol towards the close of last century , while Dr . Jenner himself was a prominent man in the district . The Provincial Grand Lodge on this occasion attended Divine service in the Cathedral , the sermon being preached by Bro . the Rev . T . D . Fosbroke , the well-known county

historian . The Gloucester Journal of that time gives an interesting account of the meeting , and is largely quoted in the book under notice , the number of brethren who attended on the occasion being given therein as nearly two

hundred . This event is , we consider , among the most interesting recorded in the History of the Lodge , and shows the interest taken by the Masons of that day in matters somewhat outside the actual scope of

Freemasonry . Another event of general interest was celebrated this same year , for on the 8 th September following , another Lodge of Emergency was held , at Tewkesbury , for the purpose of assisting the Dep . Prov .

G-. M . in the ceremony of laying the foundation stoue of the " Tewkesbury Severn Bridge . " The particulars in regard to this event are very interesting , aud give evidence of

careful research on the part of the compiler . On the 4 th May 1825 the Lodge had another opportunity of appearing in public , the Provincial Grand Lodge then laying the foundation stone of the Pittville Pump Room , with full ceremonial . In 1827 the expediency of attaching a Royal Arch

Chapter to the Lodge was considered , but nothing of any importance appears to have been done in regard to the matter . Several removals of the Lodgo took p ' aco about this time , but in the beginning of 1830 an arrangement was concluded between it and the Foundation Lodge for the joint use of the Lodge Room at the Masonic Hall , and for

the common use of the furniture belonging to the two Lodges . This arrangement did not work wholly

satisfactory , for in 1834 a proposition was made for a committee to be appointed to procure " a suitable place to meet in . " The troubles , however , in this respect , appear to have been adjusted , and harmony prevailed between the two Lodges .

The Royal Union Lodge then passed several years in a somewhat unsatisfactory manner . In 1838 there wero only six brethren present to witness tho installation . Meetings were held at irregular intervals , sometimes as

long as two years apart , and it was not until after 1850 that any improvement took place . From this period the Lodge progressed in a most satisfactory manner among

the items recorded being the election , in 1853 , of the future D . P . G . M ., Bro . J . Brook-Smith , as a member . He speadily made a position for himself , and his influence upon its policy at once became manifest . In 1854 he accepted the office of Senior Warden , and on the

first occasion of occupying that chair proposed that the Lodge meet in fnture in a building devoted to Masonic purposes rather than at an hotel . As the result of this proposition the Lodge again met at the

Masonic Hall , its occupation of which has not since been broken . Bro . Brook-Smith succeeded to the chair in 1856 ; and ruled over the Lodge for two flourishing years . In the first year of his Mastership the Prov . Grand Lodge of

Gloucestershire was re-established , and a period of great Masonic prosperity was started upon in the district . The Royal Union shared in this prosperity , and continued to take an active part in the various works in it neighbourhood with which Freemasonry was associated . There are many more " items recorded in the History which will repay perusal , but