The Four Old Lodges.

upon No . 1 " Ancient's " * ( HOAV the Grand Masters' Lodge ) , tho premier English Lodge , Avas relegated to the position of No . 2 on tho roll . f § 10 . —Original No . 2 , last appeared in the List of Lodges

for 173 G , as No . 2 , meeting afc the Bull and Gate , and Avould seem to have died out in 1737 , as in 1738 the number is left blank in Pine ' s list for thafc year . Thougb in that pub-Iished with the Constitutions 1738 ) . the No . 3 of 173 G ( Horn ) has become No . 2 .

§ 11 . —Original No . 3 moved from the Apple Tree Tavern to the Queen ' s Head , Knave ' s Acre , before 1723 ; thence to the George and Dragon , Portland St ., Oxford Market , in 1740 ; to the Swan ( same locality ) in 1744 ; in 1750 it

appears as the Fish and Bell , Charles St ., Soho Scpiare , and continued to meet thero until at least 1765 ; in 1775-6 it mot at the Roebuclc , Oxford St . ; and in 1781 is described as tbe Lodge of Fortitude .

Somo time between 1814 and 1832 it amalgamated Avith the Old Cumberland Lodge , ! and is now the Fortitude and O . C . Lodge , No . 12 . This Lodge , as will be seen by the Note to No . 10 in tho List of Lodges No . 4 , ( Constitutions ) for 1738 , tacitly

renounced—so far as such renunciation may be valid , as to which some remarks will appear hereafter—or , at all events , suspended the exercise of their undoubted rights and privileges as one of the old Time Immemorial Lodges . Waiving , hoAvever , for the present , any inquiry into the effect of this

act , it seems clear thafc the existing No . 12 , the Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge , has derived , by an unbroken succession of members , whatever privileges original No . 3 Avas capable of transmitting to its direct descendant . It should be borne in mind thafc Dr . James Anderson , || the

compiler of the Books of Constitutions for 1723 and 1738 , Avas nofc only the authorised chronicler of , but also a leading actor in , the early Masonic history of the past century , indeed almost certainly a member of one of the four olcl

Lodges in 1717 , and that consequently his statement in regard to original No . 3 , with the members of Avhichnotably Bro . Anthony Sayer—he must bave been personally acquainted , ought to be taken as absolutely conclusive .

The question , however , suggests itself , When did original No . 3 submit to a new constitution ? And this inquiry becomes pertinent as regards the probable date of original No . 2 dying out . If , therefore , for the sake of argument , ifc be supposed that original No . 2 dropped out before 1729 ,

original No . 3 must have taken its place in the list of that year , and remained as No . 2 until between 1736 and 1738 , Avhen it probably moved to the Queen ' s Head , and accepted a new constitution . This contention , hoAvever ( besides involving an amalgamation Avith a junior Lodge ) ,

can only be supported by a mere cursory inspection of Pine ' s lists of Lodges for 1723 and 1725 . As before stated , the absence of dates and numbers in these lists renders their value to the Masonic student , as standards of accuracy , most questionable , which vieAv is amply confirmed

by a careful scrutiny of their contents , for example : The "Horn , " Westminster , Avhich is hwwh . by subsequent investigation to be original No . 4 , stands No . 5 in Pine ' s list for 1723 : One " warranted " Lodge , afc least , has therefore been bracketted Avith the Time Immemorial Lodges , and

Avhether this be the 2 nd , 3 rd , or the 4 fch in order , ifc is difficult to determine . No . 4 on this list , the Moon ( or Black Ball ?) Avas dropped out in 1725 , but Avhether this had the effect of closing up the four old Lodges to their proper number , or nofc , cannot be even approximately settled by reference to these Lists only .

The Four Old Lodges.

Indeed , they throAv darkness , rather than light , upon the inquiry , since ifc may be urged ( on thoir authority only ) , that the fact of original No . 3 meeting in 1738 at the Queen ' s Head , Knave ' s Acre , Avhero it had been so meeting continuously since afc least 1729 , justifies an

inference being draAvn that this sign and place or meeting are identical with those appearing second in order on the list for 1723 , thereby pointing to the conclusion thafc as original No . 3 thus passes as No . 2 , original No . 2 must then necessarily havo dropped out . Ifc should be noted ,

however , that No . 2 and 3 on the list for 1723 , each met at the sign of a Queen ' s Head . It is submitted that the No . 2 of Pine ' s List for 1729 , meeting at the Rose and Buftler , can only be original No . 2 , the remaining three of the olcl Lodges being otherwise

disposed of . The expression , moreover , by Anderson in 1738 , " The CroAvn , the other of the four old Lodges , is noiv extinct , " is open to no other interpretation than thafc of a comparatively recent lapse . * The better opinion Avould seem to be that the list of 1723 , being Pino ' sf first Avork of

the kind , Avas very irregularly put together , ^ being beyond doubt thafc original No . 4 has been placed fifth in order of rank and precedence , ifc may fairly enough bo inferred from attendant circumstances that a similar deprivation of its rights has occurred in the case of original No . 2 ,

which appearing nominally as No . 3 ( Queen ' s Head , Turnstile ) , yields therefore the position of No . 2 on this list to original No . 3 . Returning , hoAvever , from tbe region of surmise and conjecture , to the unimpeachable testimony of Dr .

Anderson , * Ave find as a matter of fact , so attested by the sanction of Grand Lodge , that original No . 3 having moved to the Queen ' s Head , Avith its immemorial privileges intact , afterwards , " upon" some difference , came under a new constitution : " and was subsequently given a place and number , !

in accordance with the date of this alteration . ( 27 fch February 172- |) . A further element of confusion in this Lodge ' s history is afforded by the fact of original No . 3 , Avhich Avas No . 11 from 1729 to 1740 , 11 aud No . 10 from 1740 to 175 G , at the

general closing up of numbers in tlie latter year , having been put ahead of other Lodges of the preceding year , and , like the Grand SteAvards' Lodge ( later on ) , placed before the fair date of its ( nominal ?) constitution . The following details will render this clearer : —

The Lodges meeting in , 1740 at the Red Cross ; King ' s Arms ; and George and Dragon ^[ Now the Royal Alpha ; Tuscan ; and Fortitude and O . C .

Nos . 1756 ** 6 ; 7 ; 8 Nos . 17 G 5 8 ; 7 ; 6 § 12 . —Original No . 4 moved from the Rummer and

Grapes to the Horn Tavern , Westminster , before 1723 , and continued to meet there until 1765 or after ; in 1775 it met at the Turk ' s Head , Gerrard-street , Soho ; in 1776 afc the Adelphi , Strand ; between this latter year and 1781 ifc

amalgamated with the Somerset House Lodge , Avhose name it assumed . At the Union in 1814 it descended from the second to the fourth place on the list , by operation of tho 8 th Article of Union . ft After the Union , ifc further absorbed the Royal Inverness