The Four Old Lodges.

§ 19 . —The exceptional privileges granted to tho Grand SteAvards Avill be noticed in Part III . ; bnt Bro . Preston ' s commentary thereupon , may hero be appropriably cited . ( ' ) " A privilege has been lately granted to the Stewards ' Locige , of taking precedence of other Lodges ; a measure

incompatible with the Constitutions , and which can never le sanctioned hj the rules of the Society ; this privilege is said to havo been irregularly obtained , and therefore several Lodges have entered protests against it in their private books , Avhich in due time may bavo an effect , and probably induce a re-investigation of the subject . "

Bro . Preston further states , "that it having been reported to the Locige of Antiquity , that a member of the Stewards' Locige , had threatened to enter a complaint , against tho Master of a Lodge at Paddington , for having paid tho usual compliment to the Master of tho Lodge

of Antiquity , on a visit , in preference to a member of the Stewards' Lodge , it Avas resolved by the members , ' That no Lodge , or member of a Lodge , under the constitution of England , shall take precedence of tho Master of tbis Lodge . Aud that a letter be immediately

transmitted to the Master of the Lodge at Paddington , thanking him for tho respect shoAvn to tho Master of tho oldest Lodge , and promising to defend him and his Lodge against the said complaint . ' ' The complaint , ' continues Preston , ' Avas never brought before the Society , and the matter dropfc of course . '"

§ 20 . —I . It should be recorded , hoAvever , that tho poAver of the Pour Old Lodges to erect a Grand Locige in 1717 , Avas somewhat rudely called into question , by the Ancient or Seceding Masons , and though the arguments adduced by them , command no weight Avhatever , and were probably

invented by Bro . Laurence Dermott , ('¦*) for the sole purpose of disparaging the Regular Grand Lodge—these , it must be recollected , Avere , up to the date of the Masonic Union of 1813 , repeated in successive editions of tbe book of Constitutions ( Aiiiman Remi ) , published by authority of the

Grand Lodge of England , " according to the Old Institutions , " with Avhich Masonic body , moreover , the Regular Grancl Locige of England eventually amalgamated , on terms of equality . With respect to the resolution passed by the Regular Grand Locige , " after the first

meeting in 1 / 17 ( Revival ) , ' that without a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being , no Lodr / e should Iwreafter be deemed Regular or Constitutional . ' ( : 1 ) the Seceding brethren contended that the above assembly ( Grand Lodge of England ) did not possess the

power to pass such a resolution ; because it Avas nofc only self-created , hut defective in numbers , Avhercas , in order to form ( what Masons mean by ) a Grand Lodge , there should havo been the Masters and Wardens o £ jivo regular Lodges , that is to say , five Masters and ten Wardens , making the number of installed Officers fifteen .

This ( they continued ) is so AVOII knoAvn to every man conversant Avith the ancient laAvs , usages , customs , and ceremonies of Master Masons , that it is needless to say more , than that the foundation was defective in number , and consequently defective in form and capacity .

" Nor can it be urged thafc such defection or irregular formation was OAving to necessity , as there Avere numbers of old Masons then in ( and adjacent to ) London , from whom the present Grand Lodge of Ancient Masons received the old system Avithout adulteration . " ( ' )

II . The author or compiler , hoAvever , of the Complete Freemason , or Mullet Faucis , an unauthorised account of Freemasonry , issued about 1764-6 , speaks of six Lodges

being present or represented at the Revival ; but as this statement is in direct contradiction to that of Dr . Anderson on the same subject , feAV Avill bo found to differ from the opinion expressed by Bro . Hughan , " that the preference

The Four Old Lodges.

must be given to the account by Dr . Anderson , who clearly wrote at a time Avhen many personally knew as to the facts narrated , and whose Book of Constitutions ( 1738 ) Avas really the official statement issued by tho Grand Locige , having indeed been Avritten by its order , and agreed to in M . S . by tho same bocly . " ( )

LIST No . 8 . PINE'S LIST OF LODGES l 736 . ( ' ) A List of Regular Lodges , according to their Seniority and Constitu-110 ) 1 . ( 2 )

1 King's Arms , Sfc . Paul's Church-yard 2 Bull and Gate in Holborn ( ) 3 Horn , Westminster 4 Shakespeare ' s Head , Marlborougb-streofc 17 th Jan . 1722 5 Bell , Nicholas-lano 11 th Jnly 1721 6 Mr . Braund ' s Head , Now Bond-street 19 th Jan . 1722 h . T » , \ _ . L L i * il * 1 _ Odt , T -. > - ^ -. screet & rtzz

_ 7 Hummer , yneen- , uneapsiue zou Jan . 8 Daniel's Coffee House , Temple Bar 25 th April 1722 9 Red Cross Barr ( ) 10 King ' s Arms , New Bond-street 25 th Nov . 1722 11 Queen's Head , Knave ' s-acre 27 th Feb . 172 ?

12 Castlo , Drnry-lano 14 Queen ' s Head , Great Qnoon-stroet 30 th March 1723 15 Bull's Head , Southwark 1 st April 1723 1 G Turk ' s Head , Fleet . streofc ( ' ) 17 Crown , Sfc . Giles' 1723 itn

18 Hun , Holborn ) May 1733 19 Mourning Bush , Aldersgate 15 th May 1723 20 French Swan Lodge , Long-acre 12 th Juno 1723 21 Chain and Anchor , Chancery-lauo 4 fch August 1723 22 Bull's Head , Gracechnrch-street ( ' )

23 Half Moon , Cheapsido ISth Sept . 1723 24 Swan , Whitecross-streefc 25 House , Spitalfields 21 th Dec . 1723 20 Key and Garter , Pall Mall 27 Forrest ' s Coffee House , Charing Cross 27 th March 1724

28 Queen ' s Head , City of Bath 29 Nag's Head , Bristol 30 Threo Tnns , City of Norwich 31 Dolphin , City of Chichester 17 th July 1724 32 Double Eagle , Castlo-lano , City of Chester

33 Crown and Mitro , Northgate-street , City of Chester 34 Bunch of Grapes , Carmarthen , S . Wales 35 Pillars ? Portsmouth 30 Red Lion , Congloton , Cheshire r . W 1 es - » r i" » 1 * 1 __ r I -f Wri i luooreuoicis

61 Arms r - . iniy ii Z ' h 38 Goat , Eagle-conrt , in ye Strand 39 Swan and Rummer ? Finch-lane Fob . 1725 40 To the Tun , Sfc . Paul's Church . yard ( ' ) 41 Tree , Holborn 20 th May 1725

42 Crown and Angel , Whitechappel 43 King ' s Arms , Strand 25 th May 1725 44 Swan , Long-acre Sept . 1725 45 Hart , Withont Bishopgato 19 th Jan . 172 G 40 Mount ' s Coffee House , Grosvenor . streefc , 12 th Jan . 1727

near uanover-squaro 47 Lion , Aldersgate-strcofc 9 th Aug . 1727 48 Head ? ' Salford 49 Bunch of Grapes , Drui-y-lano 31 sfc Jan . 1728 50 Arms ? Sfc . Bernard-street , in Madrid 51 Rock , Gibraltar Nov . 1728

52 Cushion ? Warwick 22 nd April 1728 53 Hoop and Griffin , Leadenhall-street 1728 54 Prince of Wales' Head , King-street , St . Ann ' sO ) 55 Fountain , Fleet-streofc 1728

56 Crown and Sceptre , King-street , Seven Dyals ( ' ) 57 Ball and Red Lion , Red Lyon-streot , Holbourn 15 th April 1728 58 CroAvn , Corn Market , Oxford 8 th Aug . 1729 59 Three Tuns , Scarborough 27 th Aug . 1729

60 George-street , Mary Ax ( ' ) 01 Fountain , Snow-hill 24 th Jan . 1730 02 George and Dragon , Northampton 16 th Jan . 1730 G 3 Bacchus and Grapes , Gravill-street , Hatton-jrardon

04 05 St . Rooks-hill , near Chichester , Sussex , Iu the reign of Julius Caesar GG Red Rion , in ye City of Canterbury 3 rd April 1730 G 7 Castle , St , Giles ' net m T _ _• . ! ¦ __ .. » T -i rtr ..-. i ., -, * nn Masters zatn l /

uo a . rue , uong-acre , uocige April ow 69 Bacchus and Bunch of Grapes , Blooms . 22 nd May 1730 bury Market 70 Lion , Lynn Regis 1 st Ocfc . 1729

71 Cushion , Cheapsido 20 th Jan . 1730 72 East Indian Arms , Bengal , in tho East Indies 73 Head ? Lincoln 7 th Sept . 1730 74 University Lodge , at the Bear and Harrow 14 th Dec . 1730 in trie

mucner-row 75 Rainbow Coffee House , York-buildings 17 th July 1730 70 Head ? Old Baily , Master ' s Lodge 77 Lion , Jockey-fields 11 th Jan . 1731 78 Fountain , Bury St , Edmunds 1731