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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
to revert to these manners and customs of their prototypes of the eighteenth century . Even as late as 1801 three of tlie nine weekly journals published in this broad county of Yorkshire were issued from the Tort Press , and in the previous century the
printers of York had gained a prestige and notoriety for good work which was second to none in the kingdom . The first newspaper published in York was called the York Mercury , which made its appearance on the 23 rd February 1719 , and died in 1740 , being the property of Thomas
Gent , the celebrated York printer . In 1725 was started the York Oourant , which in 1848 was merged in the York Uerald ; and in 1772 Ftherington ' s York Chronicle saw the light , and in 1839 was merged in the Yorkshire Gazette . My search in the files of the Courant—by kind permission
of Mr . Hargrove , the manager of the York Herald—from its earliest date to 1761 , the year of the revival of the Grand Lodge at York , has been barren of any discovery of direct allusions to the Craft in York , but I find in the number for 30 th January 1739 , an advertisement of Anderson ' s Constitutions of 1738 .
This day is published , in Largo and Small Quarto , dedicated to H . R . H . Frederick Prince of Wales , and presented by tbe Right Honourable tbe Marquis of Carnarvon , present Grand Master ,
THE NEW BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS , by James Anderson , D . D . Printed for Ward and Chandler , Booksellers , in Coney-street , York , and at Scarborough . Large paper , 10 s 6 d : small , 53 .
The publisher of the Courant at this time was Caasar Ward , of Coney-street , York . I have not a copy of these Constitutions to refer to ; but from this advertisement one
would gather that the edition issued b y Ward was unauthorised . If so , it would go to show that Freemasonry was very strong in York and in the North to make it worth the while of a local publisher to produce a reprint .
In the number for 4 th December of the same year is
announced" The Merry Companion , " price 2 s , containing 100 songs , including Hunting , Jollity , the Freemasons , & o . Published by Ward and Chandler , at the Ship , without Temple Bar , London , and at their shops in York and Scarborough .
On 11 th December 1759 , was advertised in the Ootirant " The Freemasons' Songs , price Is . Printed for R . Bremner , at Edinburgh , and sold by T . Haxby , in York ; " and in the same paper , of 25 th April 1760 , I find the
following : — Sold by C . Etberington , in York j R . Beckwith , in Ripon ; E . Carbntt , in Whitby ; G . Sagg , in Mflton : and J . Smith , in Bradford .
A MASTER KEY TO FREEMASONRY , by which all the Secrets of the Society are laid open and their pretended mysteries exposed to the public , with an accurate account of the examination of the Apprentice , Fellow Craft , and Master .
QUIDQUID SUB TEKKA EST IN APRRICUM PROFERET ( ETAS . —Hor . YOUR SECRETS , SIRS , WHIT RISE , THO' ALL THE EARTH O ' ERVHELH THEM , TO MEN ' S EYES . London : Printed for J . Bird , opposite St . Dunstan ' s Churcb . Fleet Street .
N . B . —The public may depend upon this being a gennine account of their whole secrets , by which a person may gain admittance into a Lodge . During the whole of the last century clubs and guilds of all kinds wore very prevalent , and in York there were
several of them . The Ancient Society of York Florists ( still in existence ) was one of these , the Antient and Honourable Society of Gregorians was another , and
announcements of their meetings appear with tolerable regularity . The Grand Lodge at York was revived , as we all know , in March 1761 , but I meet with no Masonic notices of publications or meetings from 1760 until 20 th December 1763 , when the following occurs :
MOKRITT , Grand Master . The FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS are desired to meet the GRAND MASTER at Mr . Howard ' s , in Lendal , York , on Tuesday , tho 27 th instant December . Dinner on the Table at Two o ' clock . Tickets may be had of Mr . Tasker , Treasurer .
Brooks f „ . Atkinson j Wardens . John Sawry Morritt was the father of the John B . S . Morritt who purchased the historic domain of Rokeby from the Robinson family , late in the last century , and was a mend of Sir Walter Scott . He was not made a Mason in the Lodge at York , for he was a visiting * brother on the
'th October 1762 , when his brother Christopher was pro-Posed as a candidate . The Morritts had a town house iu Micklegate , York , as most of the county families had at that period . Joseph Atkinson , the Junior Warden , was tl a op crative otoneinason , and the entry of his initiation and
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
that of his brother , in the Grand Lodge records , is very interesting , since it seems to indicate that the old Lodge at York recognised its operative origin , and was following the custom of years long antecedent , when the speculative element first knocked at its doors . Thomas and Joseph
Atkinson , two brothers , petitioned to be made brethren in 1761 , and "being balloted for and approved of nem con , were accordingly elected E . P . ' s and F . C . ' s without paying
the usual fees of the Lodge , as being working Masons . Joseph Atkinson was the builder of the bridge over the River Foss in York , and the Grand Lodge of all England attended in regalia to lay the first stone of that bridge .
In the Courant of 19 th June 1764 , appears a similar summons for the 25 th June , signed by ( J . ) Palmes and Wilbor , Wardens , and on the 18 th December 1764 is a notice headed "Palmes Grand Master , " announcing a
dinner for the 27 th December , and signed " Willbor and Nickson Wardens . " On the 18 th June and 24 th December 1765 , the half-yearly assemblies were again advertised under Palmes Grand Master .
John Palmes was a member of a very old family established at Naburn , near York , for several centuries . He was made a Mason in the Lodge at York in May 1761 , immediately after its revival by Drake and his party . Willbor the Senior Warden appears to have been a bootmaker or currier .
I find in the Courant for 22 nd April 1766 , an advertisement of another of the catch penny " exposures" that seem to have amused the public of those days advertised as follows : —
This day is published , price 2 s , sold by W . Tesseyman , Bookseller in the Minster Yard , York . ( Illustrated with several elegant copper , plates being the only performance of the kind by whioh a person may gain admittance to any lodge in tbe world without the expenoe of being a Mason . )
SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY : OR THE MASTER MASON . Being a true guide to the inmost recesses of Freemasonry both , ancient and modern . Containing a minute account of the proceed , ings from an Entered Apprentice to a Past Masterj with the different words , signs , and gripes .
Illustrated with several elegant copper-plates exhibiting the different lodges , Freemasons , cyphers , & o . To which is added a complete list of all the English regular Lodges in the world according to their seniority with the dates of each Con .
stitntion and days of meeting . By T . W . an officer in the army and late Master of the Swan Tavern Lodge in the Strand . Translated from the French original , published at Berlin , and bnrnt by order of the King of Prussia at the intercession of the
Freemasons . London : Printed for G . Robinson and J . Roberts , afc Addison ' s Head , in Paternoster Row . Grand Master ( J . ) Palmes advertised his summer meeting in 1766 at Mr . John Dalton ' s , the Punch Bowl , in
Stonegate , a regular Masonic house , the winter meeting being also held there , the Wardens on the last occasion signing themselves " Willbore and Nixon . " A Lodge warranted by the Grand Lodge in London ( Moderns ) had been held for a few years at the Punch Bowl , but had
ceased to meet when Palmes and his brethren took up their quarters there . The minutes of this Punch Bowl ( or Stonegate ) Lodge , No . 259 , are still extant , and were described by me in the Freemason some years ago . The Grand Lodge of All England had in 1762 warranted a
Lodge of French Prisoners of War to meet at the Punch Bowl Inn , but we have no record of any of its proceedings . On 23 rd June 1767 , Agar , Grand Master , and his Wardens , Atkinson and Beckwith , publicly summoned the brethren to meet at the Punch Bowl on the 24 th of the
month , and again on Monday , the 28 th of December , they advertised themselves to dine at the same house . Seth Agar was Sheriff of York in 1760 and an Alderman . He came of an old family of York mercers and
woollendrapers , his father having been Lord Mayor in 1744 ( presumably ) , and his grandfather in 1724 . He must have been an intelligent brother , as his name appears as a subscriber to " Calcott ' s Candid Disquisition" on Freemasonry , published in 1769 . He was initiated in 1761 .
14 th June 1768 saw the public summons of another ( Geo . ) Palmes , Grand Master , whose Wardens were Nickson and Wright ; these for the first time signed themselves
Grand Wardens . 27 th December of that year and 13 th June and 27 th December of the following year were again festivals , as well as 25 th June of 1770 , all under Grand Master Palmes , and all advertised . George Palmes was apparently a brother of John , who had been Grand Master in 1765 and 66 . and was made a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
to revert to these manners and customs of their prototypes of the eighteenth century . Even as late as 1801 three of tlie nine weekly journals published in this broad county of Yorkshire were issued from the Tort Press , and in the previous century the
printers of York had gained a prestige and notoriety for good work which was second to none in the kingdom . The first newspaper published in York was called the York Mercury , which made its appearance on the 23 rd February 1719 , and died in 1740 , being the property of Thomas
Gent , the celebrated York printer . In 1725 was started the York Oourant , which in 1848 was merged in the York Uerald ; and in 1772 Ftherington ' s York Chronicle saw the light , and in 1839 was merged in the Yorkshire Gazette . My search in the files of the Courant—by kind permission
of Mr . Hargrove , the manager of the York Herald—from its earliest date to 1761 , the year of the revival of the Grand Lodge at York , has been barren of any discovery of direct allusions to the Craft in York , but I find in the number for 30 th January 1739 , an advertisement of Anderson ' s Constitutions of 1738 .
This day is published , in Largo and Small Quarto , dedicated to H . R . H . Frederick Prince of Wales , and presented by tbe Right Honourable tbe Marquis of Carnarvon , present Grand Master ,
THE NEW BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS , by James Anderson , D . D . Printed for Ward and Chandler , Booksellers , in Coney-street , York , and at Scarborough . Large paper , 10 s 6 d : small , 53 .
The publisher of the Courant at this time was Caasar Ward , of Coney-street , York . I have not a copy of these Constitutions to refer to ; but from this advertisement one
would gather that the edition issued b y Ward was unauthorised . If so , it would go to show that Freemasonry was very strong in York and in the North to make it worth the while of a local publisher to produce a reprint .
In the number for 4 th December of the same year is
announced" The Merry Companion , " price 2 s , containing 100 songs , including Hunting , Jollity , the Freemasons , & o . Published by Ward and Chandler , at the Ship , without Temple Bar , London , and at their shops in York and Scarborough .
On 11 th December 1759 , was advertised in the Ootirant " The Freemasons' Songs , price Is . Printed for R . Bremner , at Edinburgh , and sold by T . Haxby , in York ; " and in the same paper , of 25 th April 1760 , I find the
following : — Sold by C . Etberington , in York j R . Beckwith , in Ripon ; E . Carbntt , in Whitby ; G . Sagg , in Mflton : and J . Smith , in Bradford .
A MASTER KEY TO FREEMASONRY , by which all the Secrets of the Society are laid open and their pretended mysteries exposed to the public , with an accurate account of the examination of the Apprentice , Fellow Craft , and Master .
QUIDQUID SUB TEKKA EST IN APRRICUM PROFERET ( ETAS . —Hor . YOUR SECRETS , SIRS , WHIT RISE , THO' ALL THE EARTH O ' ERVHELH THEM , TO MEN ' S EYES . London : Printed for J . Bird , opposite St . Dunstan ' s Churcb . Fleet Street .
N . B . —The public may depend upon this being a gennine account of their whole secrets , by which a person may gain admittance into a Lodge . During the whole of the last century clubs and guilds of all kinds wore very prevalent , and in York there were
several of them . The Ancient Society of York Florists ( still in existence ) was one of these , the Antient and Honourable Society of Gregorians was another , and
announcements of their meetings appear with tolerable regularity . The Grand Lodge at York was revived , as we all know , in March 1761 , but I meet with no Masonic notices of publications or meetings from 1760 until 20 th December 1763 , when the following occurs :
MOKRITT , Grand Master . The FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS are desired to meet the GRAND MASTER at Mr . Howard ' s , in Lendal , York , on Tuesday , tho 27 th instant December . Dinner on the Table at Two o ' clock . Tickets may be had of Mr . Tasker , Treasurer .
Brooks f „ . Atkinson j Wardens . John Sawry Morritt was the father of the John B . S . Morritt who purchased the historic domain of Rokeby from the Robinson family , late in the last century , and was a mend of Sir Walter Scott . He was not made a Mason in the Lodge at York , for he was a visiting * brother on the
'th October 1762 , when his brother Christopher was pro-Posed as a candidate . The Morritts had a town house iu Micklegate , York , as most of the county families had at that period . Joseph Atkinson , the Junior Warden , was tl a op crative otoneinason , and the entry of his initiation and
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
that of his brother , in the Grand Lodge records , is very interesting , since it seems to indicate that the old Lodge at York recognised its operative origin , and was following the custom of years long antecedent , when the speculative element first knocked at its doors . Thomas and Joseph
Atkinson , two brothers , petitioned to be made brethren in 1761 , and "being balloted for and approved of nem con , were accordingly elected E . P . ' s and F . C . ' s without paying
the usual fees of the Lodge , as being working Masons . Joseph Atkinson was the builder of the bridge over the River Foss in York , and the Grand Lodge of all England attended in regalia to lay the first stone of that bridge .
In the Courant of 19 th June 1764 , appears a similar summons for the 25 th June , signed by ( J . ) Palmes and Wilbor , Wardens , and on the 18 th December 1764 is a notice headed "Palmes Grand Master , " announcing a
dinner for the 27 th December , and signed " Willbor and Nickson Wardens . " On the 18 th June and 24 th December 1765 , the half-yearly assemblies were again advertised under Palmes Grand Master .
John Palmes was a member of a very old family established at Naburn , near York , for several centuries . He was made a Mason in the Lodge at York in May 1761 , immediately after its revival by Drake and his party . Willbor the Senior Warden appears to have been a bootmaker or currier .
I find in the Courant for 22 nd April 1766 , an advertisement of another of the catch penny " exposures" that seem to have amused the public of those days advertised as follows : —
This day is published , price 2 s , sold by W . Tesseyman , Bookseller in the Minster Yard , York . ( Illustrated with several elegant copper , plates being the only performance of the kind by whioh a person may gain admittance to any lodge in tbe world without the expenoe of being a Mason . )
SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY : OR THE MASTER MASON . Being a true guide to the inmost recesses of Freemasonry both , ancient and modern . Containing a minute account of the proceed , ings from an Entered Apprentice to a Past Masterj with the different words , signs , and gripes .
Illustrated with several elegant copper-plates exhibiting the different lodges , Freemasons , cyphers , & o . To which is added a complete list of all the English regular Lodges in the world according to their seniority with the dates of each Con .
stitntion and days of meeting . By T . W . an officer in the army and late Master of the Swan Tavern Lodge in the Strand . Translated from the French original , published at Berlin , and bnrnt by order of the King of Prussia at the intercession of the
Freemasons . London : Printed for G . Robinson and J . Roberts , afc Addison ' s Head , in Paternoster Row . Grand Master ( J . ) Palmes advertised his summer meeting in 1766 at Mr . John Dalton ' s , the Punch Bowl , in
Stonegate , a regular Masonic house , the winter meeting being also held there , the Wardens on the last occasion signing themselves " Willbore and Nixon . " A Lodge warranted by the Grand Lodge in London ( Moderns ) had been held for a few years at the Punch Bowl , but had
ceased to meet when Palmes and his brethren took up their quarters there . The minutes of this Punch Bowl ( or Stonegate ) Lodge , No . 259 , are still extant , and were described by me in the Freemason some years ago . The Grand Lodge of All England had in 1762 warranted a
Lodge of French Prisoners of War to meet at the Punch Bowl Inn , but we have no record of any of its proceedings . On 23 rd June 1767 , Agar , Grand Master , and his Wardens , Atkinson and Beckwith , publicly summoned the brethren to meet at the Punch Bowl on the 24 th of the
month , and again on Monday , the 28 th of December , they advertised themselves to dine at the same house . Seth Agar was Sheriff of York in 1760 and an Alderman . He came of an old family of York mercers and
woollendrapers , his father having been Lord Mayor in 1744 ( presumably ) , and his grandfather in 1724 . He must have been an intelligent brother , as his name appears as a subscriber to " Calcott ' s Candid Disquisition" on Freemasonry , published in 1769 . He was initiated in 1761 .
14 th June 1768 saw the public summons of another ( Geo . ) Palmes , Grand Master , whose Wardens were Nickson and Wright ; these for the first time signed themselves
Grand Wardens . 27 th December of that year and 13 th June and 27 th December of the following year were again festivals , as well as 25 th June of 1770 , all under Grand Master Palmes , and all advertised . George Palmes was apparently a brother of John , who had been Grand Master in 1765 and 66 . and was made a