Freemasonry In Cheshire*

of the Old Lodge at Chester , in 1818 , in order that Bro . E . V . Townshend might become an Installed Master , and thereby be in possession of the necessary qualification for office as Dep . Prov . G . M . We have not laid any stress on the election of

Deacons in the Old Lodge ( No . 180 ) in 1743 , or the remark of Bro . ARMSTRONG as to such election disposing of the idea " that the office of Deacon was introduced into England by the Irish Masons , who inaugurated the rival Grand Lodge of the so-called

' Ancients' in 1751 . " Dermott claimed for his Grand Lodge that it adhered strictly to the " Ancient " laws and usages of the Craft , from which the regular Grand Lodge had departed , and in one of his letters or addresses to his Grand Lodffe he mentions

Andersons Constitutions of 1738—from which Spratt , Grand Secretary of Ireland , derived his Constitutions of 1751—as being necessary to a right understanding of the laws and customs , & c , of pure and ancient Masonry . TJius , putting the

matter briefly , we suggest that the " Ancients" retained the office of Deacon , while the " Moderns , " or a great number of their lodges , allowed it to drop . But there is not the same

necessity that we should overwei ght our review of Bro . ARMSTRONG ' S work with details of the events that occurred during : the 35 years that Lord Combermere presided over the Province , or under his successors in office . But there are a few facts which

deserve to be recorded , such as the establishment , in 1843 , of a Provincial " Fund of Benevolence "—it would appear from this that the one formed , or proposed to be formed , in Sir John Grey Egerton ' s time must have proved a failure—the idea having

originated with the Piovincial Grand Master , while , in 186 3 , the Cheshire Educational Institution was established , and received every encouragement and support from his lordship and Lady Combermere , who accepted the position of Patroness . On the

death of Lord Combermere , in 1 S 65 , Lord de Tabley was appointed Provincial Grand Master , and under his auspices likewise the Province prospered , and its Educational Fund was still more liberally supported , and was able to dispense its benefits to a larger

number of children . During the administration of Lord—subsequently Earl—Egerton of Tatton , still further progress was made , and a second Provincial Charity was organised—the Cheshire Benevolent Institution—formed on the lines of the

koyal Masonic Benevolent Institution in London . This , too , considering the brief period it has been in existence , is doing good work , and the custom which has lately been adopted of holding Festivals periodically in aid of these Charities , seems in

every way calculated to strengthen them financially and enlarge their respective spheres of usefulness . These , then , are the main facts in Cheshire Masonry which have occurred since 1830 .

But there is a continuous record of the work done by the Provincial Grand Lodge , and those who delight in studying such records as have been so ably strung together in these chapters in narrative form will find much to reward them for their labour .

Following this account of the Prov . Grand Lodge is a " List of Lodges meeting in Cheshire during the last two Centuries , " while Chapter XIX . —of which by the way there appear to be two—is headed " The Time Immemorial Lodges of Cheshire , "

namely , the first five in the " List of Lodges " aforesaid . This is a most interesting chapter , as the senior of the live was working till about 70 years ago , and was not erased from the roll of lodges until 1838 . It is a long chapter extending to over 20

pages , and contains a series of extracts from the minutes during the period from 1 743 to 1829 . It is greatly to be regretted that steps were not taken to prevent the erasure of this venerable lod ge , which throughout nearly the whole of its career played so

important a part in Cheshire Masonry and was , indeed , for many years almost one and the sa . me with the Prov . Grand Lodge . Wc consider that Bro . ARMSTRONG has made out a fair claim for this—which during the latter pa . rt of its career was known as

••he Royal Chester Lodge—a . s the direct descendant of the old " Sunn " Lodge at Chester of 1724 , which '" gurus in our L . ; ir . ] i est | j stS ( alui 0 r NV ] ijcl , a \[ si 0 f the members 111 ' 7-5 is preserved in the archives of Grand Lodge . But

we do not think that he is justified in designating these hve lod ges—three at Chester , one at Congleton , and one at Macclesfield—as Time-Immemorial . They may have been in existence before 1717 , when the Grand Lodge of England was ormed . Whence they came and how tiUey found their way into

Freemasonry In Cheshire*

the early Lodge lists does not appear . That the three lodges at Chester existed in 1725 we have the lists of the members furnished to Grand Lodge in November of that year as evidence . But there does not appear to us to be anything in the shape of

acceptable proof that they had been working for any such length of time as would justify their being ranked in the same category with the Lodge of Antiquity and the Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge . But this does not detract from the value

of the chapter for the light it throws upon the proceedings of our early odges during a portion of the first half of the 18 th century . What follows as regards the other lodges which have existed , or still exist—among the latter being the Cestrian

Lodge , No . 425 , which was warranted in 18 34 , and may be regarded as the descendant of the Royal Chester—is also well worth reading , but such further remarks as we desire to offer must be reserved for a further and concluding article .

An Old Masonic Badge.

AN OLD MASONIC BADGE .

A pretty silver ( gilt ) jewel has been sent me for explanation and description , of a kind which evidently was worn , generally , during the 18 th Century . The earliest dated piece I have met with , is of the year 1763 , and then 1766 . Of these there are several specimens similar to the above ( dated 1783 ); the design being practically the same in all .

In the Grand Lodge Collection , there is a fine specimen , based upon the 1763 design , but not the same emblems always , the legends on which are different . Obverse , " The Lodge of Strict Benevolence , No . 532 . Constituted April 5 th , 1796 . Reverse , John Greeves , Lynn Regis . A . M . 579 6 . Sit Lux Et Lux Fuit . A . D . 179 6 . "

•The description by Bro . W . T . R . Marvin , M . A ., in his " Medals of the Masonic Fraternity" ( Boston , U . S . A ., 1880 ) , occurs under No . LXI ., page 41 , and answers substantially for

the various pieces , traced of late years , whatever their date . " A curious medal , once belonging to Henry Price , first Provincial Grand Master of North America , of silver , struck in a die , with what would have been the field carefully cut out ,

OBVERSE . REVERSE . leaving the objects equally to be distinguished on either side . Obverse : Within a circle bearing the words AMOR . HONOR ET JUSTITIA [ Love , Honor , and Justice ' ] , and divided into quarters by the letters N . E . S . W ., arc two pillars , upon the top of which

is a level ; the square and compasses on the Bible above ; the top of the level and the joint of the compasses being together nearly in the centre . On the right of these the sun , a gavel and two crossed pens ; on the left , the crescent moon , a plumb , and a scroll , on which is the 47 th proposition of Euclid ; from the

top of the plumb diagonally to the foot of the right hand pillar is the 24 inch guage . The same description applies to the Reverse , except that the objects are reversed relatively to each other . On the rim of the circle at the bottom , SIT LUX I 5 T LUX

FUIT [ Let there be lig ht and there was light ] , and at the top the All-seeing eye between AM and 57 63 . A loop is attached , by which it was worn suspended by a ribbon . " It is doubtful if Bro . Shackles would admit it into his unique Collection as a

medal . In fhe same valuable and most interesting volume , note 20 reads : " Dr . Alfred C ' reigh , of Washington , Pa ., has one similar to this and the medal described hereafter under

LXI ., with date 57 66 , which was presented him by an English gentleman , who informed him that such a medal was given to each member of his lodge on the night he was raised to the Master Mason ' s Degree . "