Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Early Organisation Of The "Ancient" Masons.
matter it contains fills only a few pages . However , there is an old saying which connects "little" with " good , " and in the case of this Register Book , it will be difficult , as I have said , to over-estimate the value of its two or three score pages of information . It is not a complete guide to the transactions of the " Ancients" prior to Dermolt ' s appointment as Grand Secretary on the aforesaid 7 th February , 1752 . It contains no
minutes whatever , but it does contain , firstly ,. in what I presume must be Morgan ' s handwriting , and partly in Dermolt ' s , a code of " Rules and Orders , " drawn up by a Committee appointed by the General Assembly , held at the Turk's / Head , Greek-street , on the 17 th July , i 7 .- * i , "for the observance of "the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of ' jl ^ ree and Accepted Masons , " the said "Rules and Orders" being 16 ni number ,
and the brethren constituting the Committee which framed them being Bros . Philip McLoughlin , Samuel Quay , James Shee , and Joseph Kelly , with Bro . John Morgan , " Grand Secretary , Viz' - For the Grand . " Immediatel y following these are two other Rules ( Nos . 17 and iS ) of which we have no mention in Dermolt ' s minutes , though they were passed subsequently to his appointment as Grand Secretary , namely , the earlier ( No .
17 ) on April 6 th , 1752 , when Bro . John Morris was in the chair , and the later ( No . iS ) on July 14 , 1752 , when Bro . John Doughty was in the chair . These two rules , it is almost needless to say , are not in the same handwriting as the 16 preceding them . On the very next page to these additional rules is an elaborate notice bearing date the 14 th September , 1752 , and referred to by Dermott in his minutes of proceedings on that
day . 'I his has Dermott s signature at foot , and so likewise has a . note at the top of the next page — " Here were seven leaves ( or 14 pages ) which contain'd twenty-seven Rules , or Bylaws , for private Lodges mention'd in the first " ( as a matter of fact they are referred to in the second ) "page of the Transn . book March 4 , 1752 , which were cut out and burnt by General Consent , " the evidence that
certain leaves have been cut out , as stated , being clear enough . After an interval of blank space , we come to what is headed "The Black List , " containing the names of brethren excluded for offences of a more or less heinous character against the Society , and on the next page begins the "General Register" of members , ranging as to number from I to 1017 , and in respect of date from " 175 1 " to 14 th August , 1756 , though , as many of
the names are repeated , in several instances more than once , there are by no means 1017 members . This Register is arranged in tabular form , and contains particulars where furnishable as to whence the member came , by whom he was reported or recommended , when he was made or initiated , what lodge he belonged to , and when he was discharged from his lodge , and for what reason , the earlier portion being for the most part in Morgan ' s
handwriting , and the latter , I presume , in Dermolt ' s , or that of his assistant . After a longish interval of blank space , we come lastly to three Lists of Lodges , the first ranging from 17 th July , 1751 , to nth December , 1752 , but not consecutively , there being , in fact , two parts , of which , the second is in some measure a repetition of the first , except as regards the places where the lodges so repeated were held , or their days of
meeting . 1 his List , or Register , is in the two handwritings already specified , the earlier portion being in that of John Morgan , and columns are provided for the "Time Warranted , " " No . of Lodire , "" Where Held , " "Lodge Nights , " "No . of Members , " "Half-year ' s Payments , " "To whom Paid , " and " By whom Paid , " no information , however , being entered under the last four columns . The second List has the following heading : —
Dec . 27 th 1752 . Anno Lap . 5752 . Grand Lodge in due form assembled at the Five Bells Tavern , in Wich-strcet , Strand , London . Bro . Thos . Blower , Mastr . of ( then ) No . 8 , in the chair . Oider'd the members of Nos . 7 and 10 should be discontinued in this Book for their disobedience of the 21 st Rule of the Grand , And the following be the true List and Numbers of all the Ancient Regular Lodges in and about London . Anno Lap . 5752 . 5752 .
The lodges in this "list are consecutive as regards numbers from 2 to 37 , and as regards date from 17 July , 1751 , to 19 August , 1754 , except that , in the case of Lodge No . n , it is stated to have been warranted on the 13 th November , and No . 12 , on the 4 th November , 1752 , the same inversion of the usual order as to dale of warrant being noticeable in the earliest lodge list . There are here also , columns headed " Where Held " and " Lodge Nights" respective !}' , and : i further untitled column in which changes
occurring from time to time in the places of meeting have been entered . In this column also is inserted , against No . 7 " ( former No . 8 ) , " and against No . 9 , "former No . 11 , " both these entries being in pencil . Let me add that though professing to be a list of the "Antient Regular Lodges in and about London , " Nos . 24 and 25 , both warranted the 17 th October , 1753 , belong to Bristol , and , for the amusement of the reader , I may state that No . 35 . warranted 19 th April , 1754 , is described as meeting on the " 2 nd and 4 th Friday , " at the " King ' s Bench Prison . "
The third is headed "A List of Lodges " June 24 th , 1 755 , and is continued imperfectly to 1757 . It contains the 36 lodges entered in No . 2 and lodges Nos . 38 to 64 , there being , however , several ( 20 ) of the numbers left vacant , while in the case of the lodges from No . 38 ( inclusive ) onwards , the dates of constitution are in nearly every case inserted . The first two pages of this list are in double columns , the remainder being in single .
It remains for me to state that there is an al phabetical index of names to the Register of Members , each name having against it the number in the register , and in the case of re-registry , the new number or numbers so obtained .
The above will serve as a kind ot brief descriptive " Table of Contents , " but a detailed examination of the contents must be reserved for a further paper .
Review.
REVIEW .
T H I R D N O T I C E THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY . Vol . V . B y ROBERT FREKE GOULD , P . G . S . D . London : Thomas C . fack , 4- ; , Ludgate-hill , E . C . 1886 . The chapter on the G'and Lodge of Scotland need not occupy us long . Freemasonry North of the Tweed has been extremely fortunate , both as
regards the preservation of its earl y lodge records and in having had so capable a brother as Bro . D . Murray Lyon to delineate ils history . Thus , any difficulties that may have occurred to Bro . Gould in sketching the rise and fortunes of the Grand Lodge of Scotland will have been in a contrary direction to those he experienced in the case of Ireland . In respect of the
Review.
latter he had little to work upon in the shape of minutes or the researches of past writers ; while in the case of Scotland he must have been almost em . Isarrasscd by the wealth of matter that has been so carefully treasured up by the Scotch lodges . Nor , with Bro . Lyon ' s exhaustive History before him , could he look to do more than lay before his readers in brief what that
distinguished writer had already described in amplest detail . However , Bro , Gould has written a clear and accurate sketch of Scottish Freemasonry , one that fits in well witli the rest of his work , and is , at the same time , characterised by a certain independence of thought and treatment , which shows that he has not servilely followed in the footsteps of his predecessors .
It is certainly worthy of remark that the brethren of Edinburgh should have been so dilatory in following the example of the London lodges in setting up a Grand Lodge of Scotland , and no doubt the fact of so many prominent noblemen connected with the Northern Kingdom having been elected to the chair of the Grand Lodge of England had its influence in bringing about the establishment of the Northern Grand Lodge . But if there
was a delay beyond what might have been expected , the circumstances attending the erection of the Grand Lodge of ' Scotland are considerably more imposing than they were in London , partl y from there having been so many more lodges associated together in the work , but chiefl y from the resignation by St . Clair of his office of hereditary Grand Master . As Bro . Gould says : — " Whatever may have been the
immediate motive of the originators of the scheme "—by which the Grand Lodge of Scotland was established— " the setting up a Grand Lodge so ostensibly upon the ruins of an institution that had ceased to be of practical benefit , but which in former times had been closely allied to the Guilds of the Mason Craft , gave to the new organisation an air of antiquity as the lineal representative of the ancient courts of Operative
Masonry ; while the opportune resignation of St . Clair was , if not too closely criticised , calculated to give the whole affair a sort of legal aspect which was wanting at the Institution of the Grand Lodge of England . ' At all events , the Grand Lodge of Scotland with St . Clair as its Grand Master was established towards the close of 1736 with a considerable amount of ceremonial , and a start having been made , no time was lost in the work of organisation , and
for a time things went smoothly enough . But in a few years , the lodge of Kilwinning , having become dissatisfied with its place on the roll as second to Mary ' s Chapel , " resumed its independence , which in the matter of granting charters it had in reality never renounced , and for well nigh 70 years continued to exist as an independent Grand Bod y . " This schism , however , does not seem to have been accompanied by that bitterness of
feeling which actuated the supporters of the rival " Ancient " and " Modern " systems in England . Indeed , nothing further happened than that Kilwinning , not being able to obtain what it considered its due , resumed its old status , while the Grand Lodge in Edinburgh with its affiliated lodges went on its way , if not rejoicing , at least without enmity towards its rival . But it is no business of ours to trace the progress of the Scottish Craft . What
is needed to elucidate generally its history will be found in Chapter XXIII . of this history and to it accordingly we must refer our readers . We would , however , suggest that the digression about Young and the Prevosts is out of place in the narrative . The matter is interesting , but it would have been better given as a footnote . Where it is , it breaks the continuity of the story , and is itself the chief element in the confusion which the author has laboured
so anxiously to clear up . As to the concluding portion of the chapter , in which are set forth the innocence of Mother Kilwinning of all connection with the hitjh grades and much else relating to the many foreign novelties which have been fathered on the Craft in Scotland , it seems to us that Bro . Gould has said enough , for all reasonable purposes , to show what degrees were practised and to what extent .
Having taken us through Ireland and Scotland , Bro . Gould turns his attention to foreign parts , and has no difficulty in accounting for the rapid spread of Masonry abroad . His explanation , indeed , is most reasonable . "England , " he remarks , " at that time was , without doubt , the centre of all eyes , and any important movement in this country was bound to attract especial attention from the world at large- Marlborough ' s brilliant
achievements abroad had made our weight felt on the Continent , the States of Europe were distracted and impoverished by constant wars , whilst England was at least undisturbed within her own frontiers , and exceedingly wealthy . Her possession of Hanover brought her into close contact with Germany , but her alliance , and , above all , her large subsidies were desired b y each of the contending states in turn , and , as a consequence , her capital was the
rendezvous of thousands of foreigners . Under these circumstances the formation of the Grand Lodge could barely have escaped notice ; but when noblemen of high position , and men celebrated for their learning , began to frequent our assemblies , to accept our offices , to take part in public processions , proudly wearing our jewels and aprons , no foreigner resident in the City of London could fail to be struck with the phenomenon . " It
followed , as a matter of course , that our foreign visitors , when they returned home , exhibited a sttong desire to have meetings of their own , and that where a sufficient number ofthe initiated were gathered together , therealodge or lodges were established . But all of them derived their being from the British Craft , and Bro . Gould is fully justified in his statement " that no single Freemason ever lived on the Continent or elsewhere whose Masonic
pedigree does not begin in Great Britain . No former association , guild or otherwise , passed into a fraternity of Freemasons outside these islands , nor was an } ' connection with the building trades of the Continent ever claimed by the first Freemasons of Europe . The Craft there is a direct importation from England , and in its infancy , and for many subsequent years , was confined entirely to the upper classes without the least admixture of the artisan . "
But if foreign countries derived their Masonry from us , they speedily found out a way of adapting it to their own whims and caprices and their irrepressible love of show . Many years had not elapsed from its earliest introduction into neighbouring continental states ere a number of degrees were invented , France , as might have been expected , taking the lead in originating these novelties . It is curious , however , that most of these should have had a Scottish origin ascribed to them , which is , no doubt , to be
accounted for partly by the fact that Scotchmen—partisans of the Stuarts —were among the chief early supporters of Masonry on the continent , but chiefly by the connection of Ramsay with Freemasonry and the speech in which he advocated its cause and described its merits . This gave strength to the idea that the new system of degrees , as they were clearly not of
English birth , must have come from Scotland , and the latter country enjoys the honour of having originated a rite , which has nothing Scottish about it beyond its name . However , Ramsay , his speech , and the vagaries of earl y continental Masons are too important to be dealt with at the close of an article . We shall , therefore , reserve our notice of them till another week .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Early Organisation Of The "Ancient" Masons.
matter it contains fills only a few pages . However , there is an old saying which connects "little" with " good , " and in the case of this Register Book , it will be difficult , as I have said , to over-estimate the value of its two or three score pages of information . It is not a complete guide to the transactions of the " Ancients" prior to Dermolt ' s appointment as Grand Secretary on the aforesaid 7 th February , 1752 . It contains no
minutes whatever , but it does contain , firstly ,. in what I presume must be Morgan ' s handwriting , and partly in Dermolt ' s , a code of " Rules and Orders , " drawn up by a Committee appointed by the General Assembly , held at the Turk's / Head , Greek-street , on the 17 th July , i 7 .- * i , "for the observance of "the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of ' jl ^ ree and Accepted Masons , " the said "Rules and Orders" being 16 ni number ,
and the brethren constituting the Committee which framed them being Bros . Philip McLoughlin , Samuel Quay , James Shee , and Joseph Kelly , with Bro . John Morgan , " Grand Secretary , Viz' - For the Grand . " Immediatel y following these are two other Rules ( Nos . 17 and iS ) of which we have no mention in Dermolt ' s minutes , though they were passed subsequently to his appointment as Grand Secretary , namely , the earlier ( No .
17 ) on April 6 th , 1752 , when Bro . John Morris was in the chair , and the later ( No . iS ) on July 14 , 1752 , when Bro . John Doughty was in the chair . These two rules , it is almost needless to say , are not in the same handwriting as the 16 preceding them . On the very next page to these additional rules is an elaborate notice bearing date the 14 th September , 1752 , and referred to by Dermott in his minutes of proceedings on that
day . 'I his has Dermott s signature at foot , and so likewise has a . note at the top of the next page — " Here were seven leaves ( or 14 pages ) which contain'd twenty-seven Rules , or Bylaws , for private Lodges mention'd in the first " ( as a matter of fact they are referred to in the second ) "page of the Transn . book March 4 , 1752 , which were cut out and burnt by General Consent , " the evidence that
certain leaves have been cut out , as stated , being clear enough . After an interval of blank space , we come to what is headed "The Black List , " containing the names of brethren excluded for offences of a more or less heinous character against the Society , and on the next page begins the "General Register" of members , ranging as to number from I to 1017 , and in respect of date from " 175 1 " to 14 th August , 1756 , though , as many of
the names are repeated , in several instances more than once , there are by no means 1017 members . This Register is arranged in tabular form , and contains particulars where furnishable as to whence the member came , by whom he was reported or recommended , when he was made or initiated , what lodge he belonged to , and when he was discharged from his lodge , and for what reason , the earlier portion being for the most part in Morgan ' s
handwriting , and the latter , I presume , in Dermolt ' s , or that of his assistant . After a longish interval of blank space , we come lastly to three Lists of Lodges , the first ranging from 17 th July , 1751 , to nth December , 1752 , but not consecutively , there being , in fact , two parts , of which , the second is in some measure a repetition of the first , except as regards the places where the lodges so repeated were held , or their days of
meeting . 1 his List , or Register , is in the two handwritings already specified , the earlier portion being in that of John Morgan , and columns are provided for the "Time Warranted , " " No . of Lodire , "" Where Held , " "Lodge Nights , " "No . of Members , " "Half-year ' s Payments , " "To whom Paid , " and " By whom Paid , " no information , however , being entered under the last four columns . The second List has the following heading : —
Dec . 27 th 1752 . Anno Lap . 5752 . Grand Lodge in due form assembled at the Five Bells Tavern , in Wich-strcet , Strand , London . Bro . Thos . Blower , Mastr . of ( then ) No . 8 , in the chair . Oider'd the members of Nos . 7 and 10 should be discontinued in this Book for their disobedience of the 21 st Rule of the Grand , And the following be the true List and Numbers of all the Ancient Regular Lodges in and about London . Anno Lap . 5752 . 5752 .
The lodges in this "list are consecutive as regards numbers from 2 to 37 , and as regards date from 17 July , 1751 , to 19 August , 1754 , except that , in the case of Lodge No . n , it is stated to have been warranted on the 13 th November , and No . 12 , on the 4 th November , 1752 , the same inversion of the usual order as to dale of warrant being noticeable in the earliest lodge list . There are here also , columns headed " Where Held " and " Lodge Nights" respective !}' , and : i further untitled column in which changes
occurring from time to time in the places of meeting have been entered . In this column also is inserted , against No . 7 " ( former No . 8 ) , " and against No . 9 , "former No . 11 , " both these entries being in pencil . Let me add that though professing to be a list of the "Antient Regular Lodges in and about London , " Nos . 24 and 25 , both warranted the 17 th October , 1753 , belong to Bristol , and , for the amusement of the reader , I may state that No . 35 . warranted 19 th April , 1754 , is described as meeting on the " 2 nd and 4 th Friday , " at the " King ' s Bench Prison . "
The third is headed "A List of Lodges " June 24 th , 1 755 , and is continued imperfectly to 1757 . It contains the 36 lodges entered in No . 2 and lodges Nos . 38 to 64 , there being , however , several ( 20 ) of the numbers left vacant , while in the case of the lodges from No . 38 ( inclusive ) onwards , the dates of constitution are in nearly every case inserted . The first two pages of this list are in double columns , the remainder being in single .
It remains for me to state that there is an al phabetical index of names to the Register of Members , each name having against it the number in the register , and in the case of re-registry , the new number or numbers so obtained .
The above will serve as a kind ot brief descriptive " Table of Contents , " but a detailed examination of the contents must be reserved for a further paper .
Review.
REVIEW .
T H I R D N O T I C E THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY . Vol . V . B y ROBERT FREKE GOULD , P . G . S . D . London : Thomas C . fack , 4- ; , Ludgate-hill , E . C . 1886 . The chapter on the G'and Lodge of Scotland need not occupy us long . Freemasonry North of the Tweed has been extremely fortunate , both as
regards the preservation of its earl y lodge records and in having had so capable a brother as Bro . D . Murray Lyon to delineate ils history . Thus , any difficulties that may have occurred to Bro . Gould in sketching the rise and fortunes of the Grand Lodge of Scotland will have been in a contrary direction to those he experienced in the case of Ireland . In respect of the
Review.
latter he had little to work upon in the shape of minutes or the researches of past writers ; while in the case of Scotland he must have been almost em . Isarrasscd by the wealth of matter that has been so carefully treasured up by the Scotch lodges . Nor , with Bro . Lyon ' s exhaustive History before him , could he look to do more than lay before his readers in brief what that
distinguished writer had already described in amplest detail . However , Bro , Gould has written a clear and accurate sketch of Scottish Freemasonry , one that fits in well witli the rest of his work , and is , at the same time , characterised by a certain independence of thought and treatment , which shows that he has not servilely followed in the footsteps of his predecessors .
It is certainly worthy of remark that the brethren of Edinburgh should have been so dilatory in following the example of the London lodges in setting up a Grand Lodge of Scotland , and no doubt the fact of so many prominent noblemen connected with the Northern Kingdom having been elected to the chair of the Grand Lodge of England had its influence in bringing about the establishment of the Northern Grand Lodge . But if there
was a delay beyond what might have been expected , the circumstances attending the erection of the Grand Lodge of ' Scotland are considerably more imposing than they were in London , partl y from there having been so many more lodges associated together in the work , but chiefl y from the resignation by St . Clair of his office of hereditary Grand Master . As Bro . Gould says : — " Whatever may have been the
immediate motive of the originators of the scheme "—by which the Grand Lodge of Scotland was established— " the setting up a Grand Lodge so ostensibly upon the ruins of an institution that had ceased to be of practical benefit , but which in former times had been closely allied to the Guilds of the Mason Craft , gave to the new organisation an air of antiquity as the lineal representative of the ancient courts of Operative
Masonry ; while the opportune resignation of St . Clair was , if not too closely criticised , calculated to give the whole affair a sort of legal aspect which was wanting at the Institution of the Grand Lodge of England . ' At all events , the Grand Lodge of Scotland with St . Clair as its Grand Master was established towards the close of 1736 with a considerable amount of ceremonial , and a start having been made , no time was lost in the work of organisation , and
for a time things went smoothly enough . But in a few years , the lodge of Kilwinning , having become dissatisfied with its place on the roll as second to Mary ' s Chapel , " resumed its independence , which in the matter of granting charters it had in reality never renounced , and for well nigh 70 years continued to exist as an independent Grand Bod y . " This schism , however , does not seem to have been accompanied by that bitterness of
feeling which actuated the supporters of the rival " Ancient " and " Modern " systems in England . Indeed , nothing further happened than that Kilwinning , not being able to obtain what it considered its due , resumed its old status , while the Grand Lodge in Edinburgh with its affiliated lodges went on its way , if not rejoicing , at least without enmity towards its rival . But it is no business of ours to trace the progress of the Scottish Craft . What
is needed to elucidate generally its history will be found in Chapter XXIII . of this history and to it accordingly we must refer our readers . We would , however , suggest that the digression about Young and the Prevosts is out of place in the narrative . The matter is interesting , but it would have been better given as a footnote . Where it is , it breaks the continuity of the story , and is itself the chief element in the confusion which the author has laboured
so anxiously to clear up . As to the concluding portion of the chapter , in which are set forth the innocence of Mother Kilwinning of all connection with the hitjh grades and much else relating to the many foreign novelties which have been fathered on the Craft in Scotland , it seems to us that Bro . Gould has said enough , for all reasonable purposes , to show what degrees were practised and to what extent .
Having taken us through Ireland and Scotland , Bro . Gould turns his attention to foreign parts , and has no difficulty in accounting for the rapid spread of Masonry abroad . His explanation , indeed , is most reasonable . "England , " he remarks , " at that time was , without doubt , the centre of all eyes , and any important movement in this country was bound to attract especial attention from the world at large- Marlborough ' s brilliant
achievements abroad had made our weight felt on the Continent , the States of Europe were distracted and impoverished by constant wars , whilst England was at least undisturbed within her own frontiers , and exceedingly wealthy . Her possession of Hanover brought her into close contact with Germany , but her alliance , and , above all , her large subsidies were desired b y each of the contending states in turn , and , as a consequence , her capital was the
rendezvous of thousands of foreigners . Under these circumstances the formation of the Grand Lodge could barely have escaped notice ; but when noblemen of high position , and men celebrated for their learning , began to frequent our assemblies , to accept our offices , to take part in public processions , proudly wearing our jewels and aprons , no foreigner resident in the City of London could fail to be struck with the phenomenon . " It
followed , as a matter of course , that our foreign visitors , when they returned home , exhibited a sttong desire to have meetings of their own , and that where a sufficient number ofthe initiated were gathered together , therealodge or lodges were established . But all of them derived their being from the British Craft , and Bro . Gould is fully justified in his statement " that no single Freemason ever lived on the Continent or elsewhere whose Masonic
pedigree does not begin in Great Britain . No former association , guild or otherwise , passed into a fraternity of Freemasons outside these islands , nor was an } ' connection with the building trades of the Continent ever claimed by the first Freemasons of Europe . The Craft there is a direct importation from England , and in its infancy , and for many subsequent years , was confined entirely to the upper classes without the least admixture of the artisan . "
But if foreign countries derived their Masonry from us , they speedily found out a way of adapting it to their own whims and caprices and their irrepressible love of show . Many years had not elapsed from its earliest introduction into neighbouring continental states ere a number of degrees were invented , France , as might have been expected , taking the lead in originating these novelties . It is curious , however , that most of these should have had a Scottish origin ascribed to them , which is , no doubt , to be
accounted for partly by the fact that Scotchmen—partisans of the Stuarts —were among the chief early supporters of Masonry on the continent , but chiefly by the connection of Ramsay with Freemasonry and the speech in which he advocated its cause and described its merits . This gave strength to the idea that the new system of degrees , as they were clearly not of
English birth , must have come from Scotland , and the latter country enjoys the honour of having originated a rite , which has nothing Scottish about it beyond its name . However , Ramsay , his speech , and the vagaries of earl y continental Masons are too important to be dealt with at the close of an article . We shall , therefore , reserve our notice of them till another week .