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Article FREEMASONRY IN ANTIGUA. Page 1 of 2 Article FREEMASONRY IN ANTIGUA. Page 1 of 2 →
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Freemasonry In Antigua.
FREEMASONRY IN ANTIGUA .
Though , at the present time , there is but a single lodge 111 Antigua—that of St . John , No . 4 CJ 2 , which was warranted in 1843—the history of the Craft in this West India island dates from a very early period , the'first lodge , which was known as the
Parham , after the locality in which it met , having been chartered on the 31 st January , 173 8 . This figured in our lists of lodges from 1740 to 1813 as 154 , 94 , 72 , 5 6 , and 52 successively , and
was then struck from the roll , having made no returns to Grand Lodge subsequently to the year 17 81—as set forth in LANE'S " Masonic Records . " We gather from the same source that
other lodges were subsequently established in the island , to wit , Evangelists' Lodge , which was warranted on the 10 th November , 1753 , and moved to the Island of Montscrrat in 1777 , and which , after undergoing sundry changes of number , was finally erased
in 1813 ; " Ancient" Lodge , No . 170 c , which was warranted in 1 S 04 , and lapsed before 1813 ; and Lodge of Concord , , which received its warrant from the " Regulars" in 1772 , and was erased in 1813 . In addition , there were located in St . John's ,
the capital of the island , in addition to the present No . 492 , Baker ' s Lodge , chartered on the 14 th March , 1 739 , and which , though it paid nothing to Grand Lodge after 1781 , was not removed from the list until 1 S 13 ; the Court House Lodge ,
subsequently the Great Lodge of St . John ' s , which was chartered 22 nd November , 1738 , and though it made no return after 1790 , remained on the list till 1 S 13 . Mount Sinai Lodge , warranted in 17 82 , made its last payment to Grand Lodge in 1794 , and
disappears from the Register after 1813 ; and Star in the West Lodge , warranted in 1856 as No . 9 67 , became No . 66 9 in 1863 , and was erased in 189 I . In the early part of last year , Bro . J . Ross RoisERTSON . PastG . M . Canada , visited the West Indies , and on
the 26 th February had the opportunity of photographing the inscription on the foundation-stone of Fort St . James , one of the two forts erected by the British at the mouth of the harbour of Antigua in 1 739 , the stone being laid with full Masonic
ceremonial by the then Prov . Grand Master in November of that year , as will be seen from the report which appeared in the Freemason of the 7 th June last . PRESTON , too , in his " Illustrations of Masonry , " mentions that "The Freemasons at
Antigua built a large hall in that island for their meetings , and applied to the Grand Lodge for liberty lo be styled the Great Lodge of St . John ' s in Antigua , which favour was granted to them in April , 1 744 . " It is thus manifest that the worthy people
of Antigua must have taken kindly to Masonry , and though the present St . John's Lodge can boast of an existence extending over lit ' tle more than half a century , that the Craft has a clear and satisfactory record almost from the date of its establishment in
the . island . This will be more apparent from the very interesting account which appeared in the Antigua Standard of the 23 rd November last . From this we gather that the house in which the earliest lodge met—the Parham—is still standing , and that
the Court Mouse Lodge played the leading part in Masonry during its existence . The following' passage from the article in our contemporary is worth quoting : " It was this same Court House Lodge , which in 1 740 was known under the No . 16 4 ,
that still survives amongst us in the fact of 'The Freemason ' s Land' still partly remaining in the hands of the Freemasons of to-day , notwithstanding the neglect of Officers and Wardens of St . John ' s Lodge even in the recollection of many now living .
In the year 1733 , April iftth , the Eastern portion of what is admitted in all the old and existing plans of the City of St . John , and now is commonly spoken of as ' lhe Freemason ' s Land , ' that portion abutting upon East-street , was granted to
Robert Baker , and it would appear that nothing much was done by him until the year 1741 . The Deed is duly recorded , and is in the Registrar ' s Office , dated 30 II 1 October of that year , by which what we speak of as ' Freemason ' s Land ' was
conveyed unto Robert Baker aforesaid and Daniel Matthew after due enquiry and careful survey , and this very interesting document further mentions the fact that upon this land up to that period no house had ever been erected nor hail this land been previously granted or sold . " It was , doubtless , after the BAKER here mentioned that Baker ' s Lodge , before referred to , was named , while in all
Freemasonry In Antigua.
probability the DANIEL MATTHEW is one and the same with the " MATHEW" in the inscription on the foundation-stone of Fort James , which Bro . Ross ROBERTSON had the pleasure of photographing . Be this as it may , the hall , as we have seen from the extract from-Preston—taken by him from the Grand
Lodge Records—was erected , but , owing to what cause matters not , it has disappeared , and in 178 5 another was erected in its stead . As to this second hall , the foundation-stone of which was laid with Masonic ceremonial on the 20 th April of that year , it is suggested that it is the same which many persons now
living saw in use up to about the year 18 35 , when it was damaged by the hurricane and finally destroyed by the terrible earthquakes of 18 43 . " In the autumn of this latter year , the present St . John ' s Lodge , No . 492 , was chartered , and , though they took up their quarters elsewhere , we are told in this article
that on 27 th December , 18 49 , the lodge repaired to the spot in "Freemasons'Land , " where the old Masonic Hall had stood , and extracted from the corner-stone the old parchment , and placed it in charge of the Secretary or Treasurer . While in charge of Messrs . HiGGlNUOTTOM and H . MPHREYS , the tin box
containing it was stolen , and was emptied of its contents on Rat Island . Fortunately , the parchment was found near the " Wash Hand Basin " Rock , and handed over to a grammar school boy—who has since been twice elected to the chair of St . John ' s Lodge — to be translated into English .
" The Translation , " so runs the narrative , " was made for the Newspaper—The Register—published at that time ( 1851 ) by the Secretary of the Lodge . So as the parchment records , the old parchment was restored to its proper position , and with it the other in a small glass-stoppered bottle ;
and with full Masonic honours these were laid in the presence of an immense number of people and with a full attendance of the Brethren , by the late Joseph Shervington , W . M ., who was Treasurer of Antigua , assisted by his Officers . There was also present on the occasion as Worshipful Master Elect the ever
genial and smiling Dr . Richard Dowse , who left Antigua in 1852 . His address at his installation was published , and would be quite sufficient to endear his remembrance to any Brother who heard
the address delivered in his quiet and deliberate manner , and although the interesting points of Freemasonry were dwelt on at some length , his remarks are so carefully turned that it must be profitable reading for all .
" The unearthing of these silent , yet eloquent , witnesses , has become necessary in order to establish beyond doubt the title of the Freemasons to the lands in question , only a small portion of it remaining in the possession of St . John ' s Lodge , the balance having from time to time been squatted upon by the owners of
small wooden tenements , in whose favour the statute of limitations has run . Negotiations are pending for the purchase of all the lots fronting on Redcliffe Street , and abutting on Bishop ' s Lodge , the new residence of the Bishop of the diocese . When these negotiations are concluded , the acquisition of such
extensive grounds will not only materially increase the value of the property , but what is now a disgrace to any civilised community will be reclaimed , and become , we hope , an ornament only second to that which was originally intended , when the Crown grant was made in favour of our ancient brethren . "
We append the inscription on the parchment and the translation , which our contemporary has been at the pains of reproducing , the former as a memorial of Antiguan Freemasonry of a century back , and the latter as one of the boy subsequently twice Master of the existing St . John ' s Lodge . They are as follow :
The SCROLL of 1785 ( measuring 11 6 8 by 7 1 3 inches , in ptifect preservation ) ANNO RIXNI GEOKGII TERTII 25 SAI . UTIS HU . MA . V / K 1785 , Lucis 5785 AI-K / LIS 20 HUNC PRIMUM LAPIDBM ANCULAREM AlJl-. K L . VTOM u < M ANTIGUEXSIS POSUIT l Vir ornatissimus
GUII . IF . LMUS jAuvis Armigcr Summits Latomorum Provincialis Magister Assidentibus Viris ornatissimis DOCTOKE T 110 : LYNCH Summi Magistri Vicaris ,
EUMUXDO M . MASCALL and BOVCKO LEDWEI . L , Armigero ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In Antigua.
FREEMASONRY IN ANTIGUA .
Though , at the present time , there is but a single lodge 111 Antigua—that of St . John , No . 4 CJ 2 , which was warranted in 1843—the history of the Craft in this West India island dates from a very early period , the'first lodge , which was known as the
Parham , after the locality in which it met , having been chartered on the 31 st January , 173 8 . This figured in our lists of lodges from 1740 to 1813 as 154 , 94 , 72 , 5 6 , and 52 successively , and
was then struck from the roll , having made no returns to Grand Lodge subsequently to the year 17 81—as set forth in LANE'S " Masonic Records . " We gather from the same source that
other lodges were subsequently established in the island , to wit , Evangelists' Lodge , which was warranted on the 10 th November , 1753 , and moved to the Island of Montscrrat in 1777 , and which , after undergoing sundry changes of number , was finally erased
in 1813 ; " Ancient" Lodge , No . 170 c , which was warranted in 1 S 04 , and lapsed before 1813 ; and Lodge of Concord , , which received its warrant from the " Regulars" in 1772 , and was erased in 1813 . In addition , there were located in St . John's ,
the capital of the island , in addition to the present No . 492 , Baker ' s Lodge , chartered on the 14 th March , 1 739 , and which , though it paid nothing to Grand Lodge after 1781 , was not removed from the list until 1 S 13 ; the Court House Lodge ,
subsequently the Great Lodge of St . John ' s , which was chartered 22 nd November , 1738 , and though it made no return after 1790 , remained on the list till 1 S 13 . Mount Sinai Lodge , warranted in 17 82 , made its last payment to Grand Lodge in 1794 , and
disappears from the Register after 1813 ; and Star in the West Lodge , warranted in 1856 as No . 9 67 , became No . 66 9 in 1863 , and was erased in 189 I . In the early part of last year , Bro . J . Ross RoisERTSON . PastG . M . Canada , visited the West Indies , and on
the 26 th February had the opportunity of photographing the inscription on the foundation-stone of Fort St . James , one of the two forts erected by the British at the mouth of the harbour of Antigua in 1 739 , the stone being laid with full Masonic
ceremonial by the then Prov . Grand Master in November of that year , as will be seen from the report which appeared in the Freemason of the 7 th June last . PRESTON , too , in his " Illustrations of Masonry , " mentions that "The Freemasons at
Antigua built a large hall in that island for their meetings , and applied to the Grand Lodge for liberty lo be styled the Great Lodge of St . John ' s in Antigua , which favour was granted to them in April , 1 744 . " It is thus manifest that the worthy people
of Antigua must have taken kindly to Masonry , and though the present St . John's Lodge can boast of an existence extending over lit ' tle more than half a century , that the Craft has a clear and satisfactory record almost from the date of its establishment in
the . island . This will be more apparent from the very interesting account which appeared in the Antigua Standard of the 23 rd November last . From this we gather that the house in which the earliest lodge met—the Parham—is still standing , and that
the Court Mouse Lodge played the leading part in Masonry during its existence . The following' passage from the article in our contemporary is worth quoting : " It was this same Court House Lodge , which in 1 740 was known under the No . 16 4 ,
that still survives amongst us in the fact of 'The Freemason ' s Land' still partly remaining in the hands of the Freemasons of to-day , notwithstanding the neglect of Officers and Wardens of St . John ' s Lodge even in the recollection of many now living .
In the year 1733 , April iftth , the Eastern portion of what is admitted in all the old and existing plans of the City of St . John , and now is commonly spoken of as ' lhe Freemason ' s Land , ' that portion abutting upon East-street , was granted to
Robert Baker , and it would appear that nothing much was done by him until the year 1741 . The Deed is duly recorded , and is in the Registrar ' s Office , dated 30 II 1 October of that year , by which what we speak of as ' Freemason ' s Land ' was
conveyed unto Robert Baker aforesaid and Daniel Matthew after due enquiry and careful survey , and this very interesting document further mentions the fact that upon this land up to that period no house had ever been erected nor hail this land been previously granted or sold . " It was , doubtless , after the BAKER here mentioned that Baker ' s Lodge , before referred to , was named , while in all
Freemasonry In Antigua.
probability the DANIEL MATTHEW is one and the same with the " MATHEW" in the inscription on the foundation-stone of Fort James , which Bro . Ross ROBERTSON had the pleasure of photographing . Be this as it may , the hall , as we have seen from the extract from-Preston—taken by him from the Grand
Lodge Records—was erected , but , owing to what cause matters not , it has disappeared , and in 178 5 another was erected in its stead . As to this second hall , the foundation-stone of which was laid with Masonic ceremonial on the 20 th April of that year , it is suggested that it is the same which many persons now
living saw in use up to about the year 18 35 , when it was damaged by the hurricane and finally destroyed by the terrible earthquakes of 18 43 . " In the autumn of this latter year , the present St . John ' s Lodge , No . 492 , was chartered , and , though they took up their quarters elsewhere , we are told in this article
that on 27 th December , 18 49 , the lodge repaired to the spot in "Freemasons'Land , " where the old Masonic Hall had stood , and extracted from the corner-stone the old parchment , and placed it in charge of the Secretary or Treasurer . While in charge of Messrs . HiGGlNUOTTOM and H . MPHREYS , the tin box
containing it was stolen , and was emptied of its contents on Rat Island . Fortunately , the parchment was found near the " Wash Hand Basin " Rock , and handed over to a grammar school boy—who has since been twice elected to the chair of St . John ' s Lodge — to be translated into English .
" The Translation , " so runs the narrative , " was made for the Newspaper—The Register—published at that time ( 1851 ) by the Secretary of the Lodge . So as the parchment records , the old parchment was restored to its proper position , and with it the other in a small glass-stoppered bottle ;
and with full Masonic honours these were laid in the presence of an immense number of people and with a full attendance of the Brethren , by the late Joseph Shervington , W . M ., who was Treasurer of Antigua , assisted by his Officers . There was also present on the occasion as Worshipful Master Elect the ever
genial and smiling Dr . Richard Dowse , who left Antigua in 1852 . His address at his installation was published , and would be quite sufficient to endear his remembrance to any Brother who heard
the address delivered in his quiet and deliberate manner , and although the interesting points of Freemasonry were dwelt on at some length , his remarks are so carefully turned that it must be profitable reading for all .
" The unearthing of these silent , yet eloquent , witnesses , has become necessary in order to establish beyond doubt the title of the Freemasons to the lands in question , only a small portion of it remaining in the possession of St . John ' s Lodge , the balance having from time to time been squatted upon by the owners of
small wooden tenements , in whose favour the statute of limitations has run . Negotiations are pending for the purchase of all the lots fronting on Redcliffe Street , and abutting on Bishop ' s Lodge , the new residence of the Bishop of the diocese . When these negotiations are concluded , the acquisition of such
extensive grounds will not only materially increase the value of the property , but what is now a disgrace to any civilised community will be reclaimed , and become , we hope , an ornament only second to that which was originally intended , when the Crown grant was made in favour of our ancient brethren . "
We append the inscription on the parchment and the translation , which our contemporary has been at the pains of reproducing , the former as a memorial of Antiguan Freemasonry of a century back , and the latter as one of the boy subsequently twice Master of the existing St . John ' s Lodge . They are as follow :
The SCROLL of 1785 ( measuring 11 6 8 by 7 1 3 inches , in ptifect preservation ) ANNO RIXNI GEOKGII TERTII 25 SAI . UTIS HU . MA . V / K 1785 , Lucis 5785 AI-K / LIS 20 HUNC PRIMUM LAPIDBM ANCULAREM AlJl-. K L . VTOM u < M ANTIGUEXSIS POSUIT l Vir ornatissimus
GUII . IF . LMUS jAuvis Armigcr Summits Latomorum Provincialis Magister Assidentibus Viris ornatissimis DOCTOKE T 110 : LYNCH Summi Magistri Vicaris ,
EUMUXDO M . MASCALL and BOVCKO LEDWEI . L , Armigero ,