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Article Untitled ← Page 2 of 2 Article CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF THE QUATUOR CORONATI, No. 2076. Page 1 of 2 Article CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF THE QUATUOR CORONATI, No. 2076. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00200
dream of suggesting that we have yet entered upon that stage of existence which legitimately entitles us to be spoken of in such terms . No , Bro . CLYMER , you are a charming representative of the imaginative school of Masonic writers , and courteous withal . Nothing in the way of evidence or argument ever affects your generous enthusiasm for the Craft , or disturbs
your equanimity . Praise us , if you will ; convict us of error , if you can ; but please postpone describing us as " venerable " for at least a score or two of years . Do this , and your reward shall be a key to " nn-Locke " your present serious " mis-Understanding" of the nature and value of evidence , which every sound student of our history has unhesitatingly declared to be worthless .
* * * FROM time to time we hear of the good feeling manifested by our American brethren towards _membets of the British Craft in distress . Failing to obtain employment , they have soon found their means exhausted , and _starvation for themselves and families almost" staring them in the face , " when ,
happily , their necessities have been relieved by one of the several Masonic relief societies , situations have been procured , and many a heart has thus been made happy and thankful . Recently a brother we knew well went to Philadelphia in search of employment , full of bright hopes and
anticipations , but all were shattered , and he became literally penniless , and his clothes had become " rags . " He was fed and clothed by a brother who was to him an entire stranger , save as belonging to our beneficent Fraternity , and by him was assisted to seek work elsewhere , and he is now doing well .
* # * THIS month we have heard of an instance of similar kindness towards a brother in distress in another State . He had come from Yorkshire with his wife and family , seeking employment , but was unsuccessful , becoming quite destitute . In his despair he applied to a lodge for aid from the members in
procuring him a situation , not for charity . The case was urgent , and the assistance of the Grand Master was sought , who , being a most benevolent as well as zealous Freemason , at once took him into his own employ , until something better offered . We must not say more , as the information comes to us privately ; but as this is only one out of many in which this
distinguished brother has helped our brethren in their dire distress , no matter from what country , we cannot but express the hope that he will be even more than " twice blessed , " and that the Craftsmen who have been so opportune !} ' and generously ' assisted will unite their prayers with ours for the richest blessings to be his constant portion .
* * * IT will be remembered that a special Prov . Grand Lodge was held at Durham on 21 st August , 18 S 5 , for the installation of the R . W . Bro . Sir HEDWQRTH WILLIAMSON , Bart ., P . G . W _., as Provincial Grand Master , by the R . W . Bro . Earl of LATHOM , Deputy Grand Master of England . The official
document is now being circulated by the indefatigable Provincial Grand Secretary , Bro . ROBERT HUDSON . It must have been highly gratifying to the new Provincial Grand Master to witness such an assembly of Craftsmen to greet him on his accession to office , no less' than 500 brethren being
present on the occasion . ' The appointment of the W . Bro . the Rev . Canon TRISTRAM , LL . D ., P . G . C _., as Deputy Provincial Grand Master , who has been connected with the Society for some 40 years , was most popular , as was also the reappointment of the Provincial Grand Secretary .
* # * THE report also deals with the annual meeting , held at Bishop Auckland on 27 th October , 1875 , and some of the statements made then , and now printed for circulation in the province , are so remarkable as to deserve a reconsideration at the present time . There are now 31 lodges in the province , the
oldest being No . 48 , Gateshead , warranted in 1735 ( having a prior existence , however ) , and the youngest is No . 2104 , Stockton-on-Tees , dating only from last year . The income for the year was some £ 500 , including £ 69 us . dividends from Consols , the balance in hand being slightly over - £ 200 , all of it , but £ 50 , being distributed at the meeting for the various
charitable purposes , always so warmly supported by the brethren . The report of the Charities Committee , of which Bro . C . S . LANE , P . P . G . D ., is Chairman , is most satisfactory , exhibiting a substantial balance in hand , with interest from capital invested , and seven children being educated at an annual cost of some / jo . The capital amount of _^ 3 88 appears to us quite
sufficient , the subscriptions being thus used for educational purposes without any deductions . Numerically , the province is still on the increase , there having been 1999 subscribing members in 1882 ; 2011 in 188 3 ; and 2239 ln 1884 , notwithstanding the more stringent rules as to " arrears " in the new Constitutions , being a result more favourable in many respects than some other provinces .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of The Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076.
CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF THE QUATUOR CORONATI , No . 2076 .
This new lodge was consecrated on Tuesday afternoon , the 12 th inst ., at Freemasons' Hall , by Bro . Col . ShadweU H . Gierke , Grand Secretary . A warrant of constitution was granted to the lodge in 1884 , but as the W . M . named therein—Bro . Sir C . Warren , G . C . M . G ., had then embarked
for service in South Africa , the ceremony of consecration was necessaril y postponed until his return to this country . The lodge has been established for the association of brethren interested in literary pursuits , and for the _prosecution of _archaeological studies , more especially with regard to the iii ' . tory and antiquities of Freemasonry .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of The Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076.
The Grand Secretary was assisted in the ceremony by Bro . T . Fenn , President of the Board of General Purposes , as S . W . ; Bro . R . Gooding , P . G . D ., as J . W . ; Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . C ., as Chaplain ; Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., as Director of Ceremonies ; and Bro . H . Sadler , Grand Tyler .
The founders of the lodge—the greater number of whom were presentwere Bros . Sir C . Warren ,- the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . C . ; W . J . Hughan , P . G . D . ; R . F . Gould , P . G . D . ; Walter Besant , P . M . ; G . W . Speth , P . M . ; W . H . Rylands ; J . P . Rylands ; and Major S . C . Pratt , Royal Artillery . After the lodge had been formally opened ,
The GRAND SECRETARY , in addressing the brethren , said that many distinguished and zealous students of Masonic history having started the idea of banding themselves together in a lodge where they could have better opportunities of discussing the various matters in which they were specially interested , had petitioned the Grand Master about a year ago , and that His Royal Highness had readily acceded to their request . The
members of the new lodge had selected a worthy brother , who was distinguished as a soldier as well as a Mason , to preside over them—Sir Charles Warren—through whose absence on military duty in South Africa until recently , the consecration had to be delayed to thp- present time , when the brethren were happily met to give effect to the warrant of the Grand Master . At the conclusion of this address ,
Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . WOODFORD , P . G . C _., delivered the oration ( of which we give a _prdcis ) , and said that He congratulated the Grand Secretary on the consecration of another lodge , believing that if their principles and outcome were realistic , the more Masonic _lodges were increased the better . For English Freemasonry especially was not merely a social assembly or a friendly aggregation , or for the purpose of going through a cherished ritual , but had something higher to offer to mankind . It proclaimed reverence to
Gad and love for man , obedience to all lawfully constitutional authority , a hatred of persecution , and universal toleration . And just as it avowed loyalty for the throne , a love of order , peace , and legal and constituted rights for all classes , so it disawowed any tendency to those hurtful movements whether of social , political , or agrarian communism which ended in sweeping away alike the claims of property and the savings of industry . All humanitarian efforts , and all charitable questions came under its special sanction , and it was ever
favourable to the advance of cultured civilization , and the diffusion of science and light . In that happy revival of " Masonic Letters " which our age had seen , the old , the quaint , the interestions legends of the past had become the subject of study and enquiry . Among those , whether of medieval , or Roman , or eastern origin , few were so impressive and appropriate to Freemasons as that of the Quatuor Coronati . When then a peculiar name was sought for a lodge with peculiar objects , this name was adopted because it seemed to convey clearly , not only the teaching of Masonic duty , but
shadowed out the intense need there was for a cultured study of old Masonic traditions . Bro . Gould had so ably dilated on the subject , in his invaluable " History of Freemasonry , " that he ( the orator ) need only give a passing allusion to the subject . __ Whether the Craft view of the _Legend was then correct relying on one set of authorities , or there was a fuller explanation tu be found in the union of the Quatuor Coronati and the Quinque Sculptores , based on another , mattered little , the same duplex teaching was discoverable , and fully harmonised with the idea of the founders of
the lodge . The orator alluded to the fact , most interesting in itself , that about 600 years after the first recognition of the Legend , apparently in the seventh century , the Quatuor Coronati appear as the Patron Saints of the German Steinmetzen , and are recognised in the Masonic Poem—our , so far , earliest Craft Legend in England—as good Masons " as on erthe shall go , " It was therefore most natural when a name was sought for their lodge , —both new and striking , —that the name also of Sir Charles Warren should be hailed and appropriated as first Worshipful
Master of the new lodge . Both as a representative of literature and an embodiment of duty , no one could offer higher claims for the office , no one could be a better guarantee for the success of the experiment . Some could well remember how " Underground Jerusalem " still appealed to their memories and sympathies alike as students and Freemasons , and the heartfelt emotions of all had gone with their distinguished brother in high commands and dangerous enterprises . One of the peculiarities
of'this new lodge would be the reading and printing of papers , and the orator trusted that in this somewhat new course , success would attend the efforts of those who , in fervent love for their Craft , wished to lead up to a more cultured study of Masonic evidences , to a more enlarged use of libraries and museums , and all that could impart reality , stability , intellectuality to that great and useful Order , whose professions were professions of Toleration and goodwill , whose labours were emphatically labours of love .
1 he ceremony ol consecration was then regularly proceeded with , and , on its completion , Bros . Sir C . Warren was installed as Master of the lodge ; the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford was invested as acting I . P . M . ; W . H .
Rylands , as S . W . ; R . F . Gould , as J . W . ; and G . W . Speth , as Secretary . Bro . Walter Besant was unanimously elected Treasurer . After the delivery of the addresses , the WORSHIPFUL MASTER in proposing a cordial vote of thanks to the Consecrating Officer , said : I am a strong believer in the antiquity of Freemasonry , and I can conceive that when the medi . xval basis is fully ascertained we shall find that it rests upon a more antique foundation . I do not believe much in the originality of the views
of men , and I can scarcely think that the present forms and ceremonies were devised in the eighteenth century or even in the Middle Ages . Take for instance the ¦* Seven Ages" of man , we find it based on Horace and again in our early work . I am of opinion that 'the arrangements for the lodge are derived from the worship in temples which existed in Phoenicia before the building of Solomon ' s temple . I refer especially to the temple of Tyre—how it came into use in this
country is a mystery . The very arrangement as a lodge seems to show this . Any person elaborating a Masonic temple in the Middle Ages would never dream of putting the Master in the east , just where the chief door of King Solomon's temple was , but would have placed him in the west to observe the rising sun ; but it so happens that in the older temples the great image or symbol of the sun was placed in the East . There are many other points which confirm the view . I think at present we shall have plenty of work in
assisting to elaborate the history of modern Masonry , but what I wish at the outset to show is that we have no desire to upset ancient traditions . I am a firm believer i . i them . What we want is to clear them up , to confirm them , and with the . - : ssistance of the Grand Officers we hope to do so . Our only duty , and a very pleasant duty , now to perform is to return a vote of thanks to the consecrating officers for the admirable manner in which they have conducted the ceremonies this afternoon , and also for their uniform
kindness and consideration in giving us assistance in constituting this lodge . I have a great faith in the benefits that the human race derives from Freemasonry , and I think that with the assistance of the officers of the Grand Lodge this lodge will supply a want that has been much felt . The lodges under our constitutional law are admirable organisations , and our charities are fully developed , but every Mason has a craving to know something definite about the Craft , and this has never as yet been properly grappled
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00200
dream of suggesting that we have yet entered upon that stage of existence which legitimately entitles us to be spoken of in such terms . No , Bro . CLYMER , you are a charming representative of the imaginative school of Masonic writers , and courteous withal . Nothing in the way of evidence or argument ever affects your generous enthusiasm for the Craft , or disturbs
your equanimity . Praise us , if you will ; convict us of error , if you can ; but please postpone describing us as " venerable " for at least a score or two of years . Do this , and your reward shall be a key to " nn-Locke " your present serious " mis-Understanding" of the nature and value of evidence , which every sound student of our history has unhesitatingly declared to be worthless .
* * * FROM time to time we hear of the good feeling manifested by our American brethren towards _membets of the British Craft in distress . Failing to obtain employment , they have soon found their means exhausted , and _starvation for themselves and families almost" staring them in the face , " when ,
happily , their necessities have been relieved by one of the several Masonic relief societies , situations have been procured , and many a heart has thus been made happy and thankful . Recently a brother we knew well went to Philadelphia in search of employment , full of bright hopes and
anticipations , but all were shattered , and he became literally penniless , and his clothes had become " rags . " He was fed and clothed by a brother who was to him an entire stranger , save as belonging to our beneficent Fraternity , and by him was assisted to seek work elsewhere , and he is now doing well .
* # * THIS month we have heard of an instance of similar kindness towards a brother in distress in another State . He had come from Yorkshire with his wife and family , seeking employment , but was unsuccessful , becoming quite destitute . In his despair he applied to a lodge for aid from the members in
procuring him a situation , not for charity . The case was urgent , and the assistance of the Grand Master was sought , who , being a most benevolent as well as zealous Freemason , at once took him into his own employ , until something better offered . We must not say more , as the information comes to us privately ; but as this is only one out of many in which this
distinguished brother has helped our brethren in their dire distress , no matter from what country , we cannot but express the hope that he will be even more than " twice blessed , " and that the Craftsmen who have been so opportune !} ' and generously ' assisted will unite their prayers with ours for the richest blessings to be his constant portion .
* * * IT will be remembered that a special Prov . Grand Lodge was held at Durham on 21 st August , 18 S 5 , for the installation of the R . W . Bro . Sir HEDWQRTH WILLIAMSON , Bart ., P . G . W _., as Provincial Grand Master , by the R . W . Bro . Earl of LATHOM , Deputy Grand Master of England . The official
document is now being circulated by the indefatigable Provincial Grand Secretary , Bro . ROBERT HUDSON . It must have been highly gratifying to the new Provincial Grand Master to witness such an assembly of Craftsmen to greet him on his accession to office , no less' than 500 brethren being
present on the occasion . ' The appointment of the W . Bro . the Rev . Canon TRISTRAM , LL . D ., P . G . C _., as Deputy Provincial Grand Master , who has been connected with the Society for some 40 years , was most popular , as was also the reappointment of the Provincial Grand Secretary .
* # * THE report also deals with the annual meeting , held at Bishop Auckland on 27 th October , 1875 , and some of the statements made then , and now printed for circulation in the province , are so remarkable as to deserve a reconsideration at the present time . There are now 31 lodges in the province , the
oldest being No . 48 , Gateshead , warranted in 1735 ( having a prior existence , however ) , and the youngest is No . 2104 , Stockton-on-Tees , dating only from last year . The income for the year was some £ 500 , including £ 69 us . dividends from Consols , the balance in hand being slightly over - £ 200 , all of it , but £ 50 , being distributed at the meeting for the various
charitable purposes , always so warmly supported by the brethren . The report of the Charities Committee , of which Bro . C . S . LANE , P . P . G . D ., is Chairman , is most satisfactory , exhibiting a substantial balance in hand , with interest from capital invested , and seven children being educated at an annual cost of some / jo . The capital amount of _^ 3 88 appears to us quite
sufficient , the subscriptions being thus used for educational purposes without any deductions . Numerically , the province is still on the increase , there having been 1999 subscribing members in 1882 ; 2011 in 188 3 ; and 2239 ln 1884 , notwithstanding the more stringent rules as to " arrears " in the new Constitutions , being a result more favourable in many respects than some other provinces .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of The Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076.
CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF THE QUATUOR CORONATI , No . 2076 .
This new lodge was consecrated on Tuesday afternoon , the 12 th inst ., at Freemasons' Hall , by Bro . Col . ShadweU H . Gierke , Grand Secretary . A warrant of constitution was granted to the lodge in 1884 , but as the W . M . named therein—Bro . Sir C . Warren , G . C . M . G ., had then embarked
for service in South Africa , the ceremony of consecration was necessaril y postponed until his return to this country . The lodge has been established for the association of brethren interested in literary pursuits , and for the _prosecution of _archaeological studies , more especially with regard to the iii ' . tory and antiquities of Freemasonry .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of The Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076.
The Grand Secretary was assisted in the ceremony by Bro . T . Fenn , President of the Board of General Purposes , as S . W . ; Bro . R . Gooding , P . G . D ., as J . W . ; Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . C ., as Chaplain ; Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., as Director of Ceremonies ; and Bro . H . Sadler , Grand Tyler .
The founders of the lodge—the greater number of whom were presentwere Bros . Sir C . Warren ,- the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . C . ; W . J . Hughan , P . G . D . ; R . F . Gould , P . G . D . ; Walter Besant , P . M . ; G . W . Speth , P . M . ; W . H . Rylands ; J . P . Rylands ; and Major S . C . Pratt , Royal Artillery . After the lodge had been formally opened ,
The GRAND SECRETARY , in addressing the brethren , said that many distinguished and zealous students of Masonic history having started the idea of banding themselves together in a lodge where they could have better opportunities of discussing the various matters in which they were specially interested , had petitioned the Grand Master about a year ago , and that His Royal Highness had readily acceded to their request . The
members of the new lodge had selected a worthy brother , who was distinguished as a soldier as well as a Mason , to preside over them—Sir Charles Warren—through whose absence on military duty in South Africa until recently , the consecration had to be delayed to thp- present time , when the brethren were happily met to give effect to the warrant of the Grand Master . At the conclusion of this address ,
Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . WOODFORD , P . G . C _., delivered the oration ( of which we give a _prdcis ) , and said that He congratulated the Grand Secretary on the consecration of another lodge , believing that if their principles and outcome were realistic , the more Masonic _lodges were increased the better . For English Freemasonry especially was not merely a social assembly or a friendly aggregation , or for the purpose of going through a cherished ritual , but had something higher to offer to mankind . It proclaimed reverence to
Gad and love for man , obedience to all lawfully constitutional authority , a hatred of persecution , and universal toleration . And just as it avowed loyalty for the throne , a love of order , peace , and legal and constituted rights for all classes , so it disawowed any tendency to those hurtful movements whether of social , political , or agrarian communism which ended in sweeping away alike the claims of property and the savings of industry . All humanitarian efforts , and all charitable questions came under its special sanction , and it was ever
favourable to the advance of cultured civilization , and the diffusion of science and light . In that happy revival of " Masonic Letters " which our age had seen , the old , the quaint , the interestions legends of the past had become the subject of study and enquiry . Among those , whether of medieval , or Roman , or eastern origin , few were so impressive and appropriate to Freemasons as that of the Quatuor Coronati . When then a peculiar name was sought for a lodge with peculiar objects , this name was adopted because it seemed to convey clearly , not only the teaching of Masonic duty , but
shadowed out the intense need there was for a cultured study of old Masonic traditions . Bro . Gould had so ably dilated on the subject , in his invaluable " History of Freemasonry , " that he ( the orator ) need only give a passing allusion to the subject . __ Whether the Craft view of the _Legend was then correct relying on one set of authorities , or there was a fuller explanation tu be found in the union of the Quatuor Coronati and the Quinque Sculptores , based on another , mattered little , the same duplex teaching was discoverable , and fully harmonised with the idea of the founders of
the lodge . The orator alluded to the fact , most interesting in itself , that about 600 years after the first recognition of the Legend , apparently in the seventh century , the Quatuor Coronati appear as the Patron Saints of the German Steinmetzen , and are recognised in the Masonic Poem—our , so far , earliest Craft Legend in England—as good Masons " as on erthe shall go , " It was therefore most natural when a name was sought for their lodge , —both new and striking , —that the name also of Sir Charles Warren should be hailed and appropriated as first Worshipful
Master of the new lodge . Both as a representative of literature and an embodiment of duty , no one could offer higher claims for the office , no one could be a better guarantee for the success of the experiment . Some could well remember how " Underground Jerusalem " still appealed to their memories and sympathies alike as students and Freemasons , and the heartfelt emotions of all had gone with their distinguished brother in high commands and dangerous enterprises . One of the peculiarities
of'this new lodge would be the reading and printing of papers , and the orator trusted that in this somewhat new course , success would attend the efforts of those who , in fervent love for their Craft , wished to lead up to a more cultured study of Masonic evidences , to a more enlarged use of libraries and museums , and all that could impart reality , stability , intellectuality to that great and useful Order , whose professions were professions of Toleration and goodwill , whose labours were emphatically labours of love .
1 he ceremony ol consecration was then regularly proceeded with , and , on its completion , Bros . Sir C . Warren was installed as Master of the lodge ; the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford was invested as acting I . P . M . ; W . H .
Rylands , as S . W . ; R . F . Gould , as J . W . ; and G . W . Speth , as Secretary . Bro . Walter Besant was unanimously elected Treasurer . After the delivery of the addresses , the WORSHIPFUL MASTER in proposing a cordial vote of thanks to the Consecrating Officer , said : I am a strong believer in the antiquity of Freemasonry , and I can conceive that when the medi . xval basis is fully ascertained we shall find that it rests upon a more antique foundation . I do not believe much in the originality of the views
of men , and I can scarcely think that the present forms and ceremonies were devised in the eighteenth century or even in the Middle Ages . Take for instance the ¦* Seven Ages" of man , we find it based on Horace and again in our early work . I am of opinion that 'the arrangements for the lodge are derived from the worship in temples which existed in Phoenicia before the building of Solomon ' s temple . I refer especially to the temple of Tyre—how it came into use in this
country is a mystery . The very arrangement as a lodge seems to show this . Any person elaborating a Masonic temple in the Middle Ages would never dream of putting the Master in the east , just where the chief door of King Solomon's temple was , but would have placed him in the west to observe the rising sun ; but it so happens that in the older temples the great image or symbol of the sun was placed in the East . There are many other points which confirm the view . I think at present we shall have plenty of work in
assisting to elaborate the history of modern Masonry , but what I wish at the outset to show is that we have no desire to upset ancient traditions . I am a firm believer i . i them . What we want is to clear them up , to confirm them , and with the . - : ssistance of the Grand Officers we hope to do so . Our only duty , and a very pleasant duty , now to perform is to return a vote of thanks to the consecrating officers for the admirable manner in which they have conducted the ceremonies this afternoon , and also for their uniform
kindness and consideration in giving us assistance in constituting this lodge . I have a great faith in the benefits that the human race derives from Freemasonry , and I think that with the assistance of the officers of the Grand Lodge this lodge will supply a want that has been much felt . The lodges under our constitutional law are admirable organisations , and our charities are fully developed , but every Mason has a craving to know something definite about the Craft , and this has never as yet been properly grappled