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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
Yorkshire Gazette . My search in the files of the Couraiit—by kind permission of Mr . Hargrove , thc manager ofthe York Herald—from ils earliest date to 1761 , the year of the revival of thc 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 January 30 th , 1739 , an advertisement of Anderson's Constitutions of 1738 .
This day is published , in Large and Small Quarto , dedicated to H . R . H . Frederick , Prince of Wales , and presented by the Right Honorable the Marquis of Carnarvon , present Grand Master ,
THE NEW BOOK OV CONSTITUTIONS , , by James Anderson , D . D . Printed for Ward and Chandler , Booksellers , in Coney-street , York , and at Scar borough . Large paper , 10 s . Cd . ; small , 5 s . The publisher of the Couraiit at this time was Caisar 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 by 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 December 4 th of the same year is announced
"The Merry Companion , " price 2 S ., containing 100 songs , including Hunting , Jollity , the Freemasons , & c . Published by Ward and Chandler , at the Ship , without Temple Bar , London , and at their shops in York and Scarborough . On December nth , 1759 , was advertised in the Courant "The Freemasons' Songs , price is . Printed for R . Bremner , at Edinburgh , . and sold by T . Haxby , in York ; " and in the same paper of April 25 th , 1760 , I find the following : Sold by C . Etherington , in York ; R . Beckwith , in Ripon ; E . Carbutt , in Whitby ; G .
Sagg , in Malton ; 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 .
Quicgum SUB TERRA EST IN APRICUM PROFERET CETAS . —Hor . YOUR SECRETS , SIRS , WILL RISE , THO' ALL THE EARTH O ' ERWHELM THEM , TO MEN ' S EYES . London : Printed for J . Bird , opposite St . Dunstan ' s Church , Fleet Street . N . B . —The public may depend upon this being a genuine 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 were very prevalent , and in York there were several of them . The Antient 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 December 20 th , 1763 , when the following occurs :
MORRITT , Grand Master . The FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS are desired to meet the GRAND MASTER at Mr . Howard ' s , in Lendal , York , on Tuesday , the 27 th initant December . Dinner on the Table at Two o ' clock . Tickets may be had of Mr . Tasker , Treasurer . Atk ° ns on } 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 friend of Sir Walter Scott . He was not made a Mason in the lodge at York , for he was a visiting brotheron the 7 th October , 1762 , when his brother Christopher was proposed as a candidate . The Morritts had a town house in Micklegate , York , as most of the county families had at that period . Joseph Atkinson , the Junior Warden , was an operative stonemason , and the entry of his initiation , and 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 customs of years longantecedent , 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 made 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 June 19 , 1764 , appears a similar , summons for the 25 th June , signed by ( J . ) Palmes and Wilbor , Warden ' s , 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 June 18 , and December 24 , 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 , 17 ( 61 , 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 April 22 , 1766 , an advertisement of another of
the catch penny " exposures' that seem to have amused the publico ! 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 which a person may gain admittance to any lodge in the world without theexpence 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 proceedings from an Entered Apprentice to a Past Master , with the different words , signs , and gripes . Illustrated with several elegant copper-plates exhibiting the different lodges , Freemasons , cyphers , & c . which is added list of all the
To a complete English regular Lodges in the world according to their seniority with the dates of each Constitution and days of meeting . By T . VV . an officer in the army and late Master of the Swan Tavern Lodge in thc Strand . Translated from the French original , published at Berlin , and burnt by order of the King of Prussia at the intercession of the Freemasons . London : Printed for G . Robinson and J . Roberts , at 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 records of any of its proceedings .
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
On June 23 rd , 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 air Alderman . He came of
an old family of York mercers and woollen drapers , 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 .
June 14 th , 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 . December 27 th of that year and June 13 th and December 27 th of the following year were again festivals , as well as June 25 th , 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 Mason a month before his brother , although he was not raised until January 1763 . In the Courant of June 19 th , 1770 , is an announcement of a meeting of the lodge at
Knaresborough" KEDAR—MASTER . The Free and Accepted Masons are requested to meet at the house of VV . Rober t Revell , the Crown in Knaresborough , on Tuesday , the 26 th day of June instant , to celebrate the anniversary of St . John the Baptist , and attend a regular procession to the Church to hear Divine Service , when a Sermon will be preached by a Brother suitable to the occasion .
BATESON 7 wr j CLARK j Wardens . The Brethren are desired to meet at nine o ' clock , as Divine Service will begin at ten . " * The Rev . Charles Kedar , Robert Revell , and William Bateson had
been made Masons at York in October , 1769 , and at the same time a Constitution had been granted to them to open and hold a lodge at the Crown , at Knaresborough , a small town a few miles from York , on the river Nidd . Four names were included in the Constitution , the fourth being that of John Brulart , nominated as Secretary , who also had been made at York .
In July of the same year a Constitution had been granted to John Atkinson as Master ; George Dawson as S . W . ; Wm . Askwith as J . W . ; and John Carlisle as Sec , to open and hold a lodge at the Royal Oak , at Ripon , in Yorkshire , Askwith having been previously made a Mason at York . The Ripon brethren must have soon tired of their York connection , for a warrant appears to have been applied for and granted to them from London in June 1776 . Processions were fashionable about this time for the winter Festival of St . John is thus announced :
"PALMES , Grand Master . " The Free and Accepted Masons are desired to meet the Grand Master on St . John's Day , the 27 th December instant ( 1770 ) , at the York Tavern , at nine o'clock li the morning , to attend him in procession to St . John's Church , in Micklegate , where a sermon suitable to the occasion will be preached by a brother , and afterwards to dine with him at the said tavern . Dinner will be on the table at two o ' clock . " HARR , , } GrandWarden 3 -
" Tickets to be had at Mr . kidd ' s Coffee House , in Coney-street . Such brethren as purpose to attend are desired to take out tickets by themselves or friends before the 24 th inst . "
This was one of the most successful gatherings of the century in York . The brethren assembled with their visitors to the number of 120 . They marched with their " colours , " headed by the city band and the band of the Inniskilling Dragoons , to church , where a sermon was preached by Bro . the Rev . Wm . Dade , on " God is Love . " The bells of St . Martin ' s , Coneystreet , rang out a merry peal ; they had a famous dinner , and they appropriately ended a happy day by getting up a handsome subscription for charitable purposes . The Rev . VV . Dade was rector of Barmston , in the East Riding , and an author of a " History of Holderness . "
On the 24 th June , 1771 , Gascoigne , Grand Master , and his Wardens , Harrison and Lakeland , publicl y summoned their summer festival at Mr . Matthew Kidd ' s , the York Tavern , and again at the same house for the 27 th December . In 1772 Lakeland and Bussey were Wardens , and summoned meetings for June 24 th and December 28 th , the latter meeting being advertised in the York Chronicle as well as the Courant , by order of the lodge .
Sir Thomas Gascoigne was the last baronet of the family , and died in 1810 . Their Yorkshire seat was at Parlington , and they claimed to be descended from the historic Lord Chief Justice Gascoigne , temp . Hen . IV . Sir Thomas was initiated at York , with Sir Walter Vavasour , in January , 176 S , but was not again heard of until he was elected Grand Master in absentia , in December , 1770 . I fear he was not a very good Mason , for in December , 1779 , he was struck off the books for non-payment of arrears .
In 1773 , Chaloner , Grand Master , and Bussey and Bagley , Grand Wardens , advertised their gatherings for June 24 th and December 27 th , at the York Tavern , and in the Courant for December 21 st appears the announcement of the Apollo Lodge , thus : " APOLLO LODGE . — -The members of this lodge are desired to meet their brethren on Monday next , the 27 th inst ., being St . John ' s Day . All Free and Accepted Masons desirous of visiting this lodge admitted by applying for tickets at the bar of the George Inn , Coney-street . Dinner will be on the table at three o ' clock . "
Charles Chaloner , who was Grand Master in 1773 , was initiated on the same night as George Palmes , in 1761 , at a time when several men of position took an interest in the lodge , but Chaloner ' s interest was very transient , for he never attended any meetings , and resigned in 1767 , but rejoined in 1770 . He was one of the old family of Chaloner , of Guisborough , in the North Riding . John Bagley , his Junior Warden , was a York tradesman , and served the office of Sheriff of the City in 1790 . Chaloner resigned his membership in 1775 .
1 he Apollo Lodge was warranted July 31 st , 1773 , so that this must have been its first annual festival . Many distinguished brethren were connected with this lodge , and several of the members of the old lodge , who should have stood by their mother , went over to the more fashionable body which met at the George Hotel , in Coney-street . Early in the present century most of the minutes , & c , of the Apollo Lodge were sold , with other Masonic property , to the brethren of a Hull lodge , and are now in the possession of the Humber Lodge .
In 1774 Grand Lodge met as usual atthe York Tavern , under Stapilton , Grand Master , and Bagley and Bewlay , Grand Wardens . There must have been some feeling of rivalry between the Apollo and the Grand Lodges , or the meetings would not have been called as they were on the same day and hour .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
Yorkshire Gazette . My search in the files of the Couraiit—by kind permission of Mr . Hargrove , thc manager ofthe York Herald—from ils earliest date to 1761 , the year of the revival of thc 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 January 30 th , 1739 , an advertisement of Anderson's Constitutions of 1738 .
This day is published , in Large and Small Quarto , dedicated to H . R . H . Frederick , Prince of Wales , and presented by the Right Honorable the Marquis of Carnarvon , present Grand Master ,
THE NEW BOOK OV CONSTITUTIONS , , by James Anderson , D . D . Printed for Ward and Chandler , Booksellers , in Coney-street , York , and at Scar borough . Large paper , 10 s . Cd . ; small , 5 s . The publisher of the Couraiit at this time was Caisar 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 by 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 December 4 th of the same year is announced
"The Merry Companion , " price 2 S ., containing 100 songs , including Hunting , Jollity , the Freemasons , & c . Published by Ward and Chandler , at the Ship , without Temple Bar , London , and at their shops in York and Scarborough . On December nth , 1759 , was advertised in the Courant "The Freemasons' Songs , price is . Printed for R . Bremner , at Edinburgh , . and sold by T . Haxby , in York ; " and in the same paper of April 25 th , 1760 , I find the following : Sold by C . Etherington , in York ; R . Beckwith , in Ripon ; E . Carbutt , in Whitby ; G .
Sagg , in Malton ; 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 .
Quicgum SUB TERRA EST IN APRICUM PROFERET CETAS . —Hor . YOUR SECRETS , SIRS , WILL RISE , THO' ALL THE EARTH O ' ERWHELM THEM , TO MEN ' S EYES . London : Printed for J . Bird , opposite St . Dunstan ' s Church , Fleet Street . N . B . —The public may depend upon this being a genuine 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 were very prevalent , and in York there were several of them . The Antient 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 December 20 th , 1763 , when the following occurs :
MORRITT , Grand Master . The FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS are desired to meet the GRAND MASTER at Mr . Howard ' s , in Lendal , York , on Tuesday , the 27 th initant December . Dinner on the Table at Two o ' clock . Tickets may be had of Mr . Tasker , Treasurer . Atk ° ns on } 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 friend of Sir Walter Scott . He was not made a Mason in the lodge at York , for he was a visiting brotheron the 7 th October , 1762 , when his brother Christopher was proposed as a candidate . The Morritts had a town house in Micklegate , York , as most of the county families had at that period . Joseph Atkinson , the Junior Warden , was an operative stonemason , and the entry of his initiation , and 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 customs of years longantecedent , 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 made 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 June 19 , 1764 , appears a similar , summons for the 25 th June , signed by ( J . ) Palmes and Wilbor , Warden ' s , 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 June 18 , and December 24 , 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 , 17 ( 61 , 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 April 22 , 1766 , an advertisement of another of
the catch penny " exposures' that seem to have amused the publico ! 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 which a person may gain admittance to any lodge in the world without theexpence 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 proceedings from an Entered Apprentice to a Past Master , with the different words , signs , and gripes . Illustrated with several elegant copper-plates exhibiting the different lodges , Freemasons , cyphers , & c . which is added list of all the
To a complete English regular Lodges in the world according to their seniority with the dates of each Constitution and days of meeting . By T . VV . an officer in the army and late Master of the Swan Tavern Lodge in thc Strand . Translated from the French original , published at Berlin , and burnt by order of the King of Prussia at the intercession of the Freemasons . London : Printed for G . Robinson and J . Roberts , at 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 records of any of its proceedings .
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
On June 23 rd , 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 air Alderman . He came of
an old family of York mercers and woollen drapers , 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 .
June 14 th , 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 . December 27 th of that year and June 13 th and December 27 th of the following year were again festivals , as well as June 25 th , 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 Mason a month before his brother , although he was not raised until January 1763 . In the Courant of June 19 th , 1770 , is an announcement of a meeting of the lodge at
Knaresborough" KEDAR—MASTER . The Free and Accepted Masons are requested to meet at the house of VV . Rober t Revell , the Crown in Knaresborough , on Tuesday , the 26 th day of June instant , to celebrate the anniversary of St . John the Baptist , and attend a regular procession to the Church to hear Divine Service , when a Sermon will be preached by a Brother suitable to the occasion .
BATESON 7 wr j CLARK j Wardens . The Brethren are desired to meet at nine o ' clock , as Divine Service will begin at ten . " * The Rev . Charles Kedar , Robert Revell , and William Bateson had
been made Masons at York in October , 1769 , and at the same time a Constitution had been granted to them to open and hold a lodge at the Crown , at Knaresborough , a small town a few miles from York , on the river Nidd . Four names were included in the Constitution , the fourth being that of John Brulart , nominated as Secretary , who also had been made at York .
In July of the same year a Constitution had been granted to John Atkinson as Master ; George Dawson as S . W . ; Wm . Askwith as J . W . ; and John Carlisle as Sec , to open and hold a lodge at the Royal Oak , at Ripon , in Yorkshire , Askwith having been previously made a Mason at York . The Ripon brethren must have soon tired of their York connection , for a warrant appears to have been applied for and granted to them from London in June 1776 . Processions were fashionable about this time for the winter Festival of St . John is thus announced :
"PALMES , Grand Master . " The Free and Accepted Masons are desired to meet the Grand Master on St . John's Day , the 27 th December instant ( 1770 ) , at the York Tavern , at nine o'clock li the morning , to attend him in procession to St . John's Church , in Micklegate , where a sermon suitable to the occasion will be preached by a brother , and afterwards to dine with him at the said tavern . Dinner will be on the table at two o ' clock . " HARR , , } GrandWarden 3 -
" Tickets to be had at Mr . kidd ' s Coffee House , in Coney-street . Such brethren as purpose to attend are desired to take out tickets by themselves or friends before the 24 th inst . "
This was one of the most successful gatherings of the century in York . The brethren assembled with their visitors to the number of 120 . They marched with their " colours , " headed by the city band and the band of the Inniskilling Dragoons , to church , where a sermon was preached by Bro . the Rev . Wm . Dade , on " God is Love . " The bells of St . Martin ' s , Coneystreet , rang out a merry peal ; they had a famous dinner , and they appropriately ended a happy day by getting up a handsome subscription for charitable purposes . The Rev . VV . Dade was rector of Barmston , in the East Riding , and an author of a " History of Holderness . "
On the 24 th June , 1771 , Gascoigne , Grand Master , and his Wardens , Harrison and Lakeland , publicl y summoned their summer festival at Mr . Matthew Kidd ' s , the York Tavern , and again at the same house for the 27 th December . In 1772 Lakeland and Bussey were Wardens , and summoned meetings for June 24 th and December 28 th , the latter meeting being advertised in the York Chronicle as well as the Courant , by order of the lodge .
Sir Thomas Gascoigne was the last baronet of the family , and died in 1810 . Their Yorkshire seat was at Parlington , and they claimed to be descended from the historic Lord Chief Justice Gascoigne , temp . Hen . IV . Sir Thomas was initiated at York , with Sir Walter Vavasour , in January , 176 S , but was not again heard of until he was elected Grand Master in absentia , in December , 1770 . I fear he was not a very good Mason , for in December , 1779 , he was struck off the books for non-payment of arrears .
In 1773 , Chaloner , Grand Master , and Bussey and Bagley , Grand Wardens , advertised their gatherings for June 24 th and December 27 th , at the York Tavern , and in the Courant for December 21 st appears the announcement of the Apollo Lodge , thus : " APOLLO LODGE . — -The members of this lodge are desired to meet their brethren on Monday next , the 27 th inst ., being St . John ' s Day . All Free and Accepted Masons desirous of visiting this lodge admitted by applying for tickets at the bar of the George Inn , Coney-street . Dinner will be on the table at three o ' clock . "
Charles Chaloner , who was Grand Master in 1773 , was initiated on the same night as George Palmes , in 1761 , at a time when several men of position took an interest in the lodge , but Chaloner ' s interest was very transient , for he never attended any meetings , and resigned in 1767 , but rejoined in 1770 . He was one of the old family of Chaloner , of Guisborough , in the North Riding . John Bagley , his Junior Warden , was a York tradesman , and served the office of Sheriff of the City in 1790 . Chaloner resigned his membership in 1775 .
1 he Apollo Lodge was warranted July 31 st , 1773 , so that this must have been its first annual festival . Many distinguished brethren were connected with this lodge , and several of the members of the old lodge , who should have stood by their mother , went over to the more fashionable body which met at the George Hotel , in Coney-street . Early in the present century most of the minutes , & c , of the Apollo Lodge were sold , with other Masonic property , to the brethren of a Hull lodge , and are now in the possession of the Humber Lodge .
In 1774 Grand Lodge met as usual atthe York Tavern , under Stapilton , Grand Master , and Bagley and Bewlay , Grand Wardens . There must have been some feeling of rivalry between the Apollo and the Grand Lodges , or the meetings would not have been called as they were on the same day and hour .