Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
Henry Stapilton was a scion of a very old house , in whicn , however , even in that day , very little of the original Tees-side blood was to be found , owing to lack of male heirs . He probably lived at Wighill . near York , where they had estates . They were connected by marriage with the Vavasours , of Copmanthorpe , near York , hence most likely the Masonic association .
He joined the lodge in 1773 , and seems to have been popular with the brethren . In the spring of 1775 he presented the lodge with a deer , for the purpose of getting up an extra banquet . { To be continued . )
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
{ Continued from page 404 ) . CHAPTER X . BRO . GEORGE PLUCKNETT , P . G . D ., TREASURER 1 S 73-1 SS 4 . Those who have accompanied us in our sketch of the Boys' Institution since the first school at Wood Green was opened must doubtless have been struck with amazement at the vast success with which that event was followed . Only 15 years had elapsed since then , yet here we find ourselves at the beginning of the year 1873 w ' tln a new and handsome building , erected
and fitted after the most approved scholastic style , and freed from all encumbrance in the shape of mortgage ; a School mustering 115 pupils—or considerably more than half as many again as under the system previously in force—with a strong educational and domestic staff ; and annual incomings from the Festival alone enough , if not more than enough , to maintain the Institution in a state of thorough efficiency . That so much progress
should have been made in the further extension of the School in so brief a period , must excite our astonishment ; yet is it , in a measure , as nothing by comparison with the development which has taken place since Bro . Plucknett was chosen Treasurer—that is , in the still briefer period of 12 years dealt with in the present and concluding chapter . No one would have ventured to blame the Executive had it elected to rest for a while , postponing , for
a few years at all events , all idea of making further additions to the numerical strength of the Establishment . Some may have thought such a policy would have been preferable , but the preponderance of opinion was in the direction of further and still more amazing developments . Bro . Plucknett had barely had time to thank the Committee for his election , and the measures to be adopted in consequence of Dr . Barry ' s report as to the
Educational status of the School were still being carefully and laboriously considered , when , in April 18 73 , it was resolved to add 10 more boys to the establishment , making the total 125 . A few months later it was discovered that by the erection o { additional buildings room might be found in the School for a further 28 boys , one half of whom it was arranged should be admitted in October , and the other half at the Quarterly Court in April of
the following year . These additions to , or rather enlargements of , the building , were contracted to be made at between £ 1700 and £ 1800 , but the outlay ultimately reached the far greater sum of £ 2314 . Towards the close of the year 1875 the question was seriously entertained of providing separate infirmary accommodation , and in the end , thefreeholdof Kent House , situated opposite the School , at Wood Green , was purchased for / 2000 , the
cost of fittings , & c , necessitating the outlay of a further £ 1000 . This placed a certain amount of dormitory space at the disposal of the Committee , and the result was a further increase in the pupils from 153 to 158 . From time to time additions were made during the latter part ot 1876 and the first of 1877 , and at length , in August of the latter year , it was resolved to still further enlarge the building , at a cost of £ 3000 , the additional
space mus acquired oeingsumcient to allow ot tlie admission of 32 more boys , of whom 21 were added in April , 1 S 78 , and the rest at a subsequent period . This extension of the premises necessitated a further outlay of £ 1500 for a new playground , and , as a matter of course , both in respect of the Head Master ' s house and the School , there must always be a considerable amount of current expenditure , in order to keep the buildinirs in a nroner
state of repair . However , all these extensions of premises and numerical increase of the establishment do not seem to have been sufficient to keep pace with the still more formidable increase in the number of applications made for the benefits of the Institution . The usual half-yearly complement of vacancies was very soon found to be out of all proportion to the increasing strength of the approved lists of candidates , and various proposals were
carefully discussed , with a view to ascertaining if it might not be possible to still further enlarge the School , both by erecting fresh additional accommodation andstrengtheningthe establishment for boys . At length it was resolved to start a Preparatory School Building Fund , the object being to so enlarge the premises as to allow in the first instance of 50 , and , later on , of possibly a further 100 boys being added to the " establishment , the new bovs beinsr
received into the School at an earlier age and in due time drafted into what will then have become the Upper School . This Special Fund was started in the year i 88 r , and it was resolved that no steps should be taken towards carrying the project into execution until a minimum sum of £ 8000 had been raised . By the end of the following year £ 3000 had been funded , and in 1883 , stimulated to extraordinary exertions by the exceptional voting
privileges offered to all contributors to this fund before 31 st December , the brethren not only raised , but exceeded considerably , the minimum originally fixed , and enabled the Executive to purchase . £ 13 , 500 4 per cent . India Stock , the price paid being within a fraction of ^ 13 , 996 . This large amount , be it remarked , was the result of joint contributions of 170 London and 517 Provincial donors , Provincial Lodges and Provincial Grand
Lodges being included in the latter category . Immediately on the success of the plan becoming apparent the House Committee set about devising the arrangements for carrying out the extension of the School , and , as a first step in that direction , it was resolved to purchase the freehold of certain houses immediately adjoining the School , the price agreed to be paid being £ 3200 . It was then decided to erect a new Hall and the building
requisite for the accommodation of the proposed additional 50 boys , and at a special meeting of the House and Building Committee , held at Freemasons' Hall on Thursday , the 14 th August , the tenders for the work were opened and considered , and it was resolved to accept that of Messrs . Fish , Prestage , & Co ., who proposed to carry it out for the sum of - £ 12 , 312 of
, which , however , £ 946 is appropriated to "Sundry Fittings , " and can hardly be classed , therefore , with the proposed outlay for the new Preparatory School . That the project will be completed without some additional outlay is hardly expected , but it is a consolation to know beforehand that the bulk of the expenditure is already provided for , and such further
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
disbursements as may be necessary will be easily met out of the ordinary sources of income . Thus , when the ncw premises , which are on the eve of being commenced , have been erected our Boys' School will be able to accommodate close on 250 pupils , while matters have been so ordered that , in thc event of tho necessity arising- at some future time for still further increasing thc number
of boys , such increase may be made deliberately and by mere enlargement ol the existing accommodation , the property posscsscd > by the Institution being extensive enough for the requirements of the School , so that further purchases of land will not be imperative , though it is , of course , within thc range of possibility that such purchases may be found desirable . Thus in the brief period embraced in this chapter there has already been paid for
extension of building , additional land , and Kent House Infirmary , & c , over £ 15 , , and there is already in hand towards the proposed enlargement of the School some £ 14 , , exclusive of interest that may have accumulated on the Special Fund investments . We shall not be far out if we set down the provision made during these 12 years for building and extension of buildings as amounting , in round figures , to £ 30 , 000 , while , in addition , the
balance of loan due to bankers of £ 4000 has been paid off , and the stock sold out for the new School opened in 1 S 65 , and amounting to over £ 13 , , has been replaced by close on £ 16 , 000 of various stocks , as shown in the annual Statement of Account issued by the Executive only a few months since . During all this time , likewise , the annually increasing sum for the maintenance of the Institution has been provided out of current receipts ,
while the authorised strength of the School , exclusive of boys admitted by purchase or on perpetual or life presentations , is 19 S , as against 115 in 1 S 72 . Such a work , or rather such an accumulation of work , carried out by thc ordinary process of voluntary contribution in so short a term of years , tells its own talc . To occupy any time in commending a picture such as this
would have the effect of marring its beauty . Yet it may not be out ot place to point out that the Society which has provided the means for accomplishing this good has laboured as hard and as successfully in behalf of our Girls' School and Benevolent Institution , so that the picture we have been presenting to our readers' notice is only one out of three , all equally striking , end equally worthy of the world's laudation .
Having traced the progress of the Institution as regards accommodation and numbers , our next care must be to cast a glance at ils educational progress . The report submitted by Dr . Barry , of King ' s College , London , towards the close of the year 1872 , if not as complimentary as could have been wished , was eminently a judicious one , and the House Committee showed they regarded it in that light by at once taking steps for thc
improvement of the educational system . Nothing , however , was done hastily , and it was not till the month of June , 1 S 73 , that intimation was given to Mr . Furrian that his services as Head Master would , after the lapse of the interval agreed upon , be required no longer . A successor , in the person of the Rev . O . G . D . Perrott , M . A ., was chosen from among the numerous candidates for the office , several of the subordinate Masters were changed ,
and the new staff entered upon then * duties at the beginning of 1 S 74 , every possible care being at the same time taken in order to secure that amelioration in the training of the boys , on the necessity of which Dr . Barry had laid so much stress . It was likewise resolved that the pupils should receive instruction in vocal and instrumental music , a competent teacher being engaged for the purpose , while instruments for a band of 20
were purchased , and the services of Mr . George Ison , of the Tottenham Volunteer Corps , were secured as bandmaster . About the same time Bro . the Rev . C . Woodward resigned his office of Chaplain , his uniform kindness in that capacity being both courteously and appropriately recognised , while the duties were undertaken by the new Head Master . The change worked beneficially for a time . A seat at the Executive Board or House
Committee , but without the privilege of voting , was assigned to Bro . Perrott , and there appeared to be a fair likelihood of the new orderof things prospering for a reasonably protracted period . Unfortunately , a twelvemonth had not elapsed ere dissensions broke out between the Head Master and a member of the staff . As almost invariably happens in cases of this kind , the original ground of the difference was enlarged , other
members of the staff became involved , and in the course of a few months there appeared to be a general and very violent conflict , in which the Head Master , the Subordinate Masters , the Matron , the House Committee , and the Secretary were all more or less desperately engaged . Nor , indeed , were these the only combatants . Brethren outside the official circle stepped down into the arena , and bade defiance to those whose
conduct they believed or assumed to be in fault . Pamphlets and rejoinders were issued , and even a whole province plunged headlong into the fray . Into the nature of this fierce dispute it would , of course , be both unwise and unprofitable to enter . Like other similar disputes , it ran ils full course , with the result that the Head Master and most of his subordinates disappeared from the scene , and thc Rev . Richard Morris , M . A ., LL . D ., who had been
a competitor against Bro . Perrott , when the latter was elected , was appointed , and entered upon his duties as Head Master and Chaplain at the close of the Midsummer holidays , 1875 . The extra-official differences were finally closed at the Quarterly Court held on the 10 th April , 1 S 7 6 , when close on 200 brethren were present , and , after a long and somewhat angry debate , it was , on the motion of Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , Past Grand
Chaplain , P . Prov . G . S . W . West Yorkshire , duly seconded , resolved by an overwhelming preponderance of opinion " That , having in view recent imputations cast on the administration of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , this Court deems it to be its duty to express its unabated confidence in the House and Audit Committee and Executive . " Since then the progress of the School has been undisturbed . The management of the School
by the official , educational , and domestic staffs has been conducted most harmoniously . Each in its special sphere has striven to effect the greatest amount of good for the Institution , and , happily for the latter , the plans proposed by each appear to have possessed the property of assimilating easily one with the other . The effect of this harmonious co-operation is visible everywhere ; but nowhere is it more conspicuous than in the results of
the public examinations conducted by our Universities—particularly that of Cambridge—and the Science and Art Department of South Kensington , only a very small proportion , of those offering themselves as candidates being rejected , while to the majority of the successful arc awarded honours . In short , the School now ranks high among the best of our middle-class
educational establishments , both as regards its training and the tone and bearing of the boys , who invariably convey to the minds of visitors the idea that when the time comes for them to begin life , they will bear themselves gallantly and honourably , as young English gentlefolk should bear themselves . May this happy and prosperous condition of affairs continue always ! { To be continued ) .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In York In The Eighteenth Century.
Henry Stapilton was a scion of a very old house , in whicn , however , even in that day , very little of the original Tees-side blood was to be found , owing to lack of male heirs . He probably lived at Wighill . near York , where they had estates . They were connected by marriage with the Vavasours , of Copmanthorpe , near York , hence most likely the Masonic association .
He joined the lodge in 1773 , and seems to have been popular with the brethren . In the spring of 1775 he presented the lodge with a deer , for the purpose of getting up an extra banquet . { To be continued . )
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
{ Continued from page 404 ) . CHAPTER X . BRO . GEORGE PLUCKNETT , P . G . D ., TREASURER 1 S 73-1 SS 4 . Those who have accompanied us in our sketch of the Boys' Institution since the first school at Wood Green was opened must doubtless have been struck with amazement at the vast success with which that event was followed . Only 15 years had elapsed since then , yet here we find ourselves at the beginning of the year 1873 w ' tln a new and handsome building , erected
and fitted after the most approved scholastic style , and freed from all encumbrance in the shape of mortgage ; a School mustering 115 pupils—or considerably more than half as many again as under the system previously in force—with a strong educational and domestic staff ; and annual incomings from the Festival alone enough , if not more than enough , to maintain the Institution in a state of thorough efficiency . That so much progress
should have been made in the further extension of the School in so brief a period , must excite our astonishment ; yet is it , in a measure , as nothing by comparison with the development which has taken place since Bro . Plucknett was chosen Treasurer—that is , in the still briefer period of 12 years dealt with in the present and concluding chapter . No one would have ventured to blame the Executive had it elected to rest for a while , postponing , for
a few years at all events , all idea of making further additions to the numerical strength of the Establishment . Some may have thought such a policy would have been preferable , but the preponderance of opinion was in the direction of further and still more amazing developments . Bro . Plucknett had barely had time to thank the Committee for his election , and the measures to be adopted in consequence of Dr . Barry ' s report as to the
Educational status of the School were still being carefully and laboriously considered , when , in April 18 73 , it was resolved to add 10 more boys to the establishment , making the total 125 . A few months later it was discovered that by the erection o { additional buildings room might be found in the School for a further 28 boys , one half of whom it was arranged should be admitted in October , and the other half at the Quarterly Court in April of
the following year . These additions to , or rather enlargements of , the building , were contracted to be made at between £ 1700 and £ 1800 , but the outlay ultimately reached the far greater sum of £ 2314 . Towards the close of the year 1875 the question was seriously entertained of providing separate infirmary accommodation , and in the end , thefreeholdof Kent House , situated opposite the School , at Wood Green , was purchased for / 2000 , the
cost of fittings , & c , necessitating the outlay of a further £ 1000 . This placed a certain amount of dormitory space at the disposal of the Committee , and the result was a further increase in the pupils from 153 to 158 . From time to time additions were made during the latter part ot 1876 and the first of 1877 , and at length , in August of the latter year , it was resolved to still further enlarge the building , at a cost of £ 3000 , the additional
space mus acquired oeingsumcient to allow ot tlie admission of 32 more boys , of whom 21 were added in April , 1 S 78 , and the rest at a subsequent period . This extension of the premises necessitated a further outlay of £ 1500 for a new playground , and , as a matter of course , both in respect of the Head Master ' s house and the School , there must always be a considerable amount of current expenditure , in order to keep the buildinirs in a nroner
state of repair . However , all these extensions of premises and numerical increase of the establishment do not seem to have been sufficient to keep pace with the still more formidable increase in the number of applications made for the benefits of the Institution . The usual half-yearly complement of vacancies was very soon found to be out of all proportion to the increasing strength of the approved lists of candidates , and various proposals were
carefully discussed , with a view to ascertaining if it might not be possible to still further enlarge the School , both by erecting fresh additional accommodation andstrengtheningthe establishment for boys . At length it was resolved to start a Preparatory School Building Fund , the object being to so enlarge the premises as to allow in the first instance of 50 , and , later on , of possibly a further 100 boys being added to the " establishment , the new bovs beinsr
received into the School at an earlier age and in due time drafted into what will then have become the Upper School . This Special Fund was started in the year i 88 r , and it was resolved that no steps should be taken towards carrying the project into execution until a minimum sum of £ 8000 had been raised . By the end of the following year £ 3000 had been funded , and in 1883 , stimulated to extraordinary exertions by the exceptional voting
privileges offered to all contributors to this fund before 31 st December , the brethren not only raised , but exceeded considerably , the minimum originally fixed , and enabled the Executive to purchase . £ 13 , 500 4 per cent . India Stock , the price paid being within a fraction of ^ 13 , 996 . This large amount , be it remarked , was the result of joint contributions of 170 London and 517 Provincial donors , Provincial Lodges and Provincial Grand
Lodges being included in the latter category . Immediately on the success of the plan becoming apparent the House Committee set about devising the arrangements for carrying out the extension of the School , and , as a first step in that direction , it was resolved to purchase the freehold of certain houses immediately adjoining the School , the price agreed to be paid being £ 3200 . It was then decided to erect a new Hall and the building
requisite for the accommodation of the proposed additional 50 boys , and at a special meeting of the House and Building Committee , held at Freemasons' Hall on Thursday , the 14 th August , the tenders for the work were opened and considered , and it was resolved to accept that of Messrs . Fish , Prestage , & Co ., who proposed to carry it out for the sum of - £ 12 , 312 of
, which , however , £ 946 is appropriated to "Sundry Fittings , " and can hardly be classed , therefore , with the proposed outlay for the new Preparatory School . That the project will be completed without some additional outlay is hardly expected , but it is a consolation to know beforehand that the bulk of the expenditure is already provided for , and such further
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
disbursements as may be necessary will be easily met out of the ordinary sources of income . Thus , when the ncw premises , which are on the eve of being commenced , have been erected our Boys' School will be able to accommodate close on 250 pupils , while matters have been so ordered that , in thc event of tho necessity arising- at some future time for still further increasing thc number
of boys , such increase may be made deliberately and by mere enlargement ol the existing accommodation , the property posscsscd > by the Institution being extensive enough for the requirements of the School , so that further purchases of land will not be imperative , though it is , of course , within thc range of possibility that such purchases may be found desirable . Thus in the brief period embraced in this chapter there has already been paid for
extension of building , additional land , and Kent House Infirmary , & c , over £ 15 , , and there is already in hand towards the proposed enlargement of the School some £ 14 , , exclusive of interest that may have accumulated on the Special Fund investments . We shall not be far out if we set down the provision made during these 12 years for building and extension of buildings as amounting , in round figures , to £ 30 , 000 , while , in addition , the
balance of loan due to bankers of £ 4000 has been paid off , and the stock sold out for the new School opened in 1 S 65 , and amounting to over £ 13 , , has been replaced by close on £ 16 , 000 of various stocks , as shown in the annual Statement of Account issued by the Executive only a few months since . During all this time , likewise , the annually increasing sum for the maintenance of the Institution has been provided out of current receipts ,
while the authorised strength of the School , exclusive of boys admitted by purchase or on perpetual or life presentations , is 19 S , as against 115 in 1 S 72 . Such a work , or rather such an accumulation of work , carried out by thc ordinary process of voluntary contribution in so short a term of years , tells its own talc . To occupy any time in commending a picture such as this
would have the effect of marring its beauty . Yet it may not be out ot place to point out that the Society which has provided the means for accomplishing this good has laboured as hard and as successfully in behalf of our Girls' School and Benevolent Institution , so that the picture we have been presenting to our readers' notice is only one out of three , all equally striking , end equally worthy of the world's laudation .
Having traced the progress of the Institution as regards accommodation and numbers , our next care must be to cast a glance at ils educational progress . The report submitted by Dr . Barry , of King ' s College , London , towards the close of the year 1872 , if not as complimentary as could have been wished , was eminently a judicious one , and the House Committee showed they regarded it in that light by at once taking steps for thc
improvement of the educational system . Nothing , however , was done hastily , and it was not till the month of June , 1 S 73 , that intimation was given to Mr . Furrian that his services as Head Master would , after the lapse of the interval agreed upon , be required no longer . A successor , in the person of the Rev . O . G . D . Perrott , M . A ., was chosen from among the numerous candidates for the office , several of the subordinate Masters were changed ,
and the new staff entered upon then * duties at the beginning of 1 S 74 , every possible care being at the same time taken in order to secure that amelioration in the training of the boys , on the necessity of which Dr . Barry had laid so much stress . It was likewise resolved that the pupils should receive instruction in vocal and instrumental music , a competent teacher being engaged for the purpose , while instruments for a band of 20
were purchased , and the services of Mr . George Ison , of the Tottenham Volunteer Corps , were secured as bandmaster . About the same time Bro . the Rev . C . Woodward resigned his office of Chaplain , his uniform kindness in that capacity being both courteously and appropriately recognised , while the duties were undertaken by the new Head Master . The change worked beneficially for a time . A seat at the Executive Board or House
Committee , but without the privilege of voting , was assigned to Bro . Perrott , and there appeared to be a fair likelihood of the new orderof things prospering for a reasonably protracted period . Unfortunately , a twelvemonth had not elapsed ere dissensions broke out between the Head Master and a member of the staff . As almost invariably happens in cases of this kind , the original ground of the difference was enlarged , other
members of the staff became involved , and in the course of a few months there appeared to be a general and very violent conflict , in which the Head Master , the Subordinate Masters , the Matron , the House Committee , and the Secretary were all more or less desperately engaged . Nor , indeed , were these the only combatants . Brethren outside the official circle stepped down into the arena , and bade defiance to those whose
conduct they believed or assumed to be in fault . Pamphlets and rejoinders were issued , and even a whole province plunged headlong into the fray . Into the nature of this fierce dispute it would , of course , be both unwise and unprofitable to enter . Like other similar disputes , it ran ils full course , with the result that the Head Master and most of his subordinates disappeared from the scene , and thc Rev . Richard Morris , M . A ., LL . D ., who had been
a competitor against Bro . Perrott , when the latter was elected , was appointed , and entered upon his duties as Head Master and Chaplain at the close of the Midsummer holidays , 1875 . The extra-official differences were finally closed at the Quarterly Court held on the 10 th April , 1 S 7 6 , when close on 200 brethren were present , and , after a long and somewhat angry debate , it was , on the motion of Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , Past Grand
Chaplain , P . Prov . G . S . W . West Yorkshire , duly seconded , resolved by an overwhelming preponderance of opinion " That , having in view recent imputations cast on the administration of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , this Court deems it to be its duty to express its unabated confidence in the House and Audit Committee and Executive . " Since then the progress of the School has been undisturbed . The management of the School
by the official , educational , and domestic staffs has been conducted most harmoniously . Each in its special sphere has striven to effect the greatest amount of good for the Institution , and , happily for the latter , the plans proposed by each appear to have possessed the property of assimilating easily one with the other . The effect of this harmonious co-operation is visible everywhere ; but nowhere is it more conspicuous than in the results of
the public examinations conducted by our Universities—particularly that of Cambridge—and the Science and Art Department of South Kensington , only a very small proportion , of those offering themselves as candidates being rejected , while to the majority of the successful arc awarded honours . In short , the School now ranks high among the best of our middle-class
educational establishments , both as regards its training and the tone and bearing of the boys , who invariably convey to the minds of visitors the idea that when the time comes for them to begin life , they will bear themselves gallantly and honourably , as young English gentlefolk should bear themselves . May this happy and prosperous condition of affairs continue always ! { To be continued ) .