The Province Of Derbyshire.

The Province of Derbyshire .

T T THAI L \ LR ( he virtues ot our forefathers may have y y been , it can hardly be contended that thev possessed any monopoly of habits of order and regularity . There are far too nianv institutions in this country mourning the loss of all trace of their earlier records , and whose

origin is for the most part the subject of mere conjecture and speculation . In some cases the researches of learned antiquarians have pierced the obscuiity in which the early history of such societies was hidden , but there are others to whom the loss of ancient records has been quite irreparable .

The members of an Order so deeply imbued with reverence for the past , as Freemasons , have suffered equally with the rest . The Province of Derbyshire , for instance , has been in existence since 178 9 ; but , as a matter of fact , there aie no minute books or official records of its proceedings known to

be in existence prior to the year 1852 . It would be neither possible nor profitable to waste time on an endeavour to allot the blame for this lamentable disappearance of old minute books , but the probable explanation is that , as death has removed their custodians , they fell into the hands of men

who knew not Masonry , and were dropped , as so much waste-paper , into the dustbin , or helped to augment the glories of a November bonfire .

At one time or another efforts have been made by various members of the Order to throw a little lignt on the circumstances nuclei- which Freemasonry came to be established in Derbyshire . Amongst the foremost of these seekers after truth was the late Bro . Thomas Hall , a Past Master of the

Tynan Lodge , who prepared an interesting sketch of its career on the occasion of its centenary celebration in 188 5 . The Tyrian Lodge being far and away the oldest in the province , its history is to a great extent that of Freemasonry , so far as Derbyshire is concerned ; but long before

the Tyrian entered on its illustrious career Freemasonry was known and practised in Derbyshire under the iegis of a regular lodge . The charter of this lodge—originally

numbered 104—dated back to September 14 th , 1732 , but even before its foundation there is every reason to believe that there Avere Freemasons in Derbyshire , but whether they met under any authorised banner or in a casual sort of way is a point concerning which there is absolutely no evidence

to guide us . The lodge that was opened in 1732 met at the "Virgin ' s Inn , " on the north side of the Market Place . It was afterwards removed to the " Royal Oak , " on the opposite side of the Square , and continued to meet there until 1 777 , when it appears to have been struck off the roll of Grand Lodge

for noncompliance with the rules . It had in the meantime changed its number , first to 92 , then to 54 , and finally to 45 , by the lapse of other lodges .

The Tyrian Lodge—the sole remaining link with the Freemasonry of those days—was established in 1785 , four years before the warrant for the formation of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire was issued . The career of this splendid lodge has been in every respect worthy of its

exalted position as the mother lodge of the province . There are many instances on record where it has given a lead to Masonic feeling throughout the county , and it has never failed to set a high standard for the example and guidance of the rest of the lodges . The esteem in which it is held , not

only in the province , but in the Craft generally , was strikingly manifested on the occasion of its centenary in 188 ^ , when Masons from all parts of the country assembled

to pay it honour . During the first four years ot the existence of the Tyrian Lodge considerably over 100 members passed through its portals , and its rapid growth was no doubt responsible for the formation of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire in 1789 . The first Grand Master of the

province was a Mason who had already attained a high position amongst the rulers of the Craft in the midlands . This was Bro . Thomas Boothby Parkins , afterwards first Lord R . tncliffe , whose home was at Bunny Park , Notts , and who for six years had been Provincial Grand Master of that

county . The same year that saw him installed Provincial Grand Master of Derbyshire also Avitnessed his elevation to a similar position in Rutland , whilst four years later he became Provincial Grand Master of Leicestershire . It is sometimes supposed that because Bro . Parkins ruled over

so many counties the latter were joined together in one province . This idea is wholly erroneous . Derbyshire at that time enjoyed quite as full a measure of independence in

ISRO . 1 IAUOI 1 TON CIIAHLKS OXKOVKR , l ' . J . O . W . ( I-: SI ! I , AXD ) , JlKl'UTV 1 'liOV . OR AXD MASTKU . the management of its affairs as it does to-day . It was never united with , nor did it form a part of , any other province . The functions of Bro . Parkins at that time were precisely

what those of the Duke of Devonshire are at the present time . He took great interest in the affairs of the Order , and on his retirement in 1793 was succeeded by an equally zealous Mason , Bro . Sir John Borlase Warren . Sir John was also a Nottinghamshire Mason , and early in his Mastership

he took part in the consecration of the Scarsdale Lodge at Chesterfield . This lodge nourished until 18 3 8 , when it was erased from the roll of Grand Lodge , to be revived twenty years later under the same title and to enter on a new lease of prosperity and power . There were no other

developments during his regime , which lasted until J 8 OI , when the province passed under the sway of Charles , third Earl of Harrington , a distinguished general in the King ' s army . This nobleman was therefore the first Derbyshire man who ruled over the province , and he was also the first occupant