The Province Of Leicestershire And Rutland.

on parchment , the first six lines being in Latin and the remainder in English ; it was issued in September , 1764 , to Bro . William Licquorich , of Leicester , a member of Lodge No . 91 , and is in the handwriting and bears the peculiarly

DUO . S . S . PARTRIDGE , P . A G . D . C ., DEPUTY PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER .

• characteristic signature of the celebrated Laurence Dermott , for many years an indefatigable officer of the "Atholl " Grand L 6 dge . During the year 1790 , from some cause not now known , a number of the brethren , including the Master , Wardens , and Secretary , seceded from the lodge , and applied to the " Moderns" Grand Lodge for a warrant under that

organization . Their petition . was granted , and towards the end of the year they established St . John ' s Lodge , No . 5 62—now No . 279—the four principal officers of Lodge No . 91 becoming the Master , Wardens , and Secretary of the new lodge . From this date the fate of No . 91 was practically

sealed , its membership declined , and although at the Union in 1813 it was placed on the roll as No . 114 , with a list of sixteen members , the lodge was really moribund , and was erased by the Grand Lodge in 1821 . Its history was written by Bro . J . T . Thorp , F . R . H . S ., in 18 9 8 .

The St . John ' s Lodge , to which reference has alreadybeen made , was warranted in 1790 , and received its centenary warrant in 1890 . Its career has not been free from difficulties , but the members have been able to surmount them all , and at the present time it is the largest as well as the oldest lodge

in the province . Full particulars of its career may be found in the Centenary Celebration Volume of 1892 , with Bro . Maurice Williams' history of the lodge .

Up to the year 1803 , no lodge had been constituted except in the county town of Leicester , but in that year an " Antients " warrant—No . 47 , of January 30 th , 1764—was transferred from Macclesfield to the small town of Hinckley , where it has worked ever since , receiving its centenary warrant early in the present year . As was the case with most "Antients "

lodges , the Degrees of Royal Arch , Mark , and Knights Templar , were worked under the Craft warrant until the Union in 1813 . It is gratifying to report that the lodge possesses the original warrant of 1764 and the lodge records for the past hundred years . The lodge is in a prosperous

condition and its continued success seems assured . Its "Early History , " by Bro . J . T . Thorp , was issued in 18 99 , and published , as usual , at the historian ' s expense . In the second decade of the nineteenth century a large number of French prisoners were " on parole" in England , and among the towns where the officers were located , was Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire . Some of these French

officers were Masons , and established lodges among themselves . Certificates issued by two of these lodges established in Ashby— " Vrais Amis de l'Ordre " and " Justice et Union "are still in existence , and are of great interest to collectors and students of these documents . These French prisoners ' lodges are said to have been founded by the special

permission of Earl Moira of Donington Park , Leicestershire , the Acting Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , under H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , afterwards George IV . The history of these French prisoners' lodges , which were established in various towns in England and Scotland , is full

of interest , and a book on the subject has been written by Bro . J . T . Thorp , F . R . H . S ., and dedicated to his friend , Bro . W . J . Hughan , who is connected with the province as lion , member of several lodges . It is a curious and valuable work .

'Ihe next lodge to be constituted in the county was the Rancliffe Lodge , No . 608 , Loughborough , consecrated in March , 1835 , followed in May , 18 3 6 , by the Ivanhoc Lodge , No . 6 31 , Ashby-de-la-Zouch . Neither of these lodges prospered , the latter lapsing in 18 41 and the former in 18 4 8 .

For thirty-three years after the Union , the St . John ' s was the only lodge working in Leicester , but in 18 4 6 a second lodge , the John of Gaunt , No . 766—now No . 523—was established , which has enjoyed continued prosperity to the present time . It celebrated its Jubilee in 18 9 6 , and its . career

throughout has been marked by its strict adherence to Masonic principles and the excellence of its Masonic work . The roll of lodges in the province has been gradually increased by the addition of the following , viz ., Ferrers and Ivanhoe , No . 779 Ashby-de-la-Zouch , in 1859 ; Howe and

, Charnwood , No . 1007 , Loughborough , in 1864 ; Rutland , No . 1130 , Melton Mowbray , in 1866 ; Vale of Catmos , No . 1265 , Oakham , in 186 9 ; St . Peter ' s , No . 1330 , Market Harborough , in 1870 ; Commercial , No . 1391 , Leicester , in 1872 ; Albert Edward , No . 1560 , Leicester , in 1875 ; Granite ,

No . 2028 , Narborough , in 1884 ; Golden Fleece , No . 2081 , Leicester , in 1885 ; Grace Dieu , No . 2428 , Coalville , in 18 92 ; the Lodge of Research , No . 2429 , Leicester , in 18 92 ; and East Goscote , No . 2865 , Syston , in 1901 , all of which have succeeded in establishing themselves on the firm basis of brotherly love and helpfulness .

liRO . UDU'ARD I 10 LMKS , 1 'KOVINClAf , GRAND SI-X'RF . TA It Y . A few words may be added here with reference to the Lodge of Research , No . 2429 , Leicester . This lodge is exclusively a literary lodge ; it admits members by "joining " only , and like its world-renowned prototype , the Ouatuor