Oration Delivered At The Consecration Of The Empress Preceptory

Oration Delivered at the Consecration of the Empress Preceptory

Sij V . S . JCnf . Jcev . Q . € . £ . Wright , M . di ..

IN rising to address you this evening , I feel that I must in the first place offer my sincere congratulations to my brethren of the King Edward VII . Preceptory , that in the short space of a year they should have been so successful as to be able to form another one from its members . I understand that , like another highly distinguished London

Preceptory , it is the intention of the founders to maintain the two on parallel lines , and it is a system highly to be commended when brethren have joined in large numbers and are working together with perfect unanimity and concord . Not only is it a proof of the great efficiency which

has already been attained , but it also enables the enthusiastic brethren to gain experience and knowledge much more quickly than they otherwise could do . And I have no doubt that under such skilled leadership , the Empress Preceptory will prove worthy of its progenitor .

There are few more fascinating subjects than the history of " The Rise and Fall of the Ancient Order of the Temple . " From its inception under Geoffery de St . Aldeman and Hugo de Pavens , in 1118 , to its destruction brought about by the

unholy alliance between Clement 5 th and Philip The Fair , King of France , its annals are full of the deepest interest , but as I have dealt with it at length on previous occasions , I think it would be more interesting if I took a later period for our consideration this evening , and spoke to you about our modern Order of the Temple when it first became a

Sovereign Body . I say " MODERN * , " because though it would be very delightful if we could trace our succession accurately to the Sainted Jacques de Molai , the last of the Grand Masters , I fear that it is impossible . The persecution was so severe and relentless that from the clay when Clement

issued the bull dissolving the Order , it ceased as a BODY to exist . No doubt even in France some individual members would escape ; in fact , it is said that several took refuge in the Island of Mull , in Scotland , and there continued in a disguised form to celebrate their rites . In other parts of

Europe , too , they were much more leniently treated , and so unquestionably many Knights survived to hand on their traditions and customs , and thereby prepared the way for the resuscitation of the Order in a corporate capacity in outown country towards the latter end of the 18 th Century .

What happened during the intervening centuries it is difficult to tell . In France , secret societies of various kinds began to reappear during the reigns of the later French kings , and some of them apparently exhibit traces of Knight Templary in their rituals . They were , however , largely political in their ideas , and had considerable influence

on the Revolution . In England , I believe , the Baldwyn Preceptory at Bristol claims to have been established by the Templars who returned with Richard from the 3 rd Crusade , but if it was , its members must have been scattered when the persecution occurred , since Edward 2 nd was son-in-law

of Philip of France , and though not so brutal in his methods , was equally bent upon spoliation and extermination . During the 18 th Century many scions of Royalty were initiated into

Masonry , which gave a great impetus to the Craft , and it seems at that time to have been customary to confer the Order of the Temple under the tegis of the Royal Arch . Hence it is that though we have now definitely once more attained to the status of an Order of Chivalry , that we require all those who desire to join us to have previously

taken the Royal Arch . The place of meeting was then known as an encampment , and the bodies that met as Conclaves , and in 1790 there seems to have been three Conclaves holding regular meetings , the Baldwyn at Bristol , the Royal Cumberland at Bath , and the Redemption at Yorkwhich is now at

, Hull . Thomas Dunckerly was then at the zenith of his fame . It is not possible to say much about him on this occasion , but he was one of the most energetic of the Freemasons of the day . Besides being Prov . G . M . of some seven or eight counties , he held the office of Prov . G . Superintendent for a

great part of England . His services on behalf ol those Degrees were inestimable , but amongst his manifold activities he found time to re-establish the Order of the Temple , for which he always had the greatest affection , on a definite basis . In 179 1 , the three Conclaves I have mentioned , together with others from LondonColchester , Dorchester , and one

, attached to the 1 st Regiment of Dragoons , petitioned to be constituted into a Grand Conclave with Dunckerly as Grand Master . He accepted the post , and on 24 th June the Grand Conclave was solemly inaugurated . In 1792 , we hear of other Conclaves being revived , amongst others the Royal

Naval at Portsmouth , which was the first to receive a centenary warrant . Dunckerly at this time seems to have contemplated establishing the Order on a purely modern basis with a military equipment not unlike that which has been adopted by some foreign bodies . Writing to the Conclave at Redruth ,

in Cornwall , he tells them he h ; . s selected a suitable cloth and uniform buttons for a frock coat , and then goes into great detail as to how the buttons are to be arranged . He adds also that cocked hats and cockades were to be worn . I do not know if this costume was ever formally adopted , but

if it was , it was mercifully overruled in favour of the much more suitable one that we wear to-day . That , of course , was not evolved at once , but research has enabled us at last to attain to an attire as much like mediaeval times as modern conditions will permit , and to strive to maintain as perfectly as possible all the traditions and customs of our ancient predecessors , is , after all , the main justification of our existence .

Another scheme of Dunckerly ' s was to make his Knights Templars go into actual warfare under the name of " Prince Edward ' s Royal Volunteers . " Those were the clays when that long warfare was just beginning , which only finally terminated with the overthrow of Napoleon ; clays which will ever be immortal with the names of Nelson and

Wellington . England was in a ferment , and each county was enrolling volunteers for the defence of their native land . Dunckerly , in a letter to a Knt . Companion , written in 1794 , desires that the Knights shall volunteer , and orders them to wear the cross of a Knight Templar 'on a black riband ,

between two button-holes on the waistcoat of their uniform . He adds that he will himself , when the important moment arrives , offer his services in the navy or army , and concludes : " Let our prayers be addressed to the Throne of Grace , that as Christ ' s faithful soldiers and servants , we may be enabled

to defend the Christian Religion , our gracious Sovereign , our laws , liberties and properties against a rapacious enemy . " It is easy to understand his military ardour , apart from the wave of patriotism which was then sweeping over the land , for he had originally been in the Royal Navy and had served

with distinction at the siege of Quebec . The invasion of England , however , did not take place , so there was no occasion for the fulfillment of his pious intentions . Nor did he long survive , as he peacefully passed away on 23 rd November . 1795 , to the great grief of all who knew him .

When the Grand Conclave had first been formed in 1791 , some of the Knight Companions of the Antient York Conclave of Redemption had written to Dunckerly asking if there were any Hymns or Odes about the Order . He had replied that he knew of none , but would endeavour to compose one himself . He accordingly did so , and with one

verse from it I will conclude this short sketch of the lirst of our modern Grand Masters , who , though he only ruled for four years , did so much for the Order he loved so well . " Unite your hearts , unite each hand In friendship , harmony , and love ;

Connected thus Knights Templar stand Our Love and Charity to prove . Until that awful final day , When lire shall melt this earthly ball , Your courage and your faith display , Attend to Freedom ' s sacred call . "