Was The Duke Of Wellington A Freemason?

this signature being that of a young lieutenant then in the 12 th Light Dragoons stationed in Dublin , who only came of age in May , 1790 , and was selected as a member of the Irish Parliament for the

Borough of Trim in the August of that year , as the Dublin Directory of 1791 eontains the following entry amongst the Irish members elected in the general election of August 1790 : — "Trim . —The Hon . A . Wesley in the room of the Hon . Wm . Pole Wesley . . Residence , QuartersDublin . "

, Doubtless many of our readers will be surprised to learn that this young lieutenant the " Hon . A . Wesley , " M . P . for Trim in 1790 , and a member of Lodge 494 , was no other than the great Duke of Wellington , the family name having at a subsequent

period been changed to Wellesley . The exact date of the Duke ' s being made cannot be ascertained , this minute book of the lodge having been lost since 1856 , and it is not recorded in the Grand Lodge records ;

but by the minutes of the loclge it appears the loclge met in Trim , on the 16 th Feb ., 1795 , the Eev . Wm . Elliot in the chair . Bro . Reynolds , the Treasurer , announced that " the following were the seven subscribers to the lodge special subscriptions : —Rev . W . Elliotthe Hon . A . Wesley ,

, John Mockler , Wm . Carshore , James Allen , George Askin , and Henry Reynolds . " Consequently , theDuke must have joined the lodge . shortly before the 16 th of Feb ., 1795 , the following note being made by Bro . Reynolds on that clay :

"The warrant under which this lodge sits bears date the 7 th day of May , 1772 , and in Masonry 5772 , his Grace the present Duke of Leinster , Grand Master of Masons then in Ireland . The warrant

committed to Alex . Wood , Esq ., Mr . H . Reynolds , Gent ., S . W ., aud J . Chapman , Esq ., J . W ., and under which warrant from the commencement of the body to this time 122 members have been regularly admitted , and of such respectability as may appear by the roll book of this lodge . —H .

REYNOLDS , Sec . 16 th February , 1795 . " The roll book here referred to is the book containing the bye-laws of the lodge , of 21 st July , 1772 . Bro . Furnell , 33 ° , in his "Recorded History of Irish Masonry , " at page 45 , states that " On the 7 th of December , 1790 , the Duke of Wellington was initiated in No . 494 , at Trim ' " and on

reference to the " Directory ' of that year , it is found to be the second Tuesday in Dec . 179 0 , being the nig ht for the lodge meeting . Tins information he must have got from one of the old 494 Bros ., as he so published on 12 th July , 1842 , only four years after the lodge moved to Dublinand when all

, the minute books were with Bro . Carleton . The following short history of this lodge has been furnished to us by the same brother . This lodge was originated by William the Marquis of Kildare , Grand Master of

Ireland , aud who subsequently became Duke of Leinster . The warrant bearing his signature as the Grand Master is dated 7 th May , 1772 , A . L . 5772 ( Irish style ) , and was granted to Alexander Wood , Esq ., Henry ReynoldsGent ., and John Chapman

, , Esq ., to hold a lodge in the town of Trim , and County of Meath . This warrant is still used by the lodge . On the 31 st of August , 1775 , the then Earl of Mornington joined the loclge , and on his becoming G . M ., in 1777 , presented

the loclge with an apron of a very peculiar make , and in this apron the Masters of the lodge were always installed until the year 1856 , since which period it has been

lost . From the obtaining of the warrant the loclge from time to time met in the town of Trim with varying success down to the year 1838 ; but in that year it having become reduced to three brethren , named Samuel Scottwho was admitted on the

, 23 rd of December , 1796 , Bro . Cristopher Carleton , admitted on 27 th December , 1797 , and Samuel Beckett , admitted 24 th June , 1826 . They having on the 4 th of June , 1838 , affiliated Brethren Wm . Carleton , Thomas Murphy and G . B . Grant ,

all belonging to Loclge 2 , Dublin , and on the 7 th of June , 1838 , presented a memorial to G . L ., setting forth " that the said Christopher Carleton , Samuel Beckett , and Samuel Scott , were the only survivors of the members of the loclge resident in Trim ,

and that each of them was then over 70 years of age , and no longe r able to take any part in Masonry , but were anxious the warrant under which so many distinguished Masons were made should not be recalled , and they therefore prayed that Wm . Carleton , Thomas Murphy , and G . B . Grant , should be at liberty to remove the warrant to Dublin , "