Notes On The Old Minute Books Of The British Union Lodge, No. 114, Ipswich. A.D. 1762.

P . S . W ., are recorded as Provincial Officers present . At another Lodge of Festivity held on St . John Baptist ' s day , June 24 th , 1793 , it was unanimously agreed that the Lodge should not be opened till the 1 st Tuesday

in Sept ., and from that time to be held only once a quarter till the " Debts of the Lodge arc discharged , " from which we may conclude that these jolly Masons had got into difficulties through their Lodges of Festivity .

Under date February of the same year in the Lodge Accounts , we find House Bill £ 1 7 s . 9 cl , and under it , House Bill brought from last Lodge night £ i 3 s . Od ., with this significant note in pencil : N . B . —None of the above Bills are paid ; say due to Mr . Ribbans £ 5 14 s . 3 d . The above speaks volumes , and tells its own tale .

In March , 1794 , the Quarterage was reduced to 5 /—the amount now charged to subscribing Members , ancl visiting brothers were to pay 2 / C . Under date October , 1795 , we find only 5 brethren were present , ancl consequently the Lodge

, vas not opened . At St John ' s Festival 27 th December , 1795 , seven members only were present , no visitors were there , ancl four absentees are recorded , including Wm . Middleton , Esq . ; from which we gather that the P . G . M . was at this time

a member of the Lodge , which must have sunk to a low ebb , only numbering eleven members . Under date 1 st Jul y , 1800 , we find "Ipswich Races happened on this clay , ancl no accommodation to be had to hold a lodgeit was postponed . "

, On 4 th November , 1800 , we find Bros . S . Girling , and T . Skittor were raised to the third degree of Masonry , and paid the ztsucd fee of 6 / each . On the 2 nd December , 1800 , we find Bro . Humphreys "in token of his

friendship to this Lodge , has very handsomely made a present of a silver trowel . " We should like to know if this trowel is now in existence . At the Lodge Meeting in April , 1801 , we find several visitors from the Lodge of Perfect FriendshipNo

, . 389 . This Lodge is now extinct , but we were shown the other day by Bro . N . Tracy , P . P . J . G . W . ( one of the leading Masonic students in Suffolk , and

Preceptor of the Perfect Ashlar Lod ge of Instruction , working under the British Union Warrant ) , a book of Constitutions date 1784 , belonging to this Lod ge with the initials E ., R . W . M . —on the fl y loaf and below W . E ., R . W . M ., 1808 . The Book with some other curious and

valuable Masonic works are now iu the possession of our talented brother . Our brother Hughan can tell us when the Perfect Friendshi p ceased to exist . On July 7 th , 1801 , it was agreed " that a letter should be wrote ( sic . ) to the

Lodge , Marquis of Granby , at Durham , No . 555 , Union Lodge , " but on what subject we do not know . This Lod ge is , we believe , still in existence . The Lod ge seems to have been more prosperous again at this time , as we find 25 members on the

roll in Sept . of this year . Lieut . Griggs of the Royal Edmund Lodge , Bury , and Mr . Wishworth of the Shakespeare Lodge , No . 501 , visited the Lodge at the October meeting . The Royal Edmund is now , we think , amongst the Lodges that have been ,

but it has found a worthy successor in the Royal St . Edmund , which has been recently consecrated and opened there , and of which our excellent and zealous brother W . H . Lucia , P . G . Secretary of Suffolk , was the first Master . In the following February we find two brethren visitors from the Lodge of St . John , but . where it met we do not know .

At this meeting we find Bro . Worth is ordered to get 50 copper plate Certificates for the use of the Lodge ; from which we gather that at that time the Lodge granted private Certificates , which is now forbidden . There is a genial tone about the next

Minute under date June 24 th , 1802 , which tickles our fancy vastly : " Gregory Ivlully was duly ballotted for and elected and entered into the first degree—called off work and went to a good supper , and returned to labour—spent the

evening unanimously , and parted inpeaccl At a Lodge held 3 rd August , 1802 , we find that Gregory Mully aforesaid received the 2 nd ancl 3 rd degrees , ancl on the same occasion Bro . Wm . Gerrard was initiated , passed , and raised on the same night , which is the first time we have noted the three degrees given at one meeting in this Lodge , —a very bad system and now illegal