Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 is the premier research lodge in the world and includes some of the leading Masonic academics as its members. So it was a great honour to have presented a paper to the lodge, which meets in a Temple at the United Grand Lodge of England. My paper examined Freemasonry and the Warrington Academy, which analysed how the Dissenting Academy in the northwest-English town of Warrington during the later eighteenth century, was influenced by the involvement of a number of Freemasons, some of whom were tutors.This involvement by Freemasons reflected the ethos of education and represented ideas that were current in the British Enlightenment, the Academy embracing radical ideals of the period. The paper was well received and will appear in the next Transactions of Ars Quatuor Coronati which will be published later this year.
For enquiries concerning the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle or if you would wish to visit the lodge, please refer to the lodge website: https://www.quatuorcoronati.com/
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius have carried through the centuries, the Stoic, inner thoughts of a Roman Emperor, and reflect the philosophical and moralistic core of not just an Emperor’s private reflections, but the moralistic ethos of Western society, a moralistic ethos that can also be seen in Freemasonry. The Meditations contain a central theme of reflecting on one’s judgement of others and a nurturing of one’s cosmic perspective; a way of contemplating man’s place in the Universe and to live in accordance with nature. Marcus Aurelius ruled from AD 161 to 180, and his twelve books of Meditations, were probably never meant to be published. The writings, which take the form of varying lengths of quotations from one sentence to a large paragraph, were composed as reflections to provide guidance and self-improvement for the Emperor himself. Some of the Meditations were written whilst Marcus Aurelius was on campaign in Pannonia – a Roman Province that included part of modern day Hungary – and in Carnuntum – located in modern day Austria. He is considered to be the last of the Five Good Emperors, who, according to the Freemason Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, conducted their rule with ‘virtue’ and created a ‘prosperous condition’.
My new book The Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry is on course for publication with Lewis Masonic at the end of the summer and it’s a book that I’ve very much enjoyed researching and writing. The book has six chapters, it’s around 50,000 words and will have around 40 plus images. The foreword is written by renowned Masonic historian Art de Hoyos and peer reviewed by John Belton. Both are members of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, the leading Masonic research lodge.
There are many websites and blogs discussing the mysterious kerbstone marks that can be seen in various parts of London and in many other towns and cities of England. Some can be explained away as benchmarks indicating Ordinance Survey marks, as Service marks for the Electricity, Gas and Telephone companies, and as Borough boundaries, but others are certainly much more enigmatic. Some of the online blogs have completely ruled out that the symbols are stonemason’s marks, some have suggested they are the result of Victorian road workers having a joke, and some marks certainly seem to have been carved in the kerb after laying. Whatever the reason, they are vividly eccentric and certainly add a touch of Masonic mystery in the Great Queen Street area where the United Grand Lodge of England is situated.
I chose to display here some of the marks on some of the kerbstones around the Bloomsbury and Holborn area, many being spotted in Great Queen Street itself. The marks in this area seem to be dominated by two common styles; a Maltese style cross and a V shape – which could be interpreted as a compass depending on which way you see the mark and if you are a Freemason with an eye for these sort of things. The construction of the kerbs date to the early nineteenth century when the road layout was being constructed, and the marks don’t appear on all kerbs, indeed there may be large gaps in-between the appearance of marks. Some kerbstones feature a number of marks with some looking of a better quality than others, some marks looking decidedly more rough and rugged. All however seem to be weathered which obviously suggests age.
It has been suggested by esoteric writers of the occult revival such as John Yarker and Arthur Edward Waite that the Rose Croix degree was the ultimate degree practiced by the Rite de Elus Coens in the later eighteenth century. The degree certainly became a ne plus ultra grade practiced in Knights Templar Encampments in England in the early nineteenth century as it became a much sought after degree. 
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QC Lodge as it is commonly referred to, was established in 1884 and consecrated two years later, is the premier Masonic research lodge, not just in England but in the world, and includes such illustrious members as John Belton, Art De Hoyos and Richard Gan. The lodge’s founders include R.F. Gould and Sir Charles Warren, and has had such renowned visitors as Arthur Edward Waite, and the annual transactions are celebrated the world over for the academic and peer reviewed papers on Masonic research. The lodge meets in United Grand Lodge in London and has a correspondence circle that includes thousands of members worldwide.
This Warrington based lodge was founded in 1765, and has included such illustrious members as Scientist Johann Reinhold Forster, a Fellow of the Royal Society who accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage, industrialist Sir Gilbert Greenall and William Williams who became a Grand Master of the rebel Wigan Grand Lodge in the 19th century. As a lodge that recently celebrated 250 years, it has its own ritual and still uses furniture from the 18th century. It meets at Warrington Masonic Hall and comes under the West Lancashire Province.
The York Lodge was founded in 1777, and its early members included brethren from the Modern, Antient and York Grand Lodges. Its early name was ‘Union’ and it’s easy to see why. Illustrious members included local historian John Browne, and the lodge inherited the archive from the York Grand Lodge in the early 19th century. The lodge still meets in Duncombe Place in York and is well worth a visit. The lodge uses what is termed as the York Working as its ritual.
Meeting in Runcorn in Cheshire, this lodge was consecrated in 1859 and is one of the friendliest lodges I’ve visited. It first met in a Masonic Hall in Runcorn that has since become a pub called the Masonic, and the lodge now meets in a Hall set in the suburbs of Runcorn. Illustrious visitors include Lord De Tabley, and the lodge has a Victorian quaintness about it, using old lodge furniture, the hall having many historical curiosities.
Constituted in 1757 and is the oldest lodge under the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, and is the keeper of the George Washington Bible which, according to the website, is still in active use by the lodge. The Bible was used at the swearing of allegiance to the Constitution by President-Elect George Washington in 1789, which took place in New York. Since then, the Bible has been used by President Harding in 1921, President Eisenhower in 1953, President Carter in 1977, President Bush Sr in 1989 and was to be used by George W Bush in 2001 but rain stopped its use. The lodge history is certainly entwined with the history of the United States.
My first book The Genesis of Freemasonry has just been published on its second imprint of the second edition. As my PhD on the history and development of English Freemasonry, it has captured interest since its first publication in 2009, and below is an excellent review by Masonic scholar Julian Rees:
It was an honour to be asked to contribute a chapter to the new book The Treasures of English Freemasonry 1717 – 2017, which is a book by Lewis Masonic that celebrates the Tercentenary of the Grand Lodge in England. My particular chapter examines the ‘Antients and the Moderns’, and discusses how despite the differences, Freemasons from lodges at a local level could interrelate and move between the two Grand Lodges. In contributing to the book, I join such eminent Masonic historians such as John Belton, Diane Clements and Richard Gan. The book itself is edited by Richard Gan, Richard’s previous work included editing The Square Magazine for a number of years.