Dr. David Harrison

Category: Freemasonry

Seven Masonic foundation stones for churches and cathedrals in England

Many English churches and cathedrals that were built or rebuilt during the Victorian and Edwardian periods had the foundation stone or corner stone laid with Masonic honours. Indeed, many prominent Freemasons were also central to their local communities and took part in the Masonic ceremony which took place in the full public view and was part of the civic pride that occurred at the time. The following is a list of seven English churches and cathedrals that had Masonic links to the laying of their particular foundation stone.

Newchurch, Culcheth, Cheshire

Newchurch was built in 1903 and the foundation stone, which can be found in the eastern part of the church, was ceremoniously laid with full Masonic honours by the Earl of Lathom; Provincial Grand Master for West Lancashire who also served at the time as Grand Senior Warden. He would become somewhat of a regular in taking a leading part in this kind of ceremony, especially with the building of St Margaret’s Church in the village of Orford (see below).

St Margaret and All Hallows Church, Orford, Cheshire

St Margaret and All Hallows Church in Orford, Cheshire, was built in 1907, and the foundation stone was laid with a full lavish Masonic ceremony led by the Earl of Lathom, who was the Provincial Grand Master for West Lancashire (Orford was then in Lancashire). The church has features that reflect the arts and craft movement, and this can be seen in the stylistic writing and Masonic symbols presented on the marble stone, which is set in the north-eastern section of the church.

Holy Trinity, Heath Town, Wolverhampton

Built in 1850 by local industrialist Henry Rogers, Holy Trinity Church became central to the expansion of Heath Town in Wolverhampton. It has long been rumoured that Rogers was a Freemason, though no records have come to light of his membership, although many of the civic buildings he financially supported, such as the local hospital, had a foundation stone laid with Masonic ceremonies, and there are Masonic gravestones in the churchyard. The stone itself simply reveals Solomon’s seal, and the church, though situated in a suburban area of Wolverhampton, sits in the centre of a large churchyard and helps to produce a village feel to the area.

St Mary’s, Standishgate, Wigan, Lancashire

The foundation stone of the Gothic St Mary’s Church in Standishgate, Wigan, was laid on St Patrick’s Day, 1818; a Catholic Church that has served its community ever since. In his memoirs of the local Lodge of Sincerity and the infamous Wigan Grand Lodge, James Miller – the last surviving member of the Wigan Grand Lodge at the time – mentions that the lever and heavy maul used to lay the stone was presented to the Lodge of Sincerity in 1826 by the Master, John Bimson. This is the only Catholic Church I have known to have had a Masonic connection.

St Edmund’s ‘Masonic Church’, Rochdale

The foundation stone of this so called ‘Masonic’ church was laid in 1870 in the northeast corner of the building as per the Masonic ritual. The Lewis bolt with which the stone was suspended and the working tools with which it was proved, were subsequently handed over to St Chad’s Lodge No. 1129, in Rochdale. The church is described as ‘Rochdale’s Temple to Freemasonry’, and as being ‘dedicated to Masonic symbolism’, and was paid for by a Rochdale industrialist and Freemason Albert Royds. Masonic symbolism is everywhere within the church; from the elaborately designed Masonic stained glass windows, the lectern (pictured above), the symbolism displayed on the walls, and the interior itself being designed in the geometrical form of a cube, representing Solomon’s Temple.

St Paul’s Cathedral, London

The laying of the foundation stone of the new St Paul’s cathedral was discussed by William Preston in his Illustrations of Masonry, who stated that Charles II used a mallet to level the stone on the 21^st of June, 1675, Preston going on to say that the mallet was presented to the Lodge of Antiquity by Sir Christopher Wren. Preston was of course a member of the same lodge about a century later, and the mallet is still in the possession of the lodge. The Lodge of Antiquity has always been associated with Wren, and may have once had the name of St. Paul’s Lodge.

The Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool

In 1904, the Grand Master, King Edward VII laid the foundation stone for the magnificent Gothic Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. In 1906, the Pro Grand Master, the 3rd Earl Amherst, laid the foundation stone for the Chapter House in the cathedral. The Chapter House was funded by the West Lancashire Freemasons in memory of the first Earl of Lathom, Provincial Grand Master from 1873 to 1898. In 1924 the cathedral and the Chapter House were consecrated by the then Provincial Grand Master of West Lancashire, John Hearn Burrell. The cathedral thus has a strong Masonic connection, and the square and compass symbol can be found on the outside of the Chapter House.

More of the information discussed in this article can be found in the following books:

October 28, 2015
Talk and Book Signing at Plantagenet Lodge of Installed Masters, Lancaster, UK

Plantagenet Lodge of Installed Masters No. 9357 is a lodge that meets in the West Lancashire Province, sometimes meeting in Lancaster Masonic Hall, sometimes at Garstang Masonic Hall, and occasionally at Morecombe Masonic Hall. I have given a talk previously to the lodge in November 2013 in Morecombe, and returned yesterday evening to give another talk, this time the subject was ‘Masonic Heroes’, a talk that examined Freemasons such as Edward Jenner, the Duke of Wellington, Alexander Fleming and George Washington. Freemasonry transcends nationality, so these heroes can be seen for what they believed in, and how they have influenced and inspired other people around the world, regardless of politics.

The questions of course are numerous; did Freemasonry influence them in their actions? Did the ethos of the Craft inspire them? Did the networking and contacts within Freemasonry give some of these men support when they were working towards their goal? These questions are indeed hard to answer; during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Freemasonry was of course a lot more secretive than it is today, and discussions about the society were rare. As a Freemason, I believe that Freemasonry did influence these men in some way, for example Edward Jenner, who discovered the smallpox vaccine, organised a Science Select Lodge, where lodge members had to produce a paper on a specific scientific subject, Jenner promoting scientific thinking and being at home in a lodge that attracted like-minded men. George Washington visited lodges that included like-minded men during the American war of independence, some of these men like Lafayette, aiding the cause. There are many examples.

The talk went very well, interesting discussion followed, and I sold many books at the signing after the excellent Festive Board. Lancaster Masonic Hall is a very nice Masonic Hall and caters for many lodges in the area, and is also the location for the meeting of other orders within Masonry, such as the Royal Arch and Mark. There are many historical features on display in the lodge room itself; many items were removed from the old Masonic Hall within the city of Lancaster when the lodges moved to their new location in Rowley Court, which was an old Unitarian Chapel. The Warden’s columns for example are different; the Junior Warden’s column has a sun attached, complete with a smiling face, and the Senior Warden’s has a crescent moon. There are old documents a-plenty; with a version of the Ancient Constitutions of the Antients Grand Lodge dated to 1771 held in the library and an old scroll called the ‘Fortitude Manuscript’ displayed on the wall of the lodge room, which has been dated to c.1750. There is an ‘Antient’ tradition in Lancaster and it is believed that a shipbuilder called James Smith, who was a founder of Lancaster’s earliest Modern lodge – the Lodge of Fortitude – which was founded in 1789, came from an extinct ‘Antient’ lodge. I had a fantastic time and look forward to visiting again.

October 27, 2015
Seven pubs associated with Masonic Lodges

Since the beginnings of recorded Masonic meetings, lodges have met in taverns, public houses and inns, even the founding of the Premier Grand Lodge in 1717 occurred in the Goose and Gridiron in London. Some pubs and taverns have since been forever entwined with Freemasonry, some in a greater historical way, others just on a local level. Here is a list of my personal favourites.

The Bears Paw, Frodsham

The Bears Paw in the Cheshire market town of Frodsham was built in 1632; it has ‘wattle and daub’ features inside and on the outside, its sandstone blocks are etched with graffiti which dates back to the early twentieth century. It was in the later eighteenth century that a Masonic lodge under the ‘Antients’ Grand Lodge was founded at the Bears Paw in 1770, meeting there until 1794. The pub was also a coaching stop between Warrington and Chester. It is still open and has plenty of atmosphere, and is well worth a visit.

The Shakespeare Tavern, Liverpool

The Shakespeare Tavern in Williamson Square, Liverpool, became best known as the meeting place for the Liverpool Masonic Rebels when they reformed the ‘Antients’ Grand Lodge on the 22^nd of December 1823. A number of the Masonic Rebel met for the occasion; from both Liverpool and Wigan lodges, and read the Magna Carta of Masonic Freedom as they declared their new Grand Lodge. This ground-breaking meeting created a blow to the recent Union in England, but the rebels soon split and the Grand Lodge relocated permanently to the nearby industrial town of Wigan, operating as the Grand Lodge at Wigan until 1913.

The Spread Eagle, Lymm

In this quaint village pub meets Domville Lodge No. 4647, a lodge founded in 1924 and which has met in the village of Lymm in Cheshire for many years. I used to be a member of this lodge and it was great as a historian to see how a lodge meets in a small room above a pub; you turn up half an hour before the meeting to get all the lodge furniture set up, and in the eighteenth century, this would include drawing the lodge in chalk and charcoal, then washing it off after the meeting. In my day though, you would just unroll the carpet, place the tracing board in the centre and rearrange the chairs. It’s a great lodge to visit and has a quaintness and charm about it, especially as the Festive Board takes place in the same room afterwards and you can stay for a few pints down stairs.

The Punch Bowl, York

The Punch Bowl in York is an extremely historical pub and was the location for the meeting of the revived Grand Lodge of All England held in York in 1761, a revival that was led by York stalwart Dr Francis Drake. This second revival of the York Grand Lodge lasted until the closing years of the eighteenth century, and there is evidence that some lodges under their sway lasted until the early years of the nineteenth century. There were other lodges that met there in the years following the revival, such as the French Prisoners of War Lodge and the aptly named Punch Bowl Lodge, which started life as a lodge under the ‘Moderns’ but whole heartedly joined the York Grand Lodge during their revival.

The Devil Tavern, London

The infamous Devil Tavern in London was the location of the meetings of the Premier Grand Lodge of England during the 1720s. It was originally called The Devil and St Dunstan, so named as it was close to the church of St Dunstan’s, and celebrated how the saint had caught the Devil on the nose with his hot pincers. The Devil was famed as being the location for Ben Jonson’s Apollo Club in the early 1600s, and the writer, satirist and Freemason Jonathan Swift dined there in 1710. The Devil became a regular haunt for some Masonic lodges that met there through the 1720s and 1730s. The Tavern was sadly demolished in 1787.

The Masonic, Runcorn

The Masonic pub in Runcorn, Cheshire, is quite a rarity as it originally started life as a Masonic Hall then became a pub. The Masonic, which was built in 1863, was an early example of a Masonic Hall in the area and was visited by a number of high ranking Freemasons during the later 19th century such as Lord De Tabley when he was Provincial Grand Master of Cheshire. The Hall housed the local Ellesmere Lodge until they vacated the building in 1932, the upper storey of the building was removed and the premises became a pub. The pub is currently closed and up for sale.

The Green Dragon, Boston

One of the most famous of the historical taverns associated with Freemasonry is the Green Dragon in Boston, which has been said to be the birthplace of Liberty, and in the opposite of the Masonic in Runcorn, the building started life as a tavern but became a ‘Masonic Hall’, becoming known as the Freemasons Arms. The Green Dragon Tavern dates back from the later 1600s, and became the property of the St Andrew’s Lodge in 1764, the tavern also becoming a centre for political discussion. The Sons of Liberty met there, with Freemason Paul Revere being an active member. Joseph Warren was attached to the lodge that met there and for a time, the building became known as ‘Mason’s Hall’. (http://www.masonicworld.com/education/files/feb04/green_dragon_tavern.htm)

For further information on the information in the above article, please refer to my books below:

October 19, 2015
The White Swan Lodge

In the heart of London, England, there are a small number of lodges that are not under the jurisdiction of the United the Grand of England, in fact they are not English lodges at all. Two of these lodges are French lodges, the other one being a lodge under the Grand Lodge of Italy. One of the French lodges operates under the Grande Loge de France, and has been meeting in England for a number of years. It was named the White Swan Lodge, according to their website, after a pub in Coulsdon, Surrey, where the French Resistance met during World War II. The lodge history puts forward that In this pub, Maurice Druon and his uncle Joseph Kessel wrote the ‘Chant Des Partisans’ – the memorable hymn of the French Resistance against Nazi occupation. Druon and Kessel went on to be notable French writers after the war, Druon being the author of The Accursed Kings, a novel which depicts the death of the last Grand Master of the Knight Templars, and how King Philip the Fair was cursed by the Grand Master Jacques de Moley. Kessel is famous outside of France for writing the novel Belle de Jour, which was adapted as a film in 1967. The White Swan Lodge No. 1348, is described on its website as a lodge of St John of the Grande Loge de France, working in the French language, in London, being independent and self-governing, working the three Craft or Blue degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. They meet monthly in alternate places in London, sometimes meeting at Hexagon House in Surbiton, south-west London.

However, in a 2004 interview with the BBC, Druon indicated that the French hymn was actually written in a golfing club hotel called Ashdown Park, which was a bit further south from the village of Coulsdon, down the A23 near Hooley (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3599837.stm), and there is no White Swan in Coulsdon. There is a White Swan in Twickenham, which is not too far a distance from Coulsdon, but there is no current known association there to the writing of the hymn on the premises. A search around the internet will find conflicting stories about where the hymn was written, and some support the White Swan story, while others merely state the hymn was written in London. Historically, there was a lodge that once met at the White Swan Inn at Norfolk in the eighteenth century, and there are a number of White Swan pubs in and around London. What is interesting is that the Swan is a symbol of strength, wisdom and purity, a somewhat majestic symbol that represents the attainment of balance, something that reflects the sacrifice and courage of the French Resistance in the face of the Nazis who occupied France.

Hexagon House, Surbiton. This is the centre for Co-Freemasonry in England.

The other French lodge that operates in London is Hiram Lodge, which works under the Grand Orient de France, and accepts both men and women. This particular lodge has been meeting in London since 1899, and, like the White Swan Lodge, still meets as a French speaking lodge and sometimes meets at Hexagon House in Surbiton. I find it interesting how there are Masonic lodges operating to serve both men and women from other countries and cultures within London, working in different languages and conducting their ritual in diverse and wonderful ways. Having an equal measure of mystery and diversity and a balance of harmony and beauty brings me back to the symbol of the swan – what better name for a lodge.

The same article in French can be found here.

October 17, 2015
Joseph Brant – A Masonic Legend

The story of Joseph Brant, the Mohawk ‘Native American’ who fought for the Loyalists during the American War of Independence has been retold by the Iroquois peoples of the Six Nations and American Freemasons for centuries, and today Brant is featured in many Masonic Histories and is the topic of many websites. The story that is the most endearing is how Brant, a Mohawk chief, witnessed an American prisoner do a Masonic sign and spared the life of his fellow Mason. This action went down in history, and Brant became the embodiment of the ‘noble savage’ to Victorian England. This article will explain the events leading up to this event, and how Brant, in death, created even more controversy as the legends of his life grew and expanded.

Brant was born in 1742 in the area around the banks of the Ohio River, his Indian name was Thayendanegea, meaning ‘he places two bets’ and as a child he was educated at Moor’s Charity School for Indians in Lebanon, Connecticut, were he learned English and European History. He became a favourite of Sir William Johnson, who had taken Brant’s sister Molly as a mistress, though they were married later after Johnson’s wife died. Johnson was the British Superintendent for Northern Indian Affairs, and became close to the Mohawk people, and enlisted their allegiance in the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, with a young Brant taking up arms for the British.

After the war Brant found himself working as an interpreter for Johnson. He had worked as an interpreter before the war and assisted in translating the prayer book and the Gospel of Mark into the Mohawk language, other translations included the Acts of the Apostles and a short history of the Bible, Brant having converted to Christianity, a religion which he embraced. Around 1775, after being appointed secretary to Sir William’s successor, Guy Johnson, Brant received a Captain’s commission in the British Army and set off for England, where he became a Freemason and confirmed his attachment to the British Crown. Brant was raised in Hiram’s Cliftonian Lodge No. 814 in London, early in 1776, though his association with the Johnson’s may have been an influence in his links to Freemasonry. Guy Johnson had accompanied Brant on his visit to England, the Johnson family having Masonic links. Hiram’s Cliftonian Lodge had been founded in 1771, and during Brant’s visit to the lodge, it had met at the Falcon in Princes Street, Soho. The lodge was erased in 1782. Brant’s Masonic apron was, according to legend, presented to him by George III himself.

On his return to America, Brant became a key figure in securing the loyalty of other Iroquois tribes in fighting for the British against the ‘rebels’, and it was during the war that Joseph Brant entered into Masonic legend. After the surrender of the ‘rebel’ forces at the Battle of the Cedars on the St. Lawrence River in 1776, Brant famously saved the life of a certain Captain John McKinstry, a member of Hudson Lodge No.13 of New York, who was about to be burned at the stake. McKinstry, remembering that Brant was a Freemason, gave to him the Masonic sign of appeal which Brant recognized, an action which secured McKinstry’s release and subsequent good treatment. McKinstry and Brant remained friends for life, and in 1805 he and Brant together visited the Masonic Lodge in Hudson, New York, where Brant was given an excellent reception. Brant’s portrait now hangs in the lodge.

Another story relating to Brant during the war has another ‘rebel’ captive named Lieutenant Boyd giving Brant a Masonic sign, which secured him a reprieve from execution. However, on this occasion, Brant left his Masonic captive in the care of the British, who subsequently had Boyd tortured and executed. After the war, Brant removed himself with his tribe to Canada, establishing the Grand River Reservation for the Mohawk Indians. He became affiliated with Lodge No. 11 at the Mohawk village at Grand River of which he was the first Master and he later affiliated with Barton Lodge No.10 at Hamilton, Ontario. Brant returned to England in 1785 in an attempt to settle legal disputes on the Reservation lands, were he was again well received by George III and the Prince of Wales.

After Brant’s death in 1807, his legend continued to develop, with numerous accounts of his life and his death being written. One such account lengthily entitled The Life of Captain Joseph Brant with An Account of his Re-interment at Mohawk, 1850, and of the Corner Stone Ceremony in the Erection of the Brant Memorial, 1886, celebrated Brant’s achievements and detailed that a certain Jonathan Maynard had also been saved by Brant during the war. Like McKinstry, Maynard, who later became a member of the Senate of Massachusetts, had been saved at the last minute by Brant who had recognized him giving a Masonic sign. Brant’s remains were re-interred in 1850 with an Indian relay, were a number of Warriors took turn in carrying his remains to the Chapel of the Mohawks, located in Brant’s Mohawk Village which is now part of the city of Brantford. Many local Freemasons were present, and his tomb was restored with an inscription paid for by them.

The legend of Brant saving his fellow Masons was examined by Albert C. Mackey in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry in which he referred to a book entitled Indian Masonry by a certain Brother Robert C. Wright. In the book, Wright states that ‘signs given by the Indians could easily be mistaken for Masonic signs by an enthusiastic Freemason’. Using Wright’s claims that the Indians used similar Masonic signs or gestures within their culture, and these were mistaken by over enthusiastic Freemasons, Mackey was putting forward an argument that the stories of encounters with ‘Masonic’ Indians were perhaps in doubt. Mackey then put forward the question ‘is the Indian a Freemason’ before examining a number of historically Native American Indians that were Freemasons, including Joseph Brant and General Eli S. Parker, the Seneca Chief who fought in the American Civil War. Mackey concluded that ‘Thus from primitive and ancient rites akin to Freemasonry, which had their origin in the shadows of the distant past, the American Indian is graduating into Free and Accepted Masonry as it has been taught to us. It is an instructive example of the universality of human belief in fraternity, morality and immortality’. Mackey presented that the Indians, in recognizing the Universal ethos of Freemasonry within their own culture, were drawn to the Craft. Thus an understanding into Brant’s moralistic approach to fellow Freemasons who were prisoners during the war was being sought, his actions fascinating Masonic historians well into the twentieth century.

Brant became a symbol for Freemasonry, his story being used as a metaphor for the Masonic bond, a bond which became greater than the bond of serving ones country during wartime. Brant also came to represent a respect for the Native American people during a time when the USA was promoting the ‘manifest destiny’, an ethos which the United States government saw as God’s right for them to settle the Indian lands of the west. Brant’s myth even exceeded the traditional Victorian image of the ‘noble savage’, his meeting of other Freemasons while visiting London such as the writer James Boswell and Masonic members of the Hanoverian Household such as the Prince of Wales compounded this. Brant once said ‘My principle is founded on justice, and justice is all I wish for’, a statement which certainly conveyed his moralistic and Masonic ethos.

The above article is copyright to Dr David Harrison 2006

The article originally appeared in MQ Magazine 2006

More information on Joseph Brant can be found in the books The Transformation of Freemasonry and A Quick Guide to Freemasonry:

October 10, 2015
Seven Lost Masonic Mansions

There are a vast number of empty and decaying mansions and lost manor houses throughout the UK that once had Masonic connections, be it that members of the family were once prominent Freemasons or that actual lodges once met there. In some cases, the old lodge rooms themselves have been abandoned and the once great houses have been forgotten, their once great walls left decaying as nature claims back what belonged to her. Here is a list of seven mansions that had a history of Masonic activity.

Daresbury Hall

The eighteenth century Daresbury Hall was once the home of the wealthy Greenall family of Warrington, Cheshire, England. The hall now lies abandoned, its once beautiful landscaped garden overgrown. Sir Gilbert Greenall was a brewer and a prominent member of the Lodge of Lights in Warrington, joining in 1850, and going on to serve as an officer in the United Grand Lodge of England. His son was also a Freemason, and a lodge was founded in Warrington called the Gilbert Greenall Lodge. The Hall is currently in a decayed state, the family having moved to another building on the estate, its location is close to the village of Daresbury – the birthplace of Lewis Carrol.

Woolton Hall

Woolton Hall is an eighteenth century Palladian manor house on the outskirts of Liverpool, has been abandoned since 2006, and was used for events such as weddings, bust most notably as a meeting place for Masonic lodges; the Woolton Group of Masonic lodges meeting there. Around ten lodges met in the Hall for around twenty years, and the remnants of these lodge rooms can still be seen, complete with Masonic decoration on the walls and abandoned organs used for Masonic hymns. Some lodges that once met at the hall have since closed.

Childwall Hall

Childwall Hall was located in Childwall, on the outskirts of Liverpool, and was the home of the influential Gascoigne family. Sir Isaac Gascoigne was a prominent Liverpool Freemason, slave trade supporter and MP for Liverpool, and it was Gascoigne that was a witness in the assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Percival in 1812. The Hall was designed as a Gothic manor house in the early nineteenth century and had a famous extensive library, but after the death of Bamber Gascoigne (whose daughter married the 2^nd Marquess of Salisbury), the house was rented to a number of other prominent families. The Duke of Wellington, who was a Freemason, stayed in the hall during the opening of the Liverpool-Manchester railway in 1830. It was demolished in the early twentieth century.

Baron Hill

Baron Hill, on the outskirts of Beaumaris on Anglesey, is an atmospheric ruin of a Hall once owned by the Bulkeley family. The family had links to Freemasonry; William Jones, who lived on the estate in the eighteenth century, was a gifted mathematician who became a Freemason and Fellow of the Royal Society, and Richard Bulkeley Esq became a prominent Mason in Nova Scotia in the later eighteenth century. In the glory days of the mansion, Edward VII came to stay – the king having served as Grand Master. The mansion is now eerily overgrown and totally abandoned to nature after it was destroyed by fire after World War II.

Wynnstay

Wynnstay, in north-east Wales, was once the seat of the Wynn family, a number of whom were prominent Freemasons in north Wales and Cheshire; Sir Watkin Williams Wynn 4^th Baronet being a Freemason and subsequent Baronets serving as Provincial Grand Master. There is evidence that lodges met on the estate in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and when the house was destroyed by fire in 1858, a new house was built on the site. The house became a college in the latter 20^th century, but was vacated when the college became bankrupt. The main hall is undergoing renovation after being empty for a number of years.

Tabley House

Tabley House in Cheshire, near Knutsford, built between 1761 and 1769, is now a private care home, but was once the home of the De Tabley family, who, through the nineteenth century, dominated Freemasonry in the Cheshire Province, Lord De Tabley serving as Provincial Grand Master for a number of years and founding several lodges in the county. The Church, which is situated near to the large manor house, has witnessed Masonic services, and has a Masonic themed stained glass window revealing a Knight Templar which is dedicated to Lord De Tabley.

Cannons

Cannons was the residence of the 1^st Duke of Chandos, and was situated to the north west of London, near Edgware. Built between 1713 and 1743 for the Duke, the house is now demolished, but has a unique history which is entwined with the early history of Freemasonry. Chandos was close to Freemason Dr John Theophilus Desaguliers, who was chaplain to the Duke and also served as his ‘advisor’ to various schemes in regard to natural philosophy. Chandos also knew Freemason and poet Alexander Pope and Grinling Gibbons supposedly designed the interior woodwork to St Lawrence’s Church, which served the estate and still survives. The 3^rd Duke of Chandos was Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge.

For further information regarding the contents of the article, please refer to my books below:

October 8, 2015
Seven artist Freemasons that changed the Craft

Freemasonry attracts many men (and women) from all walks of life, and I have previously discussed politicians, scientists and writers that have changed and shaped not only the Craft, but the world around them as well. There were also a number of influential artists, engravers, jewel makers and sculptors that became Freemasons, and here I have chosen seven who I feel changed the Craft with their unique artwork. It’s a personal list, and an English-centric one, but I feel they have all made an important impact on the society. Who would you choose?

John Harris

John Harris, born c. 1791, was a miniature painter and architectural draughtsman by profession, and was made a Mason in 1818 and in 1823, he published a small set of designs for a Tracing Board. In 1846 the Emulation Lodge of Improvement under the UGLE called for designs for new Tracing Boards, the idea being to harmonise the Tracing Boards by creating one official model for each degree. Those sent in by Harris were accepted. The prize set was used in the Emulation Lodge of Improvement and a number of other sets painted for other Lodges under the UGLE. In 1849 he published a set which has since been used as a standard design for the Craft. In 1857 Brother Harris lost his sight and died in 1872.

John Pine

John Pine was an engraver and cartographer who famously engraved the frontispiece for the 1723 edition of the Constitutions of Free Masons. Pine went on to design a list of lodges for the Premier Grand Lodge, which also included the various tavern signs where the lodges met. Pine was also a close friend of William Hogarth and his work on the Constitutions in particular, with its symbolism and portrayal of an early Grand Lodge scene, has been celebrated by Masonic scholars.

Thomas Harper

Thomas Harper, a silversmith and maker of Masonic jewels, was appointed Deputy Grand Master and became a leading figure in the negotiations that reunited the two Grand Lodges. Harper was a member of both the Moderns and the Antients, yet he was expelled and then reinstated by the Moderns during the course of the proceedings. His Masonic jewels have become collector’s items and have inspired Masonic jewel making ever since.

Josiah Bowring

Josiah Bowring was a portrait painter by profession. He was initiated in 1795 and died in 1831. His designs for the Tracing Boards reveal a more esoteric influence and went on to inspire other artists of Tracing Boards and engravers. One of his third degree Tracing Boards reveals an open coffin with a corpse inside. The boards became very stylised and the early nineteenth century was a crucial time for their artistic development.

John Cole

John Cole first published his design of Tracing Board in his “Illustrations of Masonry” in 1801. This design had a certain popularity for some years, and went on to inspire other artists and printers, especially the work by John Harris. Cole’s Tracing Boards included a diamond shaped pavement instead of the square pavement, and the winding staircase beginning in the North West.

Thomas Beckwith

Thomas Beckwith was a member of the York Grand Lodge, joining in 1777, and was an artist and Arms painter. He painted the York Grand Lodge Board which is now in possession of the York ‘Union’ Lodge No. 236, the lodge also having an engraving of his self-portrait. Thomas was also a passionate local historian and genealogist; he collected pedigrees of Yorkshire gentry and compiled Arms and crests of families, a collection of which can now be found in the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. Beckwith’s board has certainly intrigued many Masonic scholars over the years with its eclectic mix of symbolism and its portrayal of the Minster Crypt, and he surely deserves a place on the list.

William Hogarth

Hogarth is perhaps the most famous satirist of the early eighteenth century, his satirical engravings still being recognisable today. Like his friend John Pine, Hogarth was a London based Freemason, and he used Masonic themes in his work, such as in Night which reveals a drunken Freemason being escorted home. Hogarth served as a Grand Steward, and his work also celebrated other Freemasons of the period, such as the radical politician John Wilkes.

More of the information discussed in this article can be found in my books below:

October 4, 2015
Festive Boards and Table Lodges

There have always been festivities attached to lodge meetings, some lodges actually have their meal before the lodge meeting rather than after, and some lodges style themselves as Dining Lodges; lodges that specialise in a more distinguished dining experience. Feasting has always been a central part of Freemasonry, with a Grand Feast being held from the early eighteenth century on the day of St John the Baptist on the 24th of June and St John the Evangelist on the 27^th of December. Table lodges are another way of celebrating festivities within a lodge; a table being set up within a tiled lodge, with food, drinking, smoking and music being part of the lodge meeting.

English Masonic tradition has the first Grand Feast being held at the Goose and Gridiron Alehouse in St. Paul’s Churchyard in London, in 1717. The Grand Feast became a central tradition for the Modern Grand Lodge, though the location changed throughout time, meeting in 1797 for example at Canonbury Tower, near Islington, London. A Grand procession to the Grand Feast also took place, though this was discontinued in 1745, and the various Provincial Grand Lodges also held a banquet during their meetings.

Before the union of 1813, local lodges, both ‘Antient’ and ‘Modern’, celebrated St John’s Day in June with a feast, and another important feast being held on the 27th of December, which was the day of St John the Evangelist (the two dates reflecting not only a celebration of Christian feast days, but also the Summer solstice and Winter solstice). In fact, the Grand Lodge of Wigan, which continued the ‘Antient’ traditions, endeavoured to celebrate both the St. John’s days as important feast dates until they re-joined the UGLE in 1913, electing their Grand Lodge Officers on St John the Evangelist Day.

Surviving lodge minutes from the eighteenth century recite how much alcohol was consumed before and after lodge meetings, displaying not only rather large alcohol bills, but reprimands for intoxicated lodge members. The large alcohol bills, along with bills for tobacco, were commonplace, with many lodges having to pay them off at a later date, drinking and smoking obviously being a vital part of the lodge night. From the many toast lists and Masonic songs that survive from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, drinking and dining was an essential part of the Masonic experience, and for the lodges that used a table in the actual lodge room, there would have been an eclectic mix of ritual and feasting.[i] Dining and feasting was thus entwined with the essence of Masonic brotherhood, creating a deeper bond between the brethren of the lodge.

Table lodges were on the whole, discontinued after the union of ‘Antient’ and ‘Modern’ in 1813, but the setting up a table within a tiled lodge room still occurred with the Lodge of Sincerity which came under the Wigan Grand Lodge. Table lodges still occur in the USA, normally set up in a ‘U’ shape, whereas in lodges under the UGLE, the festive board after the lodge meeting seemed to have developed as a separate part of the lodge meeting in an un-tiled dining room. The festive board is where the lodge members and guests can eat, drink, toast and talk, but in certain lodges, such as the Lodge of Harmony in Liverpool, there is still a remnant of the Table lodge – during their festive board, the working tools are presented after a ceremony.

The above article is copyright to Dr David Harrison 2014.

The article originally appeared in the book A Quick Guide to Freemasonry

[i] See David Harrison, The Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge, (Bury St Edmunds: Arima Publishing, 2012).

October 2, 2015
Edward Jenner – Freemason

It has been said that the discovery of the smallpox vaccine in the late eighteenth century by Freemason, Edward Jenner has saved more lives than the work of any other man: Jenner has been fairly described as the ‘father of immunology’. The publication in 1798 of Jenner’s findings that cowpox could protect against the feared and usually fatal disease – smallpox – gained him instant support by members of the scientific community. Recognition of his work was reflected in the foundation of the Jennerian Society in London in 1803 by admirers in order to promote vaccination among the poor; Jenner was actively involved in its affairs. Government grants followed and Jenner carried out further experimental work on his vaccine. His interest in science led him to form a number of scientific societies and he was to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. Jenner was an active Freemason, serving in 1812 as Master of the Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship, No. 270, based in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. This lodge was regularly visited by the Prince of Wales – the future George IV – and was a lodge that was to become associated with the Jenner family.

The Defeat of Smallpox

Jenner was born in Berkeley in 1749 and had been inoculated against smallpox while at school. This inoculation, or variolation as it was termed, was a method of deliberately introducing smallpox to a person, thus giving them the disease so they could acquire immunity. It was a practice that carried its own risk of infection to others but was seen as safer than becoming infected with the disease during an outbreak. However, this variolation was to adversely affect his general health throughout his life and no doubt gave him the impetus to find an effective and safer method of immunity against the disease.

At thirteen Jenner was apprenticed to a local surgeon before going on to study surgery and anatomy under the celebrated surgeon John Hunter in London, who became a lifelong friend. He returned to his native Berkeley in 1773 and set up a successful practice of his own. It was here in 1796 that Jenner made his observation that milkmaids who had caught the milder disease known as cowpox – which resulted in a blister rash mainly on the hands – seemed to be immune from the more aggressive and deadly smallpox.

To test his theory, Jenner had to experiment by introducing cowpox to someone who had not had smallpox, which he confidently did with James Phipps, the eight-year old son of his gardener. Jenner made a few scratches on the boy’s arm and rubbed into them some infected material from the hands of a milkmaid, Sarah Nelmes, who had contracted cowpox. Jenner then introduced smallpox to the boy through the traditional variolation technique and, as predicted, the boy did not develop the disease. Jenner subsequently tested many other people with his vaccine, proving his theory that cowpox gave a greater immunity to smallpox.

Natural Philosophy

Edward Jenner was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1789, not for his medical work but for his research on the study of the then misunderstood nesting habits of the cuckoo. Indeed, Jenner embraced the study of nature in a wider sense, examining many aspects of the natural world in order to gain a deeper understanding of what he saw as God’s work. He was also an avid fossil-hunter and geologist: in 1819 he found a fossil of what would become known as the plesiosaur. At this time, a theory was developing that regarded fossils as the remains of species that could be extinct, a theory which Jenner came to support, saying that ‘Fossils are…monuments to departed worlds’.

Fascinated by new ideas concerning any form of natural philosophy, Jenner had taken an interest in ballooning, launching his own balloon in 1784, which successfully flew a number of miles. He also enthusiastically studied the hibernation of animals during winter as well as the mystery of bird migration. He suggested that some birds left Britain for the winter and returned for the summer – a theory that contradicted the tradition that birds slept in mud for the winter. He maintained an active correspondence with other eminent Freemasons of the period who shared his theories and ideas; Freemasons such as Sir Joseph Banks, a member of the Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge, No. 4, who served as president of the Royal Society, and Erasmus Darwin, initiated 1754 into Lodge St. Davids, No. 36 (S.C.), who was involved with the Birmingham-based Lunar Society, a number of whose members were Freemasons.

The Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship held a Science Select Lodge organised by Jenner where lodge members had to produce a paper on a specific scientific subject; this Science Select Lodge was reminiscent of the Lunar Society meetings. Other lectures had taken place within masonic lodges throughout the country, such as the Old Kings Arms Lodge, No. 28, London, the lectures being intricately entwined with the lodge meeting itself. Another example of scientific teaching taking place within lodges can be seen in the Lodge of Lights, No. 148, Warrington, which held lectures on Newtonian gravitational astronomy in 1800 and 1801. All three lodges are still working today.

The Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship continued to celebrate the life and work of Edward Jenner after his death in 1823 and other members of Jenner’s family, such as his nephews Henry Jenner and the clergyman William Davies, became members. The lodge emblem, used to this day, commemorates the gift to Jenner of a wampum belt by the Five Nations of North America after Jenner personally sent them a sample of the cowpox virus along with a copy of his work on vaccination; Jenner wore this belt in front of his apron at the last masonic meeting he attended. In 1825, members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire subscribed sufficient funds to erect a memorial statue to him in Gloucester Cathedral.

Jenner certainly studied many aspects of the ‘hidden mysteries of nature and science’ and seemed to have found in Freemasonry a means by which he could convey his scientific beliefs as well as his spiritual and moralistic values. His studies of nature were firmly in balance with his belief in God’s grand design of the universe. In a letter to his friend, the Rev. Thomas Pruen, he wrote:

‘The weather may be inconvenient for the designs of man, but must always be in harmony with the designs of God, who has not only this planet, our Earth, to manage, but the universe. The whole creation is the work of God’s hands. It cannot manage itself. Man cannot manage it, therefore, God is the manager.’

The above article is copyright to Dr David Harrison 2009.

The article originally appeared in Freemasonry Today.

The information discussed in the article can be found in the following books:

September 28, 2015
Seven Masonic lodges you would want to visit

Another personal list – seven lodges that I would certainly like to visit. In my case of course, they are (apart from one or two) quite historic lodges, lodges that have been alive for many years and have not only witnessed the passage of time, but have been at the heart of historical events.

Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4

Fredericksburg Lodge is perhaps one of the most historical lodges in the USA, its first recorded meeting being in 1752, and gained a charter under the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1758, before gaining its current charter under the Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1787. The lodge is famous for its illustrious brethren, such as George Washington, James Monroe and Lafayette. The lodge still meets and a visit is on my wish list.

Lodge of Antiquity No. 2

The Lodge of Antiquity No. 2 which meets in London, is one of the four lodges that formed the Premier Grand Lodges in 1717, and has links to Sir Christopher Wren. The lodge has had other illustrious brethren as members, such as William Preston, who actually led the lodge in a rebellion against the Modern Grand Lodge and established the Grand Lodge of All England South of the River Trent. This only lasted about ten years, and the Lodge of Antiquity returned to the fold.

Mother Lodge Kilwinning No. 0

You can’t get much older than this lodge – especially numbered 0. According to their website, Mother Lodge Kilwinning has roots that can be traced back to the medieval period, when the stonemasons lodge linked to the nearby Abbey met in the chapter house. For a period in the eighteenth century, the lodge operated as its own Grand Lodge, opening lodges in Scotland, Ireland and in Virginia, and returned to the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1807.

The Castle Lodge No. 122

The Castle Lodge No. 122, in Eagle, Colorado, hosts an outdoor lodge event annually with permission of the Colorado Grand Lodge AF&AM. It is put on at Bro. Larry Trotter’s TNT Ranch outside of Gypsum Colorado named ‘COAZ’. I’ve always wanted to visit an outdoor lodge; being part of a lodge under the open sky surrounded by nature is perhaps the true Temple, and I’m hoping to visit in the future.

Canonbury Tower Lodge No. 9772

The Canonbury Tower Lodge, named after the Tudor Tower in Canonbury, Islington, London, is a relatively new lodge being founded in 2003, and meets on the Spring and Autumn Equinox and the Summer and Winter Solstice. It has a reputation as being an esoteric lodge, and is not to be confused with the Canonbury Lodge No. 657 which now meets at Grand Lodge in London. However, it was a member of the Canonbury Lodge in the nineteenth century – Matthew Cooke – who had originally tried to petition for a lodge called the Elizabethan Tower Lodge in 1863. Canonbury Tower was the location for the Masonic Research Conference a number of years ago.

The Authors’ Lodge No. 3546

The Authors’ Lodge which meets in London, has its origins in the Authors’ Club, and upon its foundation in November 1910, the lodge received letters of goodwill from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Rider Haggard and Jerome K Jerome. Being an author, I have longed meant to visit this historical lodge, and it’s on the to-do list. One of the founding members of the lodge was journalist Max Montesole, and members of the Authors’ Club included Freemasons Sir Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde.

St. John’s Lodge, Boston

St. John’s Lodge was founded in 1733, at the Bunch of Grapes, King Street, Boston, Massachusetts, and now meets at the Grand Lodge building. Its influential visitors have included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette and its famous members included James Otis, John Rowe and Josiah Quincy. The lodge is certainly one of the most historic in the USA, and I missed out the last time I was in Boston, but it’s on the list next time.

What seven lodges are on your list to visit?

More information on some of the lodges discussed can be found in my books below:

September 26, 2015