The Sutton-Coldfield Study Circle Demonstration Team are a group of Freemasons that re-enact the eighteenth century English ‘Antient’ ritual, giving a unique insight into how the ritual was performed, using a ‘Table Lodge’ and floor-cloth based on contemporary rituals from expose’s such as Boaz and Jachin and Three Distinct Knocks, two expose’s published in the 1760s.

The Demonstration Team dress in eighteenth century costume, using candles, and ‘calling off’ to drink, smoke and dine at the table before ‘calling on’ again. The demonstration certainly takes you back for an entertaining and fascinating glimpse at how the Masonic ritual may have been worked, and is perhaps the closest we have to seeing the ‘Antient’ ritual performed with confidence. The photos here show the demonstration performed at the Lodge of Lights No. 148 in Warrington, West Lancashire Province, a lodge formed in 1765. (The majority of the photos were taken by John Starkey, media officer for the Warrington Group)