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A Brief History of Freemasonry |
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here are two accepted theories in respect of the origin of modern Freemasonry. According to one, the operative stonemasons who built the great cathedrals and castles occupied Lodges in which they discussed trade affairs. They adopted simple initiation ceremonies and, since there were no recognised trade certificates or trade union membership cards, they adopted certain signs and words to demonstrate that they were skilled masons when they moved from site to site. During the 1600’s, these operative Lodges began to accept non-operatives as ‘gentleman masons’ who gradually took over the Lodges and turned them from operative into ‘free and accepted’ or ‘speculative’ ones. |
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The second suggestion is that in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, there was a group which was interested in the promotion of religious and political tolerance in an age of great intolerance when differing opinions on these subjects were to lead to bloody civil war. By the creation of Freemasonry, their hope was to make better men and build a better world. Teaching in those days was by metaphor and symbolism and they took the idea of building as the central theme on which to base their system. The main source of allegory was the Old Testament of the Bible, the contents of which were known to everyone even if they could not read. The only building described in detail was King Solomon’s Temple which thus became the basis of ritual.
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Many now believe that it was a combination of the two that brought about Freemasonry as we know it. The old trade guilds provided the basic structure of a Master, Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary and the operative mason’s tools provided them with a wealth of symbols with which to illustrate the moral teachings of Freemasonry. Speculation apart, the earliest recorded ‘making’ of a Freemason in England is that of Elias Ashmole in 1646 after whom the Oxford Ashmolean Museum is named.
On 24th June 1717, four London Lodges which had existed for anything up to thirty years, came together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St Paul’s Churchyard, formed themselves into a Grand Lodge, the first in the world.
In 1723, the Grand Lodge began to act as a regulating body appointing a secretary with Quarterly Communications being held and Minutes recorded. The first Book of Constitutions was soon published and, by the mid 1730’s, Grand Lodge had over 150 Lodges in London and the Provinces; overseas Lodges were formed in Spain in 1728 and in Bengal in 1729. These were soon followed by English Lodges in continental Europe, the North American colonies, the West Indies, the Caribbean and the sub continent of India. In order to establish some sort of control over them and promote the formation of new Lodges, the Grand Master appointed Provincial and District Grand Masters. |
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At the same time, Grand Lodges were formed in Ireland in 1725 and Scotland in 1756 which, although sharing the same principles as English Freemasonry, incorporated various differences of working and customs.
Public curiosity about Freemasonry was rife even in those days and a publication by Samuel Pritchard entitled ‘Masonry Dissected’ was an instant success, causing Grand Lodge to reverse the pillar words in the first and second degrees. However in the 1740’s, many Irish workers in London, many of whom had become freemasons in Ireland, unaware of the ritual changes, were rejected as irregular masons when attempting to visit which led to their rebellion and formation of their own Grand Lodge in 1751 known as the ‘Antients’ supporting the old ritual and landmarks and castigating the original Grand Lodge as the ‘Moderns’ for making innovations.
These two Grand Lodges existed side by side for nearly 63 years, neither recognising the other or its members. In the 1790’s, rumours abounded about a union of the two Grand Lodges but it was not until 1813, when HRH Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex and HRH Edward, Duke of Kent were made Grand Masters of the Moderns and Antients respectively, that they agreed to form a United Grand Lodge. The great ceremony took place at Freemason’s Hall on 27th December 1813 when the Duke of Sussex became Grand Master. |
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The period leading to the outbreak of the Second World War was to have consequences for today. A great deal of anti-Masonic propaganda came out of Nazi Germany and Franco’s Spain in the late 1930s. In both countries Freemasonry was banned and many Freemasons were imprisoned and killed. Plans were laid by the Nazis to seize prominent Freemasons when they occupied Britain.
English Freemasonry turned in on itself and continued to be excessively private after peace came. Allied to that, from the 1950s there was a deliberate policy of not dealing with the media and, more importantly, not correcting factual errors. As a result a mythology grew up of Freemasonry as a society serving its own aims. In effect Freemasonry was taken out of the community of which it had been a very visible part for nearly 250 years. Since 1984 the United Grand Lodge has been actively countering that mythology pursuing a policy of openness on Freemasonry.
The latter part of the 20th century saw two major celebrations. In 1967 over 6,500 Freemasons, including delegations from other Grand Lodges around the world, gathered at the Royal Albert Hall, London, to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the formation of the Grand Lodge of England. Central to the celebration was the installation of HRH The Duke of Kent as Grand Master, a position to which he has been annually re-elected ever since.
On 10 June 1992 over 12,500 attended a Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge at Earls Court to celebrate the 275th Anniversary of the formation of Grand Lodge and the 25th Anniversary of HRH The Duke of Kent’s installation as Grand Master. For the first time, in addition to English Freemasons and delegations from 94 other Grand Lodges, ladies and non-Masons (representing the many Charities which Freemasonry has supported over the years), and the press and television attended the meeting. The meeting was followed by a banquet for 4,000.
From the four Lodges which formed Grand Lodge in 1717, Freemasonry under the United Grand Lodge of England has grown to an organisation of over 300,000 members grouped in nearly 7,700 lodges. Its membership has included men of rank and those who have become distinguished in many fields of human endeavour but the membership has always been a microcosm of the society in which it currently exists reflecting the social, religious and ethnic composition of our diverse society.
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With regard to our own Province of Dorset, although its formation dates back to 1780 with the investiture of Thomas Dunckerley as our first Provincial Grand Master, there is evidence of the existence of Lodges prior to this. The Three Crowns Lodge No 145 first met in the Three Crowns Inn in Weymouth-Melcombe Regis in 1736, but was later erased in 1754. Our oldest Lodge, the Lodge of Amity No. 137, was warranted on April 1st 1765 and first met in the Lion and Lamb Inn in Old Town Poole. All Souls No. 170 was constituted on 24th October 1767 in Tiverton, Devon and later moved to Weymouth, its current home, in 1804. Dorset has since grown into a small but friendly Province with 49 Lodges and over 2500 members in 2009. |
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