Fall 1992
Volume 1, No. 4
ENGLAND CELEBRATES

275TH ANNIVERSARY

The year 1992 will be long remembered for the largest and most magnificent gathering
of Freemasons in the history of the craft. On June 10, the United Grand Lodge of England
welcomed 12,000 Masons and their guests to participate in the celebration of the 275th
anniversary of the founding of the Premier Grand Lodge. In the first and most complete report
published thus far, Richard H. Curtis 33, Editor of The Northern Light magazine, gave a full
account of the celebration in the August 1992 issue. To him, we are grateful for much of the
information on this spectacular Masonic event. We are also grateful to Robert L. Dillard Jr.
of Dallas, Past Grand Master, and Secretary of the Commission on Information for
Recognition of the Conference of Grand Masters of North America for his personal report.

The assembly filled the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. The large indoor arena
was arranged and decorated in the form of a large lodgeroom complete with checkered
pavement. The Grand East, upon a large raised dais, included the traditional Grand Master-s
chair, seating for various grand of ficers and over 300 other Masonic dignitaries. Above and
behind the Grand East were seated the North Wales Provincial Masonic Choir and the
Masonic Girls- School Choir. Suspended high on either side of the platform in the east two
giant video screens afforded everyone an enlarged view of the ceremonies.

During the opening ceremonies, the Duke of Kent, Grand Master of the United Grand
Lodge of England, received each of the representatives of 91 grand lodges, including 72
grand masters. Responding for the visiting Masons, two representatives addressed the
assembly: Massachusetts Grand Master Edgar W. Darling, as the representative of the senior
grand lodge in North America, and Grand Master Joseph Ferencz of Hungary, as the
representative of the newest grand lodge in the world.

One of the highlights of the ceremonies was the dedication of the foundation stone for
a residential village for handicapped adults. The Grand Master took the opportunity to
announce of a series of charitable grants, including 1,250,000 to the Cottage and Rural
Enterprises charity (CARE) which is building the handicapped village.

In his remarks, the Grand Master emphasized that the charitable work of the United
Grand Lodge of England remains central to its purpose. "Freemasons continue to pay what
I consider is proper attention to general or non-Masonic charity,-- he said, ' because we are
part of society and share the obligation of all good citizens to care for others.-- The Grand
Charity of the United Grand Lodge of England has been involved in many charitable
activities, including a seperate fund set up in 1967 making it the single largest benefactor of
the Royal College of Surgeons.

In addition to the Grand Lodge anniversary, the occasion was also the celebration of the
40th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, and the 25th anniversary of the
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ENGLAND (Continuedfrom Page 1)

installation of the Duke of Kent as Grand
Master. The triple significance of the
anniversary was commemorated by the
commissioning of three large Wedgwood
cups, one for the Grand Master, one for
the Grand Lodge Museum, and one to be
presented to the Queen. The 12,000 in
attendance almost doubled the number
present for the 250th anniversary
celebration held in the Royal Albert Hall
on June 27,1967.

On the evening of June 10, following
the assembly at Earls Court, an anniversary
dinner was served to 4,000 Masons and
guests. Later that evening, at Freemasons
Hall, entertainment was provided by the
London Youth Opera Company. Other
events included a reception at London's
Guil&all given by the Grand Master and
the Worshipful Lord Mayor of London
who is currently serving as Master of his
lodge.

THE PREMIER GRAND LODGE

The Premier Grand Lodge, although
formed in London in 1717, recorded no
minutesuntilJune24, 1723.Infact,itwas
not until that date that the first Secretary,
William Cowper, was elected.
Nevertheless, Dr. James Anderson, best
known for his Book of Constitutions, set
forth this account of the formation of the
flrst grand lodge:

King George I enter'd London most
magnificently on 20 Sept. 1714. And after
the Rebellion was over A.D. 1716, the
few Lodges at London finding themselves
neglected by Sir Christopher Wren,
thought fit to cement under a Grand Master
as the Center of Union and Harmony, viz,
the Lodges that met,

1. At the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house
in St. Paul 's Church-Yard.

2. At the Crown Ale-house in Parker's
Lane near Drury-Lane.

3. At the Apple-Tree Tavern in Charles-
street, Covent-Garden.

4. At the Rummer and Grapes Tavern in
Channel-Row, Westminster.

They and some old Brothers met at
the said Apple-Tree, and having put into
the Chair the oldest Master Mason (now
the Master of a Lodge), they constituted
themselves a Grand Lodge pro Tempore
in Due Form, and forthwith revived the

Quarterly Communication of the Officers
of Lodges (call'd the GRAND LODGE)
resolv'd tohold theAnnual Assemblyand
Feast, and then to chuse a Grand Master
from among themselves, till they should
have the Honour of a Noble Brother at
their Head.

         Accordingly

On St. John Baptist's Day, in the 3d
year of King George I, A.D. 1717, the
ASSEMBLY and Feast of the Free and
Accepted Masons was held at the aforesaid
Goose and Gridiron Ale-house.

Before Dinner, the oldest Master
Mason (now the Master of a Lodge) in the
Chair, proposed a List of proper
Candidates; and the Brethrenby a Majority
of Hands elected Mr. Antony Sayer,
Gentleman, Grand Master of Masons,
who being forthwith invested with the
Badges of Of fice and Power by the said
oldest Master, and install'd, was duly
congratulated by the Assembly who pay ' d
him the Homage.

{Mr Jacob Lamball, Carpenter,J Grand
Capt. Joseph Elliot ~ Wardens.

Sayer, Grand Master, commanded
the Masters and Wardens of Lodges to
meet the Grand Officers every Quarter in
Communication, at the Place that he should
appoint in his Summons sent by the Tyler.

It is important to note that the Premier
Grand Lodge was not the "Grand Lodge
of England," but was simply a grand lodge
forLondon and Westminster and what ever
lodges chose to be governed by it. The
Premier Grand Lodge never made any
claim to territorial jurisdiction, exclusive
or otherwise.

     THE ANCIENT GRAND LODGE

Besides the Premier Grand Lodge,
there were flve other grand lodges erected
in England during the 18th and l9th
centuries. Listed in order of seniority they
were:

1) The York Grand Lodge (1725-1790).
2) The Grand Lodge of England According
to the Old Institutions (also called the
~Ancient" or "Atholl Grand Lodge," 1751-
18 13).

3) The Grand Lodge of England South of
the River Trent ( 1779-1789).

4) The Supreme Grand Lodge of England
(1770-1775).

5) The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted
Masons of England According to the Old
Institutions (also called the "Wigan Grand
Lodge," 1823-1866).

The second of these grew to become
the second largest Masonic authority in
England, and it continued to thrive until
1813 when it merged with the Premier
Grand Lodge to form the United Grand
Lodge of England.

The first record of "The Grand Lodge
of England According to the Old
Institutions," often called the "Ancient
Grand Lodge," is dated July 17, 1751. It
states that a General Assembly of Ancient
Masons was held at the Turk's Head
Tavern in Greek Street, Soho. It was
established primarily by Irish Masons
living in and about the city of London.
These Irish Masons, mostly mechanics
and shopkeepers, were often refused
admission to the more aristocratic English
lodges that held the Irishmen's Masonic
regularity in the same esteem as their
social standing.

This division between the two groups
was worsened by the fact that the Irish
Masons disliked the many differences that
existedbetweenthetwosystems. Although
the Irish had undoubtedly inherited
speculative Freemasonry from the English,
they accused the English grand lodge of
introducing changes in the work. To some
extent this was true, but the better educated
English Masons tended to view
Freemasonry as a man-made institution
and therefore subject to ongoing change.
But the less educated working class Irish
Masons viewed the institution with less
understanding and a great deal more awe,
and were therefore very suspicious of any
changes in what they perceived as "the
body of Masonry."

The division between the two groups
has incorrectly been described as a schism.
But records have shown that the founding
fathers of the Ancient Grand Lodge were
never members of lodges under the older
Premier Grand Lodge (Moderns), and
seven of the original eight appeared in the
Dublin directory.

By 1771 the Ancient Grand Lodge
had about 197 lodges on its roll compared
to 339 for the Premier (Modern) Grand
Lodge. It was during this period that the
other grand lodges in Ireland and Scotland
showed their clear support for the more
conservative Ancients. Ireland, which had
previously acknowledged the Ancient
Grand Lodge, reaffirmed its recognition,
and in 1772, the 3rd Duke of Atholl,
already Grand Master of the Ancient Grand
Lodge, was installed as Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

THE UNION OF 1813

By the beginning of the nineteenth
century, the Ancient Grand Lodge was a
strong and viable organization with 260
lodgeson itsroll, including many military
lodges that had actively spread the
influence of the Ancients' style of Masonry
throughout the British colonies. The
Premier Grand Lodge, with 387 lodges,
still outnumbered the Ancients by three to
two. But dissatisfaction over the divided
state of the craft was a growing concern,
and the desire for a union of the two
factions became more and more imminent.

Beginning in 1809, steps were taken
to begin the process of effecting a
harmonious union between the rival grand
lodges. In the compromises that were
enumerated in the twenty-one Articles of
Union, the Ancients prevailed on almost
all points. Chief among these was the
actual inclusion of the Royal Arch Degree
as a part of the Master Mason's Degree,
and the incorporation of the word
"Ancient" in the name of the United Grand
Lodge.

With the acceptance of the Articles
of Union, the process was completed in
1813 with the election and installation of
two royal brothers, sons of King George
III, as the grand masters of the two grand
lodges. In that year, Prince Edward, Duke
of Kent, accepted the Grand Mastership
of the Ancient Grand Lodge for the sole
purpose of cooperating with his brother,
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of
Sussex, the Grand Master of the Modem
Grand Lodge, in the final stages of the
union.

On December 27, 1813, Grand
Officers and members of the two grand
lodges were reobligated and entered
Freemasons Hall to perform the
ceremonies creating the United Grand
Lodge of England.
         P. Normand
