THE BUILDER MAY 1925

WAS NELSON A FREEMASON?

THE question of whether Admiral Viscount Nelson was a Freemason is
one that has puzzled many a Mason in recent years. There are
various pieces of evidence in existence, none of them conclusive,
but all pointing to the er to the question being in the
affirmative. 

At the Masonic Hall, Reading, Berkshire, there is a framed print
with the representation of a banner carried at Lord Nelson's
funeral. The banner bears the following inscription:

"'England expects every man to do his duty.'
In Memory of
HORATIO VISCOUNT NELSON
Who fell in the moment of
Victory
off
Cape Trafalgar
Octr. 21st, 1805.

We rejoice with our Country but mourn our Brother."

There is a description to the print, which is as follows:

"Banner carried by the York Lodge, 256, at Lord Nelson's Funeral,
on the occasion of which the Rev. J. Parker, Chaplain, was
commanded to preach a Sermon at St. Helen's Church, York, Dec.
11th, 1805."

There is, also, belonging to the Lodge of Friendship, No. 100, at
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, an oblong polished block of white marble
about the size of a large brick, originally intended for use as a
perfect ashler. On one of the long sides of this block there is an
inscription commemorating the constitution of the Lodge of United
Friends, No. 564, on Friday, Aug. 11, 1797, and on the opposite
side the following has been cut:

"In Memory of Bror. Vt. NELSON
of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, in Norfolk
who lost his life in the arms of Victory,
in an engagement with
ye Combin'd Fleets of France and Spain
of Cape Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805.
Proposed by Bror. John Cutlove."

The minute books of the Lodge of United Friends, of the required
period, have unfortunately disappeared and no evidence has as yet
been forthcoming to show whether Lord Nelson was initiated in, or
became a member of, the Lodge of United Friends. Lord Nelson
visited Great Yarmouth on several occasions. He landed at Great
Yarmouth on Nov. 6, 1800, and again on March 2, 1801. On the latter
occasion Nelson became a member of the Society of Gregorians, as in
Perlustration of Yarmouth we are told that "Nelson also addressed
a Letter from Yarmouth Roads to Mr. Pillans, Grand-Master of the
Ancient Order of Gregorians' at Norwich, with thanks for his
election into that Society." As Bro. Hamon LeStrange in his History
of Freemasonry in Norfolk rightly points out, "it is at all events
extremely unlikely that, in a place where Nelson was so well known
as he was at Yarmouth, the Members of the Lodge would have dared to
place on the stone commemorative of their own constitution an
inscription claiming him as a Brother, which, if untrue, would have
exposed them to ridicule and contradiction from many who knew the
facts."

There is also evidence, from a Norwich source, that Nelson had in
his possession a round black papier-mache snuff-box, with gilt
Masonic emblems on the lid, which he presented to one John
Harcourt.

On May 27, 1801, a lodge was constituted and consecrated at Batley,
in Yorkshire, under the name of "Lord Nelson of the Nile Lodge."
The following year a lodge was warranted at Caldwell Manor,
Montreal, Canada, under the name of "Nelson Lodge."

It may also be noted that there is, in the Grand Lodge Museum,
Great Queen Street, London, two specimens of a silver medal known
as the "Nelsonic Crimson Oakes Medal." There is no evidence as to
the meaning of "Nelsonic Crimson Oakes," and it is doubtful whether
it was in any way Masonic, although bearing many Masonic emblems.

In the Freemasons' Quarterly Review for 1839, a writer makes the
assertion that Lord Nelson, and his servant, Tom Allen, were
Freemasons, but unfortunately gives neither authority for his
statement nor any reference to the source of his information.

The registers at Grand Lodge have been searched without result, but
it is well known that at that period there are many omissions from
these registers which render them tantalizingly incomplete.

Such is the sum total of our present stock of knowledge, but it is
to be hoped that fresh items may one day be forthcoming, which will
turn the strong presumption that Nelson was a Freemason into a
positive historical fact.

THE GREAT AIM OF MASONRY

Beings who partake of one common nature, ought to be actuated by
the same motives and interests. Hence, to soothe the unhappy, by
sympathizing with their misfortunes, and to restore peace and
tranquility to agitated spirits, constitute the general and great
ends of the Masonic system. This humane this generous disposition
fires the breast with manly feelings, and enlivens the spirit of
compassion, which is the glory of the human frame, and which not
only rivals, but outshines, every other pleasure the mind is
capable of enjoying.
--Preston's Illustrations of Masonry, 12th Edition, 1812.

