One of the two new exhibitions being organised by the Library and Museum this summer is called Women and Freemasonry: The Centenary, which runs from 4 June to 19 December. It is the first wideranging exhibition on this subject at Freemasons’ Hall.
     In June 2008 the Order of Women Freemasons celebrated its centenary. It is one of two Grand Lodges in England whose membership is restricted to women. The occasion was too good an opportunity to miss to explore the issue of women and Freemasonry.
     Library and Museum staff are frequently asked by the public why women are not allowed to be members and I, personally, have often faced the remark that “I didn’t know they allowed women in!”
     The exhibition will provide an opportunity to answer in more detail some of the most common questions and misconceptions with which we have to deal.
     The background to the formation of the Order is a fascinating combination of factors. Many of the first women Freemasons in this country, including Francesca Arundale and Charlotte Despard, were members of the women’s suffrage movement, which was an important social issue one hundred years ago.
     Other key figures such as Annie Besant were campaigners for the rights of female workers.
     The period from 1850 in Western Europe and America was characterised by increasing popular interest in mysticism and other spiritual alternatives to established religions.
     One of these was theosophy. As practitioners, women took an equal share in lecturing, travelling and writing and theosophists such as Annie Besant and Charlotte Despard were some of the best exponents and interpreters of theosophy and included theosophical elements in their Freemasonry.
     The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) now acknowledges the two Grand Lodges for women, and from time to time meets with their leaders to discuss matters of mutual concern.
     In some areas the UGLE shares meeting places with them, but its membership remains restricted to men and was strongly opposed to the idea of women becoming Freemasons.
     Before we considered putting on the exhibition I was concerned that there would not be enough material in the Library and Museum. I need not have worried, as it became clear that there was important (and rarely seen) material on the European eighteenth century mixed Orders, developments in the USA in the nineteenth century and extensive, although not complete, runs of the various periodicals which provide vivid contemporary accounts of developments and illustrations of the key individuals.
     Grand Lodge’s own proceedings and its publications bore vivid witness to the attitudes of the day.
     Nevertheless, it would have been impossible to have considered the exhibition without the support of the Order of Women Freemasons and others who have lent material.
     As always, history is about people, and the story of women and Freemasonry is rich –on both sides – in fascinating characters with strongly-held beliefs. I hope that it will be an interesting and popular display.

VISIT THE EXHIBITION

Exhibition dates: Wednesday 4 June - Friday 19 December 2008.
Exhibition free of charge to all visitors.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.
Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ
Visitor information: www.freemasonry.london.museum or 020 7395 9257