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BACK NEXT Autumn 1998 Issue 06 Tobias Churton - Letter from the Editor The Eye Newsbites Behind the Green Door The President's Conundrum By the Industry and Ingenuity of the Workman Stukeley and the Mysteries The Cutter 110 Degrees in the Shade The Horn Tavern Review: Hermetica Review: Pit Polo Pulpit Review: The Second Messiah Protecting the Family Jewels Old Fireglass Time is of the Essence Letters to the Editor Henry Jermyn, Grand Master of the Freemasons? Copyright 1997-2010 Grand Lodge Publications Ltd Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint

FREEMASONRY TODAY Autumn 1998 - Issue 06 - Index Tobias Churton - Letter from the Editor The forms have gone out. Magistrates, probation officers, judges and all those who make up the English and Welsh judiciary are being asked to record their response to the question: Are you a Freemason? The list will be available to the public in October. The right to privacy has been violated; Free and Accepted Masonry is less free than it was a year ago: a black month for liberty in these islands. The message is clear: anti-masonic propaganda pays off. Already the effects begin. I have this week seen an East African news report (see The Eye) whose barrage of propaganda against Masonry includes the information that the British Government takes such a dim view of the Craft ... The Eye East African Masons Aid Bomb Explosion Victims — Bucks puts PR in Top Gear — Goose and Gridiron Restored — Government Registry of Judiciary Masons — New Grand Charity Secretary — Internet News — Scoring the Century — Surbiton Open Day — A Cocktail to Remember — Maryland’s Grand Master visits Portsmouth — Two Lodges called “Union” — Millfield Lodge Consecrated — Virginia Welcomes Quatuor Coronati Lodge — The Masonic Hearing Dog Newsbites Essex — Hampshire and Isle of Wight — Lancashire — London — New York — North Yorkshire — Nottinghamshire — Shropshire — Somerset — Surrey — Warwickshire Behind the Green Door Just a stone’s throw from the government buildings, in the Georgian-terraced section of Dublin, stands the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, in Molesworth Street. There I met Michael Walker, 62 years old, from farming stock and, since 1981, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Not, you will observe ... The President's Conundrum One of the problems in uniting the Premier Grand Lodge, sometimes referred to as the Moderns, and the Antients Grand Lodge, was how each Grand Lodge regarded the Royal Arch. The Premier Grand Lodge did not recognise it, while the Antients Grand Lodge embraced it wholeheartedly and worked it as a Fourth Degree in their Craft lodges. A compromise was found that placated both Grand Lodges. The Royal Arch was accepted as being part of pure Ancient Masonry but had to be worked in separate Chapters and no longer within Craft lodges ... By the Industry and Ingenuity of the Workman I am enormously encouraged to see the correspondence carried on in these columns regarding mentoring. Let us give whatever help we can to these pioneering brethren. Freemasonry has to live up to its promises or continue to see membership declining. Incidentally, some lodges report increasing membership - is anyone making a serious survey of this, to see what we can learn? Poor retention is not a new problem; the records in my own mother lodge in the early 1900s show a high proportion of members resigning after less than five years membership ... Stukeley and the Mysteries William Stukeley (1687-1765) was without doubt one of the foremost British antiquarians of the 18th century. He was also a Freemason, being initiated on 6 January 1721 at the Salutation Tavern in Tavistock Street, London. During a meeting at the Fountain Tavern on the Strand on 27 December 1721, a new lodge was constituted by consent of the Grand Master, and Stukeley was chosen as its Master. He would later record how ... The Cutter Sean Davison’s idea of Freemasonry was that everyone was recruited from the professions. He didn’t think he ever stood a chance of becoming one. And anyway, his ‘day job’ as a TV film and video editor (or ‘cutter’) was hardly the doctor/civil-servant/lawyer scenario he envisaged to be a requirement of the Craft. He was happy to be proven wrong and is now looking forward, later this year, to being raised to the Third Degree, readily admitting that being a member of Kirby Lodge No 2818 is a pleasure he could not have anticipated ... 110 Degrees in the Shade Many masons are initiated, passed and raised in the three Craft degrees, hold office in their lodge and go through the chair without ever wanting to pursue Freemasonry further. Some are exalted into the Royal Arch, but that is it. Fine. Many, on the other hand, desire further masonic knowledge, but don’t know where to find it. There’s a lot of talk about ‘Side Degrees’ or ‘Higher Orders’, but it can be hard to know which ones to consider. After all, money is a factor with most of us, and in some areas it can be hard even to find out about these degrees ... The Horn Tavern The original site of the Horn Tavern (also known as the Horn Coffee House) was at Doctor’s Commons, 10 Godliman Street, off Carter Lane on the south side of St Paul’s Churchyard. The origin of the name is unclear. Larwood and Hotten’s History of Signboards tells us that the bugle horn occurs on traders’ tokens as early as 1667, and could be seen on many roadside inns during and after the good old coaching times, when the guard on the mail coach used to announce his arrival with a cheerful tune. Larwood and Hottten also inform us that the Horn was ... Review: Hermetica Review: Pit Polo Pulpit Review: The Second Messiah Protecting the Family Jewels Those old stone masons could not have imagined what they were starting four or more centuries ago; they met in rude and dusty huts close to the college, cathedral or cloister at which their particular skills were needed. The ‘lodges’, precursors to the portacabin, were probably despatched to the bonfire once the masons had earned honest maintenance; but within them were established codes of conduct and a sign language that were the foundation stones of the ethical movement that was to become Freemasonry. The aprons and tools of their trade had not yet ... Old Fireglass Old Fireglass has decided to take you by the hand, mouth and nose, and lead you into the world of that most skilled of artisans, the Head Brewer. In the humble opinion of your fat, friendly, real ale guzzling brother, a good quality beer deserves to be taken as seriously as any bottle of vino ... Time is of the Essence I recently spent a family holiday in the Lot-et-Garonne department of south-west France. This is a lovely area, rich in delightful architecture, beautiful countryside, and food and drink that is amazingly good value, at least for as long as we can still exchange our pound for 9½ francs ... Letters to the Editor Rosslyn — Rank — Open Secrets — Burma — Give us Youth — Healing — Depth Henry Jermyn, Grand Master of the Freemasons? Dr James Anderson’s Constitutions of the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons was compiled with Grand Lodge’s authority, appearing in 1723, 1738 and 1746. The 1738 edition contained a brief history of English Grand Masters prior to the formation of Grand Lodge (1717), including Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren and Henry Jermyn, Earl of St Alban. After Anderson died, the 1746 edition appeared minus the historical section, and ever since, Grand Lodge has held that there were no 17th century Grand Masters ...   Issue 06, Autumn 1998 © Grand Lodge Publications Ltd 1997-2010