The Cross Keys February 2019
Number 216
Cross Keys February 2019
The Monthly Newsletter of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No.242
From the Editor February edition is a mix of masonry from Glasgow to London to 200 years ago! It is uplifting to have a section provided by our Grand Master Mason Bro. Ramsay McGhee. It is quite clear that he is well qualified to lead the Grand Lodge over the next 5, 10, 15 years……… Hopefully, Bro. Ramsay (or the GL Office) will be able to provide fairly regular updates on activities within the Scottish Craft and too often the ‘rank and file’ brother is unaware of many goof works in our Craft. A number of brethren have asked about the 200th anniversary year and what we did. The simplest way to explain it is by showing the syllabus on Page 9. I think it is selfexplanatory and was a very exciting time for the lodge with all the special events. Out 225 coincides with the 300th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 2036.
Cover Image: A Master Mason certificate issued by Garfield Lodge, No. 686 (Chicago, Illinois) in 1887—see P.5 for more.
The Cross Keys is a free magazine distributed across the many countries in order to spread the good (and sometimes not so good) qualities of the Craft. All views are of individual brothers and not any organised body. Editor: Bro. N. Grant Macleod PM of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No. 242 PM of The Anchor Lodge of Research No.1814 Past Provincial Grand Secretary of the Province of Renfrewshire East. Proof Reader: Bro. Allan Stobo PM of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No. 242 Treasurer 242
All Scottish Constitution.
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In this issue: 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 15 16 17 18 20 21
What does the Craft Offer? Why Join? Sir William Pearce MM Certificates Grand Lodge of All England 200th Anniversary Syllabus Elias Ashmole’s Initiation Grand Lodge News New Grand Master Washington Portrait Tracing Board of the Centre Order of de Molay Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester
242 & 1042 Burns Supper Saturday 9th February £12 from Bro. Treasurer
February Meetings Thursday 14th MM Degree Thursday 28th EA Degree Both by Office Bearers
7.30pm start
What does the Craft Offer? The following ideas have been borrowed from Bro. Michael Walker Past G Secretary of Ireland in 1999 and yet still true today. Bro. Walker sees the Craft as an implement for “self-improvement” in the intellectual, moral philosophical sense. We are living stones for that great spiritual building not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. By developing the person, he is then more extensively serviceable to his fellow man.
press as, and expand into, public and private morality, the knowledge and fear of God and, following on from that, respect for, and love of, our neighbour. This respect includes toleration of his personal viewpoint, his religious beliefs and his political opinions. If we pursue the aims of the Order, our search should widen, yet focus our vision, while ever making us more deeply aware of, and closer to, the Great Architect of the Universe, heightening our spirituality and deepening our insight into that which we may never hope fully to understand.”
As world changes happen faster, and in more complex and unpredictable ways, our natural needs for security, control, certainty Scratch away at the surface of the Craft and and predictability are being undermined. you will find much more—unlike many This type of environthings in our society. ment is a breeding We must maintain out stand- Society measures sucground for what is now cess in purely monetary ards and our dignity. termed the "Achilles terms and that is quite Syndrome" where narrow minded. more and more people The Craft will be waiting. who are, in fact, highBro. Walker believed achievers, suffer from a (as it turns out correctserious lack of self-esteem. ly) that the Craft was about to go into a ‘dark period’ and brethren would need to endure Research has identified "a hunger which is the “winter of our discontent” and maintain not being satisfied. People need to feel they our standards and our dignity. belong; they need to feel they can be fully committed to something. The prevailing We don’t know what the future holds— mood, in Ireland and elsewhere, is one of Brexit, referendums etc. What is important disillusionment and cynicism.” This is is that we preserve the Craft to be handed where the Craft can fill that void. onto future generations who may have a completely different outlook and not value He asks, if Freemasonry apart from society success as we do or become famous for being or a part of society. Masons are in society so famous! the Craft must be part and parcel of society even if the outside describe us as antiquated A world war or some other world wide caor out of touch. Tradition is nothing to be tastrophe can suddenly change people’s ashamed of and like every organisation its views on faith and belonging. The Craft must members can have all sorts of views some be there for them and to provide help and out of touch and others not. guidance. Bro. Walker’s words are explicit: “We are a fraternal organisation, the aims of which are brotherly love, the relief of our distressed Brethren and their dependents and the search after "Truth" which we may ex-
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The Craft will be waiting—whether it be 10 years or 50 years, the Craft will always have a place in every good man’s heart.
Why Join? As a follow on from the previous article. Brethren pay a joining fee and then an annual fee— but why? Golf clubs charge fees to keep courses and green in playable condition, gyms, football clubs, etc all have tangible costs and it’s easy to explain where the money is used. But what about brethren? We pay to be a member (typical of all clubs), but what are the benefits?
An ancient history to be part of, protect and ensure it can be passed onto future generations of masons Belonging to a ‘club’ with some of the most famous men on earth Belonging to a worldwide club that exists in every continent Belonging to a society which accepts all faiths and race Through ceremonies, it can provide stability and security from outside pressures of life and work Provides a moral code from which to live
Every brother no doubt can add their own views to that short list, but it’s a starting point what most brethren would probably agree. A couple of questions which brethren could maybe supply answers: (a) (b) (c)
what does it provide for young people? Why go to a/ lodge when you could go out wit your wife/girlfriend/family to the cinema or restaurant? What do you expect from your joining fee?
These are questions many people have asked me and we should all be able to answer these. Our annual fee is incredibly cheap compared to a season ticket at the football, a gym membership etc, but is that because we offer little? Maybe our test fees should reflect a more realistic amount, one that can sustain a lodge and provide a surrounding that is conducive to our ceremonies. Perhaps we could then add to the ceremonies—lighting, computer enhancements to demonstrate the symbols, etc.
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Bro. Sir William Pearce PGM Glasgow Bro. Pearce was born in Kent and trained as a naval architect. In 1864 he was appointed manager of Napier's shipyard in Govan and five years later became a partner with John Ure and J L K Jamieson in John Elder & Co. He became sole partner in 1878 and in 1886 converted the firm to a limited company, the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Under his direction, the firm became a world leader in ship design and marine engineering and was most famous for the development of the triple expansion engine. A Conservative, Pearce was the first MP elected to represent Govan, 1885-1888 and lived at Elmbank House. His statue still stands at Govan Cross near the Pearce Institute, containing a public hall, library and other rooms, which was gifted to Govan by his widow. Pearce provided funding for the construction of a new lodge at the foot of University Avenue. The lodge was built 1885-1888 and incorporated much of the stonework salvaged from the gateway to the Old College on High Street.
Bro. Pearce was initiated in the POW Lodge No.276 (EC), affiliated to Prince’s No.607 and was installed by Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, the M.W. Grand Master Mason on the 24th August 1880, in the Pillar Rooms, Glasgow, as Provincial Grand Master of Glasgow City until 1888. Sadly, he died in the December of the same year in his London home. What is more fitting is that in the old Board of Directors’ Room of the re-modelled Fairfield’s (now office space) has this magnificent portrait of Bro. Pearce hanging centre stage.
242 brethren visit Wallace Masonic Lodge No. 146 (IC) in Hollywood. Left to right are Bros Dougie Innes, Alistair Griffiths JW, Alex Robertson newly installed master of 146, Kenny MacDonald Architect and Graham Scott PM.
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Master Mason Certificates Over the years, some amazing certificates have been produced. Sadly today, most lie in a drawer. The following are examples from various US Grand Lodge. Master Mason certificate issued by Mount Hope Lodge in 1854 (GL of Massachusetts) - right Master Mason certificate issued by Cornerstone Lodge, No. 216 in 1940 (GL of Maine) - left below Master Mason certificate issued by Independence Lodge, No. 76 in 1849 GL of Missouri) below
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Grand Lodge of All England at York To understand where the Grand Lodge Of All England at York came from we must start in the 17th century. Following the almost complete demise of the local building site lodges between 1530 and 1630 there appeared in York and Chester new lodges which were attached to the Stone Masons' Guilds in those cities.
These lodges were initially intended for the Freemen Masons who belonged to the Trade Company but evidence reveals that the lodge in York in 1663 also had members who were Free-men of other trades. What we also know is that after the Restoration of 1660 The stone mason trade had so recovered in the country at large that in both York and Chester there were applications by the working masons to have a new Charter for a Stone Masons' Guild. By 1705 we know that there was a minute book of a Masonic lodge in York and that this was not the first such to be used by that body. That this lodge was the direct descendant of the lodge of 1663 cannot be proved as yet but it does seem likely to have had some sort of connection for the names of those who belonged to the later lodge are in some cases from the same families as those known to have been associated with the Stone Masons' Company or its lodge in the preceding century. That is a matter that need not occupy us here. What are of particular interest are three features of this early 18th century Masonic lodge which suggest its 'ancient' form and ancestry. First, this Lodge had clearly worked out its pattern of authority. this York Lodge believed that it possessed the right to inaugurate other bodies of Free Masons elsewhere in that area. We know that before 1710 it had authorised meetings of gentlemen in both Scarborough and Bradford. It was indeed acting as a Grand Lodge and one which was noticeably different from the local London one that emerged in 1717. The main difference was that whilst the London Premier
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Grand Lodge was formed by certain private and independent lodges which agreed to accept its authority in certain matters the York Grand Lodge of All England claimed authority from an ancient tradition dating back to immemorial times. Moreover it viewed any new lodge as actually a part of itself rather than an attached but independent private unit. This was marked by three features: 1) any new lodges were known as the Grand Lodge of York in Bradford, in Scarborough, etc;
2) the new units were required to record their members names in the lodge book of the parent body and to contribute annually to the York charitable fund; 3) one of the documents known as the York Old Charges was used for the obligation of any potential initiate. If the sub -ordinate lodge were to cease working this copy was to be returned to the York Grand Lodge. Five such original copies are still extant in the Duncombe Place library there. From the outset we note that this Lodge has at its head a member called 'President'. This in itself is unusual and suggests that what we are dealing with was a body that did not regard itself simply as a private lodge. A perusal of the membership lists from 1712 onwards makes quite clear that the main bases of lodge membership were that candidates must be Freemen of a trade in the City of York or be of noble or gentlemanly status similar to the Incorporation in Glasgow with its connection to No. 3 bis. Another distinctive feature of this York Grand Lodge throughout its existence was that it distinguished between being a member of the Craft and a member of the Lodge. This distinction reverted, of course, to the time when in order to join the Guild Lodge
Grand Lodge of All England at York (ctd) a candidate had to affirm his nominal membership of the Mason's Craft to which the parent Guild belonged. One of the most distinctive features of York Grand Lodge working was the predominance of 'Lectures'. Whilst this was the term used we would more naturally describe them as catechismal dialogues. What we know took place at meetings when a candidate was admitted was that, after being taken round the square table at which the Lodge members sat, he was tested by the Wardens, presented to the R.W.M. who obligated him on the Bible and using the Ancient Charges. He was given the grip and sign, clothed with a lodge apron and then shown to a place at the table. In the early days the R.W.M. or a Past Master then began to ask the catechismal questions around the table, addressing each member in turn. These Lectures became more lengthy and detailed and eventually required substantial memory skills, so that by the 1760s they became the sole responsibility of the Past Masters. Once a year on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist a special and impressive Installation of the Grand Master took place. After 1761 it was often the case that non-Masons and ladies were invited to the banquet, so that kind of practice has a long precedent in York Masonic history. It was at just such an Installation that a famous address was delivered by Dr. Francis Drake, the Junior Grand Warden. By the 1770s the Grand Lodge at York had devised a very precise pattern of working a five degree system which meant that all its members knew exactly what ceremony was to be presented on any Lodge night each quarter. This system comprised the 3 basic degrees, the Royal Arch and the Knight Templar. The Lodge in each case was opened only
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in that form of degree that was announced and those not involved or qualified stayed away. The ceremonies were all held under the rule of the master or a Past Master and the same lodge room was the setting in each case. In this latter arrangement we see the origin of what was later to be called in North America the 'York Rite'. What distinguishes that practice from what took place in York, was that instead of continuing the original method of presenting the Old Lectures new ceremonies were devised and added to the 5 degrees named above. Those additional steps were largely what we would now describe as the Cryptic and Allied systems. It is because of these additional ceremonies that we now more correctly call the York Rite there the American Rite.
The Grand Lodge consisted of 10 lodges: 1. French Lodge, Punch Bowl, York, 1762. 2. Scarborough, 1762. 3. Royal Oak, Ripon, 1769. 4. Crown, Knaresborough, 1760. 5. Duke of Devonshire, Macclesfield, 1770. 6. Hovingham, 1773. 7. Snainton, 1778. 9. Druidical Lodge, Rotherham, 1778. 10. Fortitude, Hollingwood, 1790. For any brother interested in the mving speech by Bro. Drake, see: http://freemasonry.org/ pdf/2014_01_sample_article.pdf
Grand Lodge of All England at York (ctd) York has a number of manuscripts or rolls containing essential masonic history which are kept in Duncombe Place in York (below), home to York Lodge No.236:
Roll No. 1 Believed to be dated 1600. This is unquestionably the most interesting, as well as the oldest manuscript. It is made up of four pieces of parchment sewn together into one continuous Roll of seven feet in length. It states that it was found at Pontefract Castle at its demolition. It is know that the commencement of the demolition of Castle started in 1649. Roll No. 2 Dated 1704. This is the most modern of the York Rolls, also written on parchment and is headed “The Constitution of Masonry 1704”. This is particularly interesting as it is the only manuscript in which the word “Freemason”, as distinct from “Mason” appears. Roll No. 3 Unfortunately this manuscript is now missing. It was however recorded in the inventory of 1779 where it was described as “a parchment Roll of Charges on Masonry 1680”.
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Roll No. 4 Dated 1693. Believed to have been written by Mark Kypling and is also known as the “He and She” manuscript due to apparent admission of females to the Guild within its texts. “Then one of the Elders taking the Book and that he or she that is to be made a Mason shall lay their hands thereon and the Charge shall be given”. However, it is believed that as the original “instruction” was given in Latin, a copyist or translator may have miss spelt the plural of “he’s” as “she”. This manuscript is written on one roll of paper of 10½ feet in length.
Roll No. 5 Bears no date, but believed to be about 1690. This appears to be a copy of Roll No.1. Roll No. 6 Dated about 1680. Described as “a parchment Roll of Charges whereof the bottom part is awanting”.
Grand Lodge of All England at York (ctd) Bro. Neville Barker Cryer produced a comprehensive account of lodges in Yorkshire and I think it’s fitting for him to close this article: The records of the ‘Ancient Lodge at York’, also known as the Grand Lodge at York, similarly suggest a membership that included a high proportion of gentlemen and, like Chester, that its leadership was closely linked to the city corporation and political é lites. Eighteenth century Yorkshire Freemasonry was based on a long and relatively unbroken tradition reaching back to a medieval past. Had Desaguliers and his colleagues’ actions in and leadership of English Grand Lodge been trivial in their impact and un -related to their political, military and professional connections, the later-named ‘Grand Lodge’ at York could have been a valid contender for Masonic leadership in England. However, notwithstanding its longevity and the political weight of York and the Yorkshire county constituencies, there were several probable reasons why York Masonry lacked the motivation, resonance and national influence of the Grand Lodge of England. A number of factors can be proposed. First, Yorkshire Masonry was largely disassociated from the scientific Enlightenment epitomised by Desaguliers, Folkes, Clare and others, and the public and private influence and authority that such an intellectual association was able to exert. Second, Yorkshire Masonry was led by provincial politicians and local worthies, some Catholic, whose Tory politics was generally anti -Walpole and, although in some instances not always overtly anti- Hanoverian, had only a limited (and negative) influence on the national stage. In contrast, English Grand Lodge benefited from the presence of senior aristocrats at its titular head who were close to the government and the Crown. Third, York’s distance from the
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Court and the principal seats of political power may have reduced its weight, most particularly since its leaders did not hold national office. As Schwartz commented, ‘nobody aspiring to national influence could stay away from [London] for too long’. Fourth, and possibly the key factor, was that Yorkshire’s leaders were bound to the past in terms of their view of Freemasonry as a predominantly social club. In contrast, Desaguliers, Folkes, Payne, Cowper, and others at Grand Lodge in London, had the vision to perceive it as a vehicle for the transmission of new ideas, particularly those linked to the scientific Enlightenment, and the discipline and determination to pursue their objectives. Finally, alongside the aristocratic figureheads, Grand Lodge in London and senior lodges such as the Horn in Westminster and Rummer at Charing Cross were populated by officials with political influence and government connections.
First Minute Book 1705
200th Anniversary Syllabus 2010 November
12 25 26
Friday Thursday Friday
Installation EA General Committee
by OBs 7.30pm
9 17
Thursday Friday
FC Lodge Dinner & Speaker
Bro. Sandy Strang Lodge 772
13 27 28
Thursday Thursday Friday
MM EA General Committee
11 10 24
Friday Thursday Thursday
Burns Supper FC Mother Kilwinning No. 0
11 19 24 25
Friday Saturday Thursday Friday
Lecture by Bro. Yasha Beresiner Civic Dinner & Speaker MM General Committee
April
3 14 28
Sunday Thursday Thursday
Divine Service In Memoriam Lodge Lodge 5005(EC)
In lodge with PG Chaplain
May
7 26
Saturday Thursday
Rebuilding KST EA
Blackpool lodge (3pm) 156
July
15 16 30
Friday Saturday Saturday
General Committee Display in lodgeroom "
Business: Anniversary Dinner for brethren & family
August
6
Saturday
Grand Lodge of Scotland
13
Saturday
Anniversary Meeting & Dinner Display in lodgeroom
September
8 22
Thursday Thursday
EA FC
426 Step up degree
October
8 13 27
Friday Thursday Thursday
Sportsman's Dinner PM Degree AGM
MacBride Ritual
December
2011 January
February
March
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1042 7.30pm
1167 Exemplify 'Auld Degree' James Donald Memorial Lecture Lord Provost of Paisley 7.30pm
for brethren & family
Elias Ashmole’s Initiation There are many questions in the long history of Freemasonry which perturb scholars and to which there really are no definite answers. For instance, it is now well established that Elias Ashmole was the first English speculative free mason initiated in July 1646. Could he have been initiated in an operative working Lodge? It is also known that he was an intellectual, a wealthy man of standing. Why did he become a Freemason? Furthermore when organised Freemasonry began in London in June 1717 it consisted entirely of ‘gentlemen’ intent on drinking and dining and having a good time in general. What happened in between times? How and why the change, between 1646 and 1717, from an apparently aristocratic institution emerging 70 years later as nothing more than a Gentlemen’s Club at best? The first English Constitutions by James Anderson were published in April 1723, some 6 years after the formation of the Grand Lodge of England. Until then we appear to have been enjoying festive aspects of freemasonry quite happily without minutes, rules or regulations. Why was it found necessary to publish so many restrictive sets of laws for the comportment of freemasons? By their very nature, the answers to these questions remain theoretical only. Ashmole was born in May 1617 in Staffordshire, England. A talented and ambitious man, he was able to fulfil many of his dreams after his second marriage to the wealthy Lady Mainwaring, 20 years his senior. He retired at the age of 25 and pursued personal interests thereafter. During 1645 and 1646, crucial years in the English Civil War, Ashmole’s political and military careers developed on parallel lines. In March 1646 he was made a Captain in the King’s Army and he witnessed the defeat of King Charles by Cromwell three months later. He returned to Smallwood and on 16 October 1646 Elias Ashmole was made a freemason in Warrington. This is the evidence of the first initiation of an English speculative mason. That is, notwithstanding the fact that those present and listed would have certainly been initiated at an earlier date. It took place at 4.30 in the afternoon. The precise time can be given because he kept a daily diary now housed in the Bodeleian Library in Oxford. But many questions arise regarding his initiation. Cross Keys February 2019
What was the exact nature of the Lodge in which Ashmole was initiated? In the whole of his extensive manuscript annotations there are only two references to his Masonic activities, dated 1646 and 1682. The names of those present in 1646 as listed by Ashmole in his diary are uncontested. None of those present belonged to the stonemasons' trade. The Lodge, however, will have consisted of several additional members not present at the initiation and who may well have been working operative stonemasons. There are two perennial questions raised with regard to Elias Ashmole’s initiation. Why did he join? And why is there no other mention of freemasonry in his extensive diaries until his visit to London in 1682? The answer may lie in that freemasonry was not an organisation of particular consequence or sufficient importance for Elias Ashmole to make additional annotations. Ashmole may have joined because by nature he was a joiner. He could not have resisted the temptation to discover the nature of what even then was a mysterious association and he may well have found nothing of consequence in the fraternity for further comment or record. There is the added possibility that in the quite and secretive ambiance of a Masonic meeting he was able to meet with unrecorded intellectual colleagues to discuss those aspects of esoteric and hermetic studies very much experimental in the scientific world at the time. Ashmole was an extraordinarily accomplished man. By 1648 he had extended his studies in Astrology and Anatomy to Botany and Alchemy. This last subject was to occupy him considerably and he wrote several books on the subject, the first in 1650.He was undoubtedly fascinated with esoteric and hermetic studies. He often consulted oracles. Yet Ashmole made a point of not allowing his enthusiasm for alchemy to obscure his historical research and he never saw himself as a practicing alchemist. He may have attended meetings unrecorded in his diary until the summons to the Masons Company in London in 1682. It is now that he mentions freemasonry for the
Elias Ashmole’s Initiation (ctd) second and only additional time in the 2000 odd pages of his diaries. The entry is dated 10th March 1682, thirty-five years after his initiation. The same curios questions arise in this instance as they did with regard to the first entry. What ceremony did Ashmole exactly attend in London? He was The Senior Fellow among them thus he was a speculative freemason gathering in an operative environment of the Masons Company of London. What was he doing there? The recorded ceremony of the acception in the Masons Company has yet to be explained. It appears to be a ‘club within the club’ to which selected individuals were admitted as members. Ashmole’s presence here may be seen as evidence, or at least suggest, that Ashmole’s own lodge into which he was initiated in 1646 was of a similar composition. Elias Ashmole, in 1646, may well have experienced in an operative Lodge an aspect of an acception ceremony he was to attend several decades later in London.
Although the Premier Grand Lodge was formed on 24 June 1717, it was not until exactly 6 years later, on 24 June 1723 that the first Secretary to the Grand Lodge, William Cowper, was appointed. It is only after this date that minutes of Grand Lodge began to be kept. There are no records of any kind of the activities of Grand Lodge before June 1723. The historic report of the events that took place on that fateful day in June 1717, are only to be encountered some twenty years later, in Anderson’s second edition, The New Book of Constitutions published in 1738. It is from these Constitutions that we know that on the day at the feast, the Brethren by a Majority of Hands elected Mr Anthony Sayer Gentleman, Grand Master of Masons. Anthony Sayer (16721742) proclaimed George Payne (d 1757) as his successor in 1718; these two Brethren were the only two commoners to be elected Grand Master.
So we find that Ashmole may have found access to an esoteric content in some or other aspect of the Craft proceedings. He may have had colleagues similarly inclined. There are interesting hints in the diary annotations at the nature of Masonic activity at the time. Colonel Henry Mainwaring, with whom Ashmole was initiated, was a Roundhead parliamentarian friend, diametrically opposed to the Royalists who Ashmole supported. The implication is that freemasonry, from these very early days, recognised no political boundaries. The structure of the Lodge is also hinted at by the significant reference to Richard Penkett as a Warden. Furthermore Ashmole took his obligation on the Sloane Manuscript, an ancient charge in manuscript, which was expressly composed for the ceremony of his initiation.
Every early indication points at our Society as a fun, food and charity institution from the start. The lack of any minutes and rules or regulations at the start is in line with an organisation not taking itself too seriously. Six years of unregulated activity. At the time there were several dozen other similar institutions. What was it that assured the success of Freemasonry beyond any of the other contemporary organisations? The answer is simple: the Freemasons were able to recruit members of the nobility, and soon, Royalty itself, to join the Craft. There was a price to pay, however: constitutions. Nobility and aristocracy would not join a Society without orderly regulations. This fact, however, leads to the more important and difficult question: what inducement did a member of the aristocracy have at the time to join freemasonry?
Thus we see that the structure of freemasonry has been reasonably consistent through the centuries. Thus whilst the structure or format of the institution did not change over the years, the content, the ritual and ceremony and, more importantly, the academic quality of its membership, may well have been diluted. The departure of academics and their replacement by ‘Gentlemen’ may have caused a decline in quality over the years. By 1717 the Society may well have altered completely, emerging finally as just another one of he many London clubs of the period.
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Since 1718 the appointment of Grand Master was only afforded to Brethren of great distinction, of the aristocracy, nobility and royalty. The first of these, the third Grand Master to be elected in 1719, was the Reverend John Theophilus Desaguliers (1683-1744, shown). He graduated from Oxford with a Doctorate of Civil Law, having taken his holy orders in 1710. Four years later he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and became the Curator of this most prestigious scientific institute. Here then, the
Elias Ashmole’s Initiation (ctd) question already posed has to be repeated. What could have possibly been whispered into the ear of so prominent a man as Desaguliers, the author of books on experimental philosophy, closely associated with the aristocracy and Royalty, as to persuade him to become a freemason? It is my view that Freemasonry and the Royal Society had very little indeed in common at this or any other time. There is no real evidence, beyond the circumstance surrounding Ashmole mentioned above, that we freemasons have had secrets associated with Hermetic philosophy, the Kabbalah or other similar mystical schools of thought. Outsiders have maliciously associated our organisation with a series of tasteless activities, ranging from sorcery and witchcraft to idolatry and devil worship.
John Theophilus Desaguliers, Curator and respected member of the Royal Society, was selected or may have chosen himself to investigate this newly set up organisation. On being initiated into our secrets and mysteries and admitted a member of the Craft, the new candidate, Bro Desaguliers, would have quickly discovered that there were no secrets among the masons, beyond traditional forms of recognition. Here, he would have found the true spirit of brotherly love, relief and truth prevailing. His very high social standing will have certainly induced the Grand Lodge to offer him the highest possible office from the outset, which he may well have accepted. This would explain why there appears to be so little, if any, information about Desaguliers prior to his appointment as Grand Master in 1719.
The Royal Society, on the other hand, during this early period at the turn of the 18th Century, focused its scientific research on what was then referred to as alternative philosophy the same experimental philosophy in which John Theophilus Desaguliers, our Grand Master to be, excelled. Here were a group of scientists, respected through the world, whose daily research, in simplistic terms, revolved around esoteric and hermetic studies and the secrets of nature. There was a standing understanding that the revelation of the one yet to be discovered secret of nature could transform the scientific world. It would allow the fulfilment of the study of alchemy and convert basic metal to gold. Through the one secret of nature, yet unknown, communication with those who had passed beyond would be possible. It was in this environment of serious study that the Royal Society members would have heard of the formation of a body calling themselves Freemasons, who had a secret known only to them. It is possible that, notwithstanding the conviction that the secrets of any such inconsequential body as the Freemasons, could not be of any scientific importance, someone had to ensure that that was indeed the case. Although Elias Ashmole and his ilk had been both Freemasons and members of the Royal Society before the turn of the Century, their views and outlook of Freemasonry would have been clearly of a different perspective to that of the organised Freemasonry that was launched in June 1717.
Enchanted by the camaraderie of our institution and true to his obligation, on his return to the Royal Society, Desaguliers would have rather persuaded his colleagues to join the fraternity than disclose the inconsequential secrets he had learnt and sworn to observe. This then may well have been the beginning of the involvement of the aristocracy in our midst. The Constitutions were written at the instigation of Desaguliers who, no doubt, had the future of the Institution at heart and the Aristocracy, nobility and royalty in his head. He brought with him Lord Montgomery our first Noble Grand Master. Clearly with the presence and membership of such distinguished Brethren some rules and regulations for the comportment of the Brethren became necessary. Thus Grand Master Desaguliers instructed James Anderson to compose or ‘digest’ the Constitutions and secure the continued patronage of Nobility and Royalty, which England has enjoyed ever since.
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By Yasha Beresiner, PGStB (UGLE) Hon SGW (GL State of Israel) PSGW (Reg GL Italy) PM Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 EC, a long time reader of the Cross Keys. Bro. Yasha was also the first to deliver the James Donald Memorial Lecture in 2011. (see Page 9)
Over the page, there is an article about our new GMM, Bro. Ramsay McGee and as you will read, he was Uddingston born but ‘made in Johnstone’ and therefore the brethren of 242 have no doubt he will prove to be a success despite his connection with St. Barchan No.156 (only joking to the Kilbarchan boys!!!). 2019 is an important year for Grand Lodge having a new GMM and having departed from the usual type of brother, it’s also a very exciting time for the Scottish Craft.
Many say the Craft is struggling because numbers are down. As I have often said, maybe the numbers are down form the boom years, but I believe we are returning to normality and the Craft will settle down to more realistic figures with some lodges not being huge. Smaller lodges have often said they have a closer knit community and are able to serve their brethren better. Perhaps, but I think it will be better—we all know brethren who should never have been allowed to join. This might be the time when the Craft moves forward is a new way.
Cross Keys February 2019
Our New Grand Master Mason Bro. Ramsay was born in Uddingston, Lanarkshire in 1947 and moved to Johnstone in Renfrewshire when he was 5 years old in 1953. He left Johnstone High School in 1963 taking up an appointment as “Office Boy” in the ship design office in Fairfield Shipyard, Govan. He spent a year in the office before commencing his apprenticeship in the yard as an electrician where Bro Johnnie Gauld (Bud’s father) was his foreman. He completed three years of his apprenticeship in Govan before finishing it with Kilpatrick of Paisley in order that he got a wider electrical experience. He eventually became a charge-hand with Kilpatrick before moving to the electrical maintenance department of the Rootes Group in Linwood where a fair proportion of his time was taken up with the Drum Corps of the Rootes Pipes and Drums. He had been initiated into Lodge St Barchan in 1969 and while in Rootes became a member of the “Ashlar Club” which was a great way of meeting members of the Craft from the wider area in the days long before social media appeared on the scene. In 1973 along with his wife Ann and daughter Fiona he moved north to join the then Ross and Sutherland Constabulary stationed first of all in Dingwall and then Gairloch on the west coast. In those days he was an active member of the Police Mountain Rescue Team covering some of the most glorious peaks in Scotland in Wester Ross. When the Forces amalgamated in 1975 into Northern Constabulary he was stationed on the Black Isle (where he affiliated to Lodge Seaforth No 854) and remained there until 1978 when he was promoted Sergeant to the Scottish Police College, Tulliallan. While at Tulliallan he was involved with the Scottish Police Degree Team who worked from the College at that time. After his spell at Tulliallan, he and the family transferred to the west coast again – this time to Mallaig where he was Section Sergeant for one of the largest Sections in the Scottish Police Service – a Section that included the Islands of Eigg, Rum, Muck and Canna (the Small Isles). It was during his three years there that he affiliated to Lodge Mallaig 1056. From Mallaig he returned to work in Dingwall and then to HQ in Inverness from where he was seconded to Lancashire Constabulary for 18 months to develop a new crime reporting system. He was promoted to Inspector on his return and worked out of HQ until being appointed Chief Inspector in charge of Communications, IT and the Force Control Room. On his return from Mallaig he got back into Office again in Lodge Seaforth and was installed as Master there in 1991. In 1993 things took another direction and he was seconded to the Home Office in London where he worked and commuted to for three years until his return to Inverness where he was delighted to get back to Operational Policing as Area Commander in Inverness – a post he held until promoted Chief Superintendent and took over as Head of Operational Policing in 2000 where he remained until his retirement from the Force in 2003. Masonically, he became Provincial Grand Secretary of the Province of Ross and Cromarty in 1996 during the Provincial Master-ship of Bro Morris M Downie. In 2001 he became Depute Provincial Grand Master when Bro Ian Fraser was in the Chair and he was installed into the Office of Provincial Grand Master by Bro Sir Archibald Donald Orr-Ewing in 2006, the year after he had been elected into the office of Grand D of C in Grand Lodge, an office he held for 9 years before his appointment as Depute Grand Master. He is also Proxy District Grand Master of East. Cross Keys February 2019
The minute is to elect a new master and office bearers (the installations were always St. John’s day 27th December). Interesting to note, the master signs as Grand Master which was the common term in those days.
George Washington 1794 William Williams was a portrait painter from Philadelphia who, in 1792, requested a portrait from President Washington by way of a letter from General Henry Lee. His initial appeal, however, was denied; Washington replied that he felt sitting for portraits was irksome and time-consuming, so he would only sit for them if they had been "requested by public bodies, or for a particular purpose." Williams, therefore, went to Washington’s lodge, Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia, and offered them a portrait of the President if they would convince him to sit for it. The officers of the lodge wrote Washington in 1793 expressing their desire of a "correct likeness" of the lodge’s illustrious PM and he agreed. The portrait shows Washington as a Virginia past master, wearing an apron, collar, sash, and past master jewel—now the Grand Master of Virginia jewel—with a sun inside a compass and quadrant. He is depicted with many facial marks that do not appear on most other portraits of Washington: a mole under the right ear, scar on left cheek, and smallpox scars on the nose and cheeks. Cross Keys February 2019
Tracing Board of the Centre “What then is this " Centre", by reviving and using which we may hope to regain the secrets of our lost nature? We may reason from analogies. As the Divine Life and Will is the centre of the whole universe and controls it; as the sun is the centre and life-giver of our solar system and controls and feeds with life the planets circling round it, so at the secret centre of individual human life exists a vital, immortal principle, the spirit and the spiritual will of man. This is the faculty, by using which (when we have found it) we can never err. It is a point within the circle of our own nature and, living as we do in this physical world, the circle of our existence is bounded by two grand parallel lines; "one representing Moses; the other King Solomon", that is to say, law and wisdom; the divine ordinances regulating the universe on the one hand; the divine "wisdom and mercy that follow us all the days of our life" on the other. Very truly then the Mason who keeps himself thus circumscribed cannot err. Masonry, then, is a system of religious philosophy in that it provides us with a doctrine of the universe and of our place in it. It indicates whence we are come and whither we may return. It has two purposes. Its first purpose is to show that man has fallen away from a high and holy centre to the circumference or externalized condition in which we now live; to indicate that those who so desire may regain that centre by finding the centre in ourselves, for, since Deity is as a circle whose centre is everywhere, it follows that a divine centre, a "vital and immortal principle", exists within ourselves by developing which we may hope to regain our lost and primal stature. The second purpose of the Craft doctrine is to declare the way by which that centre may be found within ourselves, and this teaching is embodied in the discipline and ordeals delineated in the three degrees. The Masonic doctrine of the Centre - or, in other words, the Christian axiom that "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you." Bro. Walter L. Wilshurst
Cross Keys February 2019
Unique Jewels The jewels are known as Meyer Levi kept in the masonic museum in Norwich. He was initiated in 1822 and master in 1830 of Angel Lodge No.112. He made these lovely jewels made for various degrees which were conferred in lodges in those days. In Scotland, they would be associated with the MMD, but then they served other orders such as the jewel on the left which was as KT jewel.
The Oriental Chair The seat occupied by the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England is called the "throne," in allusion to the throne of Solomon. In many American Grand Lodges, it is referred to as the "Oriental Chair" - a title that is also given to the seat of the Master of a subordinate Lodge. Pictured here is the oriental chair located in Egyptian Hall at The Masonic Temple in Philadelphia. This piece of furniture actually pre-dates the Temple, having been brought to the building from the previous home of the Grand Lodge. The chair was modified slightly in 1873, and the rest of the furniture in the room was built to match this single piece.
Cross Keys February 2019
Order of DeMolay A number of youth organization is Scotland are struggling to attract members. However, in the US, the boys’ Order of DeMolay is about to celebrate 100 years next month. From initially 75 boys, it was agreed to extend this and today it has become a hugely popular organization that accepts aged 12 to 21. Its founder, Bro. Frank Land, never imagined that DeMolay would spread as fast as it did. In March of 1922, DeMolay had been established in 39 of what were then the 48 United States, as well as in the District of Columbia. It was then that Dad Land had the thought to spread DeMolay to other countries. He was a strong believer that DeMolay should not be limited to just the United States, and thus he set out to make that a reality. Today, we are lucky to be an international organization sharing DeMolay on 5 continents, and in more than 25 countries worldwide. The map below shows where DeMolay has spread since its humble start in Kansas City.
Could DeMolay succeed in Scotland? I don’t know, but what it offers would help many young people. Many courses are offered which include active listening skills, study tips, how to dress properly and understanding body language. The following seven virtues are taught during a ‘degree’ held in chapters: love between a child and parent, reverence for sacred things, courtesy, comradeship, fidelity, cleanness and patriotism.
Cross Keys February 2019
Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester Freemasons’ Hall (80 London Road) is a former Georgian house, purchased by the Freemasons around 1909. The Holmes Lodge Room, one of the finest in the country, was designed by local architect Howard H Thompson and contains a museum and library. Freemasons have played a prominent role in the history of Leicester, both as businessmen and professionals, and as a body. One of the most influential figures in the 19th Century was William Kelly, a Provincial Grand Master, in whose memory a Benevolent Fund was established, now known as the Leicestershire & Rutland Masonic Charity Association. Support for local charities remains a central principle of Freemasonry, but Freemasons were also traditionally involved in ceremonies involving the laying of foundation stones, including that of the new Town Hall in 1874.
How Many Degrees? An all too often heard statement, usually from brethren not aware of what lies beyond…..! Indeed, there are many more degrees, orders and rites. They are all masonic and all have either a continuation or further explanation of the three degrees or focus on another aspect. For example, in the latter category there are The Knights Templar, The Red Cross of Constantine, The Rosicrucian Society, etc. All are worthy of a serious mason. So if you are invited to join, don’t just say no, think or ask for further info about the Order.
Cross Keys February 2019
In Memoriam It is with deep sadness and much regret that we have to inform you of a loss sustained to the craft in Renfrewshire in the passing to the Grand Lodge above of the following Brother:
Bro. Douglas Forbes. IXยบ Supreme Magus of the Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia
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Cross Keys February 2019