The Cross Keys January 2019
Cross Keys January 2019
Number 215
The Monthly Newsletter of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No.242
From the Editor A lovely front cover to remind us of the summer! This was taken by Bro, John Flannagan PM from his window showing a square reflection on the entrance to our lodge. God moves in mysterious ways…. January sees the start of a few Royal Arch articles; the first on an old charge given in an exposure from the early 1800s and the second in March as a tentative time line. The September edition will mark the 25th Anniversary of the Cross Keys (actually it would be June, but the June edition stopped a few years back when 242 ceased working the MMM in June). 2019 brings a new year and no doubt when many read this, the new resolutions have long gone. However, that’s normal, but let’s resolve to work for our lodges and the Craft as a whole.
In this issue: 3 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
The Future? St. Andrew No.465 An Old RA Charge Robert Burns’s Table? Two defunct Lodges Annual Ball Message from the GMM Paisley Old Masonic Hall Lodge 175 (Greenock) Royal Arch Origins Masonic Charitable Foundation (UGLE) 17 The Uroboros 18 Stanley Cup 19 Vanity Fair
We have a changing and uncertain future as all societies do, but we have the brethren and skills to ensure we have a Craft to hand onto our young masons and those yet to enter our doors. Nothing is impossible so let’s go!
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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January Meetings Thursday 10th EA Degree Thursday 24th FC Degree By Thistle & Crown No.1167 7.30pm start
The Future? In 1864, the then Grand Master of Indiana issued a warning about the “unhealthy increase” in numbers and “if we do not act with caution, we will have the same unhealthy increase in our lodges.” Although he puts in rules to slow the expansion, it didn’t make much difference and new lodges were chartered wherever people put houses including tiny settlements (villages).
However, it must be said that lodges with an interesting syllabus still maintain high numbers.
An alternative theory is having more (not fewer) lodges—in other words lodges with smaller number. There is no reason why each masonic hall cannot house a number of lodges (this is already the situation in England). These lodges might include brethren In 1874, 28 new lodges were formed de- with specialist interests such as hobbies or spite a worldwide economic depression. activities or always in tuxedos or esoteric This continued right through the WW1 lodges or daylight lodges or football lodges which saw an astonishing influx of members or…. It’s endless. More importantly, it alup to the Great depression of 1929. Hence lows its members to know and care for the reason for many masonic halls being each—something which doesn’t happen in built during this period. larger lodges. If any This was temporary However, it must be said that brother misses 2/3 and after WW2 another lodges with an interesting syl- meetings, he will be noinflux of members was ticed and someone can labus still maintain high numwitnessed which lasted check what has hapuntil about the 1970s. pened. In large lodges, bers The peak of Indiana’s these brethren are ofmembership was 1957 with 185,211 with a ten not noticed and are eventually lost for gradual decrease ever since resulting in good. 51,662 members in 2016 and the downward trend not looking likely to abate soon. If you believe in statistics and progression trends then American masonry will be a It is also thought this number is inflated gravesite by 2040 joining the ranks of Oddwith many masons have dual members of 2 fellows, Woodmen, etc. However, one body or more lodges. This corresponds to less which is booming is the Allied Masonic Dethan 0.008% of the population (as opposed grees which is purposely smaller and more to 0.04% in1957)! Not only did these fig- intimate. It is more flexible allowing meetures related to US national figures, but very ings in restaurants and their Grand Council possibly UK figures as well. rarely interferes with local councils. It can be done, but the programme for lodges must Reasons were given for this decrease as the be improve. radio, TV, fancy cinemas, new houses having fencing thus providing privacy and reducing This has been adapted from Bro. Chris neighbourhood values and large lodges. Hodapp’s book on Indiana Freemasonry, but Now it is the computer games and social could easily be adapted to most English speakmedia. The last point may seem strange but ing constitutions. many masons surveyed in 1905 felt isolated and anonymous and often the master didn’t even know their name. Something 242 has probably suffered from with over 500 members on the books at one time.
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Lodge St. Andrew No.465 Below is an extract from our 125 history book by Bro Robert Stevenson, P.M. There are now three areas of Glasgow, which for entirely different reasons, figure very largely in the history of lodge Saint Andrew, Glasgow, 465. The meeting places of the Lodge during its 148 year existence, have, with now two exceptions, been all situated to the east of the main south to north thoroughfare comprised by High Street, Castle Street and Springburn Road. The two exceptions being firstly Kennedy Street which is situated to the west of the thoroughfare, where the stay of the Lodge in the early years was of very short duration. To our present meeting place of Eastmuir Masonic Hall in Shettleston situated in the east end side of Glasgow. While these premises were all largely in the east side of Glasgow, the membership of the Lodge, at least during the first hundred years, came mostly from the north side, from Townhead and to an even greater extent from Springburn. At the start of the 19th century, these two northern areas were still largely rural, with only a few scattered houses around Balgrayhill and Springburn Cross. Gradually, however, industry was beginning to play an important part in Glasgow as a whole, and Townhead and Springburn in particularly. The population of Glasgow in 1801 was 77,000 and by 1861 it had increased to 448,000, a growth rate which was reflected by comparable figures, proportionately, for Townhead and Springburn. Charles Tennant had started his St. Rollox Chemical Works in Castle Street early in the 19th century. Frederick Braby opened his works in Gerngad (now Royston) Road in 1839. The North British Railway (later L.N.E.R.) started the Cowlairs
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Works in 1842, the Caledonian Railway (later L.M.S.) opened the St Rollox Works in 1856, and in 1861 Walter Montgomerie Neilson moved his engine works from Hydepark Sreet in Finnieston to Springburn, settin up Hydepark Locomotive Company, in its prime the largest builders of steam locomotives in Europe, if not in the world. In addition to above, Walter McFarlane had his foundry in Hawthorn Street and Alan Ure his foundry in Keppochill Road. In all several thousand men and women were employed in these works, most of whom stayed in the vicinity of their employment. Just as the population and prosperity of Townhead and Springburn rose and fell, so in similar fashion did the membership and success of Lodge Saint Andrew, Glasgow, 465. A census of the professions and trades of the members of the Lodge from 1867 to 1964, when industry was, for most of the time, at its peak, reveals that 90% of the members were employed in the engineering and allied trades. With the demise of all this industry by 1964, the main source of initiates disappeared and the new members came from much further afield and from completely different professions and trades. The attendances at Lodge meetings also began to fall after 1964, partly because of the industrial decline, but also because of the demolition of the surrounding houses, brought about by the building of the new motorway and the new Glasgow Royal. However back in 1866, industry was flourishing, and other events were helping to change the face of Glasgow. The new Loch Katrine Water Works was inaugurated by Queen Victoria in 1859, and this was instrumental in keeping the
Lodge St. Andrew No.465 (ctd) death roll low in Glasgow when a cholera epidemic swept the country in 1866. That year also saw the start of a weekly sailing from Glasgow to New York by the Anchor Line Shipping Company. William Booth started his “Christian Mission “, forerunner of The Salvation Army in London in 1865, followed shortly afterwards in Glasgow. Because of disease and ill-health prevailing, the Government introduced “The City of Glasgow Improvement Act” in 1866, which resulted in a lot of buildings in the High Street, including Glasgow University, being demolished, but the foundation stone for the new University at Gilmorehill was laid in 1868 by the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, a member of the Masonic Order. It was in this era and in this environment that the idea of petitioning for a Masonic Lodge in the Townhead/Springburn area, first began to take shape. During this period, several Glasgow Masonic Lodges had come into being, and by 1866 there were 22 Craft Lodges in the City. Among such Lodges were “Thistle and Rose, No. 73”, “Bridgeton and Glasgow Shamrock and Thistle No 275” and “Caledonian Railway No 354”. A number of brethren, belonging to these and other Lodges which met in the centre of Glasgow, found attendance found attendance at these Lodge meetings difficult and time consuming because of the distance involved, traveling from and to Springburn. In 1866 there were transport services to the city by the then prevailing horsedrawn trams, but most journeys were done by cab or on foot. A number of brethren, belonging to the lodges previously mentioned, and residing in the Townhead/Springburn area met at regular intervals and finally decided to petition the Grand Lodge of Scotland for a charter to constitute a new Masonic Lodge. Consequently, the petition, correctly drawn up and signed, presented to Grand Lodge Committee on 28th December, 1866, on behalf of the petitioners, by Bro. James Wallace, P.M. of Lodge Robert Burns, No 440. At the following convocation of Grand Lodge, held on 4th February, 1867, Cross Keys January 2019
the petition was approved and the Charter granted from that date. It was obvious that the members of the Lodges Already mentioned having played such an important part in promoting the new Lodges, should form the nucleus of the first officebearers, and this proved to be the case. There were 12 founder members, some being elected as Office-Bearers, thus:
•
William Douglas (Lodge Thistle and Rose, No. 73) Roll No 1 as Master
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Francis Halliday (Lodge Bridgeton and Glasgow Shamrock and Thistle No 275) Roll No 3 as Senior Warden
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Robert Bogle (Lodge Caledonian Railway No 354) Roll No 4 as Junior Warden
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David Bell (Lodge Caledonian Railway No 354) Roll No 5 as Treasurer
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George McCallum (Lodge Bridgeton and Glasgow Shamrock and Thistle No 275) Roll No 6 as Secretary Together with – David Younger, Roll No 2; John Guild, Roll No 7; John Scrogie, Roll No 8; William Turner, Roll No 9; George Murray, Roll No 10; George Alexander, Roll No 11; and James Wallace P.M., Roll No 12. The name adopted for the new Lodge was “Lodge Saint Andrew, Glasgow, No. 465”.There is unfortunately, no record to say why this particular name was chosen. It may have been influenced by the jewel of the Grand Master Mason which bears the figure of Saint Andrew, or it may have been decided upon because although there were many Lodges at that particular time under the Scottish constitution bearing the name Saint Andrew, this would be the first in the Glasgow province with that name. Whatever the reason, the name “Saint Andrew, Glasgow No 465”, and the colours of green and gold were adopted. Initiation fees were set at£1.6.6d. (£1.32 1/2p)
Lodge St. Andrew No.465 (ctd) and contribution to Grand Lodge at 8/- (40p), fees which by present-day standards may sound ridiculous, but when it is realised that a skilled tradesman’s wage for a 54-hour working week was under £2.00, then a more realistic value can be appreciated. The first premises to be used as Lodge rooms, were at 184 Castle aeStreet, in rooms leased from Bro. John Rae, of Lodge “Glasgow Star No 219”, who was the owner of “John Rae’s Wine Tavern” at that address. Bro. John Rae, affiliated to “Lodge Saint Andrew, Glasgow, No. 465” on the 4th July, 1867, his Roll No being 39, and proved a good friend to the Lodge. The Lodge remained there for 5 years, and began to flourish. It is interesting to note that the symbol of the Square and Compasses remained on the wall of the room in the tavern where the Lodge had met right up till the late 1960s when the tavern, in common with many other buildings in the area was demolished to make way for the Townhead Interchange Road system. IN 1872 the Lodge rented premises at 63 Kennedy Street, but the stay there was very short lived, and by 1873, the Lodge had moved to other premises at 69 Garngad ( now Royston) Road where the Lodge remained until 1883. By the beginning of 1884, a new hall, paid for by the Lodge members, was built at 121 Alexander Parade. This hall was extended in 1907, with a new entrance at 129 Alexander Parade. This was to be the Lodge room until 1971, when road development caused its closure. However, new premises were found at 235 Alexander Parade. Which was the Lodge rooms from 1971 until 1998. At that present time the Lodge rooms consisted of an upper hall and a mid hall, (with appropriate facilities), both of which are used for masonic meetings. The mid hall is also the meeting place of the social club, until such time as the basement premises were to be converted into proper accommodation for the social club. This was never completed and the Cross Keys January 2019
premises were sold in 1998. The next five years was very turbulent for the Lodge, it went through some very difficult times and moved about, until it was given the opportunity to move to Shettleston, to use the Lodge rooms of Lodge, Eastmuir, No. 1126. This move has proved to be a very profitable one, as the lodge is once again growing with the Lodge having candidates every year.
All meetings are held at 1543 Shettleston Rd, Glasgow, G32 9AS on the second Tuesday of the month from September to May at 7:30pm with the installation about 3rd Saturday in June.
An Old Royal Arch Charge This charge was cited in Carlisle’s Manual of Freemasonry – it appears unused now, but it contains many interesting references.
alone can pro-vide us with the ground of wisdom; but masonry will teach and enable us to cultivate the soil, and to foster and
Companions, the masonic system exhibits a
strengthen the plant in its growth. There-
stupendous and beautiful fabric, founded on
fore, to dispel the clouds of ignorance, so
universal wisdom, unfolding its gates to re-
inauspicious to the noble purposes of our
ceive, without prejudice or discrimination,
order to hold forth a moral whereby we
the wor-thy professors of every description of
may see the power and greatness of the all-
genuine religion or knowledge; concentrat-
wise Disposer of events, the Royal Arch
ing as it were into one body their just tenets,
gives us an ample field for discussion, by
unencumbered with the disputable peculiari-
which we are m, in the sad experience of
ties of any sect or persuasion.
the once-favourite people of God, a lesson
This system originated in the earliest of
how to conduct ourselves in every situation
ages, and among the wisest of men. But it is
of our existence; and that when fortune,
to be lamented, that to the desponding sug-
affluence, sickness, or adversary attend us,
gestions of some of the weaker minds among
we ought never to lose sight of the source
our own fraternity, the prejudices of the
from whence it came, always remember-
world against our invaluable institution are
ing that the power which gave is also a
in a great measure imputable. Unable to
power to take away.
comprehend the beautiful allegories of an-
Having in itself this grand moral which
cient wis-dom, they ignorantly assert that the
ought to be cultivated by every man among
rites of masonry are futile: its doctrines inef-
us - “do unto others as we would wish to be
ficient. To this assertion, indeed, they give,
done by:” and it is the ultimatum of all ter-
by their own misconduct, a semblance of
restrial happiness, imitating in itself every
truth, as we fail to discern that they are
virtue man can possess. May we, as compan-
made wiser or better men by their admis-sion
ions, so study virtue, as to hand down to pos-
to our mysteries.
terity a name unspotted by vice, and worthy
Companions, I need not tell you, that nature
of imitation.
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The Lodge Master This booklet was written by Bro. Andrew MacBride PM Lodge Progress No.873 in Glasgow. The booklet has loads of pertinent information for masters and two pages have been included below. Another useful addition to a Christmas stocking! The 8 lodges who confer the MacBride Ritual worldwide are: Lodge Leven St John No.170 Lodge Dalhousie No.679 Lodge Progress No.873 Lodge St Patrick No.1309 Lodge Burnside No.1361 Lodge HLI The Royal Highland Fusiliers No 1459 Lodge Ailsa No.1172, Singapore. Lodge Andrew S MacBride No.237, Rome, Italy On Saturday 19th May 2018 the 6th meeting of 'MacBride Lodges' was held in Rome.
Bro. Burns’s Table If you ever visit the Dewar’s Distillery in Aberfeldy you will be able to see a very interesting table on display. The table was purchased by Tom Dewar in 1946 and described at the time as “The shabby tavern table from Ayr on which Rabbie Burns wrote many of his immortal poems and nae doot spilt mony a wee drappie” Burns wrote his poem Birks o Aberfeldy in 1787 hence the connection with the town of Aberfeldy and the distillery. The table top is completely covered in graffiti from the time when people carved their names, initials and dates into its surface. What caught my attention and makes it interesting from a mason’s perspective is this image of a Square and Compasses with the letter G. We know that Burns sat at this tavern table while composing his poems and maybe, just maybe he was the author of this particular piece of historical graffiti. Ken Blackie 242
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Two Defunct Lodges
The above list from the Province of Glasgow in the 19th Century. One particular lodge is seldom heard of today—one in Partick and one in the city centre. In 1863 Glasgow St. Patrick Lodge No. 269 met in their Lodge room, Lyceum, Nelson Street , on Thursday the 17th ins ., at eight o ' clock to celebrate the anniversary of their Tutelar Saint when the Brethren of that Lodge and the Craft in general attended under the auspices of the R. M. Master and exchanged their mystical and fraternal relations. The new building in Nelson Street was designed by the city's Superintendent of Public Works James Cleland (1770-1840) and had an entrance on the right of a central window and the post box to the left, with a clock above. A board above the central window bore the Royal Coat of Arms. To the left of the post office was a tavern and above it a public hall known as the Lyceum.
The second lodge’s first active signs, however, seem to have become associated traditionally with one William Miller, a building contractor of Glasgow and Partick, originally from that home of Freemasonry, Kilwinning. It must be assumed that Miller brought with him some skilled Operative Masons, and we first hear of him in connection with a contract for the building of a house in Partick for one George Hutcheson of Lambhill, one of the Hutcheson Cross Keys January 2019
Two Defunct Lodges (ctd) brothers famed for their philanthropy and (later) being the founders of the Hutcheson's Hospital and, of course, still connected with the school of that name in Glasgow. The actual date of Miller's contract is dated 9th and 14th July 1611, and it is certain that Masonry was practised from some time around that date: a Lodge without a charter must have been in being, probably with the members being all Operative Masons. At what stage Speculative Masons were accepted, his-
tory does not inform us but, whether as a prelude to their acceptance or a result of their acceptance, a Charter was applied for to the Mother Lodge of Kilwinning in 1756. This was granted on 24th May 1759, the Lodge being given the title of Partick Kilwinning Lodge No 64. The lodge began to admit speculative brethren but must have struggled with its new role and ceased to exist in 1839.
Annual Ball 242 used to hold an Annual Ball initially in the lodge then the Lyndhurst Hotel before returning to the lodge. Like many functions of the past, lack of interest meant it stopped. OfficeBearers were dressed in evening suits, but no regalia. This however changed (probably since it was held in public premises) when regalia was worn and the brethren processed in the lodge with their wives which would appear to be common practice. There is a good example of a Provincial Ball held in Liverpool in 1875 when the brethren assembled in various types of regalia as shown by the newspaper article below:
Perhaps an function like this today would attract a great deal of interest from many brethren (and perhaps the papers) and prove a success. It worked before so there is no reason why it might not work again. It’s worth a try!
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A Message from our Grand Master Mason Let us all approach the New Year with enthusiasm and a strong will to promote the message of Freemasonry to all those who have yet to experience the joy of learning and understanding the benefits of Freemasonry, the comradeship, the sense of belonging and the fun that being part of our great Society can bring. Never let those of us who belong forget and let us, during the year ahead, let it be known that our Mission is to promote a way of life that binds like-minded men in a worldwide
Brotherhood that transcends all religious, ethnic, cultural, social and educational differences by teaching the great principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. As we enter another New Year may I take this opportunity to wish you, your families and the Brethren of your respective Lodges a very happy, healthy and fulfilling year ahead.
Bro. Ramsay McGhee
‘Scottish’ Degrees? There’s evidence that by the early 1730s in England there were “Scotch Masons” or “Scots Master Masons,” a step after the Master Mason Degree (and apparently unrelated to Scotland). By 1742 in Berlin there was talk of “higher or so-called Scottish Masonry.” In 1743 the Grand Lodge of France adopted a regulation limiting the privileges of “Scots Masters” in lodges. It’s clear from these few mentions that something was going on behind the scenes with “Scottish Masonry,” but we’re not quite sure what. These developments were happening at the same time the Royal Arch was gestating before its birth in 1754. It’s even possible that the Royal Arch and Scottish Masonry came from the same sources. We just don’t know. What we do know is that the high degrees found fertile ground when they were introduced to French Masonry. In 1745, two years after restricting Scotch Masons, the Grand Lodge of France gave them special privileges, and more privileges and authority followed in 1747 and 1755. In contrast, the Royal Arch appears in lodge minutes in America in 1753 and England in 1758 with little official notice. By 1766 we know that an elaborate sequence of High Degree or “Scottish” Masonry is being worked in France. Hopefully, this will be explored in future editions.
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Old Masonic Hall in Paisley On the 7th October, the foundation stone of a Masonic Hall was laid by Lord Blythswood PGM of Renfrewshire East and the demonstration was the largest in a Masonic sense ever witnessed in Paisley, there being close on 2000 Freemasons including deputations from sister lodges in all parts of the country who took part in the proceedings. The frontage is in High-street and will be in three floors and attics; on the street floor there will be two shops with saloons and cellars . The first floor will be occupied by offices and the upper Boors by dwelling houses. The hall with rooms attached is placed at the back part of the site and will be entered from the street by a passage, the front, to High-street is in the French Renaissance style . A feature will be made to the entrance to the hall in the shape of a porch slightly projected having a niche with statue over. The hall will be thirty-seven feet long , by twenty-three feet six inches broad , and the decorations will be emblematical. The Masons began to assemble in St James Street shortly after two o'clock , and for the next hour they arrived in hundreds. The PGL of Renfrewshire East was opened in the County Hall and there received deputations. The procession moved off shortly after three o'clock and traversed the principal streets. After the ceremony of laying the stone with various objects, the PGL said it was a great honour laying that stone that day . It was a memorialstone which he trusted might be long remembered by the members of the Craft in after days. It had been long felt necessary that, as they were increasing in numbers in the town of Paisley, they should have a better local habitation than the lodges up to that time had occupied and therefore that hall had now been inaugurated so that the Masons of Paisley and of the province might have a fitting place to meet in. But it would not have been brought to that point had it not been for the energy of those who composed the Committee and among them and the directors of the Masonic Hall Company they found the honoured name of Bro. Provost MacKean of that city. The procession then returned in inverted order and the PGL was closed in due form. The direc-
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tors of the company entertained the officebearers of the PGL Renfrewshire East and several distinguished members of the Craft to dinner in the Globe Hotel in 11 High Street. It could accommodate about 150 with King Solomon on the first floor which was unusual as it is one of the youngest representations of him anywhere. It is typical of King Solomon in that it shows him leading with one foot. It was occupied initially by Paisley St Mirren No. 129, Renfrew County Kilwinning No. 370, The Provincial Grand Lodge of Renfrewshire East and Paisley Royal Arch Chapter No. 112, as well as Free Gardener lodges. Sadly it was sold due to increasing expenses/mismanagement. Does anyone have any photos of the lodge inside or outside from the early 20th century?
Lodge Greenock Kilwinning No. XII (February 1874) On 13th February, 1874, XII held its annual ball in the Greenock Town Hall which was decorated with a few national flags along with the lodge’s fine tracing boards which had been presented by Bro. Capt. Shanks of the Royal Marine Light Infantry (today RM Commando). The boards were placed at the front of the stage with the band for all to see. Over the central board was a 5 pointed star with the words Audi, Vide, Tace and a triple tau all made with silver and white paper rosettes on a blue background and various squares and compasses. The brethren in full masonic clothing and ladies with the blue sash if entitled to wear it (family member in the Craft) made the evening a great success until it finished at 4am then “ with universal regret that so good a ball was terminated” the company went home.
Lodge Greenock St. John’s No.175 (1890) The following is from The Freemason newspaper published at the 100th Anniversary of 175 in 1890. Unfortunately, this banner has long gone to be replaced by the current banner.
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Royal Arch Origins “I think that our origins were probably a combination of natural development, invention and a desire to complete, but not in any of the ways I have outlined above. Our rituals were not handed down to us as tablets of stone but, in both the Craft and the Royal Arch, had a long period of development. The period from the formation of Grand Lodge to the end of the 18th century saw the development from one to three separate and distinct degrees and the turning of simple entrance ceremonies into a `system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols'. A 'System of morality' which provided practical rules enabling the individual to lead a life which he hoped would be pleasing to his God and of service to his fellows. But, as I have said in a previous talk to Grand Chapter — and I make no apology for repeating it today
- man is not simply a practical being. He has an essential spiritual aspect to his nature. That being so, what could be more logical than for those who developed our Institution having sketched out the practical lessons then turning to man's spiritual nature and devising a ceremony to guide him in that direction. As I said on that previous occasion, that is not an idea which I claim for my own. It goes back to Laurence Dermott. Combining the practicality of the Craft with the spirituality of the Royal Arch we have the complete man. In that sense I think we can say that the Royal Arch completes the Third Degree.” E Comp John Hamill, PGSoj Director of Communications Given in 2000
This Royal Arch Apron and Collar Jewel is hand embroidered with real gold and silver thread on a scarlet velvet cloth and pictures the Holy Royal Arch. The Keystone is at its apex and the Ark of the Covenant within the Sanctum Sanctorum, which is Latin for Holy of Holies. It is most certainly an officers apron because the jewel of office is suspended from the collar. The scarf, or collar, once universally used, has been very much abandoned. The peculiar colour of the Royal Arch Degree is red or scarlet, which is symbolic of fervency and zeal, the characteristics of the Degree.
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The United Grand Lodge of England has always been admired for the huge amounts of money given to various masonic and nonmasonic charities. The new Foundation brings together the work of four national Charities which had been operating separately under various names since the early 18th Century. These charities are The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI), the Masonic Samaritan Fund, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB) and the Freemasons’ Grand Charity. The jewels below show these four charities:
During their time of operation, the four charities each provided a specific type of support to meet various charitable aims in support of Freemasons and their families. Although much of the support provided took the form of financial grants, the charities also operated a number of institutions: the Royal Masonic School for Boys, the Royal Masonic School for Girls, the Royal Masonic Hospital and 17 residential care homes operated by the RMBI Care Company (the RMBI first opened a home in 1850 in Croydon). The charitable side of the English Grand Lodge dates from1725 when the Committee of Charity was set up—this was 80 before Nelson fought at Trafalgar. This was the forerunner of the Board of General Purposes and Cross Keys January 2019
eventually the Board of Benevolence became the Grand Charity in 1980. Since that time it has made grants totalling over £100,000,000 (£100 million) - a staggering amount. Lucky recipients have been Medical Research, Vulnerable People, Youth Opportunities, Hospices, Air Ambulances, Disaster Relief which amounts to over £40 million to non-masonic charities.
The RMTGB is, not surprising, for the relieve and poverty of children, but initially were two separate institution (Girls’ school founded in 1788 and boys in 1798). The Girls’ school is still in existence in Rickmansworth, but few families have any association with freemasonry today. Prior to 1985, each body held an annual festival to raise money. The Masonic Samaritan Fund was created to replace the Masonic Hospital which was becoming impossible to fund and under used as brethren preferred facilities closer to home. Since 1990, over 8000 people have benefitted and in 2011, it broadened it support to include research in arthritis, deafness, Alzheimer’s and macular disease. Depending how much was donated, would depend on the title—Patron, Vice Patron, etc and sometimes Steward. Brethren would then be invited to the dinner and receive a jewel similar to one below. Normally, a Province was asked to host the festival headed by the PGM. Some jewels have become quite rare as the UGLE asked brethren to contribute to the war effort in 1940. Although the appeal was more for charity jewels rather than PM jewels, clearly some brethren sent all their
jewels to be melted down as seen from the receipt below.
In 2016, the Masonic Charitable Foundation was launched and will take over the central masonic charities providing a full range of beneficiaries. Click on the heading crests to go to their website. The MCF will operate fully in 2022 with Leicestershire and Rutland Province hosting. The provinces have been allocated right up to 2059 with East Lancashire. No province can really be caught short!! Most provinces typically raise between £1 million and £3 million although some larger ones can be more such as East Kent and Cheshire raising over £5 million in 2004 and 2005 for the RMTGB alone. As an indirect consequence, this has led to many brethren collecting charity jewels, often called (incorrectly) Steward’s Jewels. Some are magnificent jewels and are shown to the right. All the MCF jewels will have the same ribbon (different crest) from 2021.
The first and last jewel of the Royal Masonic Institute for Girls.
The first and last jewel of the Royal Masonic Institute for Boys.
The first MCF jewel for the Province of West Lancashire in 2021.
It will be interesting to see the amounts raised by one organisation now—likely to be quite staggering. My thanks to Bro John Elkins PM (Dorset which donated over £1 million in 2003) for the information and supplying the jewels which can now be viewed in the Master’s Room in 242.
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Interesting Event
Above is the initiation of Bro. Matthew J. Pellow in Brac Lodge No.9470 in the Cayman Islands during the summer. The initiation was conferred by his father Bro. David Pellow, master of Brac, while his grandfather Bro. Edward T. Pellow presented the WT and Bro. Robert S Whorms IPM (left) assisted in the ceremony.
The Uroboros This symbol appears principally among the Gnostics and is depicted as a dragon, snake or serpent biting its own tail. In the broadest sense, it is symbolic of time and of the continuity of life. It sometimes bears the caption Hen to pan—’The One, the All’, as in the Codex Marcianus, for instance, of the 2nd century A.D. It has also been explained as the union between the chthonian principle as represented by the serpent and the celestial principle as signified by the bird (a synthesis which can also be applied to the dragon). Ruland contends that this proves that it is a variant of the symbol for Mercury—the duplex god. In some versions of the Ouroboros, the body is half light and half dark, alluding in this way to the successive counterbalancing of opposing principles as illustrated in the Chinese Yang-Yin symbol for instance. Evola asserts that it represents the dissolution of the body, or the universal serpent which (to quote the Gnostic saying) ‘passes through all things’. Poison, the viper and the universal solvent are all symbols of the undifferentiated—of the ‘unchanging law’ which moves through all things, linking them by a common bond. Both the dragon and the bull are symbolic antagonists of the solar hero. The ouroboros biting its own tail is symbolic of self-fecundation, or the primitive idea of a self-sufficient Nature—a Nature, that is, which, à la Nietzsche, continually returns, within a cyclic pattern, to its own beginning. There is a Venetian manuscript on alchemy which depicts the Ouroboros with its body half-black (symbolizing earth and night) and half-white (denoting heaven and light).
Cross Keys January 2019
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise, and the International Ice Hockey Federation considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". Originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, then– Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, which the entire Stanley family supported, with the sons and daughters playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893. With the Stanley Cup playoffs in full swing, we just had to share that Lord Stanley, the cup's namesake, was a Master Mason. In addition to being the 16th Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley was a member of Royal Alpha Lodge No. 16 in London.
Pennsylvania Bro. John Thomson served as Grand Secretary from 1867 to 1889. Additionally, he served the Grand Lodge both as Grand Master and Grand Treasurer, thus making him the only person to ever hold all six of the elected offices of the Grand Lodge. Today, Thomson is the namesake of the "Thomson Cup," an award presented by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for saving a human life. Why is the award named for him? He was once “publicly acclaimed” and cited by the Humane Society of Philadelphia for saving several persons from drowning in the Delaware River. I can only assume the jewel is for a Past GM which is quite imposing.
Cross Keys January 2019
Vanity Fair Magazine From top to bottom: Alderman the Rt. Hon. Sir Polydore de Keyser was the first Catholic Lord Mayor of London since the Reformation in 1887. His image in Vanity Fair magazine is was typical of many images at that time. He became famous as his last few months of his term in office was the start of the Jack the Ripper murders. He was a member of MacDinald Lodge No.1216 in London. Sir Edward Letchworth was a lawyer and support of the Volunteer Movement (today Reserve Forces) is shown as Grand Secretary at the start of the 20th Century. The magazine showed a distinguished image in regalia. Thomas, 2nd Earl of Zetland, Lord Dundas was Grand Master of The United Grand Lodge of England from 1844 to 1870. He took over as Grand Master from the famous Duke of Sussex who brought about the union of the Ancients and Moderns. He was depicted in the magazine wearing an impressive array of medals!
Cross Keys January 2019
Kids’ Christmas Party On 10th December, 242 held its usual Christmas party for the kids of various lodges. This year saw a change in format from the panto in previous years to an actual entertainer. However, the 26 kids thoroughly Thanks go to Bro. David Black PM for organising the event and to our Santa Bro. ….. (now this is a real masonic secret).
Aprons Galore A collection of aprons from the Masons of California Facebook page—quite impressive. However, how impressive would it be to have a selection of Scottish aprons? Imagine the colours and tartans that would be displayed!
Cross Keys January 2019
Need regalia or a gift for the master or a present? Try VSL Regalia.
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Cross Keys January 2019