From the moment I saw John Hart’s warm, smiling face waiting to welcome me at Worcester station, I could tell the Worcester Museum of Freemasonry was in good hands. John is an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very proud curator. He was appointed just four years ago. The thirty-year ‘reign’ of his predecessor, Tommy Grounsell, had been exceedingly fruitful. The Museum collection became well known among academic institutions but was publicity-starved at home and had once even been referred to as one of Worchester’s better-guarded secrets! No longer so.
    The now famous Museum collection is the offspring of The Masonic Soiree & Exhibition opened at the Guildhall in Worcester on the 27th of August 1884. No less than 140 exhibitors displayed an array of Masonic artefacts: books and manuscripts, china, glass and pottery, prints and paintings, coins, medals and jewels. The event was organised by the Provincial Grand Secretary, George Taylor, under the auspices of the Provincial Grand Master, Sir Edmund Lechmere, and William Williamson, the Mayor of Worcester, a member of the Lodge Semper Fidelis, No. 529. Both the Provincial Grand Master and the Povincial Grand Secretary were among the exhibitors. George Taylor alone had 88 items on display. At the end of the exhibit he sold his whole collection to the Province at cost. This was the foundation of the Worcester Museum and Library.
    A few years later the Province was fortunate to purchase the already famous George Shackles numismatic collection. This consisted of a comprehensive range of Masonic coins, medals and jewels mostly of foreign jurisdictions. These combined collections placed Worcester on the map of the important Masonic Museums worldwide. The German, Austrian and East European sections are the most important in the Shackles collection which consists of some 1000 foreign and 200 English coins and medals. These are complemented by several thousand additional numismatic items.
    The anteroom to the first floor Museum at the Masonic Hall is a preamble to the 350 piece pottery collection. Two display cabinets on either side of the small hall house a vast collection of pieces from Sunderland, Leeds, Staffordshire, and just a handful from Worcestershire. It is appropriate that the most important piece in the collection is a 1799 “cabbage leaf” Worcestershire, white jug - the term “cabbage leaf” deriving from the pattern on the porcelain. The delightful Masonic vignette has been transferred in sky blue colours onto the marble-like surface of the jug and it depicts the Master of the Lodge in his three-cornered hat flanked by his Wardens poised before an impressive presentation of the coat of arms of the Premier Grand Lodge.
    Almost as a post-script to this superlative and unique piece, the Museum possesses the original lithographic stone plate from which the design on the jug would have originated. The plate, with the images naturally reversed, was used to print the summonses for Lodge No. 349, now No. 280, which continues to meet in the Masonic Centre.
    In the same cabinet is another priceless item: a pair of Meissen figurines representing the Order of the Mopses. The Meissen porcelain factory remains the most famous institution of its kind worldwide; all its pieces are exquisite and delicate works of art. The figures in the Museum, one male and the other female, are from the first and very early rare edition produced in the Meissen factory between 1738 and 1784.

A New Extension

The single rather small and crowded Museum room is like an Aladdin’s cave. Objects of every kind are displayed and dispersed through the room. So it was with some glee that John told me about the special appeal just launched by the Provincial Grand Master for funds to build an extension to the Museum and Library. It will allow the display of hundreds of wonderful treasures currently stored in drawers or hidden in inaccessible cupboards.
    This extension will greatly benefit the Library: currently some 3,500 books are divided among the Museum room, where the rare and antiquarian volumes are tightly packed on shelves and the more recent works, available on loan, are housed in an adjacent room. The Worcester Library was first catalogued by the Rev H Poole in 1934 and there have been many volumes added since.
    The Library includes a complete set of all the constitutions, some in their beautiful original bindings and an interesting range of the various exposures of the 18th and 19th centuries; several examples of various rare printed books are on display. However, the Worcester library is justifiably famous for three unique manuscripts.
    The first of these is a large volume, lavishly bound in red morocco leather, and known as the Inigo Jones Manuscript, dated 1607. This volume has been the cause of argument and debate since it was first offered for sale in 1879, subsequently purchased by George Taylor, and donated to the Museum. It is the date and the attribution of the frontispiece, depicting masons at work, to Inigo Jones that has been contentious. The final conclusion by scholars is that the date is misleading. The style of the writing, and references in the content, date the book to the middle of the 18th Century - certainly no earlier than 1722. This would preclude Inigo Jones’s involvement since he died in 1653. It is, nonetheless, an important early manuscript volume, almost certainly copied from one of the original ancient charges and regulations of the operative masons.
    The second early and very important volume is the Wood Manuscript, which, quite unusually, is in book form. Questions have been raised as to the purpose of its production in 1610. The original belonged to a Mr Wood (thus the name) and after changing hands on several occasions was again acquired by George Taylor who donated it to the Museum. There are several unique aspects to this volume. The authenticity of the date is not in doubt; it is the first page dedication that has caused debate. It states: Newlye Translated by J Whytestones for John Sargensonne. The word ‘Translated’in this context, means transcribed from another original manuscript. The question is why? Clearly this was not a volume intended for use in a Lodge room. Could it have been written with such great care, including, most unusually, an extended 10-page index, in preparation for its publication in print? Or was John Sargensonne, for whom the book was transcribed, a stonemason who commissioned a copy of the Old Charge for his own personal use? Was he an antiquarian and collector whose new purchase of the volume was for his private library? We will never know the final answer. This volume, consisting of a total of 32 pages, is also beautifully bound in red morocco with bevelled edges, the title embossed in gold on the spine of the book.
    The third and last of these wonderful rarities is named the Lechmere Manuscript, dated soon after the mid 17th century, and donated to the Museum by Sir Edmund Lechmere, Provincial Grand Master for Worcestershire from 1878 to 1894. This example is more in line with the usual Old Charges having been written in rather bad handwriting on three strips of parchment. The item is in relatively poor condition and is incomplete but maintains its value as an exceptional rarity.
    This was a most fruitful and enjoyable visit to an important Masonic Museum. John Hart is a jovial and good-humoured ex-schoolmaster who was made a Mason in 1956, in the Apollo Lodge, as an undergraduate at Oxford University. His deputy, Tony King, ably assists him in the Museum they both so overtly love. I look forward to my return visit.

The Museum is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.00 am until 12.00 noon. (Except in July and August and the two weeks over Christmas and New Year). The Librarian & Curator, John Hart, will be glad to make arrangements for a visit at other times and he can be contacted on 01684 574750.

APRONS
    There is a Royal Arch apron, beautifully embroidered with gold and silver thread depicting the familiar emblems of the order. One must reflect on the old tradition of having one’s apron prepared and decorated at home and the pride that this particular companion would have had in wearing the elaborate and lovingly executed apron at his next chapter meeting.
    Aprons are occasionally offered in the market, usually with the regalia case and additional personal items included. These fetch low prices. Even Provincial and Grand Lodge Officers’ aprons are not as collectible as either the elaborate or simplistic designs of early examples. Some aprons of Orders beyond the craft, such as the Ancient and Accepted Rite (Rose Croix), made in the second half of the 19th century, are heavily embroidered and can look exceedingly attractive. They will fetch between £50 and £150. Earlier and more delicately designed examples are far more valuable. A Moira apron in mediocre condition, with the familiar design transferred onto the apron, changed hands at £350 recently.

POTTERY
    There is a distinct difference between forgeries and replicas. The former are meant to mislead the buyer whereas the latter are legitimate ‘cheaper’ reproduction of an original. The Chelsea Pottery pieces are legitimate and late reproductions of the original Meissen pieces. They are, nonetheless, fairly high priced because of the labour involved in the making of the pieces. The contrast between the original Meissen, however, and any later reproductions is quite striking. A Meissen Masonic piece was sold to a Museum in the past 6 months for £ 4,500. The Chelsea reproduction would fetch approximately £ 300.

COINS & MEDALS
    There is an important difference between Masonic Jewels, the personal item intended to be worn by the owner, and Masonic medals, issued to commemorate people and events. Medals are rarer and more difficult to obtain than Masonic jewels.
    The Masonic Soiree & Exhibition in August 1884 was commemorated by the issue of a Medal minted in silver, bronze and white metal and offered for sale during the exhibition. The obverse has the jewel of the Provincial Grand Master in the centre and the legend Masonic Exhibition Worcester August 27th 1884 around the rim. The reverse shows the arms of the City. The silver version is a rarity priced at over £100 whilst the other two versions occasionally come to the market at about £25 each.
    Other wonderful examples are a large silver Swedish mortuary medal with the portrait of Carlos XV on the obverse and an altar with columns on the reverse. A Portuguese example depicts a handshake with designs of columns in the background. A Hungarian medal has an exceptional design of a stonemason at work on the reverse. A final example is a commemorative plaque with a portrait of Lord Ampthill, Pro Grand Master, in full regalia.
    The price range of these various medals is dependant upon the date, size, intrinsic value of the metal, the quality of execution of the design, the condition and rarity of the piece in question. The lowest priced commemorative medal, made of white metal, brass or copper, dated to the mid 20th century, will be priced between £5 - £15. A good quality larger silver medal of the mid 19th century will fetch up to £250.