Our visit to the Manchester Masonic Hall was sandwiched, so to speak, between a delightful attendance at the rededication ceremony of the newly discovered masonic painted floor cloth hosted by Beneficent Lodge at Macclesfield, Cheshire, and Michael Baigent’s address next evening to the Manchester Lodge for Masonic Research. The evening’s ceremony in Macclesfield was conducted by the quintessential Provincial Grand Master, Timothy Richards, in a jovial, friendly and delightfully dignified manner.
    Whilst the re-dedication ceremony of Ken Williams’s exceptional discovery was both interesting and entertaining, the undoubted star of the evening was Bro Bill Bailey, Tyler and Janitor of 20 years standing. He was promoted to Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden there and then by the Provincial Grand Master and presented with a cheque, the amount of which was an indication of the great love and esteem in which he is held in the Province. This was an evening of Freemasonry at its best: warm, historical and emotional, all in one.
    On arrival next morning at Bridge Street, Manchester, we were welcomed by Alan Garnett, the affable Provincial Grand Secretary. Before entering the second floor Museum, we were confronted with a unique item in the Provincial collection. Situated in the basement and protected within glass cabinets is a full set of eighteenth century regalia of the three Principals of a Royal Arch Chapter, consisting of robes, sashes and headwear as well as a set of 5 early aprons, three of which have been incongruously placed around the waist of the ‘dummies’. This may be seen as ‘decorative licence’, since the second resolution in the minute book of the Excellent Grand & Royal Chapter in March 1765 states: That Excellent Grands be clothed in proper Robes, Caps on their Heads, and adorned with proper Jewels. – No Aprons.
    The robes on display, which conform to the requirements detailed in the first Book of Constitutions of Grand Chapter, are the property of the Cana Chapter, No. 116, one of the two earliest Chapters in existence, having been warranted in 1769. The sashes for all three Principals have been correctly placed over the left shoulder of each robe as a decorative badge of honour, as opposed to sashes identified with sword belts and worn over the right shoulder in some degrees beyond the Craft and Royal Arch. The headdress, now rarely seen except in isolated Chapters in the Provinces, was obligatory in early days. Zerubbabel is attributed with a crown, Haggai has an ornamental turban and Joshua a mitre. The elongated lambskin aprons bear a simple pink design of an arch, circle and triangle. The Hebrew letters Yod He Vav He appear in crude form below the circle. These were worn by Companions in the transition period, when the normal craft aprons first used in Chapters were being replaced by the later elaborate and decorative ones.
    Our appetites thus primed we were taken to the second floor. On entering the Museum room, one can be forgiven for not immediately recognising it as such. In an effort to facilitate the use of the available space as a Lodge room, the whole of the wide-ranging collection is housed in shelves recessed into the walls. Sliding display panels containing aprons, certificates and documents protrude into the room from each corner. Ivan Eastwood and Ivan Goldberg are the newly appointed Curator and Assistant Curator respectively: ‘We are looking forward to having the whole room dedicated to a Museum so that we can erect flat display cabinets and expand the visual aspect of our important collection’ Ivan Eastwood, told me. ‘Our first task is to collate and catalogue the many objects we have and that process has already began’. As a Past Master of the Research Lodge, Ivan is also one of the Custodians of the collection as are the other Past Masters of the Lodge. They act in their capacity as members of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research, the body responsible for the Museum and Library since the collection was moved to the new Masonic Hall in 1926.
    Looking into the shelves under their guidance the relatively disjointed accumulation of artefacts slowly began to reveal an array of interesting and several unusual objects. The collection of glass and pottery pieces is well represented with examples of goblets, firing glasses, tumblers and decanters. There are a number of outstanding large Sunderland vessels and Staffordshire jugs with the familiar transfers. One striking example is a late eighteenth century bone china water jug. Convoluted in its design, it is painted in bright green with an attractive and delicately executed vignette of a Master Mason seated between various familiar masonic objects. Among the general paraphernalia some artefacts catch the eye: two 78 rpm long playing records in their original His Masters Voice sleeves dated 1934, preserve for posterity the festival message to the Brethren of Lancashire by Lord Derby, the Provincial Grand Master at the time; a pair of stunningly decorative mid-nineteenth century four inch diameter paper maché snuff boxes in pristine condition. The very fine design on one is dark and sombre depicting a skull and crossed bones with the square and compass at the base. The other, equally refined, is bright and alive with a multitude of emblems highlighted in gold. The shiny lacquered surface adds to the absolute charm of the pieces. A dazzling example of silverware is an eight inch high 1868 chalice with recessed decoration wrought on each of the six sections into which it is divided. It was presented to Via Pontis Lodge, No. 5527 (now erased) in 1946 by seven named war time Masters in memory of their departed Brethren.
    Before preparing to attend the evening’s Lodge meeting, we enjoyed a generous lunch in excellent company in the Masonic Hall dining room. We were delighted to learn that following our visit, the Provincial Grand Master for East Lancashire, Peter Walthall, had agreed to support the relocation of the Royal Arch Robes to a prominent display spot. n

CANES & LANTERNS Through the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the walking stick or cane was often seen as part of the dress of a gentleman. It is not surprising, therefore, to find good quality canes of the period with carved ivory, silver or gold handles, shaped into a multitude of themes. Quaint hidden innovations were incorporated into the shaft of the cane giving it a dual function. These included items such as knives, scissors, watches and even whisky flasks. The Manchester Museum has an excellent example of a walking stick on which the rounded brass handle opens up into a cross depicting Masonic emblems on every side of the exposed triangular arrangement. The genre is more commonly associated with the familiar pocket fob and chain, which are the undoubted inspiration for the design of the cane. A most unusual Masonic item is a pair of carriage lamps dating from c1860 with detailed and repeated Masonic decorations on the glass. The Birmingham maker is identified as A. Sandbrook. At the end of the nineteenth century Freemasonry was, under the Grand Mastership of the Prince of Wales, a highly fashionable activity. Men of all walks of life joined and the use of a Masonic cane, a personalised snuff box or other object with Masonic emblems, would not have been unusual. Similarly an individual mason may well have used the masonic emblems on carriage lamps as decorative devices of a theme of personal interest.

GORMOGONS This Collar jewel of the Gormogons is one of only three known jewels extant. This was a society whose emergence is a mystery. It has been attributed to the renegade Duke of Wharton who is said to have formed the organisation in competition to the Freemasons in September 1724 when he failed to be re-elected as Grand Master. The Gormogons called their chiefs by pseudo-Chinese names such as Grand Mogul and Hang Chi and garbed them in fanciful Chinese garments. The image on the 3-inch high silver jewel is of a man with a drooping moustache, curious headgear and an embroidered robe, with a dragon above. The reverse shows the sun radiating sixteen alternating straight and wavy rays. The legend, which reads AN INST 8799, has been interpreted as the Society still being active at the end of the 18th century. There is no evidence to support that contention.

STOLEN JEWELS LISTING The Manchester Masonic Hall suffered a major loss of jewels and medals in 1999. Some have since been offered for sale in the market and through Ebay on the Internet. Most are readily identifiable and they remain the property of the Manchester Masonic Museum. The following is a selected listing. Past Master Jewels, all in gold; Imperial George Lodge, No. 78, J. W. Lees, 1888; Virtue Lodge, No. 152, Edwin Froggatt, 1897; United Brethren Lodge, No. 364, W. Lamb, 1893; Robert Burns Lodge, No. 999, J. H. Stephenson, 1915.

For information on the status of the Museum and access to view the collection please contact the Provincial Grand Secretary, Alan Garnett, Freemasons’ Hall, Bridge Street, Manchester. Telephone 0161 832 6256.