Troop leader

Fellowship, harmony and shared moral values – the parallels between Freemasonry and Scouting have been explored by Tony Harvey in his Prestonian Lecture. He speaks to Andrew Gimson about what the two organisations can learn from each other

Few speakers can have prepared themselves so thoroughly, or over so many years, as Tony Harvey did for his Prestonian Lecture, ‘Scouting & Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?’ It was through talking to a fellow Scouter in the 1980s that Tony’s interest in the Craft was awoken: ‘That conversation led to my initiation as a Freemason – while in Scout uniform – into Pioneer Lodge, the Scout lodge of Derbyshire, at the age of thirty-one.’ Now fifty-three, the lectureship has given him a chance to explore ideas that have been germinating since he was a boy. He takes the opportunity not only to explore the close historical links between Scouting and Freemasonry, but to stimulate a wider debate about how they can inspire and assist each other in the future.

Between February 2012 and June 2013, Tony delivered his lecture no fewer than forty-eight times to lodges in many different parts of England and Wales, as well as the Isle of Man, Iceland, South Africa and the US. He has ten more appearances booked, stretching out to September 2014, and is ‘very optimistic’ that people are already ‘taking up the challenge’ of what he has to say. He would like to take the lecture to all the Provinces in England and Wales.

Learn by example

In particular, Tony hopes Freemasonry will learn from the recent revival in Scouting, with which he has been closely involved: ‘Freemasonry’s numbers are in decline. It is experiencing what Scouting went through fifteen to twenty years ago. What Scouting did in the late 1990s was first to conduct a widespread consultation exercise (every member had the opportunity to contribute) and then to act on the feedback. It decided that the core of Scouting – its principles, values and purpose – should not change. But in order to make it more relevant and attractive to people in the twenty-first century, there was a need to simplify the way the organisation operates.’

The modernisation of Scouting saw it modify its youth programme and change its age ranges – an approach that has led to a growth in membership of between four and five per cent each year for the past seven years. ‘Scouting is still about citizenship and the outdoors, offering everybody everyday adventure, but it now has a structure and a programme much more attuned to today’s young people. We involve more volunteers to do smaller things, rather than a few volunteers to do a lot of things.’

The promise of change

The challenge for Freemasonry, Tony believes, is likewise to protect its core – its landmarks and its ritual – while making itself more flexible to suit the needs of someone still in their working life. ‘Meetings that start in mid-afternoon are not very accessible to the man in his forties who is still making his career.’

For the past four years, informal lunch meetings have been held at a national level between senior members of both organisations. Tony hopes to see such co-operation at local level, with lodges fostering links with local Scout groups, including those formed with start-up money from the Grand Charity: ‘What if every Freemason who ever took the Scout Promise gave a couple of hours back to Scouting?’

The Prestonian Lecture, the only official lecture given under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), is held in memory of William Preston (1742-1818), the greatest masonic educator of his day, and is intended to ‘instruct and entertain a general lodge audience’. Tony dispels the misconception that he had applied to deliver it: he was nominated without his knowledge.

Service to others

Tony is well qualified to be the Prestonian Lecturer. Within Scouting he has held roles at national and local level for thirty years and is a national volunteer with The Scout Association. Masonically, he has been Master of three Scouting lodges and is the Provincial Grand Mentor for Derbyshire. In May 2011, after his appointment, he began by writing his lecture in book form. It is published by Carrfields Publications and begins with the parallels between the organisations: ‘The first and foremost membership requirement of each organisation is that those who join must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry was originally specifically Christian, but de-Christianised over the hundred years following the formation of the first Grand Lodge. Scouting has never been specifically Christian. By not requiring the Supreme Being to be specifically the Christian understanding of God, both Freemasonry and Scouting became attractive to people from around the World. Each also became a place where people of different faiths could meet in fellowship and harmony, with shared moral values, despite their religious, social, cultural and national differences.’

The second moral principle the organisations share is service to others. Both confer awards for valued service, keep out of politics and are voluntary. In the UK, both have, in a senior position, HRH The Duke of Kent, who is Grand Master of the UGLE and president of The Scout Association. He follows other royal Freemasons who have also held senior positions in Scouting.

Tony recognises that there are key differences between the two organisations. Scouting is a youth movement, open to both boys and girls, while Freemasonry under the UGLE requires its members to be of mature age, and is open only to males. But it would be a mistake to give the impression that either the book or the lecture are unduly theoretical. Both are full of fascinating historical material, including a number of illustrations.

The largest audience for one of Tony’s lectures, just over two hundred people, was during his visit to South Africa. More typically he draws an audience of one hundred to one hundred and twenty. He speaks for about forty minutes and then takes questions, so that the whole event takes no more than an hour. Tony describes the reception he has received as ‘warm, engaged, enthusiastic, with good questions’, and was gratified when one member of the audience said to him: ‘I was absolutely fascinated and I sat through all two hours of it.’

Was Baden-Powell a Freemason?

The front cover of Scouting & Freemasonry: two parallel organisations? is adorned by a fine portrait of Robert Baden-Powell, the hero of Mafeking (the town that under his leadership withstood a siege of two hundred and seventeen days in 1899-1900), who founded the Scouting movement in the years from 1907. 

Tony examines in detail whether Baden-Powell was a Freemason. 

It is certainly the case that many of Baden-Powell’s friends and collaborators were. Rudyard Kipling, for example, whom he met in Lahore in the early 1880s, was initiated as a Freemason into Hope and Perseverance Lodge, No. 782, in India in 1886. As Tony points out, ‘Baden-Powell used Kipling’s Jungle Book as the basis for the Wolf Cubs when he and Percy Everett created Scouting’s junior section in 1916. Kipling also created the Grand Howl and defined how it should sound. He held an appointment as a commissioner for Wolf Cubs and was a member of the Scout Council.’

In a letter appealing to masons for funds, Baden-Powell said of Scouting: ‘Our principles are closely allied with those of the Freemason, being those of Brotherhood and Service.’ But Tony demonstrates that Baden-Powell never himself became a Freemason, partly for fear of offending Roman Catholic Scouts. He also shows that, despite this, Baden-Powell thought well of the Craft.

More than £30,000 has so far been raised from sales of the book, proceeds from which are being divided between two charities, the Masonic Samaritan Fund and The Scout Association’s archive development project. 

The book can be purchased via www.prestonian2012.org.uk

Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge 
12 June 2013 
Report of the Board of General Purposes 

Minutes

The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 13 March 2013 and of the Annual Investiture of 24 April 2013 were confirmed.

Annual fees and dues

Annual Dues and Fees were confirmed.

Grand Charity annual contribution

The Grand Charity had requested that for 2014 the annual contribution be increased to £17 in respect of each member of a lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province, or in England and Wales that is unattached. This was approved.

Masonic jewellery

Complaints have been received from several sources about an advertisement currently circulating, which offers for sale, in a variety of qualities, cuff links and lapel pins in the form of a replica of the Hall Stone Jewel. Informal approaches had previously been made to the individual concerned, advising that the design was inappropriate and requesting that he did not proceed to market the items.

The Board has now considered the advertisement and has concluded that the use of the design in this context is altogether inappropriate. The device is inextricably associated with Freemasons’ Hall, which was built as a Peace Memorial to those Freemasons who gave their lives during the Great War of 1914 to 1918.

Except in the case of the very small number of Brethren still living who subscribed ten guineas to the Masonic Million Memorial Fund and thereby qualified to wear an individual jewel, the privilege of wearing the Hall Stone Jewel is now restricted to the Masters of those lodges whose donations to the Fund averaged ten guineas per member and the Provincial or District Grand Master of the Hall Stone Province (Buckinghamshire) and the Hall Stone District (Burma).

The Board considers that the trivialising of such an iconic emblem by turning it into an item of personal adornment is in the worst possible taste, as well as deeply disrespectful to the memory of the many members of the Craft who fell in that War. It has also noted that a donation to “Masonic Charity” is promised for every sale made, which it regards as an attempt to give respectability to an enterprise which has every appearance of having been undertaken for personal gain.

The Board accordingly recommends to the Grand Lodge that Brethren of this Constitution neither purchase nor wear (whether on Masonic or on non-Masonic occasions) such lapel badges or cuff-links.

Prestonian lectures

2012: Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?

The Lecturer, W Bro A.D.G. Harvey, has informed the Board that in addition to the three official deliveries to Humber Installed Masters Lodge, No. 2494 (Yorkshire, North and East Ridings); Authors Lodge, No. 3456 (London); and North Notts. Masters Lodge, No. 9525 (Nottinghamshire), the Lecture was also delivered on 41other occasions throughout the Constitution. The Board desires to express its thanks to Bro Harvey for the considerable time and effort he has spent in this connection.

2013: As we were seen - the Press and Freemasonry

The Prestonian Lecturer for 2013 is W Bro P.R. Calderwood, PSGD. Three official Prestonian Lectures for 2013 have been or will be given under the auspices of Jubilee Masters Lodge, No. 2712 (London) Bowen Lodge, No. 2816 (Buckinghamshire) Torbay Masters Lodge, No. 8227 (Devonshire).

2014: 1814: Consolidation and Change

The Board has submitted a nomination to the Trustees of the Prestonian Fund and they have appointed W Bro Dr M.A. Kearsley as Prestonian Lecturer for 2014. Bro Kearsley states that the title of his Lecture will be 1814: Consolidation and Change.

Arrangements for the delivery of the Lectures to selected lodges will be considered by the Board in November and applications are now invited from lodges. Applications should be made to the Grand Secretary, through Metropolitan, Provincial or District Grand Secretaries.

The Board desires to emphasise the importance of these, the only Lectures held under the authority of the Grand Lodge. It is, therefore, hoped that applications for the privilege of having one of these official Lectures will be made only by lodges which are prepared to afford facilities for all Freemasons in their area, as well as their own members, to participate and thus ensure an attendance worthy of the occasion.

Amalgamations

The Board has received reports that the following lodges have resolved to surrender their Warrants: (a) Townfield Lodge, No. 7024, in order to amalgamate with De Tatton Lodge, No. 2144 (Cheshire); and (b) Watling Lodge, No. 8090, in order to amalgamate with Barham Lodge, No. 6004 (Hertfordshire).

A recommendation that the lodges be removed from the register in order to effect the amalgamation was approved.

Erasure of lodges

The Board has received a report that 31 lodges have closed and surrendered their Warrants. The Lodges are: Lodge of Harmony, No. 288 (East Lancashire), Alexandra Lodge, No. 1581 (South Africa, Eastern Division), Lennox Browne Lodge, No. 2318 (Essex), Orde-Powlett Lodge, No. 2391 (Yorkshire, North and East Ridings).

East Anglian Lodge, No. 2920 (London), Culham College Lodge, No. 2951 (Oxfordshire), Holborn Borough Council Lodge, No. 3272 (London), Balham-Crogdaene Lodge, No. 3388 (Surrey), West Salford Lodge, No. 3867 (East Lancashire), Quadrivium Lodge, No. 3921 (East Lancashire), Newbury Park Lodge, No. 4458 (Essex), Vesey Lodge, No. 4473 (Warwickshire).

Lowy of Tonbridge Lodge, No. 4834 (West Kent), Birchwood Lodge, No. 5178 (Hertfordshire), St Wilfrith of Sussex Lodge, No. 5274 (Sussex), Goldsmiths’ College Lodge, No. 5398 (London), Eastcote Lodge, No. 5515 (Middlesex).

Alkrington Lodge, No. 6102 (East Lancashire), Bentley Priory Lodge, No. 6134 (London), Bolton Lodge, No. 6603 (East Lancashire), Lodge of Antient Bromleag, No. 6716 (West Kent), Lodge of Good Endeavour, No. 6858 (Essex), Hartshead Lodge, No. 7042 (East Lancashire), Tessera Lodge, No. 7131 (Surrey).

Pattern Lodge, No. 7314 (West Kent), Aurea Filia Lodge, No. 7523 (London), Shelburne Lodge, No. 7719 (Buckinghamshire), Rother Valley Lodge, No. 8216 (Sussex), Spinnaker Lodge, No. 8395 (East Kent), Runnymede Lodge, No. 9014 (Surrey) and Findon Lodge, No. 9034 (Sussex).

A recommendation that they be erased was approved.

Grand lodge accounts for 2012

The Audited Accounts of Grand Lodge for the year ended 31 December 2012 were adopted.

Election of Grand Lodge auditors

The re-election of Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP, as Auditors of Grand Lodge was approved.

Motion pursuant to notice
Amendments to the Book of Constitutions 

An amendment to Rule 153, Book of Constitutions: Treasurer’s Duties and Lodge Accounts, was approved.

List of new lodges for which warrants have been granted

No. 9885 Thames Valley Motorcycle Lodge (13 March 2013), Wokingham, Berkshire; No. 9886 Bradfordians Lodge (13 March 2013), Bradford, Yorkshire West Riding.

Quarterly Communications of Grand Lodge

These will be held on 11 September 2013, 11 December 2013, 12 March 2014, 30 April 2014 (Annual Investiture), 11 June 2014, 10 September 2014.

Convocations of Supreme Grand Chapter

16 October 2013 (transferred to this date from 13 November by Resolution of Grand Chapter, passed on 26 April 2012), 1 May 2014, 12 November 2014, 30 April 2015.

The Board of General Purposes has considered applications for the delivery of the official Prestonian Lectures in 2013 and has decided that these should be given under the auspices of the following: Jubilee Masters Lodge, No. 2712 (London), Bowen Lodge, No. 2816 (Buckinghamshire), and Torbay Masters Lodge, No. 8227 (Devonshire). The lecturer, PR Calderwood, states that the title of the lecture will be: ‘As we were seen – the Press and Freemasonry.’

Prestonian Lecture on tour

With this year’s Prestonian Lecture discussing the subject ‘Scouting & Freemasonry: Two Parallel Organisations’, lecturer Tony Harvey (above) delivered his speech at Beacon Lodge, No. 4066, in Halifax, Province of Yorkshire, West Riding.

The lecture attracted 75 people, of whom 17 were non-masons. Servers at the festive board were from Halifax District Explorer Scouts, and speakers included Mark Stageman, county commissioner for West Yorkshire.

Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge 
13 June 2012 
Report of the Board of General Purposes 

Minutes

The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 14 March 2012 and the Annual Investiture of 25 April 2012 were confirmed.

ANNUAL DUES
A Resolution was moved that the annual dues (including VAT) payable to Grand Lodge in respect of each member of every lodge for the year 2013 shall be:
In a lodge in England and Wales that is unattached .............................  £50
In a lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province ..................................  £30
In a lodge in a District ............................................................................£7.50
In a lodge abroad not in a District ..........................................................£12.50
The Resolution was approved.

FEES
A Resolution was moved that the fees (exclusive of VAT) payable for registration, certificates and dispensations should be increased in line with inflation to:
(a) the Registration of £
1. A Grand Officer, present or past, on first appointment ................... £106
2. A Deputy or Assistant Metropolitan Grand Master or a
Metropolitan Grand Inspector (under Rule 60) ...............................       £59
3. A Deputy or Assistant Provincial or District Grand
Master (under Rule 66) ....................................................................       £59
4. A holder of Overseas Grand Rank (under Rule 93) ..........................  £23
5. A Mason, inclusive of Grand Lodge Certificate (initiation,
or joining from a Lodge not under the Grand Lodge)
In a Lodge in England and Wales that is unattached ...................            £59
In a Lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province ........................             £52
In a Lodge in a District ................................................................             £32
In a Lodge abroad not under a District ........................................             £44
(b) the replacement or amendment of a Grand Lodge Certificate ..........  £58
(c) a certificate for a Serving Brother .....................................................  £32
(d) a Dispensation by the Grand Master ...............................................    £30
a Dispensation by the Grand Master “nunc pro tunc” ............................. £60
The Resolution was approved.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GRAND CHARITY
Under Rule 271, Book of Constitutions, Grand Lodge must fix each year the annual contribution that is payable to the Grand Charity. The Council of the Grand Charity had  requested that for 2013 the annual contribution be increased to £16 in respect of each member of a lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province, or in England and Wales that is unattached.

The Resolution was approved.

PRESTONIAN LECTURES
2011: Was Sir Christopher Wren a Freemason?
The Lecturer, Dr J.W.P. Campbell, has informed the Board that in addition to the five official deliveries to Isaac Newton University Lodge, No. 859 (Cambridgeshire); Christopher Wren Lodge, No. 4855 (Berkshire); Archibald Campbell Lodge, No. 4998 (Madras); Alphin Lodge, No. 8461 (East Lancashire) and Metropolitan Grand Stewards’ Lodge, No. 9812 (London), the Lecture was also delivered on eight other occasions throughout the Constitution. The Board expressed its thanks to Bro Campbell for the considerable time and effort he has spent in this connection.

2012: Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?
The Prestonian Lecturer for 2012 is A.D.G. Harvey. Three official Prestonian Lectures for 2012 have been or will be given under the auspices of: Humber Installed Masters Lodge, No. 2494 (Yorkshire, North and East Ridings), Authors Lodge, No. 3456 (London) and North Notts Masters Lodge, No. 9525 (Nottinghamshire).

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN GRAND LODGES
The Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander”

The Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander” was formed on 18 November 1945 from four lodges meeting in the region of Santander under the National Grand Lodge of Colombia, at Barranquilla, which is one of the four Colombian Grand Lodges currently recognised by the UGLE.

The Grand Lodge of los Andes
On 29 April 1972 the Grand Lodge of los Andes was formed by the Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander”.

The four Colombian Grand Lodges already recognised by the UGLE together with the above two cover distinct geographical areas in Colombia and all share mutual recognition.

The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Nevada
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Nevada was formed on 16 August 1980, from three lodges meeting in that State under the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arizona, which was recognised by the UGLE on 11 September 2002. Having shown that they have regular decendency and that they conform to the Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition, the Board, having no reason to believe that they will not continue to maintain a regular path, recommends that these three Grand Lodges be recognised.

A Resolution to this effect was approved.

ERASURE OF LODGES
The Board had received a report that 18 lodges had closed and had surrendered their Warrants. The lodges are:
Lodge of Emulation, No. 1505 (West Lancashire), Greenwood Lodge, No. 1982 (Surrey), Carville Lodge, No. 2497 (Northumberland), King Edward VII Lodge, No. 2969 (South Africa, Western Division), Napier Clavering Lodge, No. 3428 (Northumberland), Raynes Park Lodge, No. 4377 (Surrey), London Staffordshire Lodge, No. 4474 (London), Continuity and Perpetua Lodge, No. 4651 (London), Lodge of Progress, No. 5017 (Hertfordshire), Camperdown Lodge, No. 5250 (Hertfordshire), City Centre Lodge, No. 5787 (London), Hinchley Wood Lodge, No. 5809 (Surrey), Noel Acacia Lodge, No. 5852 (Surrey), Keystone Lodge, No. 6173 (Warwickshire), Rosemary Lodge, No. 6421 (Northumberland), Riverside Lodge, No. 7247 (London),  Allegiance Lodge, No. 7434 (Cheshire) and  St Ambrose Lodge, No. 8251 (West Lancashire).

A Resolution that these lodges be erased was approved.

THE RULERS’ FORUM
A recent review of the Rulers’ Forum and consultation with Provincial Grand Masters has led to the conclusion that the Forum is not functioning as originally intended. By contrast, the Rulers’ Forum Groups have proved remarkably effective in promoting discussion across Provincial boundaries. After careful consideration, the Board recommended that the Rulers’ Forum be dissolved and that the Rulers’ Forum Groups be reconstituted on an informal basis.

It further recommended that the members of the Commission for Appeals Courts and certain members of the Panel for Clemency, who are currently elected by the Rulers’ Forum at its meeting in December, be appointed in future by the Grand Master from among Brethren nominated for appointment in the same manner as currently applies for election by the Rulers’ Forum.

A Notice of Motion to amend the Book of Constitutions accordingly appeared the Paper of Business.

LIST OF NEW LODGES
List of new lodges for which warrants have been granted by The Grand Master showing the dates from which their warrants became effective:
14 March 2012:
9870 Sir Adeyemo Alakija Lodge (Ebute Metta, Nigeria)
9871 Sussex Motorcycling Lodge (Southwick, Sussex)
9872 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Lodge (Ramsey, Isle of Man)
9873 Ghana District Grand Stewards Lodge (Accra, Ghana)

ADDRESS: DIAMOND JUBILEE OF HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Dr J W Daniel gave an address entitled Royal Jubilees and Loyal Freemasons.

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS
Grand Lodge will meet on 12 September 2012, 12 December 2012, 13 March 2013, 24 April 2013 (Annual Investiture), 12 June 2013 and 11 September 2013.

SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER
Supreme Grand Chapter will meet on 14 November 2012, 25 April 2013 and 16 October 2013 (transferred from 13 November by resolution of Grand Chapter).

Was St Paul's Cathedral built by a mason?

With Christopher Wren’s membership of the Craft remaining disputed, Dr James Campbell explains why he chose this subject for his 2011 Prestonian Lecture

Sir Christopher Wren is so well known he hardly needs an introduction. He is England’s most famous architect, the designer of St Paul’s Cathedral. Indeed, up until the age of the railways he was England’s most prolific architect, designing more buildings in his 90 years than any other.

But what makes Wren really fascinating is that he turned to architecture rather late, having already made a considerable name for himself as a mathematician, astronomer and experimental scientist. He was a founding member of the Royal Society and later its president. He carried out the first intravenous injection, was one of the three men who suggested to Newton that gravity obeyed the inverse square law, and was a professor of astronomy at the age of 26. His contemporaries universally described him as startlingly brilliant. Indeed, the more you learn about Wren the more engaging he becomes.

My interest in Wren dates back to 1987, when I first arrived as an undergraduate in Trinity College, Cambridge, and discovered the magnificent library he built there. It sparked a lifelong interest in Wren and another in the architecture of libraries. An interest in Wren served me well and I eventually did my PhD on him and became an architectural historian. One topic kept coming up in my research on Wren: that of his link with Freemasonry. Authors were completely divided on the subject. Many, of course, simply ignored it entirely, but others could not make up their minds whether he was or was not a Freemason, let alone whether it had any effect on his architecture. That uncertainty continues to this day.

A CONTESTABLE TOPIC

If you go on the UGLE website and look at the lists of famous Freemasons, Wren’s name is nowhere to be found. Writers on the subject have also varied in their opinions. John Hamill said in The Craft that the case is ‘unproven’; David Stevenson has said in the past that there is no evidence; while Lisa Jardine, Wren biographer and distinguished historian, is in no doubt that he was. When you look further back – at the eighteenth century – the books of the time all state that Wren had not only been a Freemason, he had been the Grand Master. Some even go so far as to claim that Wren initiated Peter the Great of Russia and William III of England.

The Prestonian Lectures is the only series of lectures officially sanctioned by UGLE. Every year a new lecturer is appointed by the Trustees and announced in Grand Lodge. They choose their own topic. The subject should be suitable for delivery in open lodge or to a wider audience and should be of the broadest possible interest. Wren’s membership of the Craft seemed to me to be ideal and I am pleased that the Trustees agreed.

William Preston (1742-1818), after whom the Prestonian Lectures is named, had been interested in Wren. Preston was convinced Wren was a Freemason and wrote on the subject. He even went as far as buying what he thought was a portrait of him for his lodge. It is now known to be a portrait of the architect William Talman, and it still hangs in Freemasons’ Hall with a plaque wrongly labelled as Wren.

The lectureship Preston founded went into abeyance in the nineteenth century and was revived in its present form in 1924. Since then there have been eighty-two Prestonian Lecturers. Each is entitled to wear a distinctive jewel bearing Preston’s image. In their year of office they give ‘official’ deliveries to lodges chosen by the Board of General Purposes and unofficial deliveries to any lodges that ask for them.

Wren’s membership of the Craft has never been a subject of a Prestonian Lecture before, but is not an infrequent subject of masonic lectures. Most of those I have read are, I am afraid, rather confused.

Most lecturers rely heavily on Robert Freke Gould’s History Of Freemasonry (1883-87), which devotes over fifty pages to demolishing the previously held beliefs that Wren was a Freemason. Few lecturers bother to return to the original sources or look into more recent discoveries. This became my aim: to present clearly how the confusion had arisen and what we now know, and in presenting the evidence to allow the audience to make up their own minds.

Some history is straightforward. Through a series of reliable sources we are able to say unequivocally that something happened on a particular date. Other matters are not so straightforward – vital pieces of evidence are missing or unreliable. This is the case with Wren. The result is a fascinating story of detective work and of shifting views in history.

THE IDEAL SUBJECT

Wren lived around the time that Freemasonry emerged in the seventeenth century, so the question of his membership also brings up the issue of what Freemasonry was at the time he joined. It therefore provides a fascinating glimpse into the problems we have in studying all parts of early Freemasonry’s history.

Also bound up with this subject is the history of Lodge No. 2, the Lodge of Antiquity, which met near St Paul’s Cathedral. Preston was a member of this lodge in the late eighteenth century and it has a number of artefacts associated with Wren. A lecture on Wren is thus an excuse to go into the history of this wonderful lodge and its origins.

Lastly a lecture on Wren and Freemasonry is an ideal opportunity to ask the question of whether it had any effect on his architecture. Are there any masonic symbols hidden in the works of Wren?

These then were the reasons I chose Wren as the subject of the 2011 Prestonian Lecture and it was a most enjoyable year. I gave lectures all over the UK, and I even went as far as India. One highlight was being asked to give a lecture to the Christopher Wren Lodge in Windsor, which hired the town hall Wren designed for the occasion.

Modernising Wren’s hospital

The proceeds of the Prestonian Lecture and the booklet that accompanies it go to charity. Half of the proceeds from Dr James Campbell’s lecture are going to The Royal Hospital Chelsea. The hospital is undergoing a major restoration and is seeking funds to adapt Wren’s building to modern living. The other charity is the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. So far, James has raised more than £6,500 thanks to the generosity of the lodges who have supported the lecture. The sale of the booklet will hopefully raise more. Was Sir Christopher Wren A Mason? contains the complete text of Dr James Campbell’s 2011 Prestonian Lecture and is available from Letchworth’s in Freemasons’ Hall (letchworthshop.co.uk) for £7.99.

Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge
14 December 2011
Report of the Board of General Purposes


Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge of 14 September 2011 were confirmed.

HRH The Duke of Kent KG was nominated as Grand Master for the ensuing year.

Annual Investiture of Grand Officers (25 April 2012)
So that sufficient accommodation can be reserved for those Brethren who are to be invested and their friends, admission to the Annual Investiture is by ticket only. Brethren to be invested for the first time may invite to be present with them three qualified Brethren, and those to be promoted two qualified Brethren. Allowance having been made for such an issue and for those whose presence in the Grand Lodge is essential, a few seats will remain. Written application for these seats may be made to the Grand Secretary between 1 March and 31 March by Brethren qualified to attend Grand Lodge.

Masonic Year Book
The next edition of the Masonic Year Book, 2012–2013, will be available next summer. The charge remains at £12 per copy, plus postage and packing where appropriate. It is proposed to produce a new edition of the Directory of Lodges and Chapters during 2012 at a charge of £12 per copy. Copies of the current edition are still available and may be ordered in the meantime in the same way.
Every Lodge will receive one copy of the Masonic Year Book and the Directory free of charge. The Board emphasises that these copies should be available to all the members of private lodges and not regarded as for the exclusive use of the secretary to whom, for administrative reasons, they are dispatched.
As in previous years copies will be dispatched direct to secretaries of lodges. Sufficient copies will be dispatched to District Grand Secretaries for distribution to lodges in the Districts. Lodges abroad not in a District will receive their copies direct.

Prestonian Lectures for 2012
The Board has considered applications for the delivery of the official Prestonian Lectures in 2012 and has decided that these should be given under the auspices of the following: Humber Installed Masters Lodge, No. 2494 (Yorkshire, North and East Ridings), Authors Lodge, No. 3456 (London) and North Notts. Masters Lodge, No. 9525 (Nottinghamshire).
The Lecturer, W Bro A.D.G. Harvey, states that the title of the Lecture will be: Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?

Mentors
Following the presentation on mentoring given in Grand Lodge in March 2008 very many lodges, as well as the Metropolitan Area of London, Provinces and Districts have adopted a mentoring scheme. In recognition of this the Book of Constitutions was changed in the following year to allow for an office of Provincial or District Grand Mentor, and the Metropolitan Grand Master was given the power to make a similar appointment in London.
At that time the Board did not contemplate a formal office at the level of a private lodge, taking the view that mentoring was an informal role: the choice of a Brother to undertake that role would be determined in each case by the needs of the individual candidate, so that in any lodge several, if not many, members would be acting as individual mentors.
It has been represented to the Board that in order to give impetus to the scheme a formal office is desirable, and the Board, having considered the matter, accordingly recommends that the Master of a lodge should have the option of appointing a Brother as Mentor, to rank immediately before the Senior Deacon, to co-ordinate mentoring within the lodge.
It is intended that where an appointment is made the Brother appointed to the office should ensure that every candidate (and any other Brother within the lodge requiring mentoring) is allocated a personal mentor, and that the work of the personal mentors so allocated is co-ordinated and organised. He should be able to provide guidance to the personal mentors on their responsibilities.
While he would not be precluded in an appropriate case from acting as a personal mentor himself, that should emphatically not be his primary function, which is to act in a co-ordinating role. The Board hopes that when the Mentor is invested the new Master will remind him of the duties attached to the office. The emblem (to be designed) would be two chisels in saltire.
Notice of Motion to amend the Book of Constitutions accordingly appeared on the paper of business.

Recognition of a Foreign Grand Lodge
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska
The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska and its Jurisdiction was consecrated by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington on 6 September 1969, from three lodges operating in Alaska, which it had warranted in 1965. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington was recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England on 10 December 1997.
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska shares jurisdiction with the Grand Lodge of Alaska, which has already granted it recognition and has also confirmed that it would have no objection to our doing so.
A Resolution was accordingly approved.

AMALGAMATIONS
The Board has received reports that the following lodges have resolved to
surrender their Warrants: Salisbury Lodge, No. 3228, in order to amalgamate with Lodge, No. 767 (Hertfordshire); Rossendale Forest Lodge, No. 4138, in order to amalgamate with Lodge of Amity, No. 283 (East Lancashire); Lodge of Good Companions, No. 6091, in order to amalgamate with Jordan Lodge, No. 201 (London); Ionic Lodge, No. 6983, in order to amalgamate with Jubilee Lodge, No. 9475 (Hertfordshire); Triton Lodge, No. 7738, in order to amalgamate with Peace and Friendship Lodge, No. 7414 (London); and Lodge of United Brethren, No. 9529, in order to amalgamate with Owen Falls Lodge, No. 9447 (East Africa).
The Board accordingly recommended that the lodges be removed from the register in order to effect the respective amalgamations. A Resolution to this effect was approved.

Erasure of Lodges
The Board had received a report that 28 lodges had closed and surrendered their Warrants. The lodges are: St John’s Lodge, No. 673 (West Lancashire), Mount Edgcumbe Lodge, No. 1446 (London), Viator Lodge, No. 2308 (London), Marcians Lodge, No. 2648 (London), Harlow Lodge, No. 2734 (Essex), Assheton Egerton Lodge, No. 2793 (Cheshire), Whitley Lodge, No. 2821 (Northumberland), Saltwell Lodge, No. 3000 (Durham), Brooklands Lodge, No. 3671 (Cheshire), Paton Lodge, No. 3738 (West Lancashire), St Mary’s Lodge, No. 3987 (Northumberland), Astley Lodge, No. 4370 (Cheshire), Elfrida Lodge, No. 4497 (London), Filia Unitatis Lodge, No. 4658 (London), Remus Lodge, No. 4760 (London), St Mildred Lodge, No. 5078 (South Wales) and Oliver Goldsmith Lodge, No. 5924 (London).
Lodge of Companionship, No. 6270 (London), King Arthur Lodge, No. 6593 (Surrey), Poseidon Lodge, No. 6815 (London), Lodge of Stability, No. 6985 (Northumberland), Ewloe Lodge, No. 7447 (North Wales), Croydon Lodge of Integrity, No. 7730 (Surrey), Beverley Brook Lodge, No. 8137 (Surrey), St Lawrence Lodge, No. 8205 (Surrey), Harrock Lodge, No. 8233 (West Lancashire), Hyde Abbey Lodge, No. 8241 (Surrey) and Lodge of Academe, No. 9377 (Warwickshire).
Over recent years, the lodges had found themselves no longer viable. The Board was satisfied that further efforts to save them would be to no avail and therefore had no alternative but to recommend that they be erased. A Resolution to this effect was approved.

Yet More Of Our Yesterdays
There was a presentation on the Proceedings of Grand Lodge 200 and 100 years ago by VW Bro J.M. Hamill and VW Bro G.F. Redman, Assistant Grand Secretary.

Expulsion From The Craft
There was one expulsion from the Craft.

Meetings of Grand Lodge
14 March 2012, 25 April (Annual Investiture) 2012, 13 June 2012, 12 September 2012, 12 December 2012, 13 March 2013.

Meetings of Supreme Grand Chapter
25 April 2012, 14 November 2012, 25 April 2013, 16 October 2013 (subject to the approval of Supreme Grand Chapter).

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION OF GRAND LODGE
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES
WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2011

The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 9 March 2011 and of the Annual Investiture of 27 April 2011 were confirmed.

The Board has said goodbye with regret to David Jenkins, Past Provincial Grand Master of Somerset, who has served as a member since July 2003. The Grand Master has appointed Michael Penny, Provincial Grand Master for Devonshire, to succeed him.

ANNUAL DUES
The Board recommended that the annual dues (including VAT) payable to Grand Lodge in
respect of each member of every Lodge for the year 2012 shall be:
In a Lodge in England and Wales that is unattached . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£46.50
In a Lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £28.00
In a Lodge in a District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £6.80
In a Lodge abroad not in a District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £11.50
The recommendation was approved.

FEES
The Board recommended that the fees (exclusive of VAT) payable for registration, certificates
and dispensations should be increased in line with inflation to:
(a) the Registration of :
1. A Grand Officer, present or past, on first appointment. . . . . . . . £103.00
2. A Deputy or Assistant Metropolitan Grand Master or a
Metropolitan Grand Inspector) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                            £57.00
3. A Deputy or Assistant Provincial or District Grand Master ........  £57.00
4. A holder of Overseas Grand Rank . . . . . . . . . . . .                        £22.00
5. A Mason, inclusive of Grand Lodge Certificate (initiation,
or joining from a Lodge not under the Grand Lodge)
In a Lodge in England and Wales that is unattached . . . . . . . .        £57.00
In a Lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province  . . . . . . . . . . .        £50.00
In a Lodge in a District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         £31.00
In a Lodge abroad not under a District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        £43.00
(b) the replacement or amendment of a Grand Lodge Certificate . . £56.00
(c) a certificate for a Serving Brother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   £31.00
(d) a Dispensation by the Grand Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  £29.00
a Dispensation by the Grand Master “nunc pro tunc” . . . . . . . . . . .  £58.00
A Resolution to this effect was approved.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GRAND CHARITY
It was recommended that for 2012 the annual contribution be raised to £15 in respect of each member of a Lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province, or in England and Wales that is unattached.
A Resolution to this effect was approved.

PRESTONIAN LECTURES
2010: Music in Masonry and Beyond
The Lecturer, W W.B. Warlow, has informed the Board that in addition to the four official deliveries to Lathom Lodge, No. 2229 (West Lancashire), Guildhall School of Music Lodge, No. 2454 (London), Old Wycombiensian Lodge, No. 6754 (Buckinghamshire) and Proscenium Lodge,No. 9059 (South Wales), the Lecture was also delivered on 13 other occasions as well as to the Sheffield Masonic Study Circle. Overseas deliveries were made in New York and Toronto. The Board expressed its thanks to Bro Warlow for the considerable time and effort he has spent in this connection.

2011: Was Sir Christopher Wren a Freemason?
The Prestonian Lecturer for 2011 is Dr J.W.P. Campbell, Five official Prestonian Lectures for 2011 have been or will be given under the auspices of Isaac Newton University Lodge, No. 859 (Cambridgeshire), Christopher Wren Lodge, No. 4855 (Berkshire), Archibald Campbell Lodge, No. 4998 (Madras), Alphin Lodge, No. 8461 (East Lancashire) and Metropolitan Grand Stewards’ Lodge, No. 9812 (London).

2012: A.D.G. Harvey has been appointed as Prestonian Lecturer for 2012. The title of his Lecture will be Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?
Arrangements for the delivery of the Lectures to selected Lodges will be considered by the Board in November and applications are now invited from Lodges. Applications should be made to the Grand Secretary, through Metropolitan, Provincial or District Grand Secretaries.
The Board emphasise the importance of these, the only Lectures held under the authority of the Grand Lodge. It is, therefore, hoped that applications for the privilege of having one of these official Lectures will be made only by Lodges which are prepared to afford facilities for all Freemasons in their area, as well as their own members, to participate and thus ensure an attendance worthy of the occasion.

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN GRAND LODGES
The Grand Lodge of Cameroon
The Grand Lodge of Cameroon was formed on 15 September 2001 from four Lodges which comprised the District Grand Lodge of Cameroon under the National Grand Lodge of France.

The Grand Lodge of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino
On 3 April 2003 the Grand Lodge of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino was consecrated by the Grand Orient of Italy from three Lodges meeting there. Although the Grand Orient of Italy is no longer recognised by this Grand Lodge we have publicly stated that we accept that its Lodges are working regularly.

The Grand Lodge of Ukraine
The Grand Lodge of Ukraine was jointly formed from five Lodges on 24 September 2005, by the Grand Lodge of Austria and the National Grand Lodge of France.
Having shown that they have regular decendency and that they conform to the Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition, the Board, having no reason to believe that they will not continue to maintain a regular path, recommended that these three Grand Lodges be recognised. The recommendations were approved.

AMALGAMATIONS
Six Lodges had surrendered their Warrants in order to effect amalgamations and a proposal from the
Board that they be removed from the register in order to effect the respective amalgamations was approved.

ERASURE OF LODGES
The Board had received a report that 33 Lodges had closed and surrendered their Warrants. Over recent years, the Lodges had found themselves no longer viable. The Board recommendation that they be erased was approved.

EXPULSIONS
Two Brethren were recently expelled from the Craft.

Grand Lodge Accounts 2010
The Audited Accounts of Grand Lodge for the year ended 31 December 2010 were approved.

Election of Grand Lodge Auditors
Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP were reappointed as auditors of Grand Lodge.

LIST OF NEW LODGES FOR WHICH WARRANTS HAVE BEEN GRANTED
Allegoria Lodge No. 9865 ((Limassol, Cyprus) from 9 March 2011.

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS OF GRAND LODGE
14 December 2011, 14 March 2012, 25 April 2012 (Annual Investiture), 13 June 2012 and 12 September 2012.

CONVOCATIONS OF SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER
9 November 2011, 26 April 2012 and 14 November 2012