Bone beakers

These are two bone beakers from the 18th century that are being sold at John Nicholson aucitoneers in Surrey on December 16.

The catalogue description reads: "...depicting symbols, motifs, buildings and inscriptions, with George III silver mounts. 4.5ins & 4ins high."

The estimate is between £500 and £1,000.

Masonic Money for Air Ambulance

From the Evening News, Norwich...

The East Anglian Air Ambulance has been given a grant of £4,000 by the Freemasons.
The Norfolk Province of Freemasons has presented the money from its national charity, the Freemasons' Grand Charity. The donation will contribute to the annual cost of maintaining and operating Anglia One, the air ambulance serving Norfolk and Suffolk, and Anglia Two, which serves Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
The donation forms part of a total of £500,000 given by the charity to air ambulances across England and Wales during the past three years.
Provincial grand master John Rushmer said: "Norfolk Freemasons and the grand charity are delighted to once again support the East Anglian Air Ambulance and thank the dedicated staff in the air and on the ground for the work they do."
Simon Gray, chief executive of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: "We're all delighted and grateful that the Freemasons' Grand Charity is continuing to so generously support the operation of the air ambulance service in our region."

Whiteware jug

Here's a colourful whiteware masonic jug coming up for sale at Mellors and Kirk in Nottingham on December 10.

The catalogue description reads: "Finely painted in sepia with emblems and inscribed Thomas Garn 1831 flanked by pluck & dust prints painted in bright enamels of romantic scenes beneath a wide border of flowers and leaves, the handle, lip and rims picked out in brown enamel, 17.5cm h, 1831. ++ Descending crack in the rim, one or two flat surface grazes around the rim but in good overall condition, no restoration."

The estimate is between 200 and 300 pounds.

Pedestals

Need some pedestals? Then here are some going under the hammer at Thomas Roddick Scottish Auctions in Edinburgh on December 3.

Will you be the lucky bidder when the gavel comes down?

Snuff box

Being sold at Christies is this 18th century meissen gold-mounted triangular-shaped masonic snuff box.

The catalogue description reads: "The cover painted with Fortuna holding a cornucopia and leaning against a column inscribed Le grand Art de se taire, masonic instruments at her feet, within a gilt line and band border, the sides with figures, carriages and buildings in parkland landscapes, the base with three birds perched on a rocky outcrop supporting a triangle below the inscription Trois au veritable., the interior of the hinged cover painted with a mason in a tricorn hat wearing and holding masonic symbols, with further instruments strewn at his feet, in a draped portico before distant classical buildings, the interior of the box richly gilt (slight wear to base and to gilt border of cover)3¼ in. (8.3 cm.) wide overall."

The sale is on November 17 and it is estimated to sell for up to £3,000.

Ladies' Night Tragedy

A distraught son has told how he watched helplessly as his father slipped through his fingers and plunged 40ft to his death from a hotel balcony.
Chris Riley, 43, found himself locked out of his room at an exclusive hotel when he drunkenly tried to climb from the balcony of his son's room onto his own.
He misjudged the manoevure and ended up holding onto the railings. He cried out to his sleeping son Nicholas for help as he dangled from the fourth floor balcony.
The 24-year-old grabbed hold of his father's arms and desparetly tried to haul him to safety.
But he told an inquest that his dad was too heavy and he slipped from his grasp.
Mr Riley fell to the ground, striking another balcony in the fall. He suffered severe multiple injuries and died several hours later.
The hearing heard scaffolder Mr Riley was at the 185 pounds a night Sandbanks Hotel on the exclusive peninsula in Poole, Dorset, with his family for the weekend.
His father-in-law, David, was a Freemason and the organisation was staging a ladies' night ball there at the time on Saturday, September 5.
Mr Riley, a married father-of-four, had been drinking all day and night and returned to his hotel room at 2am the next morning to get some more money.
But he didn't have his key and so went next door to Nicholas's room.
Nicholas went back to bed while Mr Riley sat out on the balcony before attempting to climb the adjoining wall.
He said: "My father had been sat in the chair on the balcony looking out to the sea. I just dozed off before he started shouting 'Nick help.'
"I ran straight out onto the balcony and he was hanging from the railing on his side.
"I couldn't grab him so I went to try and kick his door in but it was solid.
"I ran back into my room and climbed over the balcony. I grabbed hold of him but he was just too heavy.
"He was a bit sweaty as well, I couldn't get a proper grip. I think I was holding onto both his arms and he was holding onto the balcony.
"I couldn't hold on to him."
He said: "I ran straight downstairs in my boxers and went out to the back of the hotel. I found him and put him in the recovery position.
"He was making a gargling sound. There was nobody about at that point and I ran back inside and called for help."
Mr Riley's wife Clair was still at the ball when she spotted her son run through the reception area.
She said in a statement read out to the Bournemouth inquest: "I remember seeing Nick running past the reception desk, he was screaming and calling for help.
"I had no idea what was going on but he was saying that his dad had fallen.
"I went outside and could see Chris on the ground, he was on his back."
Mrs Riley, who had been with Mr Riley for 24 years and married for 15, said previously: "I was begging him not to die, telling him to wake up and stop being so silly."
Mr Riley, from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, suffered a fractured left shoulder and multiple fractured ribs, two of which had punctered his lung.
A post mortem examination revealed he died from multiple injuries.
Toxicology tests showed he was three times the drink drive limit when he died and had traces of cocaine in his blood as well.
Police investigated the death but concluded there were no suspicious circumstances.
Mr Sheriff Payne, coroner for Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said: "He died as a result of an accident which brought a happy, family weekend to a tragic close."

Judges win in Human Rights Battle

From today's Telegraph...

Judges will no longer have to declare being a Freemason after Jack Straw scrapped a 11-year-rule he introduced – amid fears he would lose a human rights battle.

Since 1998 those becoming judges or magistrates have been required to say if they are a Mason after the then Home Secretary – Mr Straw – said membership of "secret societies such as freemasonry" could raise suspicions of impartiality and objectivity.

But now, Justice Secretary Mr Straw has abandoned the requirement after the United Grand Lodge of England threatened legal action following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

In 2007, the court ruled in favour of Italian Masons that making an official declare their membership breached their rights to free association and was discriminatory.

Mr Straw yesterday said a review had shown no evidence of "impropriety or malpractice" as a result of a judge being a Freemason and that it would be "disproportionate" to continue with the practice.

The move sparked a furious backlash in 1998 and attempts to make a similar requirement for police officers was dropped in favour of voluntary declarations.

John Hamill, spokesman for the United Grand Union, said: "We are very happy the right thing has been done at long last."

West Indian?

This queer-looking thing is coming up for sale at Philip Serrell auctioneers in Malvern on November 12.

The catalogue description reads: "A carved coconut rum flask, decorated with a reserved panel of the bust of a man also decorated with an eagle over a shield and with masonic symbols and with "bugbear" eyes, probably 18th century and possibly West Indian, length 5 ins."

Masonic coffin

The auction house Biddle and Webb in Birmingham (UK) is offering this at its November 6 sale.

It is described:

A Georgian silver coffin shaped snuff box, hallmarked for 1817 with later engraved Masonic symbols and decoration with an obituary to the bottom for 20th October 1851, 65mm x 40mm.

The estimate is up to 1,200 pounds.

4K For Air Ambulance

From the East Kent Mercury...

THE Kent Air Ambulance Trust has been presented with a cheque for £4,000 by East Kent's Freemasons.
The money, which will help save the equivalent of three lives, was given during an event organised by the Province of East Kent.
County fundraiser for Kent Air Ambulance Trust Lynn Hyder said: "We are always very grateful to anyone who can help us carry on the great work the charity does, but to receive a cheque for such a large amount of money is simply fantastic.
"The Freemasons have always been key supporters of the Kent Air Ambulance Trust. Without wanting to put the price on saving lives, this kind donation will effectively help us save another three lives."
Provincial Grand Master of the Freemasons of East Kent Michael Robin Bailey said: "The air ambulance is a charity that has a link to everyone in our county.
"It's a vital life-saving service that deserves as much help as it can get. The Freemasons are really very pleased to be able to continue to support such a relevant cause."

Masonic Bowl

This is being sold by Boulton and Cooper in Moulton, Yorkshire, on October 21, and is estimated to sell for up to £500.

The catalogue description reads:

A 19th Century circular Bowl decorated with a centre panel of a figure seated beneath reeded columns with a Coat of Arms and Masonic emblems inscribed "Free Masons Arms", the border decorated with 6 landscape panels of buildings and landscapes within a cream and gilt seaweed frond on a blue ground with gilt rim, the exterior with a continuous band of trailing foliage, 10 1/2" (26cms) diameter. Complete with a receipt from J R Cookson Ltd, Antiques Dealers, dated 1956 where the bowl is described as "Rockingham Masonic Bowl".

Globes

Martel Maides Auctions in Guernsey is selling these terrestrial and celestial globes on October 15.

The catalogue description reads: "A pair of George III English 18 inch Library Globes early 19th century, by W. & T. M. Bardin, the Celestial with cartouche printed `To the Rev. / NEVIL MASKELYNE D.D., F.R.S. / Astronomer Royal / This New British Celestial Globe / Containing the Positions of nearly 6000 Stars, Clusters, Nebulae, Planetary / Nebulae, & Correctly computed & laid down for the year 1800 from the latest observati / -ons and discoveries by Dr. Maskelyne, Dr. Herfchel, The Rev. Mr. Wollation / So Respectfully Dedicated / by his most obedient hble. servants / W. & T. M. Bardin`, the Terrestrial apparently without cartouche, each comprised of two sets of twelve hand coloured gores applied to the sphere with a brass meridian, the horizon rings with engraved paper calendar and zodiac scales, supported on matching mahogany stands with four quadrants, turned columns and tripod bases with spade feet, the spheres 18in. (46cm.) diameter, 39in. (99cm.) high."

The pre-sale estimate is £8,000 to £12,000.

Hero Jim Dies

Well known Bournemouth Freemason Jim Mariner has died. He was a World War Two hero. His story follows...

The first British serviceman to fire on Japanese forces during World War Two has died aged 90.

Plucky able seaman Jim Mariner was just 21 when he opened fire on the enemy despite his ship having no chance of victory in the little-known action.

The gunboat HMS Peterel won her place in history shortly after 4am on December 7, 1941.

The vessel was in China's Shanghai Harbour and the crew had been issued with cutlasses and told they should be prepared to die defending the ship.

It was the last commissioned Royal Navy craft on the Yangtze River and had been stripped of most of her weapons.

She had a skeleton crew and was acting as a communication vessel and was clearly in no position to fight the extensive enemy forces.

In an attempt to delay the inevitable and give the crew time to scuttle her, the commanding officer invited Japanese officers onboard.

When the officers refused to discuss the matter below decks, Lieutenant Stephen Polkington ordered them to: "Get off my bloody ship."

Once the Japanese officers had returned to their own vessel, HMS Peterel was fired on at point blank range.

Hero Jim Mariner was first to fire back with a Lewis machine gun and a number of Japanese were killed in the ensuing firefight.

The 350 tonne HMS Peterel sank and the Japanese crew gunned down several of the men as they swan for safety.

Jim, from Bournemouth, Dorset, watched in horror when the Japanese opened fire because a Chinese crewman next to him had his head blown clean off.

Those who survived were taken prisoner and Jim spent the rest of the war down a Japanese mine

He later recalled the action just hours after the Japanese attack at Pear Harbour: "We refused to surrender and were determined to fight to the finish.

"We stacked the boat with high explosive charges which we planned to set off if we were boarded and armed ourselves with pistols and cutlasses, ready to resist boarders.

"I walked along and up the ladder on to the gun deck, which was now all action stations.

"Then red lights went into the sky and all hell broke loose. We thought it was going to be a mass invasion but it wasn't.

"They wanted to blow us to pieces. I just opened fire with my gun."

He recalled how he and several colleagues tried to escape in a small motor boat tied alongside, but ultimately swam for safety.

He said: "We always had trouble starting the engine on this blasted thing.

"One of our fellows got down there trying to start the engine and he said: "I'll get this thing going if it's the last thing I do". And it was, he took a direct shot.

"He said: "I've had it now" as he died. He was a very brave man and he died a wonderful death.

"It was dreadful. The noise was shocking. They were at point blank range and they blew us to smithereens.

"I never thought I would get out of it alive."

After swimming to a Panamanian ship which he thought was safe, he was taken prisoner by Japanese troops that boarded her. The Japanese declared war on Britain the next day.

Jim spent the rest of the war in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and recalls the nuclear bomb being dropped in August 1945.

He said: "I looked up in the heavens and it was the most beautiful night. I said: "If there's a God in some mysterious way that can hear me, please let me go home.

""I'm getting thin and I've been seven years abroad and I want to go home and see my dear old mum."

"I said: "Please get me home, but destroy these people. They're not right to be in a civilised world. You can destroy me with them if you like, but destroy them."

"The day after was my birthday, August 8, the day the Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That was the best birthday present I've had in my life."

Every day of his incarceration he defiantly sang: "There'll Always be an England."

None of the 12 survivors from the 21 crew were decorated and they believed it was because an American ship in similar circumstances gave up without a fight.

Jim said: "The navy refused to give us any decorations because it would be embarrassing for America."

However, when Lord Mountbatten later found out about the action he invited Jim as his personal guest to the Queen's review of the fleet in the 1960s.

Great grandfather Jim left the navy and spent 28 years with the police as a motorcycle officer and he played football and cricket for the force.

He was married to his beloved Muriel for sixty three years. His funeral took place this morning (mon) at Bournemouth crematorium.

He died on October 3 at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

ends

Dan Brown's Enormous Respect for The Craft

Dan Brown, author of The Lost Symbol, has "enormous respect" for the Craft...

"I have enormous respect for the Masons," Brown told The Associated Press during a recent interview. "In the most fundamental terms, with different cultures killing each other over whose version of God is correct, here is a worldwide organization that essentially says, `We don't care what you call God, or what you think about God, only that you believe in a god and let's all stand together as brothers and look in the same direction.'

"I think there will be an enormous number of people who will be interested in the Masons after this book (comes out)," Brown said.

Freemasonry in Court

This from the Belfast Telegraph...

The internal workings of one of the most secretive institutions in Ireland, the Masonic Order, may be publicly exposed after a writ was issued in the High Court in Belfast against a provincial grand master and the general secretary in Dublin.

News of the unprecedented legal action comes as The Lost Symbol, the new novel by Dan Brown about the pursuit of “ancient mysteries” hidden in Washington DC by the Freemasons, hit the shelves and sold millions in its first week of publication.

The legal proceedings by father and son Stewart and Brian Hood has rocked the arcane world of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ireland.

Neither party would discuss the issues behind the High Court action but sources within the Masonic say it relates to serious disagreements and disciplinary actions within the Antrim provincial lodge that arose more than two years ago.

A writ naming Barry Lyons, the grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Ireland, whose headquarters is in Molesworth Street in Dublin, is expected to be served in the coming days.

Mr Lyons is named in the writ lodged in the High Court in Belfast on September 10, which afforded the order 21 days to have an appearance entered on behalf of the Grand Lodge.

In February 2007, the Antrim provincial lodge was rocked after secretly taped recordings of meetings held in its Rosemary Street Hall in Belfast were sent in the post to members of the lodge. The PSNI was asked to investigate the incident but detectives told the Masons that they were unable to establish that a criminal offence had been committed.

Since then there have been attempts to resolve the issues that have caused friction within the Antrim Masons, which is thought to have around 7,000 members.

Within the Masons, the official line has been that the dispute was resolved through Grand Lodge-directed mediation, but the High Court writ issued 10 days ago by the Hoods against John Dunlop, the provincial grand master of Antrim and the general secretary of the Masons in Ireland, has stunned the membership.

Businessman Brian Hood declined to discuss any details of the action, but did say: “I can confirm that my father and I have laid the writ. We are happy to be Freemasons but are appalled at the conduct of the management of the provincial lodge of Antrim.

“It is our intention to have a court hearing. If we cannot get a fair hearing and justice within the Masonic Order, then we have to seek justice elsewhere and take steps to have injustice addressed.”

In a quarterly communication in June 2007, posted on its website, the Grand Lodge of Ireland included a minute referring to the dispute in Antrim.

“The assistant grand master reported on the findings of the sub-committee chaired by himself, set up to consider complaints between Brethren in Antrim and Senior Provincial Grand Lodge Officers in Antrim,” it said.

In June of last year, the Grand Lodge website assured members that the dispute in the Antrim Lodge had been resolved.

When asked last week whether the Antrim provincial grand master and the general secretary would defend the writ, a member of staff at the Masons Rosemary Street office in Belfast would only say: “We are not making any comment at the moment.”

Robert Burns' Royal Arch apron for sale

Poet Robert Burns' masonic apron that he received when he joined the Royal Arch Chapter in 1787 is to be sold - and could fetch an astonishing 25,000 pounds.
The lamb skin apron is exceptionally rare in itself, but its association with the great Scots poet makes it hugely valuable.
Burns became a mason in 1781 and was appointed Companion of the Holy Royal Arch at St Ebbe's Lodge, Eyemouth, Scotland six years later.
He was allowed in for free to this particular order of fremasonry because of his poetic genius and an extract from the minutes of the chapter, Land O' Cakes N0. 15, states:
"At a general encampment held this day the following brethren were made Royal Arch Masons, viz Robert Burns from the Lodge of St James, Tarbolton, Ayrshire..."
The apron is decorated with masonic symbols including two columns, a chequered pavement, square and compass, three candles, a sun and a moon.
It is framed in a wooden case and an inscription reads: "Robert Burns. Masonic Apron. 1787."
Current owner Michael Bennett-Levy recalls the apron hanging in his grandmother's flat but now it could be snapped up by collectors anywhere around the world.
He said: "Throughout my life the apron hung in my grandmother's flat and, after her death, in my parent’s home.
"When I inherited it some years ago I did some research, but could not associate it with any of the Scottish lodges to which Robert Burns belonged.
"I did nothing further until February this year when I decided to have it X-rayed.
"The X-ray photos showed clearly the top of an archway under the apron flap and a London Freemason instantly identified it as an 18th century Royal Arch apron."
Jon Baddeley, from Bonhams, who is selling it, said: "Bonhams is delighted to be offering this rare masonic artefact once owned by the Scottish cultural icon, Robert Burns.
"It has remained in the same family since the 1830s and has been to Australia with the family and returned to Britain in the early 1900s.
"It is a very rare piece of masonic memorabilia in its own right, but its association with Burns makes it more important.
"Having been consigned from north of the border, I am confident it will returning to Scotland again after the auction."
Th apron has been passed down the generations of Bennett-Levy's family and has long been a treasured heirloom.
Initially the apron belonged to Michael's great, great grandfather Sir Benjamin Benjamin (Mayor of Melbourne and Senior Mason).
He later passed it on to his son-in law Bernhard Sinauer, who had the valuable piece framed whilst living in Brisbane, Australia.
The item was then repatriated to England following the Australian Masonic schism of the early 1900s and passed down to Bennett-Levy’s grandfather Esmond Sinauer, his daughter Valerie and then finally Bennett-Levy himself.
Burns first joined the Freemasons when he was inducted as an Apprentice at the St David Lodge, Tarbolton, in 1781.
By 1784 he was Deputy Master and, on moving to Edinburgh in 1786, joined the St John, then Cannongate Lodges, Kilwinny.
Two other aprons have been identified as belonging to Burns, but neither was a Royal Arch apron.
The sale takes place on September 30.

National Geographic

The National Geographic has a story prompted by Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol.

It is entitled "8 Myths Decoded".

It begins...

Novelist Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol, is doing for the Freemasons what its predecessor, The Da Vinci Code, did for the Catholic Church's Opus Dei—showering new fame, and new fictions, on a brotherhood that's already catnip for conspiracy theorists.

Since long before The Lost Symbol, Freemasons have been accused of everything from conspiring with extraterrestrials to practicing sexual deviancy to engaging in occult rituals to running the world—or trying to end it. Detractors include global conspiracy theorists and religious organizations, including the Catholic Church.
Released today, The Lost Symbol isn't likely to squelch any rumors, beginning as it does with a wine-filled skull, bejeweled power brokers, and a dark Masonic temple steps away from the White House.
But what if Freemasons—the world's largest international secret society—are just a bunch of guys into socializing, non-satanic rituals, self-improvement, and community service?
To separate Freemason fact from Lost Symbol-style myth, National Geographic News went inside the centuries-old order with two Masons and a historian of the ancient Christian order from which some claim the Masons sprang in the 17th or 18th century.

The Lost Symbol

Author Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol, is launched tomorrow and according to the article below it "skewers" Freemasonry as his previous blockbuster The Da Vinci Code skewered the Catholic Church.

It mixes fact and fiction in just the right ratio, I would imagine, to cause maximum reaction from those in the Craft and those without.

The following is from UK's left-leaning newspaper the Guardian.

Washington DC is used to hordes of eager tourists, brandishing guidebooks and rushing around the sights, but it is bracing itself for a different influx this week – and a potentially hostile one.
From Tuesday, when Dan Brown unveils the long-awaited sequel to his blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code, fans are expected to descend on the US capital to gawk at the locations featured in it. They swarmed to places in Britain, France and Italy mentioned in Brown's previous works. The new book, The Lost Symbol, is set largely in Washington and will give the reader a picturesque tour of the seats of American power. But it is also expected to reveal a more mysterious side to the city by exposing the influence that freemasonry exerted not only on the design of Washington DC but on the founding fathers .
Brown skewered the Roman Catholic Church in The Da Vinci Code. He is now likely to do something similar with the freemasons. The plot of The Lost Symbol is under wraps until Tuesday. But after that readers can follow his protagonist, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, as he tears about the capital rattling the skeletons of the establishment.
The book will mix fact and fiction, of course. But it is true that some of the founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and at least a dozen presidents including Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford, were powerful masons.
"George Washington was the biggest mason of them all. He laid the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in a masonic ceremony wearing an apron. And President James Polk, also a mason, presided over the ritualistic laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument. The city and leaders were influenced by the principles of freemasonry," said David Shugarts, whose book Secrets of the Widow's Son predicted Brown would target Washington and freemasonry. Many experts even believe that masonic symbols such as the square and compass, the five-pointed star and the triangle can be discerned in the very layout of the city's streets.
"Dan Brown is going to open the eyes of many to just how authoritative the masons were here," said Warren Getler, an author and consultant on freemasonry. He is already devising a visitor tour of "masonic Washington" to be launched after he has digested The Lost Symbol.
The theory goes that if you draw a line along the avenues connecting the White House with four key road intersections it traces a five-pointed star or pentagram. Similarly, a square and compass and triangle shapes can be traced along streets that centre on the Capitol.
Getler's tour will explain that and also visit the extraordinary Temple of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It sits directly in line with the White House and is odds-on to feature in The Lost Symbol. The forbidding Temple is guarded by two male sphinxes and supported by 33 columns, a significant number in freemasonry. Despite appearing intimidating, the Temple runs tours. Freemasons in the US are usually more open than their British counterparts, and are not, unlike the British, perenially accused of influencing the judiciary, police, civil service or academia. The 1.5 million members of America's 2,000 lodges are, however, routinely accused of occultism and Satanism, which they vigorously deny.
For good or ill, Heather Calloway, director of special programmes at the Temple, says only that she expects visitor numbers to "skyrocket".
The precise origin of freemasonry in Britain is unclear but is believed to date back to medieval craft guilds, which formed into lodges in the early 18th century. Their traditions migrated to the US, where freemasonry flourished by promoting interfaith religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
Meanwhile the obscure but contentious Albert Pike will surely figure in The Lost Symbol. His eerie statue stands in Judiciary Square, accompanied by a weeping virgin holding a masonic banner with the number 33 inside a triangle. Pike wasn't just a powerful mason but a Confederate general, accused of leading the Ku Klux Klan and assassinating Abraham Lincoln. He is interred at the Temple of the Scottish Rite.
A stone's throw away, the Capitol stars on the cover of The Lost Symbol. Above the Capitol the cover depicts the looming seal of the Scottish Rite, superimposed on a zodiac. Masonic control over a Congress by leaders suspiciously influenced by astrology? Dan Brown fans have less than two days to wait.
Inside, the rotunda of the Capitol is painted with a mural of George Washington ascending to heaven. An empty crypt marked with a star lies beneath.
Just across the Potomac, the George Washington National Masonic Memorial towers over Alexandria, Virginia. Inside is a statue of Washington in his masonic apron and sash. "We have a rich, introspective, mystical tradition. I think it [The Lost Symbol] is going to bring an influx of interest and new members," said guide Michael Seay, 23. He added, on the subject of the city being laid out on a masonic grid: "It's rubbish," then politely declined to demonstrate the secret handshake.
The memorial's director of collections Mark Tabbert is more concerned. "I'm worried that Dan Brown is going to make millions and I'm going to be left with thousands of unthinking tourists only interested in intrigue," he sighed.
Many don't appreciate freemasonry's philanthropy and egalitarianism, Tabbert said. And he concluded glumly: "Dan Brown's made his pile, he has no need to roast the masons."
Most suspect he will not be deterred.

Gourd Basket

This peculiar gourd basket is possibly from the West Indies. Written upon it is the name of a masonic lodge, along with masonic emblems.

It is inscribed: "W. Crossman 1834 Born Dec 5th 1782"

Mellors and Kirk in Nottingham is selling it on September 24 where it is expected to make £150.

George Washington

This fellow is of course George Washington, pictured in his Masonic regalia.

It is being sold by the Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York. It is unsigned and no date is given but it is oil on panel and described as "American School".

It is valued up to £3,666 and will be sold on September 11/12.

A Mason's Wife Speaks

This is an account from the Eastern Daily Press and is titled "The Mysterious World of a Freemason's Wife"

Look here for the story, pictures and extra copy.

Freemasons have been shrouded in secrecy for centuries. The international network of many thousands of men, linked by strange handshakes and solemn vows, has intrigued, and sometimes incensed, outsiders.

And until now, even their own wives were often outsiders.But when Philippa Faulks' husband decided to become a mason, she wanted to know more.

“A lot of the wives I spoke to either had no idea what it was all about, or didn't want to know,” said Philippa, known as Pip.

Pip, of Bungay, very definitely did want to know. She was already fascinated by the history of magic and when her husband, Martin, began finding out more about freemasonry she became more and more interested.

“I was quite jealous really,” she admitted.Every time Martin returned home from a meeting she quizzed him about what he had seen and done, intrigued by the rituals, the costumes, the philosophy - and the myths and misconceptions.

Now she has written a book about freemasonry - aimed at other wives.

“It's for wives, partners, friends, family, potential freemasons…It's a very basic outline of what freemasonry involves,” said 40-year-old Pip, who has previously written books on meditation and magic.

Philippa with her book.

“I think it was the history that drew me in first,” she said. “Over the last century there was a heck of a lot of persecution of freemasons, which reached a peak with Hitler.

The majority of people don't know that Hitler hated freemasons as much as he hated Jews and gypsies.”

Then, as Martin progressed through the various stages of initiation she gleaned as much as she could of modern day masonry.

“I must admit, it was like 'go on, go on…' whenever he was talking about it!” she said.And Pip found she liked what she was learning.

“It's about teaching men to be better men,” she said. “It's not some kind of sinister gathering where they conspire to rule the world.

The truth is that they sometimes find it hard enough to run a meeting!”

Martin joined when he was only 25. Seven years on, he is still the youngest in both his Lodges (or groups of masons).

For him, freemasonry is very definitely a force for good.

“It's like boy scouts, but on steroids!” said Martin. “I first read about free-masonry as a teenager.

The idea of this secret society that had been instrumental in promoting, learning and science and freeing slaves…For me these secret, virtuous protectors of the universe were so cool, and they've even got a super-hero uniform!”

Martin now works for a masonic publisher but his colourful past includes being a schoolboy martial arts champion, an escapologist, hypnotist and a member of the Magic Circle.

Indeed, as a student of ninjitsu he can call himself a ninja.It is the ritual, history, training and brotherhood of freemasonry that fascinates him.

He believes the formal initiation ceremonies are, like many martial arts, another path towards self-improvement.

“For me they are so beautiful and inspiring,” he said. And he loves the shared experience of masonry, and finding out who else is involved.

“I will do a handshake, or quote a little bit of the ritual, but I find just asking 'Are you a freemason?' works well!” he said.

Masons, and there is a clue in the name, are thought to have started out as stone-masons.

Many of the rituals and symbols can be traced back to the medieval stonemasons who built our great churches and cathedrals.

As they travelled around Europe they developed a code to demonstrate their level of skill, protecting their craft with secret signs and passwords. Many of these were focused around the only building described in detail in the Bible - King Solomon's Temple.

That is the basis of the Temple used by freemasons today. And even today a mason must believe in a “supreme being” (although not necessarily the Christian or Jewish God) who is called the Supreme Architect.

The Norwich Temple is deep within a grand building on St Giles. The huge, ballroom-sized space is surrounded by wooden pews, looking on to a black and white chequerboard floor.

Right at the centre of the high panelled ceiling is a big golden G - variously believed to represent God, or geometry, or even goodness.

Masonic symbols abound - the square and compass of the medieval stone mason, a block of rough stone and cube of highly polished marble, representations of ancient building tools.And during formal meetings the masons will be dressed in their regalia - aprons and collars, adorned with medal-like “jewels”.

“I got a lot of 'Why will you put on an apron for them but not put on an apron at home?'” said Martin.

Alongside the heritage from the Old Testament and medieval masons, is a theory that freemasons had to become even more secretive because they believed in religious and political tolerance, and equality (at least of all men).

Even today, formal meetings are still guarded by a ceremonial look-out, plus a man at the door with a sword and another outside with a dagger.

There are thrones for the chief masons representing the sun and the moon and it is here that the ceremonies are carried out - ritual dramas which new masons must learn and re-enact.

In the first, the man is blindfolded and has a noose placed around his neck and is taught never to reveal the secrets of masonry.

“They make you question what you are doing in the world, and make you want to do your best, and there are parts of the ritual which do take some guts to get through,” said Martin.

And while some of the ritual is still kept secret - parts have entered into common parlance. Giving someone “the third degree” refers to the third initiation ritual, which deals with the inevitability of death.

And masons vote on admitting a new member using glass balls like marbles. Each mason puts a marble in a box, with a black ball a “no” vote.

The sense of mystery and strangeness is intensified by the use of old paintings or “tracing boards” in the ceremonies.

As Alan Fairchild, information officer for the Provincial Grand Lodge of Norfolk, dragged a selection from a storeroom, the Norwich temple filled with pictures of skulls and skeletons, stylised trees, figures with swords and arrows and hour-glasses, huge eyes, broken buildings and the tools of stonemasonry.

They are two centuries, or more, old but have strangely futuristic dates because freemasonry counts its years from King Solomon's time.

One reads AD5811, amongst the semi-erased symbols and skeletons.It's all very Dan Brown, So has the mass of interest in Dan Brown generated more curiosity about freemasonry?

“Very much so,” said Pip. “I think it has opened up a new wave of interest that has generated both positive and negative feelings towards the craft. It has made it seem more mystical to some, which again has had a double edged effect. One great thing about writing The Handbook for the Freemason's Wife, was being able to dispel the majority of ridiculous and often downright damaging myths that have surrounded Freemasonry for so long.”

As she researched freemasonry, and watched her husband being drawn into its ancient embrace, Pip fell for its combination of mystery and brotherhood.

“I love freemasonry! I believe it is a powerful force for good in a society that has really lost its way,” she said.

And she admitted: “I often wished I could do it too.”She has considered joining one of the break-away European lodges which welcome women members and has written another book about the self-styled masonic magician who helped found them.

But she does not resent being excluded from the English masonry. “It doesn't really bother me as the whole system of freemasonry per se is geared up towards making men better men,” she said.

Philippa Faulks wrote A Handbook for the Freemason's Wife with fellow freemason's wife Cheryl Skidmore. It includes explanations of the words and symbols used by masons plus information on the ceremonies, aims, roles, history and charitable work of freemasons. It is available locally from Waterstones and from publisher Lewis Masonic at www.lewismasonic.com

Robert Charlton

Robert Charlton, pictured above, is the subject of the story below. He was a member of Greyfrairs Lodge in Leicester, Kingsland Lodge in London, and a member of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend but in the case of cheating Robert Charlton they were a bargaining tool to excuse his philandering ways.
A stunning collection of jewellery that the guilty but very wealthy businessman gave his long-suffering wife when ever he cheated on her has sold for nearly 300,000 pounds.
Millionaire Mr Charlton regularly presented wife Elizabeth with new and expensive charms to ease his guilty conscience.
And although she knew all about his infidelity, the luxury items made it easier to forgive him.
The bizarre arrangement kept their marriage alive until Mr Charlton died aged 63 in 1974.
His widow cherished the necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings for the rest of her life until she passed away in 2006, aged 90.
The jewellery, some of which would make Victoria Beckham green with envy, was passed down to their only child Marie and has now been sold for 286,000 pounds.
The most expensive item was a beautiful riviere necklace made up of 54 diamonds, totalling 32 carats, which was auctioned for 50,000 pounds - the equivalent of about 5,500 pounds in the 1960s.
A large pendant in the shape of a diamond went for 44,000 pounds and a chunky diamond solitaire ring sold for 19,000 pounds.
A pair of drop earrings went for 18,000 pounds while a gold bangle with nine diamonds on fetched 20,000 pounds.
Clare Durham, of auctioneers Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, Wilts, said: "It is a beautiful collection of fine diamond jewellery.
"There were 43 items in total and most of it dates back to the late Victorian and early Edwardian period.
"It would have been antique when it was bought in the 1950s and 1960s.
"The stand out piece is definitely the riviere necklace which is just beautiful.
"It would seem that anytime Mr Charlton was naughty and played away he bought his wife a nice bit of jewellery to keep her sweet.
"She was well aware of what was going on - he cheated on her a lot.
"It may have been more than 43 times, because the family have kept some of the pieces, or it may have been less.
"Certainly the best, most expensive pieces were bought when he played away.
"They married in 1948, and Elizabeth took in Robert's 11-year-old daughter Marie as her own.
"He died 30 years ago and his widow, Elizabeth, has only just recently died.
"His daughter was fully aware of what was going on at the time and the family have told us the story - it was no secret to anyone.
"As well as his other businesses, he also ran two nightclubs in Leicester: theMayfair and the Continental.
"The affairs were certainly linked with these and a lot of them were with womenwho worked for him there.
"They could have been bar staff and there were probably even a few dancinggirls, back in the 50s.
"It is perfectly possible that his other affairs happened through hisbusinesses and he succumbed to the stereotype of an affair with his secretary,but we can't know for sure.
"He was quite high up in the freemasons and a prominent member of a golf club.
"All this would make it seem like he was an upstanding member of the community,but he was doing the dirty all along.
"He also launched a company called Marpak Graphic, which specialised inpackaging for the hosiery industry.
"It seems quite telling in the circumstances - he even brought women'sunderwear into his business decisions."
Mr Charlton, from Leicester, was a rich businessman, chairman of a large building company and he also ran a printing firm.
He was a well-known freemason and honorary member of Kibworth Golf Club in Leicester.

The Bard's Bible

The Bible used by famous Freemason Robert Burns in his last few weeks of life is set to go up for auction in Edinburgh.

Records show he took the small pocket edition with him during his visits to the Brow Well near Dumfries.

Also going under the hammer at Bonhams annual Scottish sale is the chance to "sponsor" the manuscript and lyrics of Auld Lang Syne written in 1788.

The small Bible is expected to fetch about £2,000 while sponsorship of the famous verse could reach up to £50,000.

The Bible is preserved in a velvet-lined blue Moroccan box lettered in gilt with the words "Burns Bible".

The volume was left to a Mr Scott, a schoolmaster at Clarencefield, near to where Burns spent some of his last days.

Included with the lot is an 1893 newspaper cutting stating: "At the time Burns was staying at the Brow Well he used the Bible, which he took with him when he went there to recruit his health.

"When he returned to Dumfries he left it with a Mr Davidson or Mrs Burnie, and then a Mr Scott, a schoolmaster in the parish."

Miranda Grant, managing director for Bonhams Scotland, said it was hoped the book would generate wide interest.

"It is very exciting indeed to have such a personal possession of the great poets included in the 10th Scottish sale," she said.

"As well as appealing to collectors of rare books, this Bible will obviously also be of great interest to anyone with an interest in Burns and indeed in Scottish history."

The book is being auctioned alongside the sponsorship opportunity for the manuscript and lyrics for Auld Lang Syne.

The successful bidder will help safeguard the manuscript within a new National Trust for Scotland museum dedicated to Burns.

They will also be recognised by the installation of a plaque bearing their name as its patron.
The Bible and sponsorship go up for sale between 18 and 21 August.

Why do you laugh?

This is an unusual 18th century watch that is coming up for sale at Thomson Roddick and Medcalf in Carlisle.

The catalogue description reads: "...18th century cylinder watch by Josh Hardin, London, no. 134, with gold `scope, wheel, square baluster pillars, pierced cock foot & slide plate & ruby end stone, the enamel dial with painted Masonic symbols & mottos "Upon My Honor" & "Quid Rides", in silver pair cases, probably by Vale & Co., Birmingham, 1822. The movement - 18th century, cases & dial - later, 46mm. "

Quid Rides apparently means "why do you laugh?"

The sale is on August 18 and it could fetch several hundred pounds.

A Mason's outburst

This from today's Private Eye. Found in the Rotten Boroughs section.

One The Square

Tory freemason Bill Sharp has been suspended for two months from Castle Point council in Essex for calling its environmental director "a fucking liar" and for trying to influence planning decisions on behalf of property developers, one of whom is a mason he has described as "my brother".

Sharp tried to attend a meeting to consider a planning application made by a company owned by a pension fund of which friend Jack king was a trustee.

When refused admission he assumed environmental director Ian Burchill, with whom he had clashed before, was behind his exclusion, and was found in an office shouting down an internal phone to the council's monitoring officer: "Burchill is a fucking liar. I despise him. He's just doing this because he doesn't like me. He's a fucking idiot."

The council's standards committee also found that Sharp failed to declare that he was a friend of developer Gordon Sanders despite "a long social and business connection between [them]... additionally both men are active freemasons". At one point Sharp called Sanders "my brother."

Powder horn - 1815

This powder horn is being sold by Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh on August 17 with an estimate of £1,000 - £1,500.

The catalogue description reads:

Military interest - an early 19th century powder horn the curved section of cow horn with wood plug and pull out nozzle plug, the horn incised with decoration including the badge of the 90th Perthshire Volunteers, together with Egypt battle honours for 1801 and named Josh Barr 90th, with additional display of intertwined thistles and roses, with Masonic symbols and dove of peace, with shaped cartouche suspended from beak with `PEACE 1815` and `1844 this given to his son J H Barr 90th` 35cm long Notes: The continued use and history of this item is interesting with the family connections within the regiment (90th Perthshire Volunteers) and the addition of the decoration by subsequent generations. The piece was obviously considered of great importance within the family. The 90th Regiment of Foot (or Perthshire Volunteers) was raised in 1794, by Mr. Thomas Graham, of Lynedoch, Perthshire, later General Lord Lynedoch. By the Regimental Record Book, there appear to have been enlisted by 1812 a total of 538 Scots, 1097 English, 486 Irish and 23 foreigners. As these total 2144 this would have covered both battalions. The Regiment saw a good deal of service including Egypt in 1801, and the capture of Martinique in 1809 and Guadaloupe [Dominica] in 1810, two valuable islands in the West Indies; however they were not engaged in the Peninsular war and Waterloo campaign. In 1815, they were designated as one of the six Light Infantry regiments.

Powder Horn

This 19th century Masonic powder horn, made from cow horn, is going under the hammer at Bonhams on August 20 with an estimate of £200-£300.

The brass circular lid is engraved with thistles and centred with a compass and divider motif and 'Pr Kay'.

Masons Jailed in "sorcery" Outrage

This from the New Zealand Herald, as reported across the world.

A New Zealand man spent a "wretched" night in a Fiji prison cell after frightened residents and police raided his Freemasons meeting, suspecting witchcraft and sorcery.
The man, who didn't want to be named, blamed "dopey village people" for the raid in which 14 members of the Freemasons Lodge of Lautoka were herded into police cars and jailed for the night.
Police also seized lodge paraphernalia, including wands, compasses and a skull.
Yesterday, the man told the Herald that Tuesday night's meeting was "interrupted by a banging on the door and there were these village people and the police demanding to be let in".
Nothing sinister had been going on but "such is the nature of life in Fiji" they were taken to a nearby police station, he said.
The Masons were told nothing of the allegations against them, but were warned that under Fiji's emergency decree, they could be jailed for 48 hours without charge.
The lodge secretary showed police a copy of the permit allowing the meeting, but was told the permit was not the problem.
The commanding police officer then disappeared, leaving the 14 men to spend the night in the cells.
"It was hot and wasn't very comfortable, because there was nowhere to lie down," the man said. "The officers who were guarding us were pleasant, though, chatting away to us."
At 8.30am yesterday, an officer let them go, saying the Prime Minister's office had ordered they be released.
The man said he was outraged that overly suspicious villagers had been able to convince police to "totally abuse their power".
He said the police should have told the villagers to calm down.
"The stupidity is overwhelming. Virtually unlimited power is placed in the hands of bungling police, who have no judgment or sense of balance, so, at the whim of an uneducated villager, 14 senior members of society had to spend a night locked up."
A police spokesman said the men were arrested because police had been tipped off that a meeting was being held and there were "some strange goings-on".

Tick tock

This trianglular clock is up for auction at George Kidner of Lymington, Hants, on July 23, with an estimate of up to £500.

The catalogue description reads: "A Swiss silver cased masonic triangular pocket watch, the mother-o`-pearl face with masonic symbols replacing numerals and the legend `Love your fellow man, lend him a helping hand`, the movement signed `Schwab & Brandt` and numbered 885, the case with relief decoration of masonic symbols."

Masonic Race Row

This from Atlanta, Georgia.

There are a few prerequisites for anyone applying to be a Freemason: You must be a man, you can't be a slave, you must have good character and you must have faith in a supreme being.
Those broad rules have allowed some of the more progressive chapters in the centuries-old fraternal organization, such as Atlanta's Gate City Lodge No. 2, to fill their ranks with diverse members.
The chapter's leaders say that racial harmony was threatened recently when other Freemasons sought to revoke the lodge's charter for allowing Victor Marshall, who is black, to join up. The dispute has drawn the normally secretive group into a rare public battle.
The chapter sued the Grand Lodge of Georgia on June 18, claiming the charges are based on "racial animosity and hatred" and violate the organization's principles.
"I hope we'll be victorious and that Freemasonry will come out in a more powerful light," said Marshall, a 26-year-old Army reservist. "But of course sometimes the bad side can overwhelm the good side."
As with other fraternal and exclusive organizations, race historically has been a source of division within the Freemasons. All-black lodges sprouted up across the country for decades as whites sought to ban blacks from joining the organization.
Some of the lodges were integrated in the aftermath of the civil rights movement, and Masons adopted a code in the 1990s banning them from objecting to potential members based on race, color or religion. While Freemasons say they don't keep statistics on the ethnic or religious makeup of their members, they claim their organization has grown diverse enough over the last 50 years that there are American lodges that speak Spanish, Farsi and other languages.
Richard Fletcher, the executive secretary of the Masonic Service Association, said discrimination complaints have dwindled as the organization has opened its doors.
"These are very, very rare," said Fletcher, who has been a Freemason for 52 years. "We're a cross-section of the country, so we're not devoid of sin. I'm sure there are people who are racially motivated, but not to the extent that it used to be."
The Georgia dispute arose in February when Marshall and other members across the state visited a lodge in Savannah for a celebration. Some apparently were surprised that Marshall and other nonwhite members were at the event, and questioned whether he was a member.
The state organization's leader, J. Edward Jennings, sent out a memo confirming that Marshall was a legitimate member after a lodge in north Georgia requested an emergency meeting to discuss the situation, the lawsuit said.
The message apparently didn't quiet the critics.
The lawsuit claims members then filed "spurious" charges within the state organization against the Atlanta chapter's leader, Michael Bjelajac, claiming he violated the group's rules because he allowed a nonwhite man into the group. They say he violated the "Laws of Masonry" and the "moral law," according to the complaint.
The charges seek to oust Bjelajac and revoke the chapter's charter, according to the lawsuit.
The Georgia chapter's attorneys, who are also Freemasons, said the lawsuit is one of only a handful against Freemason organizations in recent years. In 2008, a West Virginia Freemason leader sued, claiming he was defamed after he changed membership policies to make them less discriminatory and racist.
"It's an unusual and frankly unfortunate situation," said David J. Llewellyn, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit in DeKalb County Superior Court.
The Grand Lodge of Georgia is tightlipped about the lawsuit, which seeks to block the organization from punishing the Atlanta chapter. Donald DeKalb, the state group's secretary, said the Freemasons don't discriminate.
"There's nothing in our Masonic law that restricts any nonwhites from joining," he said.
DeKalb refused to comment further. The group's leader and several lodge officials named in the lawsuit also did not respond to phone and e-mail messages.
Marshall said he was hurt by the charges, especially since the society's openness is one of the reasons he decided to apply for membership last November. He's told himself it won't let it frustrate him.
"I think this issue is a lot larger than me," he said. "I've met too many positive people to allow something like this to make me stand back. Freemasonry itself is built on morality. And I've never looked back. I'll continue to strive on."

Masonic sale

This apron is being sold by Adam Partridge of Chesire on July 9 and is listed as a19th century embroidered and jewelled silk apron. It then adds "possibly masonic".

It came from the Langley Silk Printworks and has a pre-asle estimate of £60 to £100.

At the same sale this apron, with provenacne traced through John Smith, Mayor of Macclesfield in 1953-84. It too has an estimate up to £100.

Also in the sale is this fine 19th century mahogany Masonic box... it is "carved in relief with numerous Masonic emblems and symbols, made for John Smith of Langley near Sutton, then in the care of William Eric Whiston of Macclesfield."

Royal Sussex Lodge

This is coming up for sale at Christies on July 21 and the catalogue description reads:



MASONIC INTEREST: A LARGE WILLIAM IV SILVER PRESENTATION GOBLET MARK OF EDWARD TURNPENNY, BIRMINGHAM, 1832 Chased with scrolling foliage, flowers and cartouches on each side, one with masonic emblems, presented by the Royal Sussex Lodge No. 690 to Brother George Mugliston W.M. in 1832; also a large silver quaich, London, 1922, handles with basket-weave design; and a Victorian electroplated two-handled tray with pierced foliate bordersthe cup 7 1/8 in. (18.2 cm.) high weighable silver 34 oz. (1,054 gr.) (3)


It is estimated to go for up to £800.

Zetland medals

Here is a catalogue description from Bonhams for a sale on July 15.

"...an assortment of masonic medals including an 18ct gold example for Zetland Hong Kong to Wor Bro C.W.Somers 1933; a Founder's medal for the Zetland & Hong Kong Lodge; a Founder's medal for the Paul Chater Lodge of Installed Masters. With other lesser issues form the 20th Century. Generally good very fine or better. "

Historic Aussie Lodge

This from the North Shore Times, Australia...

THE Balmain Masonic Lodge is in Willoughby. But when the 90 members of the freemasons lodge celebrate its 150th anniversary this month they will revisit their inner-harbour Balmain roots.
They'll also celebrate with a reconsecration ceremony and banquet on Saturday.
The lodge was founded by a shipwright at Balmain in 1859 when sailing was the only way to cross the Pacific.
About 40 sea captains have been members and even now membership includes a shipwright and navy personnel.
When the lodge meets each month members toast their seafaring forbears, ring a bell from an old ship, Westralia, and sing a seafaring ditty.
Four of the NSW/ACT freemasons former grand masters (the highest order) were from the Balmain lodge, including grand master Robert Hammond.
Mr Hammond, a retired wool buyer, has been a freemason since 1945.
``You need time to be a grand master, it's a full-time job,'' said the octogenarian, grand master from 1969 to 1972.
Jason Plumridge, who will become the lodge's 150th master in July, said freemasonry was an ``order of men who prize honour above other things''.
Retired banker Ian Jarratt, of Umina Beach, is the lodge's director of ceremonies.
``People think the freemasons are a secret society, but anybody can find out about freemasonry through the internet and books and so on,'' he said.
``There are things that are secret to masons, parts of the rituals are for masons only, they are little idiosyncrasies which identify if someone is a mason or not.
``The formal meetings are only for males. Women are invited to social activities and open discussions. This is based on the history when masons or workmen were men only. It's stayed that way.''
While the freemasons are not a religious order, members are required to believe in a supreme being.
New members are rigorously screened. ``If someone had a criminal record or if they beat their wife they'd be excluded,'' Mr Jarratt said.
The order of freemasons has rituals which date back to the early 17th century. Mr Plumridge said the order had its roots during the building of King Solomon's temple.

Silver Jewels

These two silver plate jewels are going under the hammer next week. The first dates from 1771

and is inscribed "Jams. Crumb, LN 244".

The second is from 1770 and written around it is "devoted to secrecy and friendship". The name is "John Page, MM No.47)

They are being sold by Dix Noonan Webb in London and both have pre-sale estimates of £150 to £200.

"Murdering Masons"

Nutjobs and fruitcakes blame masons for virtually everything - including many murders.

One such conspiracy theorist was out in London recently accusing the Craft of killing lots of people.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea...

Talent Show

This from the Cheshire Cronicle

TAKE part in Christleton's very own talent show at a family fun day being held at the Freemason’s Hall.
Visitors to the Cheshire View club, Plough Lane, between noon and 4pm on Saturday, June 6, will be able to enjoy a packed programme of events for all the family.
Cheshire’s Dee Radio 106.3 will be on the air with live broadcasts during the afternoon.
Attractions include a flight simulator, a bouncy castle, vintage cars, a balloon race, games, competitions and stalls to suit all the family, together with a grand draw for £500 and other prizes and much, much more.
And, in the main arena is a chance to become a star in the ultimate talent show, called The XYZ Factor.
All proceeds are in aid of the Cheshire Provincial Fund of Benevolence, which last year donated almost £50,000 spread between 11 Cheshire hospices, 12 medical charities, the RNLI and various young people’s groups and clubs.
In addition to this, Cheshire View will be open for those who might wish to inspect the venue for weddings, parties, and conferences, or just to have a guided tour of the Masonic Lodge rooms.
There is no entrance or car-parking fee.

200-year-old certificate

This Master Mason's certificate is 200 years old and was printed on vellum and presented in New York to a Richard Hitchings.

He belonged to Morton Lodge No. 20, and it is dated August 12, 5809.

A genealogy is affixed to the reverse and it relates that Richard Hitchins was born in Cornwall, England, in 1777 and married the widow Mary Gates in New York in 1804.

Richard died in Canada on February 18, 1845 and is buried with a Masonic emblem on his tombstone.

It goes for sale at Skinner auctioneers in Massachusetts on June 7 and is expected to raise several hundred pounds.

Paul Revere document for sale

This Masonic certificate was signed by Paul Revere - take a better look here - in 1782.


It certified the raising of the aptly named Lazarus Goodwin as a Master Mason in St Andrew's Lodge.


It is coming up for sale at Sotheby's in New York and is valued at $12,000.


A catalogue note reads: "Paul Revere (1735-1818) was initiated in St. Andrew's Lodge in 1760 and was a very active member serving as Junior Deacon, Junior Warden, and Secretary before being installed as Worshipful Master in 1770, and finally as Grand Master in 1794.


The document opens with the traditional Masonic motto, "And the Darkness comprehended it not, in the East a place of Light where reigns silence and Peace" and goes on to "...Certify, that the Bearer hereof our Brother Lazarus Goodwin has been duly received by us and initiated in the Secret Mysteries of the Craft, & after due proficiency therein, we have conferred on him the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason."

Masonic snuff box

This unusual Masonic snuff box is going under the hammer today with a price of up to £300.

Both the cover and base are engraved with Masonic symbols.

Edinburgh's Lyon and Turnbull are the auctioneers.

Savage Club - and lodge

This hollow, oval Silver Committee Badge, which includes the Prince of Wales' plumes, was issued by the Savage Club - formed 1857.

The club still flourishes with its membership drawn from the worlds of art, music, drama, literature, science and law

The Masonic lodge attached to the Savage Club (no. 2190), was formed at the instigation of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, who as a guest of honour at a Savage Club dinner inquired if there were a lodge attached to it.

There was not, and at his suggestion, one was formed, and consecrated on 18 January 1887.

This badge is going on sale at Baldwins in London on May 26 with an estimate of up to 80 pounds.

Masonic kerchief

This American handkerchief from a bout 1817 is coming up for sale in the US and could fetch up to 265 pounds at auction.

It includes lyrics to the tune Attic Fire and contains numerous printed emblems in a red colour on natural linen.

It goes under the hammer on June 6 at Cowan's Cincinnati.

http://www.cowanauctions.com

History lesson from the US

This from From Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Unless you are a Mason, it's doubtful that you know much about William Morgan or the repercussions in Lancaster County and throughout the United States that followed his disappearance in 1826.
Morgan was a Freemason in Batavia, N.Y. He grew disenchanted with the organization and threatened to expose it. But before he could do anything he vanished.
Some observers said fellow Masons had taken Morgan to Canada, where he was paid never to return to the United States. But others said Morgan had been murdered so he would not spill the secrets of the fraternity.
Anti-Masonic hysteria quickly spread. All Masons were suspect. To preserve their reputations, thousands of Masons dropped out of lodges. Lodges all over the country closed.
Meetings of Lancaster's Lodge No. 43 F.&A.M. were disrupted from the late 1820s through the early 1830s, according to a history of the lodge written by George R. Welchans and published in 1936.
In the spring of 1830, remaining lodge members considered surrendering their charter, but persevered, with a handful of members sometimes meeting only once a year until reviving in the mid-'30s.
According to Welchans, prejudice against the Masons continued, "but it was no longer dangerous to life and limb to be known as a Mason, only still imprudent as a business policy.''
William Morgan's disappearance was the catalyst for the formation of the Anti-Masonic Party, which had some success nationwide and in Pennsylvania. Amos Ellmaker, the party's 1832 vice presidential candidate, lived in Lancaster County.
Philip S. Klein, a Lancaster native, explained in his "History of Pennsylvania'' that "the Pennsylvania Germans, and particularly the Plain Sects who opposed oaths, proved especially susceptible to the anti-Masonic fever.''
In 1828, Theophilus Fenn began publishing the Anti-Masonic Herald in New Holland. That paper stirred up anti-Masonic political interest throughout Pennsylvania.
Thaddeus Stevens, who later in life would become a leading Republican congressional representative and advocate of black equality, was first a Whig, but became a leading member of the Anti-Masonic Party in Pennsylvania.
As a member of the state House of Representatives in the 1830s, Stevens introduced bills attacking the Masons and, for good measure, the Odd Fellows.
In 1842, Stevens moved from Gettysburg to Lancaster, in part because it had been the birthplace of Pennsylvania's anti-Masonic movement, according to Stevens's latest biographer, Hans Trefousse.
Most people weren't worrying much about the Masons by then, but Stevens clung to his antipathy.
In June 1843, Stevens tried to revive the local Anti-Masonic Party, but Whigs ridiculed his efforts because the state no longer had an Anti-Masonic organization.
By then, the Masons had moved on, trying to obliterate the memory of the William Morgan affair that nearly wrecked their fraternity.
The Scribbler was unfamiliar with much of this history until he read February's issue of The Northern Light, a Masonic publication.
It contains an article about Morgan and a commentary from John Wm. McNaughton, the Masons' grand commander. McNaughton says Masons should "enjoy each other's company and put William Morgan finally to rest.''
Well, yes, but it remains interesting how cranked up Thaddeus Stevens and many others got after Morgan disappeared and how the anti-Masonic sentiment spread through America like swine-flu hysteria.

Masonic Goblet

An engraved Yarmouth Masonic goblet from about 1800 and probably related to William Absolon is going under the hammer at Bonhams.

Engraved with Masonic emblems the reverse is inscribed "THE HEART THAT CONCEALS AND THE TONGUE THAT NEVER REVEALS/ A TRIFLE FROM YARMOUTH"

It sells at Bonhams on June 3rd with an estimate of just over £1,000.

Edward VII

This Charles Laurie portrait of HRH Edward VII in masonic regalia that was signed in pencil sold at Halls Fine Art Auictioneers in Shropshire.

The estimate was between £100 and £150.

Soft toys for India

This from the Stroud News and Journal - a story of how Freemasons in Gloucestershire and primary school pupils collected and sent toys to an Indian orphanage.

MORE than 700 soft toys collected by children at Rodborough Primary School are being sent to an orphanage in India thanks to the help of the Gloucestershire Freemasons.
Pupils of all year groups generously donated the cuddly creatures from their own toy boxes after the idea was suggested by voluntary teacher John Kimpton, whose brother James has been working with disadvantaged youths in India since 1953.
However, the cost of shipping the toys abroad proved too much for the school, so John contacted the Freemasonry through The Rev Peggy Ludlow at St Mary Magdalene Church in Rodborough, who were happy to pay the bill.
Today, Thursday, April 23, Freemason Mark Smith and Adrian Davies J.P., Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Gloucestershire, visited the school to take stock of the toys before they are shipped out next month.
Mr Kimpton, a former Marling teacher who has been volunteering his help once a week at the school for the past year, said: "I think it is fantastically kind of the freemasons to help us, I must say an enormous thank you for their generosity.
"Soft toys are just about the best gift you can send because they are easy to pack and you can squash a lot of them into a confined space.
"James also thinks it is marvelous."
His gratitude was echoed by head teacher Maggie Halsey, who added: "I think it is excellent they are supporting a project which is so close to the children’s hearts."
Mr Davies said the Freemasons’ society was able to cover the shipping costs thanks to a charitable fund he is creating to benefit the people of Gloucestershire.
"I think it is absolutely brilliant what the pupils have done," he said.
"When the children have given away the things that are most precious to them, we as Freemasons would like to be associated with it and help them send the toys to those who are less fortunate in India."

A Toye Key and Spoon

A key and a silver teaspoon made by the famous firm Toye and Co are coming up for sale. The firm belongs to the exclusive Tercentenarians' Club.

It is for family businesses that have been in existence for 300 years or more.

Toye, Kenning and Spencer Ltd has several UK locations, but in London it is based on Great Queens St., a stone's throw from Grand Lodge.

Its website states: "Since 1685 members of the Toye family have been using their skills to create fine identity products for both the Fraternal Societies as well as Civil and Military markets. "

The silver teaspoon has the Masonic finial, Derby lodge 1055, 1928.

The value is up to £40

They are being sold at Wellers.

Ohio Lodge opens its doors

This from the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum in Ohio in the US. It explains how a lodge opened its doors in a bid to recruit members



Ever wonder what goes on behind the doors of a Masonic Lodge?
The public had a rare opportunity to take a peek recently when Galion Masonic Lodge 414 opened its doors in hopes of increasing its membership.
"We need new members, young blood," said F. Jay DeNise, past Master.
The lodge served a pancake and sausage breakfast on a Saturday morning in late March for guests, members and their families. Charles R. Murphy, Grand Master of Ohio Masons, called for lodges across the state to show their communities Masonic fellowship.
The world's oldest and largest men's fraternity, Free-masons claim just under 2 million members in the United Sates, of which about 110,000 are in Ohio.
The Constitution was signed by 13 Freemasons, and 14 U.S. presidents, including George Washington, were Freemasons.
Believed to have its origins in the late 16th century, the organization didn't traditionally recruit -- instead, one asked a Mason how he could join.
DeNise said in recent years, lodges have become more visible and open to recruiting members.
Timothy Cotton -- the lodge's Worshipful Master, or president -- said the improved visibility should draw young people, though he acknowledged the increased mobility and workloads of contemporary society have hurt recruitment.
In addition to those obstacles, DeNise said, "a lot of factors hurt membership in the last couple decades."
As he sees it, one factor is the widespread notion that Freemasonry is a secret society -- portrayed in the media and movies as perhaps something sinister or backward, akin to the Opus Dei of Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code."
In reality, DeNise said, Freemasonry teaches moral lessons, character, friendship and spiritual beliefs.
"A lot of Biblical teachings carried over into the Freemasons. You have to believe in the Divine God," he said.
Members are obliged to be quiet and peaceable citizens, adhering to the Freemason principles of "Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth."
The origins of Freemasonry are rooted in the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
The tools and other objects used were later adapted as symbols for use in modern ceremonies.
"It's the moral building of character rather than building buildings," DeNise explained.
Two of the principal symbolic tools found in a lodge are the square and compasses, which have come to be seen by many as the Masonic emblem. Some Lodges explain the combined-tool imagery as a lesson in conduct.
Freemasons say they are non-dogmatic on this and other symbology -- that is, there is no one accepted interpretation of tools and symbols dictated by Freemasonry. In fact, there is no single governing body for the fraternity, only affiliations between jurisdictions usually based on proximity and mutual recognition.
Serving the community through educational initiatives is one priority of the Galion lodge.
It donates five $1,000 scholarships to area high school students, sponsors Special Olympics and two local little league teams, and donates to Masonic retirement homes across the state.
Junior Warden (vice president) Richard Swain, who is Galion's City Council president, said he joined the lodge while serving in the military. He noted how his mentors -- one of whom is DeNise -- had been important influences in his life.
"It's more than a club. It's something you live by," he said.