Huge sale of Masonic items

Timothy Medhurst of Duke's Auctions in Dorchester is selling thousands of Masonic items at the sale on March 10.

There are past masters' and founders' jewels as well as Chapter jewels and many charity jewels. There are also items from other orders.

Also included are medals from other fraternities including the Forresters, Oddfellows, Order of the Moose etc.

Who built the Margate shell grotto - and why?

Buried deep underground in small English town of Margate, Kent; is a grotto shrouded in complete mystery. Adorned with 4.6 million shells and 70ft of winding underground passages leading to a rectangular chamber, this shell grotto is undoubtedly a remarkable site to behold. Story has it that in 1835, a laborer was going about his usual field work, but when he struck the soil with his spade, it sank into the earth. The farmer realized that he was standing on something hollow, but was unable to see anything from the surface. Word spread around town, and a local school teacher volunteered his young son, Joshua, to be lowered into the hole with a candle. Upon emerging from the mysterious cavern, Joshua described rooms filled with hundreds of thousands of carefully arranged shells.

The Shell Grotto is adorned with symbols mosaiced in millions of shells, symbols that celebrate life as well as reminders of death.

The Shell Grotto hosts a passage, a rotunda and an altar chamber.

The shells in the grotto, include scallops, whelks, mussels, cockles, limpets and oysters, all of which can be found locally. However, the flat wrinkle shells must have been brought in from elsewhere.

With so much intricate detail, on a rather large scale, one question still remains, who built this underground cavern?

Shrouded in mystery, some believe that the grotto once had religious significance - primarily due to the vaulted ceilings and altar spaces.

Nobody knows how old the grotto is, but some theories about its origin date its constructions as far back as 3,000 years ago. Another theory holds that the grotto was created as an aristocrat's folly sometime in the 1700s. This proposed explanation is validated by the fact that shell grottoes were actually quite popular in Europe in the 1700s, especially among the wealthy. The only catch to this theory, though, is that the grotto's location was on farmland - a land that had never been part of a large estate where follies would have been satisfied.  Others believe that it may have been used as an astrological calendar in the past. There are those also, who say that the grotto must somehow be connected with the Freemasons or the Knights Templar.

Others believe that the grotto may date as far back as 12,000 years ago, maintaining that it is connected to a mysterious Mexicanculture.

Its mystery has left people completely stumped, so much so that in the 1930s, some had held séances, in the hopes of contacting the spirits of whoever built the grotto. Right now, it seems, we will not discover the truth behind this mysterious shell grotto. The age of the shells could be determined through carbon dating according to the Shell Grotto's web site, but it's a pricey process and other conservation issues are currently being prioritized.

One thing is clear though, the arrangement of the shells must have taken countless hours of painstaking work.

Unfortunately, many of the shells in the grotto have faded over time, losing their luster through water damage. In its early days, it would have been full of dazzling color. This recreation shows what they might have looked like at the time, and with over 4.6 millionshells, it surely must have looked astonishing!

Since its discovery, the Margate Shell Grotto has been opened to the public, first by Joshua's father, the school teacher. In 1835 he quickly bought up the land and began renovating the grotto to make it suitable for visitors. Two years later, in 1837, the grotto had been opened to the public for the first time, and still enjoys visitors today.

Members have the right not to be named

From Wales online...

The most senior freemason in South Wales has defended the secretiveness of Wales’ 13,000 masons.

Provincial Grand Master Gareth Jones said the members of the order should not be forced to declare their membership.

He was responding to calls made by South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on S4C’s Y Byd ar Bedwar current affairs programme for more openness.

Alun Michael argued that it should be compulsory for all public servants, whether police officers, council officials or politicians, to declare if they are freemasons.

But Provincial Grand Master Jones said it was “a little offensive” for anyone to be instructed to declare their membership.

More: The truth about freemasons in Wales

“I see no reason at all why individuals should have to declare membership of freemasonry,” he told Y Byd ar Bedwar.

“I and my members in South Wales are happy to tell people that we’re freemasons and celebrate that.

“I think it’s the fact that one is being instructed to declare one’s freemasonry that is a little offensive.”

He said the society “makes good men better men” and is striving to become more open and transparent.

Although the masons allowed S4C cameras to film ceremony rehearsals, the ceremonies themselves were out-of-bounds.

“We’re not a secret society, “he said.

“Our ceremonies are established as a series of dramas intended to teach the brother as he becomes to be a better man.”

“The very small number of secrets we still have are simply modes of recognition.

“There is nothing sinister or mysterious about these. They are part of the play that candidates go through.”

Conspiracy theories

Mr Michael was First Secretary of the National Assembly when a law was implemented making it compulsory for AMs to declare membership of the society if elected.

As a minister in the Home Office at Westminster, the former MP also made police officers who were members declare, although this law was later challenged and overruled.

He said declaring membership of any society increases transparency and quells conspiracy theories.

“If members of a club or society have to disclose, it takes away any hidden agendas,” he said.

“If freemasons don’t disclose, you can get whisperings of wrongdoing. Declaring gets rid of all that.”

Public bodies all have different policies on staff or members declaring their membership of the masons.

Voluntary disclosure

In Westminster, MPs don’t have to disclose membership. In Cardiff Bay, AMs are expected to declare but no current member has done so.

In local authorities, the rules are unclear, with policies varying between authorities. Just 25 councillors across Wales have stated they are members.

Dyfed-Powys Police and Gwent Police have no requirement for staff to declare membership of the freemasons.

But both North Wales Police and South Wales Police operate a voluntary disclosure system.

South Wales Police told Y Byd ar Bedwar that two officers and three civilian support staff have declared membership whilst in North Wales, three sergeants and six constables have stated that they are freemasons.

Mr Michael said: “It would be best to have one common system for local authorities, police force and health boards. Only then can we ensure everybody is being treated equally.