A Handlist of Masonic Documents

Compiled By

Douglas Knoop

Professor of Economics in the University of Sheffield
P.M. Quatuor Caronati Lodge, No. 2076, London

and

G. P. Jones

Lecturer in Economic History in the University of Sheffield

Preface

A first edition of this Handlist was appended to our paper, The Nomenclature of Masonic MSS., when it was printed for private circulation in April 1941, prior to being communicated to the QC Lodge in May. It is primarily in response to suggestions made in comments on that paper, that this revised and enlarged edition, with an explanatory introduction surveying the sources of masonic history, has been compiled.

In preparing this Handlist, we have accepted the facts elicited and the conclusions reached by our predecessors in the several fields of masonic research involved, and consequently owe much to the writings of Bros. Cecil Adams, R. H. Baxter, W. Begemann, W. J. Chetwode Crawley, S. L. Coulthurst, Ph. Crossle, E. H. Dring, W. J. Hughan, J. H. Lepper, D. M. Lyon, A. L. Miller, H. Poole, W. H. Rylands, Jas. Smith, W. J. Songhurst, G. W. Speth, J. T. Thorp, W. F. Vernon, Lionel Vibert, R. E. Wallace-James, Wm. Waples, W. J. Williams, and F. R. Worts. We have also to thank the following who, in official or unofficial comments on the original Handlist, or in replies to inquiries or requests for assistance, have supplied us with information, or helped us to obtain information: Bro. R. H. Baxter, Bro. W. H. Bean (Librarian Prov. GL Yorks W.R.), Bro. A. J. S. Cannon (Librarian Prov. GL Leics), Bro. Ph. Crossle, Mrs. Dauntesey, Mr. S. L. Davison (Librarian Lady Lever Art Gallery), Bro. E. M. Dring, Bro. David Flather, Bro. Ross Hepburn, Bro. G. A. Marriott (Prov. G. Sec. E. Lancs), Bro. L. Melrose (Acting G. Sec. Scotland), Bro. W. J. Paterson (Librarian GL Pennsylvania), Bro. H. Poole, Bro. G. H. Raynor, Bro. Col. G. Reavell, Bro. Col. F. M. Rickard, Bro. Sir Algernon Tudor-Craig (Librarian GL), Bro. F. J. Underwood (Librarian Prov. GL Worcs), Bro. Wm. Waples (Librarian Prov. GL Durham), Bro. Sydney A. White (G. Sec.), Bro. F. R. Worts, and the secretaries of various Lodges who have answered our inquiries about the location of particular documents. We are indebted to our colleague, Douglas Hamer, for valuable help on various points, to our colleague, A. G. Pool, for reading the proofs, and to Mr. H. M. McKechnie of the Manchester University Press for arranging for the production of this booklet.

D. K.

G. P. J.

The University, Sheffield, 10.
October 1941.

List of Abbreviations and Abbreviated References

AQC	Ars Quatuor Coronatorum [Transactions of the QC Lodge].
Caem. Hib.	W. J. Chetwode Crawley, Caementaria Hibernica.
Cooke	Cooke family of OC.
GL	Grand Lodge.
GL	Grand Lodge family of OC.
GM	Grand Master.
Gould	R. F. Gould, History of Freemasonry.
Leeds Trans.	Transactions of the Leeds Installed Masters Association.
Leics. Reprints	Masonic Reprints [of the Lodge of Research, No. 2429, Leicester].
Leics. Trans.	Transactions of the Lodge of Research, No. 2429, Leicester.
Lepper and Crossle	J. H. Lepper and Ph. Crossle, Grand Lodge of Ireland.
Lyon	D. Murray Lyon, Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) No. 1.
Manic. Trans.	Transactions of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research.
Miller	A. L. Miller, Notes on . . . The Lodge, Aberdeen 1 ter.
Misc. Lat.	Miscellanea Latomorum.
Nomenclature	D. Knoop and G. P. Jones, The Nomenclature of Masonic MSS.
OC	Old Charges.
Plot	Plot family of OC.
Poole and Worts	Poole and F. R. Worts, The “Yorkshire” Old Charges of Masons.
Prov.	Provincial.
QCA	Quatuor Coronatorum Antigrapha [Masonic Reprints of the QC Lodge].
QC Lodge	Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076, London.
Roberts	Roberts family of OC.
Sloane	Sloane family of OC.
Spencer	Spencer family of OC.
Tew	Tew family of OC.
Vernon	W. F. Vernon, Freemasonry in Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire.
Waples	Wm. Waples, “The Masonic Old Charges,” Leeds Trans., xxvi.

Introduction

This Handlist has been drawn up with a view to helping the masonic student by enumerating, in a fashion convenient for reference, certain of the documents most commonly required in tracing the rise and development of freemasonry. For the masonic historian, as for historians in general, the material falls into two main groups. One consists of sources, which count as primary evidence as to matters of fact or belief in the period of their composition. The other consists of writings which are, or should be, based upon the primary sources, but are authoritative only in a secondary sense, and in the degree to which their authors have thoroughly and correctly understood and assessed their materials. The sources may be official or unofficial, statistical, technical, legal, or literary, and may be in manuscript or in print; the secondary authorities are almost always in printed form. As examples of primary sources there may be cited, first, the Cooke MS., which is of outstanding importance as a statement of what masons’ customs, organization and history were taken to be in the early fifteenth century; second, the accounts pertaining to the erection of Eton College, valuable records of the facts relating to masons’ wages and conditions of work in the middle of that century; and, third, the Minute Books of Grand Lodge, Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 and 1738, Pennell’s Constitutions of 1730, and the early catechisms, all fundamental for the study of freemasonry in its transitional and early modern phases. As examples of secondary authorities, it will be enough to cite Lyon’s History of the Lodge of Edinburgh, our paper in AQC on “The Building of Eton College, 1442–60,” Rackham’s Nave of Westminster, and Hughan’s Old Charges.

It is not intended that this Handlist should serve as a complete, or even a comprehensive, bibliography. Secondary authorities have no place in it; and, for reasons to be explained later, it is not possible to include all, or even a large selection of, manuscript sources. Students wishing to undertake an extensive and first-hand investigation of the sources and more important secondary authorities will find some guidance in the bibliography appended to our Mediaeval Mason; those with a bibliographical interest may be referred to Dring’s “Tentative List of English . . . Works on Freemasonry, published before 1751” (AQC, xxv, 3 53–84), Vibert’s Rare Books of Freemasonry, and Thorp’s Bibliography of Masonic Catechisms and Exposures. Our purpose is rather to help the masonic student who wishes to follow intelligently some masonic book or article in which reference is made to various documents, such as the Regius Poem, the Graham MS., the Falkland Statutes, the Dublin Tripos of 1688, or Drake’s Speech in 1726. The various manuscript and rare printed authorities are mostly to be found in certain public repositories, or in great masonic libraries, to which, we take it for granted, most masonic students will not have ready access. Consequently, in this Handlist, in addition to giving other particulars, we indicate where those documents which have been printed or reprinted are to be found, so that anyone who has access to a good working library can see for himself the reproduction of the document in question.

For some types of research work, no transcript or photographic reproduction can be as satisfactory as the original, a point recently stressed by Bro. F. R. Worts in connection with the textual criticism and the collation of the Old Charges (AQC, xlv, 54), though it may be pointed out that Begemann did most of his valuable critical work on the Old Charges from facsimiles or printed reproductions. For most purposes, however, history students do, in practice, have to rely to a considerable extent upon printed editions of their documents, such, for instance, as those in the great collections of Migne’s Patrologia, the Rolls Series, or the Early English Texts Society. Similarly, masonic students have usually to depend for their documents on reproductions or reprints, such as those in QCA, Caementaria Hibernica, the Masonic Reprints issued by the Lodge of Research, Leicester, or Poole and Worts, The “Yorkshire” Old Charges of Masons.

The value to serious students of some masonic reprints, more particularly some of those issued by the Lodge of Research, Leicester, is unfortunately greatly diminished by the editors’ practice of omitting certain words and phrases, which the reader is left to fill in for himself by uncertain guess-work, or by troublesome recourse to the originals. Such editing is doubtless done with the best of intentions, but, in addition to being very irritating, it has the effect of suggesting that in the opinion of the editors the words excised are of great import to present-day freemasons. Such an opinion may be based on an untenable, or at any rate on an unproved, belief with regard to the nature of the document edited. It is still, for instance, very doubtful, whether the Edinburgh Register House MS. of 1696 and the Chetwode Crawley MS. of c. 1700 are genuine indications of the early working of accepted masons, or whether Prichard’s Masonry Dissected of 1730 is, as it claims to be, an accurate account of the masonic ceremonies of the period. This latter type of document may have been largely, if not entirely, based on imagination, like much of the so-called masonic history written at that period. On the other hand, what Thorp (AQC, xx, 95) held to be a parody, and Vibert (Rare Books, 27) an elaborate skit, viz., the catechism entitled The Free Mason Examin’d of 1754, may, as Songhurst has suggested (AQC, xx, 108), more or less correctly represent a masonic working based on a legend associating freemasonry with the Tower of Babel. As Bro. Lepper has recently pointed out (AQC, li, 237), a lucky discovery may still enrich us with such a legend. Quite recently one of us has discussed, in a paper communicated to the QC Lodge (AQC, lv), the genesis of speculative masonry, and has given there a picture of early masonic ceremonies very different from that suggested by the early masonic catechisms. Thus it seems to us that Thorp, in editing masonic catechisms for the Leicester Masonic Reprints, and Bro. Mason Allan, in editing the Edinburgh Register House MS. for the Manchester Transactions, have taken for granted certain things which are very far from being proved. In our opinion, it is far safer to regard all early masonic catechisms, not as possible prophetic disclosures of present-day masonic secrets, but as historical documents, which it is the duty of editors in every instance to reproduce as accurately as possible. Consequently, we commend the policy of reprinting catechisms in full, a practice adopted by Gould (History of Freemasonry) in the case of A Mason’s Examination and The Grand Mystery of the Free Masons Discover’d, and by Bro. Poole (AQC, l) in the case of The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons Opened and The Grand Mystery Laid Open.

Masonic catechisms are not the only documents which have suffered at the hands of their editors. Fabric rolls and building accounts, when printed at all, are not uncommonly reduced to convenient length for publication by editorial cuts. Thus the Fabric Rolls of York Minster, as edited by Raine for the Surtees Society, omit much of the detail relating to masons, and the Vale Royal Abbey building accounts, 1278–80, as printed in an appendix to the Ledger Book of Vale Royal Abbey (Lancs and Ches. Record Society), are only a summarized version.

For most purposes, a good reproduction or careful reprint is quite as useful to the student as an original, and offers the great advantage that without undue cost he can have a copy available in his study, instead of having to consult one of the great national or masonic libraries, in which case he will probably have to make his own transcript of the document, which will be more or less accurate, according to his skill as a palaeographer and as a transcriber. Thus the Bernard Quaritch reproduction of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 and the QCA reproduction of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738 give the student, without access to the rare first and second editions of the Book of Constitutions, all that he requires. The same is true of the QCA reproductions of various Old Charges, and of Chetwode Crawley’s reproductions of Irish masonic documents in Caementaria Hibernica.

In using reprints or transcripts of documents, however, certain possible sources of error must be borne in mind:

(i) In the first place, there may be errors in transcription, which are extremely difficult to avoid entirely when copying a long document in archaic spelling and crabbed script. Bro. Worts, for example, drew attention in AQC, xlv, 57–8, to various errors in transcription made by former editors of certain versions of the Old Charges. Later in the same volume, Vibert, in reviewing Poole and Worts, The “Yorkshire” Old Charges of Masons, pointed out similar errors made by Bro. Worts in transcribing the Wm. Watson and Scarborough MSS. Similarly, Bro. Poole in transcribing the Fortitude MS (in QC Pamphlet No. 3) misread the Latin motto on the coat of arms. In most cases this type of error does not alter the sense of the document, though mistakes in reading ‘u’ as ‘n’ in the Cooke MS., l. 446, led Speth in QCA, ii, to print ‘Enclidnis’ for ‘Euclidius’, thus introducing an entirely imaginary person into masonic legends. Later in the Cooke MS., ll. 662 675 691, Speth read ‘Englet’ and ‘Englat’ for ‘Euglet’ and ‘Euglat’, which misled Vibert into writing in his Freemasonry before the Existence of Grand Lodges, p. 62: “It is remarkable that in the shorter legend the Cooke MS. speaks not of Euclid, a Greek name, but of Englet and Englat — a very Saxon-looking form.” In the York No. 1 MS. Todd and Whytehead read, ‘1 mile’ for ‘l miles’ [i.e. 50 miles], thus materially altering the radius within which masons had to attend the Assembly. Proper names suffer as much as anything in the process of transcription, and masonic students owe the many forms and spellings of ‘Naymus Grecus’ to repeated errors of this kind, even if this form is itself not an erroneous transcription, which it almost certainly is.

(ii) In the second place, errors may occur in the expansion of contraction marks, such as ? [per] and ? [pro], the use of which was very common in documents earlier than 1700. Amateur transcribers, especially of early Latin documents, should have Martin’s Record Interpreter constantly at hand.

(iii) In the third place, errors may occur owing to failure to notice contraction marks, in which case they are either not reproduced, or not expanded, as the case may be. Thus, as Vibert has pointed out, Poole and Worts generally ignore them, though they are indicated in their transcripts of York Nos. 1 and 6 MSS.

(iv) In the fourth place, even with the most careful proof reading, typographical errors are apt to occur in any substantial printed document, especially if the original has archaic spelling. We may take this opportunity of correcting a very tiresome error of this kind which occurs in the Regius MS. as printed in our Two Earliest Masonic MSS. In the second line of bold face type at the top of page 104, ‘Eucylyde[m]’ should read ‘Euclyde[m]’.

(v) In the fifth place, if an editor publishes a translation of a document, instead of printing a transcript, errors in translation may occur. A well-known case is that in the translation of the London Regulations for the Trade of Masons, 1356, as printed by Riley in his Memorials of London, where the original Norman French les masouns legers & setters, is translated “the light masons and setters,” instead of “the layers and setters.” This arose, probably, through confusing the French adjective léger = light, with the Middle English noun leger, legger = layer. When Gould reprinted the translation in his History of Freemasonry, i, 341, he copied the mistake.

(vi) In the sixth place, when an Editor repeats an earlier print of a manuscript, without carefully examining the original, he is apt to err in stating the source of the document which he copies, and in tum to mislead his readers. Thus Conder, in printing in AQC, xxvii, 82–3, what he describes in his title as “The Orders and Regulations for the Company of Masons of the City of London in the year 1481” (a somewhat free translation of Ordinacio Lathamorum), writes:

Actually, what Conder prints is not the Masons’ ordinances transcribed from folios 165 to 167 of Letter Book L, but a short précis of the ordinances copied from that printed on pages 183–4 of the Calendar of Letter Book L, edited by R. R. Sharpe and published in 1912.

The number of documents relating to masons, many of which can fairly be described as ‘masonic documents,’ is very large indeed. We propose briefly to survey the principal classes of the documents concerned, and to explain whether, and if so to what extent, we have included them in this Handlist. We should, however, make clear at the outset that we are not concerned with diaries or books which contain casual references to freemasonry, such as Ashmole’s Diary, Stukeley’s Diary, Plot’s Natural History of Staffordshire, and Aubrey’s Natural History of Wiltshire, important though such casual references may be.

1. Masons’ Contracts. These are of two principal kinds. (i) Masons’ contracts of service give the terms of appointment when church or municipality engaged a mason for a term of years or for life. As instances, there may be cited the terms of appointment of Wm. Hoton jun. at York Minster in 1351, and of his successor, Robt. Patrington, in 1368–9, which are entered on the fabric rolls of the Minster (printed in Raine, pp. 166–7, 180); the indenture by which Richard Beke became master mason at Canterbury Cathedral in 1435, which is amongst the muniments of the Cathedral and is partly printed in the Ninth Report of the Hist. MSS. Com., p. 114.; the contract of 1537 appointing George Boiss as mason to the Kirk of Our Lady and to the Burgh of Dundee, which is preserved in the municipal records (printed in Mylne, Master Masons to the Crown of Scotland, pp. 63–4). (ii) Masons’ building contracts, of which many have been preserved and a number printed, show the terms on which masons undertook to erect tombs or monuments, or to construct buildings in whole, or, more commonly, in part. Three such contracts printed in AQC may be quoted as examples: John Lewyn’s contract of 1378 to build part of Bolton Castle, Wensley Dale, printed in vol. x; John Marwe’s contract of 1432 to rebuild Conesford Quay, printed in vol. xxxv; William de Helpeston’s contract of 1359 to build twelve chapels round the Choir of Vale Royal Abbey Church, printed in vol. xliv.

Collectively, masons’ contracts constitute a most important and indispensable source of information for the study of operative masonry, information, incidentally, which served as a basis for our paper on “The Rise of the Mason Contractor” (R.I.B.A. Journal, xliii). As it is difficult to say that any particular contract is of outstanding importance, and as there are a great number of contracts, we have excluded them from this Handlist.

2. Orders and Commissions to Impress Masons. Two principal methods of operating the system of impressing masons can be distinguished. (i) One was to issue orders to sheriffs of particular counties, instructing them to choose a stated number of masons and to send them to a specified building operation where they were needed. In a few cases the account of the expenses of the sheriff in taking masons under some particular impressment order has survived, and it is thus possible to obtain some idea of the methods and diiculties of carrying out the instructions. As an example of such a document, we have printed in translation, in AQC, xliv, 227–8, a transcript of the Sheriff of York’s expenses in taking masons for Windsor Castle in 1363 (P.R.O. Exch. K.R. Accounts 598/7). (ii) Another method was to issue a commission to a master mason, or other official at some particular building operation, or to a King’s Master Mason, authorizing him to take masons, either wherever they could be found, or in certain specied areas.

We have traced 356 orders and commissions of impressment in the Calendars of Patent Rolls and the Calendars of Close Rolls between 1344 and 14.59. For the purpose of studying the system of impressment, the summaries of impressment orders and commissions printed in the Calendars of State Papers are generally sufcient, though recourse may have to be had to original building accounts and sheriffs’ accounts to trace the effects of the impressment orders (see our papers “The Impressment of Masons for Windsor Castle, 1360–63,” Economic History, February 1937, and “The Impressment of Masons in the Middle Ages,” Economic History Review, November 1937). Consequently, it is not necessary to have transcripts of all the originals. Actually, the orders and commissions of impressment are generally in common form, so that one example of each kind is sufficient to illustrate the character of the documents. We have printed in translation in our Mediaeval Mason, pp. 244–5, a transcript, from the Patent Roll of 33 Edward III, of a commission to Master Robert of Gloucester, King’s Master Mason, to take masons for Windsor, and a transcript, from the Close Roll of 35 Edward III, of an order to the sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk to send 40 hewers and 40 layers to Windsor. These 356 orders and commissions which we have traced between 1344 and 1459, as well as many others issued before 1344 and after 1459, are omitted from this Handlist.

3. Fabric Rolls and Building Accounts. These are more or less the same, though the former term is commonly applied to the maintenance and reconstruction accounts of large ecclesiastical edifices, such as York Minster and Westminster Abbey, and the latter term to the accounts of other building enterprises, such as those at Windsor Castle and at Eton College, which were royal works, and those at Kirby Muxloe Castle and at Bolsover Castle, which were built for members of the nobility. The accounts relating to London Bridge and to Rochester Bridge, for the maintenance of which local authorities were responsible, are generally referred to simply as ‘accounts,’ probably because they relate to a good deal more than building operations. That, however, in a lesser degree, is also true of fabric rolls and even of building accounts. In any case, items relating to masons play only a distinctly limited part in any of these documents, which cannot, therefore, be described as ‘masonic documents’ in the strictest sense, although they provide much valuable information about masons and their conditions of employment, as reference to some of those which have been printed will show. Examples are the many Windsor Castle building accounts printed in St. John Hope’s Windsor Castle, the surviving accounts for the building of the Octagon Tower of Ely Cathedral, printed in Chapman’s Sacrist Rolls of Ely, and the Bolsover Castle Building Account for 1613, printed in AQC, xlix. We include in our Handlist no fabric rolls or building accounts, of which no fewer than 1500 are preserved in the Public Record Office alone.

4. State Regulation of Labour. There is a substantial body of regulations dating from the thirteenth century (statutes of the realm, municipal ordinances, and assessments of Justices of the Peace under the Statute of Articers, 1563) which deal with wages and hours of labour, including those of masons. These documents help to throw light on the conditions of employment of masons in bygone centuries and have served masonic historians in the past as a basis for their accounts of operative masonry. It should, however, always be borne in mind that these regulations represent the official conditions of employment, and that it is very necessary to ascertain how far they were effective, and what steps were taken to enforce them, before placing much reliance upon the picture they offer of contemporary labour conditions. Thus, for example, late fourteenth-century London ordinances can be quoted which required lower wages to be paid in winter than in summer, and no wage payment to be made in respect of holidays. Nevertheless, an examination of the contemporary London Bridge accounts shows that masons employed there were paid the same rate of wages throughout the year, and that no deductions were made in respect of holidays. In our opinion, masonic historians, such as Gould and Begemann, have been too ready to accept the conditions laid down in the state regulations of labour at their face value. As, however, these statutes, ordinances, and assessments are concerned with several classes of wage earner, and not merely with masons, we do not regard them as ‘masonic documents,’ and have accordingly omitted them from this Handlist.

5. Masonic Regulations imposed by External Authority. Ordinances specifically relating to masons have from time to time been enacted by municipalities, as for instance London, Edinburgh, and Norwich, by a cathedral chapter in the case of York, and by a royal official, the Warden General and Principal Master of Work, in the case of Scotland, and these ordinances and statutes are included in this Handlist. Further, although the Incorporations of Masons and Wrights established by seal of cause in certain Scottish burghs included other building crafts in addition to masons, they were so intimately connected with the local masons’ lodges and the regulation of the masons’ craft, that we include the seals of cause granted at Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow in this Handlist. On the other hand, we exclude the charters or regulations by which trade companies or fellowships of the building and miscellaneous trades were established in England during the later sixteenth and the seventeeth centuries, because these companies were only slightly associated with the masons’ craft (some account of them will be found in our Mediaeval Mason, pp. 232–3).

6. Regulations imposed by the Craft. These fall into two classes. The first are statutes or orders adopted by particular old lodges, such as the statutes of the Lodge of Aberdeen, approved by the members on 27 December 1670, the ‘Orders’ of the Lodge at Alnwick, adopted 29 September 1701, and the General and Penal ‘Orders’ of the Lodge at Swalwell, entered on the Minute Book of the Lodge about 1730. There are also appended to the Taylor MS. the ‘Orders’ of an unknown lodge. These four documents are included in this Handlist. The second class consists of official or unofficial versions of Regulations adopted by the premier Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and the Grand Lodge of the Antients. Of these, we include in this Handlist Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 and 1738, Pennell’s Constitutions of 1730, and Laurence Dermott’s Ahiman Rezon of 1756, together with Smith’s Pocket Companion, 1734–5, and The Book M, 1736.

7. Masons’ Companies’ Records. So far as we are aware, the only Masons’ Company whose records have survived is the London Company, and we give a brief account of its early records in this Handlist.

8. Lodge Records. The only surviving English lodge minutes which relate to the years before 1730 appear to be those of Grand Lodge (commencing in 1723), of the Alnwick Lodge (commencing in 1703), and of the Swalwell Lodge (commencing in 1725). In Scotland, the most famous surviving early lodge minutes are those of the extinct Lodge of Aitchison’s Haven, commencing in 1598, of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) commencing in 1599 and continuing without a break to the present day, and of the extinct Lodge of Haughfoot, commencing in 1702. These six sets of minutes are entered in this Handlist, together with all cases of lodge-owned versions of the Old Charges.

9. The MS. Constitutions of Masonry, or the Old Charges. These documents, of which the Regius and Cooke MSS. of c. 1400 are the oldest known versions, consist of a body of regulations concerning masters, craftsmen, apprentices, wages and other matters affecting masons, i.e., the charges properly speaking (described in the documents either as Articles and Points or as Charges General and Singular), prefaced by a legendary account of the origin of the building industry and the supposed manner in which the regulations came into being. Actually, these regulations are probably nothing more than written statements of masons’ ‘customs’ which grew gradually, and, in some form or other, almost certainly existed long before any masons’ ordinances were imposed by external authority. The examination of building accounts and fabric rolls in search of independent evidence of the existence of such ‘customs’ is a line of investigation which students of the Old Charges do not appear to have followed. In our study of building accounts we incidentally discovered a reference in the Vale Royal Abbey building account of 1278 (P.R.O. Exch. K.R. 485/22) to the custom by which the employers bought the masons’ tools, in a Nottingham Castle building account of 1348 (P.R.O. Exch. K.R. 544/35) to a custom regarding the payment of masons’ wages in respect of holidays, and in a Sandgate Castle building account of 1539 (B.M. Harl. MS. 1647, fo. 109) to “the use and custom of free masons and hard hewers,” though unfortunately there is no statement as to what that “use and custom” was. A more comprehensive search might reveal references not only to particular masons’ customs, but might also bring to light a general statement of masons’ customs, corresponding to that of the tinminers’ customs contained in the Black Prince’s Register (ptd. H.M.S.O., Vol. iii, pp. 71–3).

About 115 versions of the Old Charges have been traced: of these, some 90 exist in manuscript; 10 have survived only in print, whether in extenso or in summary form; some 15 are missing; and two are known to have been destroyed. As these are peculiarly ‘masonic documents,’ being documents not simply about masons, but for masons, we enumerate them all in this Handlist.

10. The MS. Catechisms of Masonry. These generally consist of a number of test questions and answers, mainly relating to the conditions of admittance of a candidate about to receive the Mason Word, together with a series of instructions to those admitting him, with some indications as to what was to be said to him and what he was to say. Of these late seventeenth- or eighteenth-century manuscripts, four (Edinburgh Register House; Chetwode Crawley; Trinity College, Dublin; and Graham) were probably masons’ aide mémoires. One (Sloane 3329) was a collection of notes on the Mason Word, apparently gathered by the writer from various sources. Three (Chesham, Essex, and Institution of Free Masons) are closely related to certain early printed catechisms, although they themselves are probably all post-1730. One (Rite Ancien de Bouillon) is a ritual of somewhat doubtful authenticity and date, of which only a relatively modern copy has survived. All these are included in this Handlist.

11. Printed Catechisms of Masonry. The printed catechisms, or so-called ‘exposures,’ resemble the manuscript catechisms in many respects, but whereas the latter may be of genuine masonic origin, the former claim to reveal the working of masonic ceremonies for the benefit of the world at large and are necessarily somewhat suspect. Bro. Baxter (Manc. Trans., xxx, 78–9) has listed some thirty of these which were published as pamphlets, broadsides, or newspaper articles during the course of the eighteenth century. How far, if at all, they are reliable pictures of what happened in contemporary masons’ lodges is a matter of considerable doubt. Nevertheless, the evidence of early printed catechisms, for what it is worth, must be taken into account in examining the problem of the development of the trigradal system. As that system was more or less definitely established by 1730, we enter in this Handlist only those printed catechisms which had appeared before 1731, together with four later documents, which we include for special reasons: A Mason’s Confession, because, although not printed till 1755/6, it claims to relate to 1727; Slade’s Free Mason Examin’d of 1754, because it associates freemasonry with the Tower of Babel; Three Distinct Knocks, 1760, and Jachin and Boaz, 1762, because of their importance, to judge by the many editions through which they went during the second half of the eighteenth century and even later. Nearly fifty of the English and foreign printed catechisms are discussed (mainly from a bibliographical point of view) in Vibert’s paper, “Eighteenth Century Catechisms,” printed in parts in Misc. Lat., xiv, during 1929–30, and we recommend any reader especially interested in catechisms to study that paper, as Well as Thorp’s Bibliography of Masonic Catechisms and Exposures, where the various editions are listed, and Bro. Poole’s paper, “Masonic Ritual and Secrets before 1717” (AQC, xxxvii), which deals, inter alia, with the pre-1730 catechisms.

12. Replies to Early Printed Catechisms. Two of the early printed catechisms, The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d and Prichard’s Masonry Dissected, elicited replies: the former in A Letter from the Grand Mistress and The Free-Masons Vindication; the latter in A Defence of Masonry and The Perjur’d Free Mason Detected. These are included in this Handlist.

13. Manuscript, Engraved, and Printed Lists of Lodges. These Lists are absolutely essential to the student who wishes to trace early lodges which, from time to time, changed their names, i.e., the taverns at which they met, and their numbers. They served as a basis for John Lane’s great work Masonic Records, 1717–1886, 1887 (second revised edition, Masonic Records, 1717–1894, 1895), in which particulars are given of every lodge warranted by the Grand Lodge of England up to the year 1894. Information about the various official and unofficial Lists will be found in Lane’s Handy Book to the Lists of Lodges, 1889, where he indexes 7 manuscript lists, 65 engraved lists and 121 printed lists, or 193 in all. As the ordinary masonic student will rarely, if ever, have occasion to refer to these lists, we omit them from this Handlist, apart from a casual reference to the fact that the MS. Lists of 1723–4, 1725–8 and 1730–2 are entered in the first Minute Book of Grand Lodge.

14. Miscellaneous. In addition to the various documents falling into the well-defined classes indicated above, we also include in this Handlist an account of the following miscellaneous documents: Philo Musicae et Architecturae Societas Minute Book; the James MSS.; D’Assigny’s Serious and Impartial Enquiry; Drake’s Speech of 1726; the Dublin Tripos of 1688; The Free-Masons Accusation and Defence; the Leland-Locke MS.; Multa Paucis; An Ode to the Grand Khaibar; Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry, and the St. Clair Charters, together with a note on the Book of Constitutions.

In conclusion, brief reference may be made to the system adopted in compiling the notes about any particular item in this Handlist: (a) In all cases we give an exact or approximate date. (b) We indicate the present ownership and also the history of manuscripts, so far as these can be traced. (c) In the case of versions of the Old Charges, the classication is given. (d) Wherever a document does not conform to a standard type, we draw attention to its salient features. (e) Wherever prints or reprints of manuscript or printed authorities are available, we indicate where they are to be found.

A Handlist of Masonic Documents

Aberdeen Lodge Statutes, 1670 : The Laws and Statutes ordained by the Lodge of Aberdeen, 27 December 1670, are a set of rules for the management of the Lodge, entered in the Mark Book of the Lodge, one of the cherished possessions of the Lodge of Aberdeen, No. 1 ter. Printed in Miller.

Aberdeen MS. : 1670. Version of OC [GL], entered in the Mark Book of the Lodge of Aberdeen in 1670 under the title “The Measson Charter.” Printed in Miller.

Aberdeen Seal of Cause : 1527. Granted by the burgh to the coopers, wrights and masons in 1527, and ratified in 1541, when the carvers, slaters, and painters were added to the Incorporation. The two seals of cause are printed in Bain, Merchant and Craft Gilds, 238–40.

Ahiman Rezon : 1756. The name given by Laurence Dermott to the Book of Constitutions of the GL of the Antients in London, of which he was secretary. The first edition, published in 1756, bore the title Ahiman Rezon: or A Help to a Brother . . . It was modelled on the Irish New Book of Constitutions, 1751, which Edward Spratt in his turn had modelled on Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738. The second English edition, published in 1764, Ahiman Rezon, Or a help to all that are (or would be) Free and Accepted Masons . . . includes the well known attack on the Moderns in respect of their sins of omission and commission against the Craft. Numerous English, Irish, and American editions were issued during the eighteenth century (see Adams, AQC, xlvi, 239–97). In the early nine teenth century, the Irish GL for a time adopted the name for its Book of Constitutions, the first official Irish Ahiman Rezon being issued in 1804. The meaning of the name is obscure, the most likely suggestions being that it is Hebrew, and that it can be freely translated, according to the Genevan Bible, as “Faithful Brother Secretary” (AQC, YXlii, 162). Quite recently (Misc. Lat., May 1937) Bro. Covey-Crump has suggested that, with some rearrangement, the Hebrew could be translated “A help to brothers.”

Aitchison’s Haven Lodge Minute Books : The first minute book of this extinct lodge, covering the years 1598–1764, passed into the possession of John Bain, a member of the Lodge at the time when it became dormant in the middle of the nineteenth century, and was last traced some thirty years ago in the possession of a grandson of his. Numerous extracts are printed in Wallace-James, AQC, xxiv, 30–42. A second old Lodge Book, containing miscellaneous entries, including a copy of the Falkland Statutes, 1636 (q.v.), and the version of the OC known as the Aitchison’s Haven MS. (q.v.), ultimately served as the second minute book, covering the period 1769–1852. This book belongs to the GL of Scotland.

Aitchison’s Haven MS. : 19 May 1666. A version of OC [Tew] engrossed in 1666 in the book which later became the second minute book of the Aitchison’s Haven Lodge, by Jo. Auchinleck, clerk to the Lodge. Printed in Lyon.

Alnwick Lodge Minute Book : Covers the period 1703–56, and shows that the Lodge remained operative in character until 1748, when it was apparently re-organized as a speculative lodge though it was never linked up with GL (Rylands, AQC, xiv, 4). In 1870 the Minute Book was in possession of Bro. E. T. Turnbull of Alnwick. After his death, it was lost sight of for some years, until discovered by Bro. Rob. Hudson in the custody of Bro. Alderman Robertson of Alnwick, whom Hughan in 1893 (AQC, vi, 199) described as the owner, though actually it had only been lent to him by Mr. Wm. Turnbull. After being lost sight of for a further period at a bookbinder’s, it was presented in 1922 by Bro. Hugh Turnbull to the Alnwick Lodge, No. 1167, Alnwick. Printed by the Province of Northumberland and Durham, S.R.I.A., in 1895.

Alnwick MS. : 1701. A version of OC [Sloane] entered in the Alnwick Lodge Minute Book (q.v.) [29 September] 1701. Facsimile by the Province of Northumberland and Durham, S.R.I.A., in 1895. Printed in Hughan, Old Charges, 1872, and in our Mediaeval Mason.

Alnwick ‘Orders’ : 1701. “Orders to be observed by a Company and Fellowship of Free Masons at a Lodge held at Alnwick Sept^r 29, 1701, being the Gen[era]ll head meeting day.” These rules are of a purely operative character, the fines for breaches thereof being indicated. The ‘Orders’ are entered in the Minute Book of the Lodge (q.v.). Facsimile by the Province of Northumberland and Durham, S.R.I.A., in 1895. Printed in our Mediaeval Mason, 276–8.

Anchor and Hope MS. : Missing. “A valuable old manuscript written on parchment” referred to in 1788 in the records of the Anchor and Hope Lodge, No. 37, Bolton.

Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 : The first edition of the Book of Constitutions, published in 1723 under the title The Constitutions of the Free-Masons. According to Anderson’s own account, he was invited by GL to ‘digest’ the MS. Constitutions of Masonry in what he called a new and better method. He accordingly revised and amplied the accepted history of masonry, as given in the MS. Constitutions, or OC, re-cast the Charges General and Singular to form “The Charges of a Free-Mason,” edited the General Regulations which had been compiled by Geo. Payne and approved by GL in 1721, and added an account of the manner of constituting a New Lodge. At the end, he printed certain songs, including Matthew Birkhead’s “Enter’d ’Prentices Song.” Anderson’s name is not on the title page, but in the Approbation, printed on pp. 73–4, under Lodge XVII, there appears “JAMES ANDERSON A.M. The Author of this Book. Master.” Facsimile by Bernard Quaritch in 1923. See Vibert, AQC, xxxvi, 36–69.

Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738 : The second edition of the Book of Constitutions, published in 1738 under the title The New Book of Constitutions of the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . . . By James Anderson D.D. In 1735, when the first edition was exhausted, Anderson sought and obtained the approval of GL for the preparation of a new and revised edition Which, like the first, was his sole property. He revised and greatly extended the historical section and included an account of the formation of GL, and an abstract of its activities year by year from 1717 to 1738. He re-wrote “The Charges of a Free-Mason,” as printed in the first edition, re-naming them “The Old Charges of the Free and Accepted Masons.” He extended and slightly modied the wording of “The Manner of Constituting a New Lodge,” which appeared in this edition as “The Antient Manner of Constituting a Lodge.” Next, he printed the General Regulations in two columns, on the left what purported to be the Old Regulations of 1723 (no attempt being made to follow the exact wording) and on the right the New Regulations or alterations approved by GL since 1723. The Regulations are followed by three new sections: (i) The Constitution of the Committee of Masons Charity; (ii) List of Lodges in and about London and Westminster; (iii) Deputations to Wales, the country of England, and Foreign Parts [i.e., List of Lodges in the provinces and overseas]. Next is printed an extended collection of songs.Finally, there are appended a reprint of A Defence of Masonry (q.v.) and “Brother Euclid’s Letter to the Author against unjust cavils.” Facsimile in QCA, vii. See Edwards, AQC, xlvi, 357.

Antiquity MS. : 1686. A version of OC [GL] written by Robt. Padgett, clerk to the Worshipful Society of the Free Masons of the City of London. In the possession of the Lodge of Antiquity, No. 2, London, since the eighteenth century. Printed in Hughan, Old Charges, 1872.

Bain MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. Early history unknown. According to Poole and Worts, part, if not the whole of this version of OC [GL] is in the writing of Wm. Hammond, clerk to the London Masons’ Company, 1677–8. Purchased in 1894 at a sale at Sotheby’s by Bro. G. W. Bain of Sunderland, who sold it in 1907 to Bro. R. A. Wilson of London. Printed in AQC, xx, and in Poole and Worts. See Masons’ Company MS.

Baker MS. : Missing. Referred to in a marginal note on the Rawlinson MS. (q.v.). “One of these Rolls I have seen in the possession of a Mr. Baker, a carpenter in Moorelds.” Mr. Baker was probably the John Baker, carpenter, who was a member of the Lodge held at the Bricklayers Arms, in Barbican [1730–2].

Beaumont MS. : 1690. A version of OC [Tew] for several ffjgenerations in the family of the Beaumonts of Whitley, near Huddersfield. Transcribed by Thos. Dunderdale in 1869, after which it was missing for some thirty years. On being re-discovered about 1900, it was purchased by the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Beswicke-Royds MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [Sloane]; early history unknown; belonged at one time to Bro. Clement R. N. Beswicke-Royds, for many years Deputy Prov. GM, E. Lancs, to whom it was said to have been presented c. 1880 (AQC, xxviii, 189). Bro. Baxter has recently suggested (comment on Nomenclature, AQC, liv) that Bro. Beswicke-Royds inherited the MS. from his father, Bro. Albert Hudson Royds, Deputy Prov. GM E. Lancs, 1856–66, and Prov. GM Worcs, 1865–78. Presented to the Prov. GL of E. Lancs by Bro. Harold Chadwick, 9 August 1932. Printed in AQC, xxviii. See Tunnah MS.

Bolt-Coleraine MS. : 1728. Destroyed. A version of OC [Tew], the title page of which bore the name of Lord Coleraine, saying that the book was written for him. Subsequent history unknown. Sold in 1921 by a customer, an aged mason, to Bro. F. S. Bolt of Bristol, when in the Channel Islands on business. In 1932 he sold it to Bro. Cecil Powell, who presented it to the Bristol Masonic Society. It was destroyed in an air raid on the of 24/25 Nov. 1940.

The Book M: or Masonry Triumphant : Printed in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1736; bears the name “W. Smith” at the end of the Dedication to the Brethren in the Northern Counties, but whether “W. Smith” of Pocket Companion fame was responsible for it, is doubtful (see Adams, AQC, Xlv, 172). In many respects resembles Smith’s Pocket Companion (q.v.), but contains much new material, including a List of Subscribers, and seven Lectures. See Probity MS.

Book of Constitutions : The name commonly applied to the Constitutions of the Antient Fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons under the United Grand Lodge of England, of which more than twenty editions have been published since the formation of the premier GL in 1717. Of these, the two first, Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 and 1738 (q.v.), are of the greatest historical interest. When the sixth edition, the first after the union of the two GLs, was published in 1815, the first or historical part was omitted, and it has never been restored. See Pennell’s Constitutions, and Ahiman Rezon.

Boyden MS. : c. 1700. Early history unknown. Version of OC [GL] at one time owned by the Danbys of Swinton Park, Masham, Yorks N.R. Presented by the owner to a Bradford gentleman in 1925. Purchased in 1926, through a bookseller, by Bro. W. L. Boyden of Washington, D.C., U.S.A., for the Supreme Council 33°, S.J., U.S.A. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Briscoe Pamphlet : 1724. The Secret History of the Free-Masons. Being an Accidental Disco-very of the Ceremonies made use of in the Several Lodges . . . London: Printed for Sam. Briscoe . . . Undated pamphlet issued in 1724; second edition 1725. Contains (i) a preface explaining how the “Grand-Secret” was discovered; (ii) a version of OC [Sloane]; (iii) observations and critical remarks on Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723, and (iv) “a short dictionary explaining the private signs, or signals, us’d among the Free-Masons.” Facsimile by G. W. Bain in 1891. Partly reprinted in Masonic Record, iii.

Brook-Hills MS. : c. 1710. Early history unknown. Version of OC [GL] formerly in possession of a Mr. Brook, an operative mason, of Manseld Woodhouse, Notts. Discovered in 1928 by Bro. T. W. S. Hills and presented by him in 1929 to GL. See Talents MS.

Buchanan MS. : c. 1670. Early history unknown. Version of OC [Tew] which belonged to Henry Belcher, a nineteenth-century antiquary. Presented in 1880 by his partner’s son, Geo. Buchanan of Whitby, to GL. Printed in Gould; facsimile in QCA, iv.

Cama MS. : c. 1725. Early history unknown. Version of OC [GL] found in 1888 by Bro. W. I. Clarke in a stationer’s premises at Margate, which he had bought from a Bro. Brasier. Secured for the QC Lodge with the assistance of Bro. D. P. Cama. Printed in QCA, iii.

Carmick MS. : A [sundry] version of OC written by Thos. Carmick in 1727. Owned in 1756 by a connection of his, Persifor Frazer, who was active in masonry, in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. After remaining for over 150 years in possession of the family, it was purchased by Bro. G. W. Guthrie and presented to the GL of Pennsylvania in 1911. Printed in AQC, xxii. Facsimile by GL of Pennsylvania, 1908.

Carson MS. : 1677. Early history unknown. Version of OC [GL] bought in 1890 from a dealer by an American of Boston, U.S.A., who called it the Hub of the Universe MS. The name was changed to Carson MS. after it had been purchased in 1893 by Bro. E. T. Carson of Cincinnati, U.S.A. On his death in 1899, it was secured, through the generosity of General S. C. Lawrence, for the GL of Massachusetts. It is a copy of the Stanley MS. (q.v.), or of the original from which the Stanley MS. was copied. Printed in Freemasons’ Chronicle, 23 August 1890.

Chesham MS. : c. 1740. Early history unknown. Parchment roll found by a workman at Chesham, Bucks, in 1929, and presented to GL that year by Bro. I. H. Grafton. Its contents are practically the same as those of two printed catechisms, (i) The Mystery of Free-Masonry, August 1730 (q.v.), and (ii) Prichard’s Masonry Dissected (q.v.), published in October 1730.

Chetwode Crawley MS. : c. 1700. Early history of this catechism unknown. Found in one of the volumes of a lot purchased c. 1900 from a second-hand collector, it was secured in 1904 for the GL of Ireland through Bro. Hughan, who named it after the distinguished Irish masonic historian, W. J. Chetwode Crawley. It bears the title “The Grand Secret or The forme of giving the Mason-word.” A second part is headed “Some Questions that Masons use to put to those who profess to have the Mason word, befor they will acknowledge them.” Contents practically the same as those of the Edinburgh Register House MS. (q.v.), except that the two parts are transposed. Printed in Leics. Reprints, xiii.

Clapham MS. : c. 1700. Version of OC [GL] formerly owned by T. R. Clapham of Austwick Hall, Yorks, in whose family it had been for some generations. Presented by him to A. G. Kershaw, who gave it to W. F. Tomlinson of Leeds, by whom it was donated to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. in 1900. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Clerke MS. : 1686. Early history of this version of OC [GL] unknown. Discovered c. 1874. in an old chest in a village in South Wales and presented to Colonel S. H. Clerke, Grand Secretary. Was for some time placed on exhibition inithe Library of the Supreme Council 33°, and, until published by Bro. Hughan in the Freemason in 1888 as the Col. Clerke MS., was known as the Supreme Council No. 1 MS. (AQC, i, 131), the present Supreme Council MS. (q.v.) being presumably No. 2. On Colonel Clerke’s death in 1892, it was purchased by GL. Printed in Conder, Hole Craft.

Cole’s Constitutions : 1728–9. An engraved but undated version of the OC [Spencer] entitled A Book of the Antient Constitutions of the Free & Accepted Masons Printed and Sold by B. Cole, Engraver. A copy, engraved from the first state of the plates, was discovered by Bro. E. H. Dring c. 1925. The dedication to Lord Kingston, GM [27 December 1728 to 27 December 1729], indicates that it appeared in 1728–9. At the end are reprinted (in type) (i) Drake’s speech at the GL of York, 27 December 1726, (ii) Oakley’s speech of 31 December 1728, (iii) a Prologue, (iv) an Epilogue. In 1728–9 there also appeared a second engraved edition, with identical title and dedication, but with considerable alterations to the text, which made it less true to the family type. This edition was long thought to be the first, and was partly reprinted as such in Hughan’s Constitutions (1869). A third edition, The Antient Constitutions of the Free and Accepted Masons, styled, however, on the printed title page ‘The Second Edition,’ was published in 1731 from the second state of the engraved plates, but with ‘Kingston’ erased from the dedication and ‘Lovel’ engraved there instead. This was reproduced by Jackson, Leeds (1897). See our reply to Nomenclature, AQC, liv. The fourth and fth editions (in type), The Ancient Constitutions and Charges of the Freemasons, were published in 1751 and 1762.

Colne No. 1 MS. : c. 1685. Colne No. 2 MS. : c. 1730. These two versions of OC [GL] have always, so far as is known, belonged to the Royal Lancashire Lodge, No. 116, Colne, Lancs, which claims to have been in existence certainly since 1732, and probably earlier, although it only received its warrant in 1762. The MSS. are at present on loan to the Prov. GL of E. Lancs. Printed in AQC, xxxiv, and in Leeds Trans., 1935.

Cooke MS. : [B.M. Add. MS. 23198]. An early fifteenth-century version of OC which gives its name to the Cooke family. Nothing known of its history before 24 June 1721, when it was produced by the GM, Geo. Payne, at the Annual Festival of GL, though the dialect in which it is written suggests that it originated in the west country. Two transcripts (the Supreme Council and Woodford MSS.) were made in 1728 by Wm. Reid, Secretary to GL 1727–34. Belonged, in the late eighteenth century, to John Fenn, the antiquary; purchased in 1859 by the British Museum from a Mrs. Caroline Baker. Reproduced in type facsimile in 1861 by Matthew Cooke as The History and Articles of Masonry. It is once referred to by Findel as the Cooke-Baker document, presumably in reference to both the editor and the former owner. Facsimile in QCA, ii. Printed in our Two Earliest Masonic MSS.

Crane No. 1 MS.: 1781. An imperfect version of OC [Sloane] in the handwriting of Rev. Thos. Crane of Chester, a member of the now defunct Royal Chester Lodge. Discovered at Chester in 1884 in the possession of relations of Crane, and secured by Bro. J. C. Robinson for the Cestrian Lodge, No. 425, Chester. Subsequently mislaid, but re-discovered c. 1930. Printed in Manc. Trans., xxi.

Crane No. 2 MS. : 1780. Missing. A fragment containing the Charges General [Plot], in the handwriting of Rev. Thos. Crane. Discovered in 1884 and secured for the Cestrian Lodge, No. 425, but subsequently mislaid, like Crane No. 1 MS. (q.v.) and still missing. Printed in the Freemason, 11 and 18 October 1884.

D’Assigny’s Serious and Impartial Enquiry : 1744. D’Assigny and his work were for many years known only through a quotation in Ahiman Rezon (q.v.). It was not until 1867 that Hughan discovered a copy of the pamphlet, A Serious and Impartial Enquiry into the cause of the present Decay of Free-Masonry in the Kingdom of Ireland . . . By Fifield D’Assigny, M.D. . . . Dublin . . . 1744. To a copy discovered in 1892, now in the W. Yorks Masonic Library, there are appended the General Regulations adopted by the GL of Ireland, 24 June 1741, edited by Edward Spratt, based on Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738. The pamphlet is chiey famous for its reference to the Royal Arch. A facsimile, edited by Hughan, issued by Iackson, Leeds, 1893. See Caem. Hib., ii.

Dauntesey MS. : c. 1690. A version of OC [GL] long in the possession of the Dauntesey family, formerly of Agecroft Hall, near Manchester, and now of Lovells Court, Marnhull, Dorset. During the early part of 1941 it appears to have been temporarily in other hands (see comments of Bros. Baxter and Poole on Nomenclature and our reply in AQC, liv), but in November 1941, on the instructions of Mrs. Dauntesey, it was offered for sale to GL, which purchased it. W. H. Rylands, who transcribed and edited it for The Keystone (Philadelphia, U.S.A.), 20 March 1886, says it bore on the outside of its parchment cover in a modern hand “A Manuscript Treatise on Freemasonry, c. 1690.” Bro. Baxter informs us that the manuscript, early in 1941, bore the endorsement in a modern hand, “The Constitutions or Old Charges of Masonry, c. 1690.”

A Defence of Masonry : 1730–1. This anonymous pamphlet, A Defence of Masonry, occasioned by a Pamphlet called Masonry Dissected. London: . . . 1731, was advertised for sale on 15 and 16 December 1730. Until 1913, when a copy was secured for GL Library, this work was known only from the reprints which appeared in the second edition of Smith’s Pocket Companion, 1738, and in Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738 (where it is stated to have been published in 1730). Anderson’s reprint omits the original Latin quotations and gives the English translations only; Smith’s reprint gives both. Oliver attributed the pamphlet to Anderson, and Gould to Martin Clare, who undoubtedly wrote a reply to Prichard’s Masonry Dissected (q.v.); but, as Dring has pointed out (AQC, xxv, 367), Clare’s reply may equally have been another anonymous pamphlet published in 1730, The Perjur’d Free Mason Detected (q.v.). Reproduced from Smith in QCA, i, and in Leics. Reprints, xii; and from Anderson in QCA, vii.

Dermott MS. : Missing. Produced by Laurence Dermott, Grand Secretary, at the GL of the Antients on 6 December 1752. Stated to have been written or copied by one Bramhall of Canterbury in the reign of Henry VII (1485–1509), and presented to Dermott in 1748.

Dodd Pamphlet : 1739. Version of OC [Spencer], The Beginning and First Foundation of the Most Worthy Craft of Masonry with the Charges thereunto belonging. By a deceas’d Brother, for the benefit of his widow. London : Printed for Mrs. Dodd . . . 1739. Very possibly printed from the same original as the Spencer MS. Facsimile in QCA, iv. i

Dowland MS. : 1815. A copy of a version of OC [GL] transcribed by James Dowland from a manuscript, apparently of the early seventeenth century, which had not long since come into his possession, and published in the Gentleman’s Magazine, 31 May 1815. Original not traced. Reprinted in Hughan, Old Charges, 1872.

Drake’s Speech : 1726–7. A pamphlet entitled A Speech Deliver’d . . . At a Grand Lodge Held at Merchant’s Hall in the City of York, on St. John’s Day, December 27th 1726 . . . By the junior Grand-Warden [Francis Drake]. York: Printed . . . for the Benet of the Lodge. The Speech contains, inter alia, (i) a very brief account of the legendary history, the so-called Drake [sundry] version of OC, presumably based on records preserved in the Lodge, and (ii) one of the earliest known references to the trigradal system. Reprinted with Cole’s Constitutions (q.v.) of 1728–9 and 1731.

Dring-Gale MS. : c. 1710. A version of OC [GL] in the handwriting of the antiquary, Samuel Gale (1682–1754). Purchased c. 1925 by Bro. E. H. Dring with a number of manuscripts formerly belonging to Gale. Now in the possession of his son, Bro. E. M. Dring of London. Printed in Merseyside Trans., v (1930).

Drinkwater No. 1 MS. : c. 1710. A version of OC [Tew] written in an estate-account and commonplace book by Arnold Drinkwater (1679–1755) of Warburton, Cheshire. Stated by him to have been copied from a manuscript written in 1694. Discovered by Bro. C. P. Noar of Manchester in 1925. Now in the possession of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research. Printed in Manc. Trans., xv (1926).

Drinkwater No. 2 MS. : c. 1710. Consists of the charges [Roberts] only, written by Arnold Drinkwater in parallel columns with those of the Drinkwater No. 1 MS. (q.v.). Stated by him to have been copied from a manuscript written in the reign of Queen Anne (1702–14). Discovered by Bro. Noar, and now in the possession of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research. Printed in Manc. Trans., xv (1926).

Dublin Tripos of 1688 : A satirical speech delivered by a certain John ]ones, a friend of Swift, at the Commencements of the University of Dublin in July 1688. It contains the earliest known reference to a Lodge of Freemasons in Ireland, which met at Trinity College, Dublin. The manuscript of the tripos was discovered by Chetwode Crawley in the Trinity College, Dublin, Library and made known by him in the introductory chapter which he wrote for Sadler’s Masonic Reprints and Historical Revelations (1898), where the masonic portions of the speech are printed.

Dumfries No. 1 MS. : Late 17th cent.
Dumfries No. 2 MS. : Late 17th cent.
Dumfries No. 3 MS. : Late 17th cent.
Dumfries No. 4 MS. : Early 18th cent.
These four versions of OC, of which the first three belong to the GL family and the fourth is a sundry version and catechism, apparently belonged to the Old Lodge of Dumfries, now Dumfries Kilwinning Lodge No. 53. When discovered in 1891, among the Lodge muniments, by Bro. James Smith, they were designated by Hughan the Dumfries Kilwinning MSS.; Nos. 1 and 3 are printed in Smith’s Old Lodge of Dumfries; No. 2 in the Christmas Freemason, 1892, and No. 4 in AQC, vi.

Edinburgh Lodge Minute Books : An unbroken set of Minute Books from 1599 to the present time is in the possession of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel), No. 1. They have been used by Lyon and by Begemann (Freimaurerei in Schottland, 241–309), but have not been printed.

Edinburgh Masons’ Ordinances, 1491 : A “Statute anent the government of the master mason of St. Giles,” made by the provost, dean of gild, baillies and council of the burgh of Edinburgh in 1491, laid down the conditions of employment of the master mason, his colleagues and servants. Printed in Records of . . . Edinburgh, 1403–1528, 61, 62.

Edinburgh Register House MS. : [Misc. Papers No. 52] 1696. The early history of this catechism is unknown. Discovered about 1930 among the records in the Historical Department of the General Register House, Edinburgh. It is endorsed “Some Questiones Anent the mason word 1696,” and consists of two parts, the first headed “Some Questiones that Masons use to put to those who have y^e word before they will acknowledge them,” and the second “The forme of giveing the mason word.” Cf. Chetwode Crawley MS. Photographic reproduction in AQC, xliii; printed in Manc. Trans., xxii.

Edinburgh Seal of Cause, 1475 : Granted by the burgh to the masons and wrights. The trade of the coopers was added to the Incorporation in 1489. The grants were ratified by the Archbishop of St. Andrews in 1517, and confirmed by a charter of James V in 1527. Printed in Records of . . .Edinburgh, 1403–1528, 31, 32.

Embleton MS. : c. 1680. Early history unknown. This version of OC [Sloane] was purchased for Bro. T. M. Watson of Sunderland for £23 in August 1887 from an elderly lady, resident in Sunderland, to whose father and grandfather it had previously belonged. The latter was a Sunderland mason during the second half of the eighteenth century (see Waples). Bro. Watson sold it to Bro. Thos. W. Embleton of Methley, Yorks, who presented it in 1893 to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R., when the name of the MS. was changed by Hughan from Watson to Embleton. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Essex MS. : [B.M. Add. MS. 6760] c. 1750. Consists of (i) a somewhat inferior version of The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d, 1724. (q.v.) and (ii) a catechism which follows fairly closely The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons Opened, 1725 (q.v.). A photographic reproduction of the second part appears in AQC, 1i. Belonged to Iames Essex (1722–84), builder, architect, and antiquary of Cambridge, who bequeathed his MSS. to Thos. Kerrich (1748–1828), Librarian of the University of Cambridge. He in turn bequeathed them to the British Museum, together with his own collection of manuscripts.

Falkland Statutes, 1636 : Promulgated at Falkland, Fife, on 26 October 1636, by Sir Anthonie Alexander, General Warden and Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland. They provided for the better regulation of masons, Wrights and other articers engaged in the building industry by the formation of unprivileged companies outside those places where the trades in question were organized as privileged companies or incorporations under seals of cause. A copy was entered in the book which ultimately became the second minute book of Aitchison’s Haven Lodge (q.v.). Printed in Laurie, History of Freemasonry, 2nd ed. 1859.

Fisher MS. : A version of OC [Spencer] in the handwriting of Wm. Reid, secretary to GL 1727–34. Practically identical with the Songhurst MS. Found by a Bro. Fisher among his late father’s papers and presented c. 1918 to Bro. Rev. H. G. Rosedale. Was known for a time as the Fisher-Rosedale MS. After Bro. Rosedale’s death in 1928, it apparently reverted to the Fisher family, as in 1928 it was presented by Bro. John Fisher to GL. Printed in AQC, xxxiii.

Folkes MS. : Missing. An “Old Record” sent in 1725 by Martin Folkes to the Duke of Richmond, GM, who, in acknowledging it, said “it is really very curious, and a certain proof at least, of our antiquity to the unbelievers,” which strongly suggests that it was a version of OC. The Duke’s letter of 27 June 1725, is printed in AQC, xliii, 255.

Fortitude MS. : c. 1750. This version of OC [GL] has been for some time in the possession of the Lodge of Fortitude, No. 281, Lancaster. Discovered by Bro. H. Poole in January 1934, and printed in QC Pamphlet No. 3.

Foxcroft MS. : 1699. A version of OC [GL] written by Thos. Foxcroft in 1699. Subsequent history unknown. Acquired in 1899 by GL at the sale of the Tixall Library, the property of Sir F. A. T. C. Constable, of Burton Constable. Printed in the Freemason, January 1900.

The Free-Masons Accusation and Defence : An anonymous pamphlet, The Free-Masons Accusation and Defence. In six genuine Letters between a gentleman in the country, and his son a student in the Temple . . . London . . . 1726. The gentleman, who attacks the Fraternity in general and Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 in particular, urges his son to renounce his intention of joining a Lodge of Freemasons, an intention which the son seeks to justify in his answers, in which he defends the Fraternity. Four editions were printed in 1726. The pamphlet was doubtless intended to injure the Fraternity. It elicited an answer the same year, an anonymous pamphlet, A Full Vindication of the . . . Society of Free and Accepted Masons, from the Malicious Aspersions and Sly Insinuations of ignorant and envious slanderers; particularly, the Author or Authors of a scandalous Pamphlet, intituled, The Free Masons Accusation . . . London . . . 1726. Reprinted in Leics. Reprints, iii.

The Free Mason Examin’d : This catechism, The Free Mason Examin’d; or the World brought out of Darkness into Light . . . By Alexander Slade . . . London . . . 1754, has been described by Thorp as a parody and by Vibert as an elaborate skit. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that it more or less represented a genuine masonic working based on a legend associating freemasomy with the Tower of Babel, a legend so far undiscovered, but which may still be brought to light. See Songhurst, AQC, xx, 108, and Lepper, AQC, li, 237. Reprinted in Leics. Reprints, x.

The Free-Masons Vindication : An anonymous broadsheet, The Free-Masons Vindication, being an Answer to a scandalous Libel, entituled the Grand Mistery of the Free Masons, disco-ver’d . . ., believed to be of Irish origin, probably issued in 1724. Reproduced in Lepper and Crossle, 49–50.

Gateshead ‘Orders’ : c. 1730. Entered, together with minutes dating from 1725, on sheets bound up with a copy of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723, which belonged to the old operative Lodge at Swalwell, County Durham, now the Lodge of Industry, No. 48, Gateshead (see Swalwell Lodge Minute Books). There are four sets of ‘Orders,’ of which the first two, ‘Orders of Antiquity’ [=charges general and singular] and ‘Apprentice Orders’ [=a version of the Apprentice charge which includes a brief sketch of the legendary history] may be regarded as constituting a [sundry] version of OC, the so-called Gateshead MS. The third, ‘General Orders,’ are lodge by-laws, and the fourth, ‘Penal Orders,’ purely operative in character, prescribe the fines to be paid in respect of various trade offences. Printed in the Masonic Magazine, iii (1875–6), 82–5.

Glasgow Seal of Cause, 1551 : This incorporated the building trades of the burgh; including the masons, the coopers and the wrights. In 1569 the coopers received a separate charter, and similarly the wrights in 1600. An early Sederunt Book of the Incorporation of Masons, 1600–81, has survived. The seal of cause and extracts from the Sederunt Book are printed in Cruikshank, Incorporation of Masons and the Lodge of Glasgow St. John.

Graham MS. : 1726. Early history unknown. Written by Thomas Graham in 1726. It belongs to Bro. Rev. H. I. Robinson, Londesborough Rectory, York, in whose family it has been for some time. He first drew attention to it when he was initiated in 1936. It bears the heading “The whole Institutions of free Masonry opened and proved by the best of tradition and still some referance to scripture.” It consists of two parts, the first an examination or catechism, the second an exposition, in the form of a ‘lecture,’ of legendary matter chiefly concerning Noah, Bezaleel, and King Solomon, which bears little resemblance to the events recorded in the historical section of the OC. Photographic reproduction in AQC, l.

Grand Lodge Minute Books : Preserved in the archives of GL are ten minute books relating to the period before the union of the two GLs on 27 December 1813, five of the premier GL, covering the period 24 June 1723 to 23 June 1813, and five of the GL of the Antients, covering the period 5 February 1752 to 23 December 1813. There are no minutes of the premier GL relating to the six months immediately prior to the Union. The first minute book contains three MS. Lists of Lodges, 1723–4, 1725–8 and 1730–2. The minutes from 23 June 1723 to 12 December 1739, including the MS. Lists of Lodges, are printed in full by W. J. Songhurst in QCA, x.

Grand Lodge No. 1 MS. : 25 December 1583. This version of OC gives its name to the GL family. Early history unknown. Purchased by GL in 1839 from a Miss Siddall, granddaughter of the second Wife of Thomas Dunkerley (1724–95), the prominent mason. Facsimile in QCA, iv.

Grand Lodge No. 2 MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [Roberts] purchased by GL in 1891 after its discovery among the rubbish during the rebuilding of a house in the West End of London. Facsimile in QCA, iv.

The Grand Mystery Laid Open : A catechism, printed as a broadsheet on one side only, The Grand Mystery laid open, or the Free-Masons Signs and Word Discovered, 1726. The only known copy, formerly owned by Bro. A. M. Broadley and later in the Wallace Heaton collection, is in GL Library. Reprinted in AQC, l.

The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d : An anonymous catechism, The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d. Wherein are the several Questions put to them at their Meetings and Installations: as also Their Oath, Health, Signs and Points, to know each other by. As they were found in the custody of a Free-Mason who Dyed suddenly. And Now Publish’d for the Information of the Publick . . . London . . . 1724. To the second edition of this pamphlet, The Grand Mystery of the Free Masons Discover’d . . ., published in 1725, are annexed two letters to a friend, the first, signed by ‘Verus Commodus,’ concerning the Society of Freemasons, the second giving an account of the Society of Gormogons. The second edition is reprinted in Gould, iii, 475.

The Grand Whimsy : see The Mystery of Free-Masonry.

Haddon MS. : This version of OC [GL] was presented c.1892 to Bro. James S. Haddon of Wellington, Somerset, who in 1896 gave it to GL. Printed in Hughan, Old Charges, 1895.

Halliwell MS. : see Regius MS.

Hargrove Abstract : 1818. Consists almost entirely of slightly abbreviated passages from a version of OC [Sloane] and from Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723, printed in Hargrove’s History and Description of the Ancient City of York, 1818. Reprinted in Poole and Worts.

Harleian MS. 1942 : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [Roberts]; part of the collection of manuscripts formed 1690–1724 by Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1661–1724). The collection was purchased in 1753 by the British Museum. Facsimile in QCA, ii.

Harleian MS. 2054 : 2nd half 17th cent. This volume, which, like Harl. MS. 1942, is part of the Harleian MSS. Collection in the British Museum, consists of various tracts and papers, among which are three of masonic interest, all in the handwriting of Randle Holme the third, the Chester genealogist: (i) Fos. 29–32 contain a version of OC [Sloane]; (ii) Fo. 33, a scrap of paper torn off irregularly, contains an oath of secrecy in respect of “severall words and signes of a free Mason”; (iii) Fo. 34 is a puzzling record of names and figures, probably relating to the Chester Lodge. All are reproduced in facsimile in QCA, iii. The third is reproduced in facsimile and discussed by us in AQC, li, 133.

Harris No. 1 MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [GL] presented by a Bro. Harris to the Bedford Lodge, No. 157, London, in 1809, and still in the possession of the Lodge. Printed in the Freemasons’ Chronicle, 22 and 29 April 1882.

Harris No. 2 MS. : 2nd half 18th cent. A version of OC [GL] written in a copy of the Freemasons’ Calendar for 1781, now in the British Museum. Named from its resemblance to the Harris No. 1 MS. Printed in QCA, iv.

Haughfoot Lodge Minute Book : The minute book of this extinct Lodge, covering the period 1702–63, is in the possession of the Lodge of St. John, Selkirk, No. 32. The first page has unfortunately been torn out; at the top of the second page is the fragment of a minute of 22 December 1702 which implies the existence of a second ceremony. This fragment forms one of the surviving pieces of evidence to prove the early existence of more than one ceremony among Scottish operative masons. Numerous extracts are printed in Vernon, 281–99.

Heade MS. : 1675. A version of OC [Plot] transcribed by Henery Heade in 1675. Has the bookplate of Pennell Hawkins, body-surgeon to George II. Traced by Speth in a sale catalogue of 1836, and listed by Hughan in 1895 among the “Missing MSS.” as the Henery Heade MS. Owned for a short while by J. O. Halliwell. Purchased in 1859 by the Inner Temple Library. Discovered there in 1908, bound in a volume of miscellaneous papers. Printed in AQC, xxi.

Heaton MS. : Early 18th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [GL] purchased by Bro. Wallace Heaton in 1926 and presented by him to GL. Printed in Masonic Record, vii.

Holywell MS. : 14 February 1748/9. A version of OC [Sloane] probably either used at the initiation of Thos. Humphreys at Holywell in February 1748/9, or copied for him. Subsequent history unknown. Discovered in 1922 in the possession of Bro. John Moorhouse of Nelson, Lancs. Presented by Bro. T. Driver, 20 October 1932, to the Prov. GL of E. Lancs. Printed in Poole, Old Charges.

Hope MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [Sloane] which has belonged to the Hope Lodge, No. 302, Bradford, since a date not known. On permanent loan to the Library of the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Huddleston MS. : 1730. A version of OC [GL] transcribed by John Joseph Huddleston in a manuscript book mostly occupied with extracts from theological and hermetic works. Acquired by Bro. Wallace Heaton in 1937. Presented by him and Bro. R. A. Card to GL in 1939. Has been referred to as the Wallace Heaton No. 2 MS. Photographic reproduction in AQC, lii.

Hughan MS. : 1st half 18th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [GL] acquired in 1892 by Bro. T. W. Tew and presented to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R., being named by him the Hughan MS., in honour of Bro. William James Hughan, who had done so much to promote the study of the OC. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Illustrations of Masonry : See Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry.

Inigo Jones MS. : c. 1725. Early history unknown. A version of OC [Spencer] in book form, containing a frontispiece representing masons at work, below which appears “INIGO JONES Delin. MDCVII.” The title page also bears the date 1607. When the frontispiece was submitted in 1895 to the Assistant Keeper of Prints at the British Museum, he was decidedly of opinion that it was not by Jones, or copied from him; and that the general style of the picture pointed to the first half of the eighteenth century (AQC, ix, 23). In addition, various reasons have been advanced to show that the manuscript itself is of much later date than 1607. Hughan has suggested c. 1680; Begemann c. 1725, which is accepted by Bro. Poole. Purchased by Bro. Woodford in 1879 and sold by him at Hodgsons, 5 August 1885, for £5. Offered for sale by Kennings in their catalogue of October 1885 and purchased for £12 12s. by Bro. Geo. Taylor of Kidderminster (Misc. Lat., xix, 13). Now in the Worcestershire Masonic Library. Facsimile in QCA, vi, where Speth discusses the evidence relating to the date. See also Poole, QC Pamphlet No. 2, p. 5.

Institution of Free Masons : 2nd half 18th cent. Early history unknown. A catechism purchased c. 1905 from a dealer by Bro. A. F. Calvert. It consists of two sheets, written on both sides, cut out of an old vellum-bound notebook, in which there were other writings on subjects that did not interest Bro. Calvert. Purchased from him in 1941 by Bro. Douglas Knoop. It is a version of The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d (q.v.). Photographic reproduction in the Authors’ Lodge Transactions, iii (1919), following p. 408.

Jachin and Boaz : 1762. This catechism, Jachin and Boaz, or an Authentic Key to the door of Free-Masonry . . . By a Gentleman belonging to the Jerusalem Lodge. London . . . 1762, in many respects follows the text of Three Distinct Knocks (q.v.) very closely. The second and subsequent editions add the words Both Antient and Modern after Free-Masonry in the title, but actually the working, so far as it was genuine, probably represented that of the Moderns. Vibert (Misc. Lat., xiv, 81) has described it as “the most important of the English eighteenth-century catechisms”; it certainly went through many editions for nearly a century after its first publication. Has been reprinted of recent years by Wm. Reeves, from an unspecified edition, and without the “List of Regular Lodges” which was appended to earlier editions of the pamphlet.

James MSS. : 1879. Consist of three small notebooks written in 1879 by Bro. Chas. James of Joppa, Edinburgh, for a Bro. Raynor. They contain the rituals of certain additional degrees—the Masonic Order of St. Lawrence, Master of the Blue, Funeral Master, Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell, Knight of Bethany, Past Master’s Degree—with explanatory and supplementary matter, including a sketch of Scottish masonic history and a version of the masonic catechism known as A Mason’s Confession, 1727 (q.v.). The secrets in the rituals are indicated by numbers, a covering letter explaining that the key is in a small book, now missing. The books belong to Bro. G. H. Raynor of Harrogate, son of the Brother for whom they were written. The first two, which include the 1727 catechism, are printed in Nocalore, x (1940) [Trans. of Research Lodge of N. Carolina, U.S.A.].

Kilwinning MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [GL] in the possession of Lodge Mother Kilwinning, probably since it was first written. According to Lyon, it is in the handwriting of the Clerk of the Lodge of Edinburgh for the period 1675–8. Hence he, and also Hughan in 1872, described it as the Edinburgh-Kilwinning MS. Printed in Lyon.

Krause MS. : 1810. A [sundry] version of OC published in German by K. C. Krause in Die drei ältesten Kunsturkunden der Freimaurerbrüderschaft, Dresden 1810. Claims to be from a Latin translation of an original English document, described as an Ancient York Constitution of 926. Neither the Latin translation, not the English original, has been traced. An English translation of the German text is printed in Hughan, Old Charges, 1872.

Lamb Smith MS. : ? Missing. A manuscript belonging to Bro. Thos. Lamb Smith of Worcester, which at his death in 1894 could not be found. Hughan (Old Charges, 1895, p. 158) stated that the son, M. H. Smith, was most anxious to find it, “so that its character might be determined.” There is some reason for thinking that the missing MS. was not a version of OC, as usually supposed, but an old Minute Book of Lodge No. 703, Evesham, lent by Lamb Smith to John Lane in 1889, which was missing for many years, but has recently come into the possession of the Prov. GL of Worcs. See our Reply to Nomenclature, AQC, liv.

Langdale MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [GL] discovered in 1896 in the possession of descendants of an eighteenth-century Northumbrian antiquary named Langdale, to whose collection it had belonged. It was acquired by Bro. G. W. Bain of Sunderland († 1927), from whom it was purchased, through a dealer, in 1913, by Bro. R. H. Baxter of Rochdale. Printed in Manc. Trans., iii.

Langley Abstract : 1738. A short abstract of a version or versions of OC [sundry] printed in the third edition of Batty Langley’s Builder’s Compleat Assistant, 1738, as an Introduction to “Part II OF GEOMETRY.” Reprinted in AQC, xi.

Lansdowne MS. : [98 Art. 48 f. 276 b.] c. 1600. A version of OC [GL] forming part of the collection of manuscripts made by Sir Wm. Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne (1737–1805), which was purchased in 1807 by the British Museum. The particular MS. is in a volume lettered “Burghley Papers,” so that possibly it formed part of the collection of Lord Burghley (†  1598). Facsimile in QCA, ii.

Lechmere MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [Sloane] purchased in London c. 1884 by Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bart., and presented by him to the Worcestershire Masonic Library. Facsimile in QCA, vi.

Leland-Locke MS. : 1753. A catechism printed in the Gentleman’s Magazine, September 1753, where it is stated to be a copy of a small pamphlet printed in Frankfort, Germany, in 1748. The pamphlet, which has never been traced, is said to have been taken from a manuscript found in the desk of a deceased Brother, with a covering letter, dated 6 May 1696, stated to have been written by John Locke, purporting that it was a transcript of a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, copied by John Leland, the antiquary (†  552), from the original written by Henry VI. No such MS. can be traced in the Bodleian, nor has the “original” been discovered. The catechism is undoubtedly a forgery, and the covering letter, as well as the notes upon it attributed to John Locke, are probably forgeries too (AQC, xxxii, 141–2 [quoting the opinion of Mr. Onions, ed. OED], 174–5; xl, 213). Also known as the Locke MS. and the Leland MS. Reprinted in Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry.

Letter from the Grand Mistress : This anonymous pamphlet, A Letter from the Grand Mistress of the Female Free-Masons to Mr. Harding the Printer. Dublin . . . 1724, is a caricature of The Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d (q.v.); it was probably written by Dean Swift. A second edition was printed in Dublin in 1730. It was reprinted by Faulkner in the 1746 and 1762 editions of Swift’s works, Faulkner in both cases pirating Harding’s name. Sadler reprinted the ‘Letter’ from the 1762 edition in his Masonic Reprints and Historical Revelations. The 1724 edition is reproduced in Lepper and Crossle.

Letter of Bro. Euclid : see Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738.

Letter of Verus Commodus : see Grand Mystery of Free-Masons Discover’d.

Levander-York MS. : c. 1740. A version of OC [GL] written on the fly-leaves of a copy of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738. It finishes with the words: “From York Lodge—copy’d from the Original engross’d on Abortive in the year 1560.” Early history unknown. Purchased in 1905 by Bro. F. W. Levander (1839–1916). Acquired in November 1920 by the first Lord Leverhulme in a large collection made by Mr. A. F. Calvert. Now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Cheshire. Printed in AQC, xviii.

London Masons’ Company Records : see Masons’ Company Records.

London Masons’ Ordinances :

1. Regulations for the Trade of Masons, 1356 [Letter Book G, fo. 41]. According to the preamble, these were formulated for want of any proper system of government in the trade. They were a comprehensive code for the government of the craft in London, drawn up in very general terms. Printed in Riley, Memorials of London, and reprinted in our Mediaeval Mason.

2. Masons’ Ordinances, 1481 [Letter Book L, f0. 165]. A body of supplementary regulations, directed to improve the administration of the Masons’ Fellowship and to correct certain undesirable practices. Summarized in Cal. Letter Book L, 183–4.; printed in full in our Mediaeval Mason, 251–6.

3. Freemasons’ Ordinances, 1509–10 [Letter Book M., fo. 168]. Regulate the thickness, breadth and length of certain kinds of freestone, marblestone and hardstone of Kent. Printed in Williams, AQC, xlv, 142–4.

4. Masons’ Ordinances, 1521 [Letter Book N, fo. 175 b.]. Deal with the conditions of apprenticeship and the employment of ‘foreign’ [i.e., non-free] masons. Printed in our Mediaeval Mason, 256–8, and in Williams, AQC, xlv, 145–7.

5. Orders for the Company of Freemasons, 1580 [Letter Book Z, fo. 57 b]. Regulate the use of Purbeck stone, commonly called Purbeck paving. Printed in Williams, AQC, xlv, 147–9.

6. Freemasons’ Ordinances, 1607 [Letter Book CC, fo. 235]. Provide for the annual election of a Master and two Wardens of the Company of Freemasons, in place of two wardens elected biennially in accordance with the ordinances of 1481. Printed in Williams, AQC, xlv, 152–3.

Macnab MS. : 1722. At the end of this version of OC [Roberts], in a different script, is written “George Webst^r 1722 being 27 years old March ye 25”; above the name are two abbreviations which might stand for contractions of “Your Master.” Belonged in the 1890’s to Captain J. Macnab of Liverpool, who had received it as a gift from “the late Bro. Younghusband” of Liverpool. Acquired by Bro. T. W. Tew in 1896, and presented to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Masonry Dissected : see Prichard’s Masonry Dissected.

Masons’ Company MS. : Missing. “One book of the Constitutions of the Accepted Masons” was listed in an inventory of the Company in 1676, and under different descriptions in those of 1665 and 1722, and also, according to Sir Francis Palgrave, in an inventory of c. 1835, but the MS. is no longer among the muniments of the Company. Three versions of OC of the second half of the seventeenth century—Phillipps No.1, Phillipps No. 2 and Bain—answer more or less to the description of the missing MS. in the 1722 inventory: “a book on parchment bound in parchment,” and one of them may possibly be the document. Actually each of the three MSS. is written on vellum, (apart from the last sheet of the Bain, which is paper) and for that and other reasons it is more likely that they are all copies of the Masons’ Company MS. See Phillipps Nos. 1 and 2 and Bain MSS.

Masons’ Company Records : The three principal early surviving records are (i) the Court Books, 1677–94 and 1695–1722; (ii) the Account Book, 1619–1706; (iii) the Quarterage Book, 1663–1701, partly continued in the Freedom Book, 1694–1708 and the Book of Apprentices, 1694–1856. For more particulars, see our London Mason in the Seventeenth Century, 8–9. None of the Records has been printed.

A Mason’s Confession : c. 1727. Appended to a letter of D.B., printed in Scots Magazine, March 1755/6, is A mason’s confession of the oath, word and other secrets of his craft, which is stated to have been recently set down in writing by a mason who was admitted to a [Scottish] lodge [of operative masons] meeting at D—— about the year 1727. The catechism is supposed to represent the working of that date. Printed from the version in the James MSS. (q.v.) in Nocalore, x (1940).

A Mason’s Examination : 1723. Appended to an anonymous letter printed in The Flying-Post or Post Master, No. 4712, 11–13 April 1723, is a masonic catechism, with no title, but which is always known by the heading supplied by Gould when he reprinted it in his History of Freemasonry, iii, 487. It is the earliest printed catechism so far discovered.

Melrose No. 1 MS. : Missing. The original from which Melrose No. 2 MS. was copied in 1674. It has a certicate at the end, given by John Wincester, free mason, to the effect that Robert Wincester had lawfully done his duty to the science of masonry. The certicate is dated 1581, “in the raing of our most soveraing Lady Elizabeth,” which, together with the description “free mason,” shows that it was of English origin.

Melrose No. 2 MS. : 1674. A version of QC [GL], “extracted by A.M.,” probably Andrew Mein, who wrote the Mutual Agreement of the Lodge of Melrose in 1675. This copy of Melrose No. 1 MS. (q.v.) has apparently always been in the possession of the Lodge of Melrose No. 1 bis. Printed in Vernon.

Melrose No. 3 MS. : 1762. A copy of Melrose No. 2 MS. (q.v.) made about the end of 1762, according to a minute of the Lodge of Melrose, and still in the possession of the Lodge.

Morgan MS. : Missing. Stated in the records of the GL of the Antients, under date 6 December 1752, to have been probably taken abroad by Bro. John Morgan, the first Grand Secretary. From the description given—a roll of parchment of prodigious length—it might possibly be the Scarborough MS. (q.v.).

Multa Paucis : 1763–4. This anonymous and undated masonic handbook, The Complete Free Mason, or Multa Paucis for Lovers of Secrets, was published about 1763 or 1764. It resembles a Pocket Companion (q.v.), except that it does not include the Charges or the General Regulations. Part I contains an historical account of Masonry prior to the Christian era; Part II the history of Masonry in Britain; Part III a List of Lodges; Part IV a collection of Masons’ Songs. The history is more or less a condensed version of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1738, but in certain respects it differs from Anderson in its account of the formation of GL. Parts II and III are reprinted in Leics. Reprints, vii. Bro. Adams (AQC, l, 151) suggests that Laurence Dermott (see Ahiman Rezon) may have been the author of Multa Paucis, a suggestion which Bro. Lepper strongly contests (AQC, l, 178).

The Mystery and Motions of Free-Masonry Discovered : 1730. A broadside reprinting The Mystery of Free-Masonry (q.v.).

The Mystery of Free-Masonry : 1730. Appended to a letter of F. G., commencing “The Grand Whimsy of Masonry has long been the subject of amusement . . .,” printed in The Daily Journal, No. 2998, 15 August 1730, is a catechism under the title The Mystery of Free-Masonry. It was also issued as a broadside, possibly previous to its insertion in the newspaper, under its own title, and as The Mystery and Motions of Free-Masonry Discovered; also as The Puerile Signs and Wonders of a Free-Mason. According to Bro. Poole (AQC, xxxvii, 5) it was also issued under the title The Mystery of Freemasons, a document not recorded in Drings “Tentative List” or Vibert’s Rare Books, though Thorp (Bibliography) records The Mystery of Free-Masons. Thorp (ibid.) lists this catechism as Grand Whimsy of Masonry and Poole (op. cit.) as The Grand Whimsey. It was referred to by Dr. Desaguliers in GL on 28 August 1730 (QCA, x, 128), when he recommended certain steps being taken to prevent false brethren being admitted into regular lodges.

Newcastle College MS. : 1st half 18th cent. A version of OC [GL] beginning with an anagram upon the word “Masonry,” dedicated by Richard Head to his friend Joseph Claughton. Early history unknown. Presented in 1893 by Bro. John Grey to the Newcastle College, S.R.I.A. Facsimile issued by the College in 1894.

Newcastle Lodge MS. : ? Missing. An inventory of 1850 of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Lodge, No. 24, shows that the Lodge possessed “Ancient Charges on Vellum” which cannot now be traced. Bro. Waples draws our attention to a suggestion of Bro. Schnitger that this MS. very possibly had once belonged to the old unattached Newcastle Lodge of speculative masons of which there are traces between 1729 and 1734, and that it came into the possession of Lodge No. 24 about 1850 through Alex. Dalziel’s influence, a suggestion which Bro. Waples endorses. In Schnitger’s opinion this Newcastle Lodge MS. was probably the MS. now known as the Wm. Watson MS. (q.v.). Bro. Baxter informs us that as a result of evidence collected years ago, he also is of opinion that the missing Newcastle Lodge MS. and the Wm. Watson MS. are one and the same document.

Norwich Masons’ Ordinances, 1512, 1572, 1577 : The first, approved by the municipality at the request of the masters of the craft of rough masons, endeavoured to enforce apprentice-ship and to restrict “foreign” masons to purely wage-earning jobs. The second were a complete set of municipal ordinances for the regulation of the Masons’ Company. The third amended the ordinances of 1572. All are entered in the Assembly Book of Norwich Corporation and are printed in AQC, xv, 202–10.

An Ode to the Grand Khaibar : A pamphlet issued in 1726 poking fun at the history of masonry as given in Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 (q.v.). The Khaibarites were a rival society mentioned by Prichard in the introduction to Masonry Dissected (q.v.). Reproduced in QCA, i.

Papworth MS. : 2nd half 18th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC [GL] purchased by Wyatt Papworth (1822–94) c. 1860 from a London bookseller. Now in GL Library, but the Librarian is unable to trace the donor or date of receipt. Printed in Hughan, Old Charges, 1872.

Pennell’s Constitutions of 1730 : The first Irish edition of the Book of Constitutions, prepared by John Pennell (secretary to the GL of Ireland, 1732–9), which was published in Dublin in 1730 under the title The Constitutions of the Free Masons. Apart from replacing the Dedication to the Duke of Montagu by one to Lord St. George, Pennell followed Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 (q.v.) closely, though he rewrote a good deal of the text and made certain small additions, viz., a sketch of Irish history at the end of the historical section, a prayer to be said at the opening of a Lodge or making of a Brother, and a new song. Facsimile (apart from the songs) in Caem. Hib., i.

The Perjur’d Free Mason Detected : This 32-page pamphlet, published in London in 1730, purports to be a rejoinder to Prichard’s Masonry Dissected (q.v.). It contains a history of masonry, an attack on Prichard, and two dialogues. In Dring’s opinion (AQC, xxv, 366) it is possibly “the Discourse concerning Prichard by Bro. Clare” mentioned in the minutes of the Old Lodge at Lincoln, 2 October 1733. Cf. A Defence of Masonry.

Phillipps No. 1 MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [GL] which bears the title “Booke of Constitutions for Mr. Richard Banckes,” probably the Richard Bancks who was elected member of the Court of Assistants of the London Masons’ Company in 1677. The handwriting has been held by Conder and Speth to be that of Wm. Hammond, clerk to the Masons’ Company in 1677–8. It may, therefore, be a copy of the Masons’ Company MS. (q.v.); the fact that it was “for Mr. Richard Banckes” makes it very unlikely that it was the Masons’ Company MS. itself. It has the bookplate of the Turner family inside the cover. Purchased c. 1841 from a bookseller by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., of Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham. The Phillipps collection was inherited by Sir Thomas’s daughter, Mrs. Fenwick, and now belongs to Mr. Alan Fenwick. Because of the war, it has been packed up and stored in underground apartments at Thirlestaine House, and we have been unable to confirm that the Phillipps Nos. 1, 2 and 3 MSS. still form part of the collection, of which it is known that small portions have been sold. There is some evidence to suggest that one of the three MSS. was sold to G. W. Bain of Sunderland in January 1900. If so, its subsequent history cannot be traced. See our Reply to Nomenclature, AQC, liv. Facsimile in QCA, v.

Phillipps No. 2 MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. This version of OC [GL] is a duplicate of Phillipps No. 1 MS., apart from “for Mr. Richard Banckes,” and apparently in the same handwriting, viz., that of Wm. Hammond, Clerk to the London Masons’ Company, 1677–8. It may, therefore, be a copy of the Masons’ Company MS. (q.v.), or just possibly even the MS. itself, but if written by Wm. Hammond during his period as clerk to the Company, it was not in existence at the time of the inventories of 1665 and 1676. Purchased in 1829 from a bookseller by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. of Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham. For present location, see Phillipps No. 1 MS. Printed in QCA, v.

Phillipps No. 3 MS. : 1st half 18th cent. A version of OC belonging to a different branch of the GL family from Phillipps Nos. 1 and 2; purchased in 1865 “from the collection of the late Mr. Turnbull” by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., of Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham. For present location, see Phillipps No. 1 MS. Printed in QCA, v.

Philo Musicae et Architecturae Societas Minute Book : [B.M. Add. MS. 23202]. This minute book, which also contains the fundamental constitution and orders of the Society, covers the period 18 February 1724/5 to 23 March 1726/7. Early history unknown. Presented to the British Museum by John Henderson, 6 December 1859. This musical society had an unwritten rule that its members must be freemasons, and, although not a regularly constituted lodge, was prepared, if necessary, to perform masonic ceremonies to render candidates eligible for membership. It is the masonic entries in the minutes, in particular the references to three distinct degrees, which constitute the main interest of the book. Printed in full in QCA, ix.

Plot Abstract : 1686. An abstract of a version of OC which gives its name to the Plot family; printed in Dr. Robert Plot’s Natural History of Staffordshire, 1686. Reprinted in Gould.

Pocket Companion : see Smith’s Pocket Companion.

Poole MS. : A version of OC [Plot] signed at the foot “Anno Domini 1665 Ralph Poole.” Early history unknown. The MS. was in the possession of G. A. Lowndes, Barrington Hall, Essex, in 1879, but is now missing. An abstract, which Bro. W. J. Williams traced in 1936, is printed in Hist. MSS. Com., vii, 587.

Portland MS. : 1st half 18th cent. This version of OC [Tew], engrossed on a vellum roll, has no marks of ownership or other associations, and it is not known how or when it came to the Welbeck Abbey Library. It is not mentioned in the Hist. MSS. Com. Reports dealing with the “Portland MSS.” It was examined in 1918 by Dr. Hammond, Librarian of GL. [Information from Mr. F. Needham, Librarian to the Duke of Portland].

Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry : 1772. This masonic handbook, which succeeded Smith’s Pocket Companion (q.v.) and its successors in popularity, went through twelve editions during the lifetime of Wm. Preston (1742–1818). The first edition, published in 1772, as well as the second published in 1775, had the official sanction of the GM. The first edition consisted of items gathered from various sources, the main one being an account of a gala organized by Preston for the demonstration of his system of Lectures for the first degree. In addition, it contained, inter alia, notes by Preston on the First Lecture, a reprint of the Leland-Locke MS. (q.v.), charges for the three degrees, the constitution of a new lodge, and notes on masonic funerals. The second enlarged edition omitted the account of the gala, but included much new matter, such as notes on the opening and closing of a lodge, and on the Second and Third Lectures (in addition to those on the First), a History of the Craft in Britain from the time of the druids, written in the Anderson style, and a collection of songs. See Hills, AQC, xli, 163–83, and Adams, AQC, l, 163–9.

Prichard’s Masonry Dissected : This catechism, Masonry Dissected : being a Universal and Genuine Description of all its Branches from the Original to the Present Time . . . Giving an Impartial Account of their Regular Proceeding in Initiating their New Members in the whole Three Degrees of Masonry . . . By Samuel Prichard, late Member of a Constituted Lodge . . . London : Printed for J. Wilford . . . 1730, was advertised for sale on 20 October 1730. It rapidly went through many editions in England and Scotland, and was translated into French, German and Dutch. Until quite recently, it was believed that the first edition, with the title misspelt Masonry Disected, was printed in London by Thos. Nichols (see Vibert, Rare Books; Dring, AQC, xxv, 366; Thorp, Bibliography) but Bro. S. N. Smith (AQC, li, 138) reports the discovery of a genuine first edition, printed by J. Wilford, like the second, third and fourth editions, and as stated in the advertisement of 20 October, so that the one printed by Nichols was doubtless a pirated edition. The pamphlet is the first catechism, or so-called ‘exposure,’ to show masonic working divided into three degrees. Reprinted in Leics. Reprints, xii.

Probity MS. : 1st half 18th cent. A version of OC [GL] written by Wm. Jubb on leaves inserted in his copy of The Book M: or Masonry Triumphant, Newcastle 1736 (q.v.), for which he was one of the subscribers. Bro. Waples informs us that Jubb was not an operative mason, and that he was secretary of the Old Lodge at Pipewellgate, Gateshead, constituted in 1736. One branch of his family apparently moved to Heckmondwike, Yorks, in the 1790’s. In 1792 the book belonged to Caleb Crabtree. It was presented in 1881 by S. T. Rigg to the Probity Lodge, No. 61, Halifax. Printed in Poole and Worts.

The Puerile Signs and Wonders of a Free-Mason : 1730. A broadside reprinting The Mystery of Free-Masonry (q.v.).

Ramsey MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [Sloane] bearing the inscription “David Ramseys Constitutions” at the end of the Invocation. History unknown. In recent years it has been in a library in Hamburg. Printed in the Freemason, 31 March 1906.

Rawlinson MS. : 1st half 18th cent. A volume in the Bodleian Library, lettered “Collections relating to Freemasonry” [Rawl. MS. C 136], probably compiled by Thos. Towl, contains a transcript of OC [Roberts] described as “copied from an old MS. in the possession of Dr. Rawlinson” [Richard Rawlinson, D.C.L., F.R.S. (1689–1755) who was an active freemason]. Printed in AQC, xi.

Regius MS. or Regius Poem : [B.M. Bibl. Reg. 17 A 1] c. 1390. This unique version of OC gives in verse the Articles and Points, prefaced by a brief history of the building industry, together with an account of the Four Crowned Martyrs, a description of the erection of the Tower of Babel, an account of the Seven Liberal Arts, portions of John Mirk’s Instructions for Parish Priests, and the whole of Urbanitatis, a metrical treatise on manners. It was formerly known as the Halliwell MS. from the name of its first editor (J. O. Halliwell, The Early History of Freemasonry in England, 1840). Presented to the British Museum in 1757 by George III as part of the Royal Collection. Formerly in the possession of John Theyer (1597–1673), an antiquary whose library at his death was purchased by Charles II. May possibly have belonged at an earlier date to Lanthony Priory, near Gloucester, as at the Dissolution Richard Hart, the last Prior, gave or sold manuscripts from the Priory to his sister Ann, an ancestress of the Gloucestershire Theyers. Facsimile in QCA, i; printed in our Two Earliest Masonic MSS.

Rite Ancien de Bouillon : ? 1740. A document of somewhat doubtful authenticity and date, consisting of two volumes of ritual, in modern calligraphy, formerly belonging to Dr. George Oliver (1782–1867), which was included in the sale of the Spencer masonic library by Sotheby in 1875. In the sale catalogue the first volume was described as “First and Second Degree of what was called Ancient Masonry, Rite Ancien de Bouillon,” the second as “The Third Degree as it was conferred by the Ancients in 1740, from the papers of the late Dr. Oliver.” They were purchased by Hughan for R. F. Bower of Keokuk, Iowa, U.S.A., and now form part of the Library of the GL of Iowa. Printed in Leics. Reprints, ix. See Hughan, English Rite (1925), 91.

Roberts Pamphlet : The Old Constitutions belonging to the Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons . . . London : Printed and Sold by J. Roberts . . . 1722, has given its name to one family of the OC. Reprinted by R. Spencer, in 1870 as a pamphlet, and in 1871 in The Old Constitutions (ed. J. E. Cox).

St. Clair Charters of 1601 and 1628 : By the first, representatives of the Lodges of Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Haddington, Aitchison’s Haven, and Dunfermline agreed that William St. Clair of Roslin should purchase from the King, for himself and his heirs, “liberty, freedom and jurisdiction” over all the masons of Scotland. The second charter, signed by representatives of the Lodges of Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, Stirling, Dunfermline, Ayr, and St. Andrews, is a confirmation and elaboration of the first charter. The MSS., at one time in the possession of Alexander Deuchar, now belong to the GL of Scotland. Printed in Lyon.

Scarborough MS. : ? 1700. On this version of OC [Sloane] is an endorsement stating that at a private lodge held at Scarborough, 10 July 1705, certain persons named were admitted into the Fraternity, but possibly the MS. is some years older than the endorsement. Subsequent history unknown. Owned in 1860 by Rev. J. Wilton Kerr of Clinton, Canada. Later presented by the owner to the GL of Canada, at Hamilton, Ontario. Cf. Morgan MS. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Schaw Statutes, 1598 : A set of ordinances promulgated at Edinburgh, 28 December 1598, by Wm. Schaw, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland and General Warden of the Masons, for the regulation of the masons’ craft in Scotland. A copy was entered in the first minute book of the Lodge of Edinburgh. Printed in Lyon, and reprinted in our Mediaeval Mason.

Schaw Statutes, 1599 : A set of ordinances issued on 28 December 1599 by Wm. Schaw at the request of the Lodge of Kilwinning, to which they gave certain supervisory powers over other Lodges in the West of Scotland. No copy of these statutes was known until a manuscript containing both sets of Schaw statutes was discovered in 1861 among the muniments of the Earl of Eglinton and Winton. Printed in Lyon.

Sloane MS. 3323 : 1659. A version of OC [Sloane] copied by Thos. Martin in 1659. Part of the collection formed by Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753) which was acquired by the British Museum in 1754. Facsimile in QCA, iii.

Sloane MS. 3329 : c. 1700. This catechism, headed “A Narrative of the Freemasons word and signes,” is in the British Museum, bound in a large volume on the fly-leaf of which Sir Hans Sloane has written “Loose papers of mine concerning curiosities.” Printed in 1869 in Findel’s History of Freemasonry, and in 1872 by Woodford as a pamphlet.

Sloane MS. 3848 : 16 October 1646. This version of OC, transcribed by Edward Sankey, gives its name to the Sloane family. There is some reason for thinking that this copy, completed on the very day that Elias Ashmole was made a freemason at Warrington, was used at that particular ceremony of acceptance. Part of the Sloane collection in the British Museum. Facsimile in QCA, iii.

Smith MS. : see Lamb Smith MS.

Smith’s Pocket Companion : 1734–5. Mainly a cheap, handy and concise version of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723, from which it was largely pirated; published in London in December 1734 and in Dublin in May 1735 by W. Smith, under the title A Pocket Companion for Free-Masons. It had a ready sale and was the first of a series of similar works issued in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Holland during the eighteenth century, of which one was published in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1736 under the title The Book M : or Masonry Triumphant (q.v.). Facsimile of the Dublin edition of 1735 in Caem. Hib., ii. See Adams, AQC, xlv, 165–213.

Songhurst MS. : c. 1725. A version of OC [Spencer] in the handwriting of Wm. Reid, secretary to GL 1727–34. Early history unknown. Purchased in 1906 from Spencers by Bro. W. J. Songhurst and subsequently presented by him to the QC Lodge. Printed in QC Pamphlet No. 2.

Spencer MS.  : 1726. A version of OC in the handwriting of Wm. Reid, secretary to GL 1727–34, which has given its name to the Spencer family. Early history unknown. Belonged c. 1870 to Richard Spencer who sold it in 1875 to E. T. Carson of Cincinnati, U.S.A. After his death in 1899 it was secured through the generosity of Gen. S. C. Lawrence for the GL of Massachusetts. Printed in Spencer’s Old Constitutions (ed. J. E. Cox), 1871.

Stanley MS. : 1677. Early history unknown. This version of OC [GL] belonged to a north-countryman for many years before it came into the possession of Bro. Frederick Stanley of Margate. Its discovery was announced by Speth in 1888. In 1893 it was purchased by Bro. T. W. Tew and presented to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. See Carson MS. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Stone MS. : Destroyed. Known only through Anderson (Constitutions of 1738, p. 111), who states that in 1720 “several very valuable manuscripts concerning the Fraternity . . . (particularly one writ by Mr. Nicholas Stone, the Warden of Inigo Jones) were too hastily burnt by some scrupulous Brothers.” Hughan in 1872 (Old Charges, p. 22) printed what he claimed was a portion of the Stone MS., being a passage about masons’ wages which appears in quotation marks in Anderson (op. cit., p. 57). There does not appear to be any suggestion in Anderson that the particular passage came from the Stone MS.; it is merely introduced with the remark “as the old constitutions affirm.”

Stirling MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. This MS., known locally as “The Charter” (cf. Aberdeen MS.), is a version of OC [GL] which has probably been in the possession of Ancient Lodge Stirling No. 30, and its predecessor, the Lodge of Stirling (named in the Schaw Statutes of 1599 and in the St. Clair Charter of 1628), ever since it was written, early in the second half of the seventeenth century. Printed in the Freemason, 27 May 1893.

Strachan MS. : c. 1700. Early history unknown. A version of OC [Sloane] discovered in 1888 by Colonel Mead at a bookseller’s in Brighton; was acquired by an unknown purchaser and later, c. 1899, by Bro. G. W. Bain of Sunderland, who named it after his friend, Bro. John Strachan, Grand Registrar 1898–1910, the historian of Northumbrian masonry. Now in the possession of the QC Lodge. Printed in Leics. Trans., 1900. See our Reply to Nomenclature, AQC, liv.

Supreme Council MS. : A very accurate copy of the Cooke MS. (q.v.) made in 1728 by Wm. Reid, secretary to GL 1727–34, probably for Lord Coleraine. Subsequent history unknown. Presented, c. 1880, by Bro. W. Hyde Pullen to the Supreme Council 33°. See Clerke MS.

Swalwell Lodge Minute Books : The first minutes of the old operative Lodge at Swalwell (which in 1735 was constituted by GL as No. 132 on the Official List, meeting at “Two Fencing Masters, Swalwell in the Bishoprick of Durham”) commence in 1725, and are written on sheets bound up with a copy of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723. With breaks, they cover the period 1725–76. The book was missing at one period, but was found at a bookstall in 1845 by Bro. J. E. Wilkinson, who purchased it, and presented it to the Lodge of Industry. A second minute book, bound up with a copy of the Constitutions of 1767, covers, with breaks, the period from 5 June 1780 to 3 February 1845, when it was decided to move the Lodge to Gateshead, where it is now the Lodge of Industry, No. 48. Extracts from the minutes are printed in Masonic Magazine, iii, 72–6, 348–9. See Gateshead ‘Orders.’

Talents MS. : c. 1710. A version of OC [Sloane]. Until 1929 in the possession of a Miss Brook, who believed it came to her from relatives called Talents of the neighbourhood of Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts. Presented in 1929 by Bro. T. W. S. Hills to GL. Printed in QC Pamphlet No. 2. See Brook-Hills MS.

Taylor MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. The remnant of a roll containing, on the obverse, part of the legendary history of masonry [Sloane], and, on the reverse, in a different and later hand, part of the operative “Articles and Orders condescended, concluded and agreed upon by ye Company and ffellowship of ffreemasons” [place not specified], including the fines to be paid by offenders. Early history unknown. At one time in the possession of Thos. Taylor, coroner of the West Riding of Yorkshire, whose father was a mason. On his death in 1900, was acquired by John Charlesworth of Horbury, who in 1907 presented it to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Tew MS. : 1st half 18th cent. Early history unknown. A version of OC, giving its name to the Tew family. The MS. was in the family of Bro. J. W. Cocking for some generations. He presented it in 1888 to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R., naming it after Bro. Thos. Wm. Tew, the Prov. GM, a most generous benefactor of the West Yorkshire Masonic Library. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Thistle MS. : 1756. A [sundry] version of OC written in the earliest minute book of the Thistle Lodge, No. 62, Dumfries, originally called the Journeymen Lodge, and still in the possession of the Lodge. Discovered in 1891 by Bro. James Smith in an old Lodge chest. When first discovered it was designated by Hughan the Dumfries Kilwinning N0. 5 MS. Printed in AQC, xxxv.

Thorp MS. : 1629. Early history unknown. A version of OC [Sloane] discovered early in 1898 by Bro. Henry Brown of Northampton, from whom it was purchased a few months later by Bro. John T. Thorp of Leicester. Since his death in 1932 has been in the Library of GL, to which he bequeathed it. Originally designated by Hughan the Henry Brown MS. Printed in AQC, xi.

Three Distinct Knocks : 1760. A catechism, The Three Distinct Knocks, or the Door of the most Antient Free-Masonry opening to all men . . . London . . . 1760. The author gives his name as W——— O——— V———n. It went through many editions until well into the nineteenth century. The working, in so far as it was genuine, probably represented that of the Antients. Has been reprinted in recent years by Wm. Reeves from an unspecied edition.

Trinity College, Dublin, MS. : [T.C.D. MS. I, 4, 18] 1711. This short catechism is contained in one of the volumes of collected papers of Sir Thomas Molyneux (1661–1733), a famous Dublin doctor and scientist, and possibly in his handwriting. Bears an endorsement “Free Masonry Feb: 1711.” It is the earliest known MS. to recognize three classes of mason, each with its own secrets. Printed in Trans. Lodge of Research, No. CC, Dublin, 1924.

Tunnah MS. : c. 1860. This version of OC [Sloane] is a copy of the Beswicke-Royds MS. (q.v.) made by Bro. John Tunnah, Prov. Grand Secretary of E. Lancs, 1854–79, most likely about 1860 when he was Secretary, and Bro. A. H. Royds (who presumably owned the Beswicke-Royds MS.) was Deputy, of the Province (see Bro. Baxter’s comments on Nomenclature, AQC, liv). Hughan (Old Charges, 1895, p. 121) gives the date as c. 1828, on what grounds we do not know. The MS. was presented c. 1890 by Bro. James Newton (who found it among the late John Tunnah’s effects) to Bro. Hughan, who in his turn gave it to the QC Lodge.

Waistell MS. : 23 January 1693. This version of OC [Sloane] was written by Henry Kipling in 1693 for his cousin John Kipling. Subsequent history unknown. Discovered in 1891 among some family papers by Bro. Chas. Waistell of Northallerton, Yorks. It was acquired by Bro. T.W. Tew and presented to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. Printed in Poole and Worts.

Wm. Watson MS. : 1687. This version of OC [Plot] was transcribed by Edward Thompson in 1687. Early history unknown. Bro. Schnitger of Newcastle-on-Tyne traced the ownership of this MS. to Bro. Alex. Dalziel of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Lodge, No. 24. It had been in his possession many years, though how he came by it is unknown. After Dalziel’s death, c. 1888, it was sold to John Harper of Roughside Hall, Riding Mill, Northumberland, who gave it to his brother-in-law, Wm. Hamilton (see Waples). It was purchased from him and presented in December 1890 to the Prov. GL of Yorks W.R. by Bro. T. W. Tew, who named it after Bro. William Watson, Honorary Librarian of the Province, a very keen student of the OC. Bro. Waples informs us that in Schnitger’s opinion this MS. is the missing Newcastle Lodge MS. (q.v.), an opinion which we understand is shared by Bro. Baxter. Printed in Poole and Worts.

The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons Opened : 1725. Only one copy of this catechism, a broadsheet printed on both sides, The Whole Institutions of Free-Masons opened. As also their Words and Signs. Printed by William Wilmot at the Blind-Key [Dublin] 1725, is known to exist. Formerly in Bro. Broadley’s collection, then in that of Bro. Wallace Heaton, it is now in GL Library. Reprinted in AQC, l, p. 15.

Wilson MS. : Missing. A marginal note in a manifesto of the Lodge of Antiquity in 1778 refers to a MS. “in the hands of Mr. Wilson of Broomhead, near Sheield, Yorkshire, written in the reign of K. Henry 8th.” Mr. Iohn Wilson of Broomhead Hall, whose eldest son, Bro. Flather informs us, was Master of the Lodge of Antiquity in 1778, died in 1783. His manuscripts were sold in 1843, but it is not known who purchased this particular MS. In 1876 Bro. Woodford believed that he had traced it in the Phillipps collection at Cheltenham, and printed the document in the Masonic Magazine, April 1876, as the Wilson MS. Subsequent investigations by Bro. Speth proved this to be a different version, viz., the Phillipps No. 2 MS. (q.v.). As Randle Holme the third of Chester married Elizabeth Wilson, a granddaughter of Christopher Wilson of Broomhead Hall, it is possible that the missing MS. was a copy of Harleian MS. 2054 (q.v.). It must be added, however, that Bro. Flather, who has given some attention to the matter, very much doubts if there ever was a version of OC at Broomhead Hall.

Wood MS. : 1610. This version of OC [GL] was “translated,” i.e., copied and modernized, by J. Whytestones for John Sargensonne in 1610. Early history unknown. Purchased c. 1880 by Bro. Woodford (1821–87) from a Mr. Wood, in whose possession it had been for some twenty years. Sold at Hodgson’s, 5 August 1885, for £4 15s. Entered in Kenning’s Catalogue No. 1 of October 1885 and sold to Bro. Geo. Taylor of Kidderminster for 1O gns. (Misc. Lat., xix, 13). Now in the Worcestershire Masonic Library. Facsimile in QCA, vi.

Woodford MS. : 1728. A version of the OC, which is a very accurate copy of the Cooke MS. (q.v.), made in 1728 by Wm. Reid, secretary to GL 1727–34, probably for Wm. Cowper, Clerk of Parliaments, whose bookplate it contains. Later belonged to Sir Francis Palgrave (1788–1861). Purchased c. 1875 by Bro. Woodford (1821–87). Sold by him at Hodgson’s, 5 August 1885, for £3 (Misc. Lat., xix, 13). Later acquired by QC Lodge.

Wren MS. : 1852. Missing. A copy of OC [Sloane] made by J. L. Higsom in 1852 “from an ancient parchment roll, written . . . about . . . 1600, and said to be a true copy of the original found amongst the papers of Sir Christopher Wren.” The “original” has never been traced. The “roll,” which belonged to the Rev. Thos. Crane of Chester, is missing. The copy of 1852 was purchased by W. R. Bainbridge and presented to W. J. Hughan, who in turn gave it to A. F. A. Woodford. It has been missing since the latter’s death in 1887; very possibly sold at Hodgson’s in August 1885 (see Woodford MS.). As the copy of 1852 was certified by Bro. S. Browne, secretary and Treasurer of the Cestrian Lodge, Chester, Hughan has referred to it as the Wren or Browne MS. Printed in Masonic Magazine, December 1879. See Crane MSS.

York Minster Masons’ Ordinances, 1352, 1370 and 1408 : These are all entered in the Fabric Rolls of York Minster, the first and third in Latin, the second in English. All are printed in Raine, Fabric Rolls of York Minster (Surtees Society); those of 1370 are reprinted in our Mediaeval Mason.

York No. 1 MS. : Early 17th cent. A version of OC [GL] which commences with an anagram upon the word “Masonry,” dedicated by William Kay to his friend Robert Preston. According to an endorsement, it was found at the demolition of Pontefract Castle [c. 1649] and presented in 1732 to the GL of All England at York by Francis Drake, whose grandfather and father had been vicars of Pontefract. Listed as “No. 1” in a 1779 Schedule of Records, etc., of the York GL. After the collapse of that GL in the 1790’s, its records were dispersed or lost. This MS. and the York No. 6 MS. (q.v.) were apparently borrowed or acquired in 1830 from Bro. Blanchard, the only survivor of the Lodge, by Bro. Godfrey Higgins, and found their way into the archives of GL in London. They were returned to York in 1877 into the keeping of the Union (now York) Lodge. Printed in Poole and Worts.

York No. 2 MS. : 1704. This version of OC [GL] commences with an anagram upon the word “Masonry,” dedicated by Robert Preston [? a descendant of Robert Preston of York No. 1 MS.] to his friend Daniel Moult. Found among the collection of antiquities left by Hargrove, the historian of York, and presented by his son in 1860 to the Union (now York) Lodge. The MS. has been numbered ‘2’ on the assumption that it is the MS. listed in the 1779 schedule of the York GL as “No. 2. Another like Roll in 3 Slips Endorsed ‘Constitutions for Masonry,’” but as Poole and Worts point out, the identication is very doubtful. The endorsement is illegible; the manuscript is written on two slips and not three as stated in the schedule; but the strongest contention is that had this been the original No. 2, the schedule would have quoted the date (1704), as was done with the other dated MSS. Printed in Poole and Worts.

York No. 3 MS. : Missing. Listed in the 1779 schedule of the York GL as “No. 3 A Parchm^t Roll of Charges on Masonry. 1630.”

York No. 4 MS. : 23 October 1693. A version of OC [Sloane] written by Mark Kipling in 1693. Listed in the 1779 Schedule of the York GL as “No. 4 A Paper Roll of Charges on Masonry 1693. Given to the Gr^d Lodge by Bro^r Walker. 1777.” Bears an endorsement on the back “Brother Geo. Walker of Wetherby to the Grand Lodge of York 1777.” Now in the possession of the York Lodge, No. 236. Printed in Poole and Worts. See also Williams, Misc. Lat., xxvi, 29.

York No. 5 MS. : 2nd half 17th cent. A version of OC [GL] listed in the 1779 Schedule of the York GL as “No. 5 Part of another Paper Roll of Charges on Masonry.” Presented to the Union (now York) Lodge in 1837. Printed in Poole and Worts.

York No. 6 MS. : Early 18th cent. A version of OC [GL] listed in the 1779 Schedule of the York GL as “No. 6 A Parchm^t Roll of Charges, whereof the Bottom Part is awanting.” It was apparently borrowed or acquired from Bro. Blanchard, the last survivor of the Lodge, by Bro. Godfrey Higgins in 1830, and found its way with York No. 1 MS. (q.v.) into the archives of GL in London. Was returned to York in 1877 into the keeping of the Union (now York) Lodge. Printed in Poole and Worts.

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MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1942

Published by the University of Manchester at The University Press (H. M. McKechnie, M.A., Secretary), 8–10 Wright Street, Manchester, 15

Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London