Creation
First Provincial Grand Master appointed and consequent establishment of Provincial Grand Lodge.
At the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, there were numerous Lodges all over the country, each Lodge being a law unto itself, there being no higher authority than the Master for the time being.
New Lodges were formed whenever and wherever any member or members thought fit. There were no Warrants or Consecration Ceremonies, no regular subscriptions, each member contributing to the expenses of the evening, and adding something extra for the benefit of the poor and distressed.
The only clothing worn was a plain lambskin apron and white gloves, and jewels and ornaments rarely, if at all worn.
Such, briefly, is a simplified overview of the condition of Masonry, when in 1717, four Lodges in London formed a Grand Lodge as a centre of union and harmony. The Lodges at this time had no name or number, but were known by the signs of the inns or coffee houses at which they met; including one which met at the unfortunately named ‘Banner of the Devil’ tavern near Temple Bar, London!
The first Lodge to have a name was the Universities Lodge in 1730, but it was to be some fifty years or more before this custom became universal.
Account of the First Meeting in 1783
The only account of the first meeting and subsequent history for the first six years is contained in the second edition of Dr. Anderson’s Constitutions which was issued in 1738, twenty-one years after the events recorded. This account reads as follows:
‘After the Rebellion was over in 1716, the few Lodges at London finding themselves neglected by Sir Christopher Wren, thought fit to cement under a Grand Master as the centre of Union and Harmony- namely the Lodges that met:
1. At the Goose and Gridiron Alehouse in St. Paul’s Churchyard.
2. At the Crown Alehouse in Parker’s Lane near Drury Lane.
3. At the Apple Tree Tavern in Charles Street, Covent Garden.
4. At the Rummer and Grapes Tavern, Channel Row, Westminster.
They and some old Brothers met at the said Apple Tree Tavern and put into the Chair the oldest Master Mason (now the Master of a Lodge); they constituted themselves as a Grand Lodge pro Tempore in due form and forthwith revived the Quarterly Communication of Officers of Lodges (called the Grand Lodge- resolved to hold the Annual Assembly and Feast, and then to chose a Grand Master from among themselves, till they should have the honour of a noble Brother at their head,
Accordingly, on St, John Baptists Day, in the third year of King George I 1717, the Assembly and Feast of the Free and Accepted Masons was held at the aforesaid Goose and Gridiron Alehouse.
Before dinner, the oldest Master Mason (now the Master of a Lodge) in the Chair, proposed a list of proper candidates, and the Brethren, by a majority of hands elected – Mr Anthony Sayer, Gentleman, Grand Master of Masons, who being forthwith invested with the badges of Office and Power, by the said oldest Master and installed, was duly congratulated by the Assembly who paid him the homage. ‘