History Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement, No. 256.

Iii all probability assemblages of Masons for the purpose of mutual instruction were coeval Avith the formation of regular lodges meeting on stated days , but Avhen the lodges met much more frequently than they do now , there Avas , as a matter of course , less need of general lodges of instruction . An examination of the old lists ; of lodges will SIIOAV that

many of them formerly held fortnightly meetings , and some even more frequently ; for instance , Xo . . 1 . 6 3 , of 173 8 , is advertised lo meet on the lirst , second , and third Thursday , and to hold a Master ' s Lodge " every Sunday ; and , as I happen to have the minute book of the period before me , I can safely say that , the lodge did so meet . Xo special

legislation for instruction purposes seems to have been required until after the Union , Avhen the ceremonies Avere re-arranged and promulgated throughout the English Fraternity , and lodges of instruction naturally became

important iactors m our Masonic system . I cannot lmd them mentioned in the Constitutions prior to 1819 ; but in this edition , regulations similar in substance to those now in force appear , and others have been added as circumstances required . Fifteen Lodges of Instruction are named in the Calendar for 1814 ( issued in Xovember , 1813 ) , and the same

number in that for 1815 , after which years they appear to have been entirely omitted from the Calendar until 1841 , when , under the heading of " Lodges of Instruction which have given notice of their meetings in conformity with the laws of the Grand Lodge , " three only are named in London ,

although it is quite certain that many others Avere at this time in active and regular work . Ten years later the list includes twenty-nine , and others were tickled , increasing year by year , the last issue of the Calendar showing no less than 211 in the London district alone .

The lirst volume of the Freemasons' Quarterly Review , published in 1834 , gives a list of twelve Lodges of Instruction in London , with the names of about twenty brethren AVIIO attended them for the purpose of imparting Masonic knoAvledge . At the head of this list stands the " Emulation Lodge of Improvement , Blue Posts , Charlotte Street ,

Rathbone Place ; Friday , at 7 in the Avinter and 8 in the summer . Brothers Dowley , " Cooper , Wilson , Pitt , & c . " Each of the lodges mentioned appear to have been attended by several of these old instructors , some of Avhose names are appended to more than one of the lodges .

Unfortunately , the early records of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement are lost , but the list of members from its commencement is still preserved intact . The periodical above-mentioned , for 18 3 6 contains the folloAving brief outline of its origin : — "About the year 1823

several Brethren considered that the Masonic lectures Avere not worked in Lodges upon a sufficiently regulated system , and that if those whose attainments as working Masons placed them as a prominent authority were to meet together and to Avork efficiently , thev might be the means of effecting

much improvement . They accordingly met , Ave believe , in Wardour Street , pursuant to a general notice in the public papers , which advertisement created a considerable sensation in the Craft . Some members of the Grand Stewards Lodge , hitherto the only authority for a recognised system , felt that it was necessary to watch the proceedings . Some Grand

Officers , with Brother E . Harper , the Grand Secretary , also attended . The several chairs , from the Master to the Outer Guard , were all filled with the most practical and experienced Masons of the day ; and Ave have the . authority of a Grand Officer for stating , that ne \ cr was there so perfect an illustration of the ceremonies and lectures ever before

manifested . The visitors separated highly delighted ; amongst them the lamented Peter Gilkes , who so highly approved of the proceedings , that in about twelve months afterwards he joined the lodge , and supported it until the time of his death . "At lirst the object was confined to the delivering of lectures , but afterwards the ceremonies Avere introduced

which gave great satisfaction . Gratified as we are to bear testimony to the value and importance of this Lodge , and satisfied as Ave are of its influence on the Craft , Ave must enter our caution to the leading members of it not to relax from the discipline so unremittingly enforced bv the institulors ,

and Avhich Avas especially observed by the late Peter Gilkes . We do not make this allusion Avithout cause . Let the excellent Brethren to Avhose care the interests of the Lodge are unanimously conlided , feel no diffidence in correcting the passing errors . Thev should remember that error may become practice unless early checked . And Ave further call

upon the junior members to Aveigh with scrupulous care the language which the landmarks permit , and not to be too ready to alter , in the slighlcsl degree , what is in itself so excellent . " In the absence of more definite information AVC may take the foregoing as a fairly accurate description of the

proceedings at the inauguration of the Emulation Lodge ot Improvement , although it is to be regretted that the writer did not take the trouble to make himself more familiar Avith dates and details . There ought to have been no difficulty at the period when it Avas written , as the records of the lodge

Avere then aAailable , and no doubt many of those who took part in the opening proceedings were then living . The minutes of the Lodge of Hope , Xo . 7 ( now the-Koval York Lodge of Perseverance ) for the 27 th of Xovember , 1823 , contain the folloAving record : — "Agreed

tosanction a Lodge of Instruction entitled the Lodge of Emulation , at present held at the Old Red Lion , Cavendish Street , meeting every Friday . " The trite saving that small beginnings have sometimes great results , Avas never better exemplified than in this curt

and meagre record of the sponsorship of a lodge which has since attained world-wide celebrity , and whose influence on English Craft Avorking is unparalleled .

The Register of Members SIIOAVS that the lodge Avas established on the 2 nd of October , 1823 , and that the folloAving brethren Avere the Founders of it : —

x . Old ,. ,- T 1 , Preseni Aair . e . N . Name ol Lodge . ., An . Ao . Joseph Dennis ... ... 7 Hope ... 7 Sheppard ... ... cS British ... ... ... S G . Taylor cS S Thomas Cant ... 11 Enoch ... ii Win . Xeale 71 Constitutional ... ... 55

G . Margerison ... ... 71 „ ... ... 55 John Darwin ... ... ... 71 ,, ... ... 55 Thomas Chamberlain ... 71 „ ... ... 55 Thomas Lewis ... ... 92 Grenadiers ... ... f ; 6 A . Weslcott 152 Burlington <; 6 James llivart 152 „

yd-J . Bradford 299 St . James ' s I ' liion ... i . S ' o f . G . Braid ... 2 t ; i | „ „ ... 1 K 0 Wm . Edwards 299 „ ,, ... 1 S 0 F . Manton 299 ,, ,. ... i , So John Smyth 299 „ „ ... 1 . N 0 Geo . Sergeant 299 ,, ,, ... 1 S 0-

Johnson . i . i . S Percy ... ... ... ly ! S J . Wilson 335 „ 19 H E . S . Garner- 4 N 1 Unions 256 E . Wellington 4 X 1 256 Win . Harper ( Lodge unknown ) Jones ... ... ... „ „

It will thus be seen that at least nine lodges Avere represented by the Founders , and that the St . James ' s Union Lodge and the Constitutional Lodge bear the palm in point of numbers . Both of these lodges have for many years past had their own lodges of instruction . I am unable to lind in the newspapers of the period any

reference lo the lodge during the lirst year of its existence or of its ever having met in Wardour Street . Unfortunately , in some respects , Masonic journalism wasa non-entity prior to 18 34 , and the public press Avas occasionally resorted to , not only for advertising Masonic meetings ,,

but for the airing of Masonic grievances also . The earliest mention of the lodge which I have been able to find in print is in The Public Ledger ol October nth , 1824 , Avhere , amongst other notifications of Masonic meetings ,, appears the following : —

" Friday—Emulation Lodge of Instruction , Red Lion ,. Old Cavendish-street . " This notice was continuous , and in the following month " ( M . M . only ) " was added . ( To be Continued ) .