The Province Of Oxfordshire.—(Concluded.)

The Province of Oxfordshire . —( Concluded . )

r T ^ HERE are twelve lodges on the present roll of the I Province of Oxfordshire , the senior being the " Alfred , " which was warranted as No . 6 49 , to assemble in the " Ship Inn , " Oxford . In its by-laws for 18 99 it is declared ( in an admirable historical introduction ) that"The warrant was granted by H . R . H . the Duke of

Sussex , M . W . G . M ., on the 16 th of February , 1814 , and is remarkable as the firs ! issued by the United Grand Lodge of England . " Unfortunately the claim thus made cannot be substantiated , as the " Alfred " really was the second so authorized ,

the first being the " Royal Inverness , " No . 6 4 8 , which united with the "Time Immemorial" Lodge , No . 4 , in 1828 . Its present habitation is the Masonic Hall , Alfred Street ; four other inns , besides the " Ship , " having been selected for its meetings from 1818 to 1832 . In 18 32 the number was

altered to 425 , and again in 186 3 to 340 , its present position on the roll . During the 90 years , or so , that the " Alfred " has been at work , prosperity has ever attended in its train ; in which period close on one thousand members have been admitted , some four-fifths having been initiated .

BRO . REV . II . H . COOPER SMITH , D . D ., l' . O . C , P . P . G ., 1 VV . The founders were Bros . John Ireland ( P . M . of the old " Constitution" Lodge in 1780 ) , James Macdonald ( Grand Stewards' Lodge ) , William Hayes , P . M ., Sir Edward Hitchings , and eight others . The first three were the W . M .

and the Senior and Junior Wardens , respectively . Bro . William Thompson , the first S . D ., succeeded Bro . John Ireland ( the first to occupy the chair ) as the W . M . in 1816 , and was followed by Bro . Thomas Wyatt ( the first J . D . ) in 1817 . The Master in 1818 was Dr . George Hitchings . Bro .

Thompson served as the W . M . seven times during the period , 1819-1834 . At the Grand Lodge held in September , 18 47 , the R . W . Bro . R . G . Alston , P . J . G . W ., stated that " there was no lodge in the kingdom in which the true principles of Masonry were

better carried out and attended to " than in the "Alfred , " and assuredly the members have continued to deserve such high praise . Bro . Alston was W . M . of the " Apollo University Lodge" in 18 35 . In 1876 , H . R . H . the late Duke of Albany , K . G ., & c , the

Prov . Grand Master , graciously accepted honorary membership in this lodge .

In the list of Past Masters , printed with the by-laws , A . D . 1899 , Ihirly-Jive out of the forty-eight have had the honour of being appointed Provincial Grand Wardens ; and four out of the live Prov . Grand Treasurers elected for the same period , 1837-1899 , were also members of the same lodge , ; the first Prov . S . G . W ., of what may be termed the revived Prov . G . L .,

being Bro . Charles J . Sadler , P . M ., then Mayor of Oxford , and an initiate of the "Alfred " in 1820 . The second oldest lodge and one of the most influential in the kingdom is the

" Apollo University , No . 357 , " which was warranted on 28 th December , 1818 , to meet at the " Star Hotel" in the Corn Market . Subsequently it assembled at the " Angel , " then the " Maidenhead , " and from 18 33 at the Masonic Hall in Alfred Street , until 1865 , when

it removed to the " University Masonic Hall" in Frewen Court , built for the Clarendon Hotel Co . The zealous Craftsman , Bro . John Ireland , P . M . of the " Constitution " ( extinct ) and the " Alfred , " was the first W . M . ; Dr . Geo . Hitchings ( P . M . of the " Constitution" )

was the S . W ., and Bro . L . B . Larking , F . S . A ., the J . W . The original number of the lodge was 711 , changed to 4 60 in 1832 , and has been 357 from 1863 . The name selected at first was "Apollo , " but in 1820 , the more lengthy and appropriate title was duly sanctioned .

One of the early by-laws provided that" On account of keeping the good-will of the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors , the members of this lodge shall proceed to their meetings in their academics . "

Some of the original regulations would read very strangely in the latest by-laws of the lodge , but were doubtless common to the meetings of early last century . The latest regulations of No . 357 were published in 18 97 , and dedicated to the Rt . Hon . the Earl of Jersey , the beloved Prov . G . M . ( an initiate of A . D . 1865 ; Lord Lieut , of

Oxfordshire , & c ) . It is a remarkable little work , running to some 160 pages , and containing numerous particulars of the lodge from 1819 , nearly eighty years ; a complete roll of the members , with titles and offices attained subsequently to their admission ; a list of Masters , and register of brethren of No .

357 , who have held or are holding office in Grand Lodge and Prov . Grand Lodge . Some idea of the extraordinary character of this roll of Grand Officers , from 18 42 to 18 97 , may be obtained from the statement that it includes 4 Grand Masters , 2 Pro G . Ms ., 4

Deputy Grand Masters , 37 Prov . G . Ms ., 27 Grand Wardens , 28 Grand Chaplains , a Grand Treasurer , 17 Grand Deacons , an Organist , and Grand Stewards . All these brethren , mostly of high rank , socially , as well as Masonically , were members of the " Apollo University " during the period of fifty years ,

an experience not realized by any other lodge under the English Constitution ; many of the Craftsmen being still zealous and competent in the discharge of their duties to their Country and the Fraternity .

There are considerably over 300 subscribers on the present register , all of whom " are , or have been members of the University , " for although a by-law in 1853 restricting membership accordingly , was not confirmed by the Prov . G . M ., the rule has been practically maintained as with the other University Lodges in the country and elsewhere . The

Masters of the " Isaac Newton University Lodge , " No . 859 , Cambridge , and of the " University of London Lodge , " No . 2033 , are , jure dignitatis , honorary members for life ; and their Wardens , as well as the Masters of the " Westminster and Keystone Lodge , " No . 10 , of the " Oxford and Cambridge

University Lodge , " No . 1118 , London , and of the" Universities Lodge , " No . 2352 , Durham , being honorary members during their years of office .