Provincial Grand Lodge Of Warwickshire.

Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire .

INSTALLATION OF THE MARQl'IS OF HERTFORD .

IX the Birmingham Town Hall , on Thursday , February Sth , the Right Hon . the Marquis of Hertford was installed Provincial Grand Master of Warwickshire Freemasons , in succession to the late Lord Leigh , who occupied that position for more than half-a-cenhuv . It was on Ocfober

20 th , 1852 , that Lord Leigh was installed to the headship of local Freemasonry , and he lived to become the doyen of Provincial Grand Masters under the Grand Lodge of England . Since the introduction of the Craft into Warwickshire in the year 1728 the Freemasons of the county have known but six

Provincial Masters , the earliest being James Prescott , who was installed in 1728 , and who presumably occupied that position until 1 792 , when Thomas Thompson was elected his successor , being followed in 1810 b y the Hon . Washington Shirley , during whose mastership of the province—in

1820—the foundation stone of Trinity Church was laid with Masonic honours by the Right Hon . the Earl of Plymouth . Seven years after this the Right Hon . the Earl Ferrers was installed Grand Master of the Province of Warwickshire , and dining his mastership the foundation stone of Bishop Ryder ' s Church was laid with Masonic ceremonial on August 23 rd , 18 37 , bv

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and , six years later , the foundation stone of the lantern tower of the enlarged parish church of Leamington was placed in position by the head of ( lie Masonic Craft in Warwickshire . In the following year the Provincial Grand Mastership was conferred upon the Right Hon . the Karl Howe , who continued

in the position until the installation of the Right Hon . Lord Eeigh in 1832 . In the Marquis of Hertford the brethren of the province fee ! that they have one who will worthily uphold and maintain the dignity of the high office which has been conferred

upon him b y H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught as its supreme head . The new Piovincial Grand Master has long been associated with the Craft , having been originally initiated in the Province of Sussex . He subsequently joined the Apollo Lodge , No . 301 , at Alccstcr , of which he became Worshipful

Master in 1882-3 , being re-elected to the position in 1894-5 . In addition he is a Past Provincial S . G . W ., a Past Provincial G . M . of Antrim , and a Past G . W . of both England and Ireland . His brother , Lord Ernest James Seymour , is a P . M . of the

Apollo Lodge , a Past Provincial G . W of the province , and a Past S . G . Deacon of England . The installation of the Provincial Grand Master naturally attracted a great gathering of Freemasons , not only from the Province of Warwickshire , but also from ( he Provinces of Staffordshire , Worcestershire , Shropshire , Leicestershire ,

Gloucestershire , Sussex , Cornwall . Essex , Derbyshire , Northamptonshire , Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire . There were in all about two thousand present . The interior of the Town Hall had been specially re-arranged for the occasion , and the scene was brilliant in the extreme . At a

quarterpast two Worshipful Bro . George Beech , Past Grand Deacon , and Deputy Provincial Grand Master in charge of the province , and the Present and Past Provincial Grand Officers of Warwickshire , entered the hall in procession . He opened Grand Lodge in due form , and was saluted according to his rank .

In acknowledgment , Worship ful Bro . Beech said that it was in accordance with the wish of the Provincial Grand Master that he retained the post of Deputy of that important province . So long as he held that office so long would it lie his aim honourably , diligently and impartially to discharge the duties which attach to it . One of his first duties was to

congratulate the Grand Lodge on the presence of the Most Worshipful the deputy Grand Master of England , the Right Worship ful Bio . Thomas F . Halsey , the Right Hon . the Worshipful the Earl of Dartmouth , Provincial Grand Master of Staffordshire ; Sir A . F . Godson , Provincial Grand Mastcr

of Worcestershire , Lord Ernest Seymour , members of the neighbouring provinces , many distinguished present and past officers of Grand Lodge , as well as many valued friends from the various surrounding provinces . The presence of such a large number was a proof lo him that their interest in

Freemasonry was unabated , and that they were anxious to offer the . new Provincial Grand Master the heartiest welcome and most loval allegiance . The late Lord Leigh , as was well known , always endeavoured to lift Freemasonry to a

higherlevel . He set up in his own Masonic life a standard by which to measure themselves , and he ( the speaker ) was thoroughly convinced that the Marquis of Hertford would steadily maintain that high Masonic standard , and in all respects follow in Ihe foolsteps ot the worthy and noble brother it had been his privilege to succeed . They could

best mark their esteem and respect for the new headship of the province by ( he carrying out the precepts of Freemasonry , by practising the virtues of loyalty to Grand Lodge and obedience to the Book of Constitutions , by showing mutual forbearance and brotherly consideration among themselves ,

by exercising that charity which thinketh no evil , and I mproving to the new Provincial Grand Master that they were faithful and true and that they would maintain and support him in his new position with all the energy and devotion they [ possessed . But while honouring their new chief let

them not forget him who for fifty-three years presided over the province so ably and so successfully , and who , during his reign , in every possible way promoted the in : erests of Freemasonry , in illustration of which his noble life was an excellent example .

Following this came the Right Hon . l . f . Halsey , Deputy Grand Master of England , who took the place of the Right Hon . the Earl Amherst , Pro Grand Master , who was unavoidably absent in consequence of ill health . Having been escorted to his seat on the orchestra , he took over the business of the Lodge from Worshipful Bro . Beech .

Worshipful Bro . E . G . Swinclen , P . D . G . S . B . ( England ) , Provincial Grand Secretary , read a list of apologies for nonattendance , and afterwards Deputy Grand Master Halsey addressed the brethren with special reference to the installation of the "Right Worship ful Bro . the Most