The History of English Freemasonry is perhaps one of the more well documented Fraternal institutions and it has its roots in the expansionism of the British Empire across the Globe. With the “discovery” that the Earth was not flat, European explorers went far and wide throughout the continents bringing with them large swaths of their culture, Freemasonry being one such example.
In the days of these Explorers, Lodges belonging to the United Grand Lodge of England could be found from Canada to New Zealand, China to Argentina, Bermuda to Fiji and Newfoundland to South Africa. Indeed, it was these European explorers and settlers who ensured that today Freemasonry is universally spread around the World.
Some of these Lodges, usually the more isolated ones, reported to and were directly administered by the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge in London. Where numbers of lodges warranted it, Provincial Grand Masters were appointed to look after groups of lodges overseas on behalf of the Grand Master. And in 1865, the UGLE’s Provincial Grand Lodges overseas were re-styled as District Grand Lodges and their local heads as District Grand Masters to distinguish them from their counterparts in England itself. Of note, while the Scottish Constitution would later follow suit, this was not the case with the Irish Constitution so that today, in the Caribbean there are District Grand Lodges for both the English and Scottish Constitutions but Provincial Grand Lodges for the Irish Constitution.
The first British Colonies to break away from Britain were in today’s USA. Britain recognized the sovereignty of the USA in 1783 and soon all the “English” Lodges there either became part of one of the State Grand Lodges or disappeared altogether.
The millions of Britons who emigrated to British North America (Canada), Australia and New Zealand in the nineteenth century soon became dissatisfied with a system of colonial government by which the British Crown appointed governors without consulting the settlers, refused the settlers any representation in the British Parliament in London, and implemented imperial laws with little understanding of or willingness to consider the settlers’ circumstances.
The membership of the UGLE’s lodges overseas originally consisted of temporary or permanent expatriates from the British Isles – soldiers serving in regiments of the British Army; merchants, settlers, colonial administrators, and the like. Gradually, but especially in the colonies of white settlements such as Canada and Australia, the members’ ties with the home country became weaker; in some territories, such as the Indian sub-continent, indigenous men also joined the Lodges. The earliest record of a Provincial Grand Master “beyond sea”, now referred to as the District Grand Master was in 1729 in East India.
It would be fair to say that the formation of Freemasonry overseas was neither because of a conscious direction of our early leaders, nor by an urge of Masons generally to go into the world and spread Freemasonry. It was simply the result of men going about the world on business who, being Masons, met others – more or less accidently – who had also been initiated into Masonry in their Mother countries. If sufficient numbers were available – they formed themselves into a Lodge. The arrival of a British Regiment, bringing with it a ‘travelling Lodge’ whose members were happy to receive civilians, played a major part in spreading Masonry throughout the globe.
It is important to note that by 1960, there were sixteen Grand Lodges formed that were originally under the UGLE and they were predominantly from the colonies of white settlements in what is today’s sovereign nations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, formed into Grand Lodges BEFORE these nations achieved independence from Great Britain. Additionally, although Grand Lodges were formed, each Lodge had the choice of whether to join the new Grand Lodge or remain under the umbrella of UGLE.
As an example, the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is the main governing body of Freemasonry within the Australian state of New South Wales that also wholly encloses the Australian Capital Territory containing the national capital city, Canberra. It originated from the union in 1888 of the earlier 1845 Provincial Grand Lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England and other district and provincial Grand Lodges of the Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
Freemasonry came to New South Wales with the regiments of the British Army soon after the First Fleet in 1788. A Military Lodge sitting under Warrant No.1780, by then having admitted a number of civilians to membership, became Sydney No. l, formed with 39 brethren on 13 April 1845, the first Worshipful Master Bro. Richard McGuffin and his Officers, being installed by Bro. Alexander. No. l, operated in Sydney until its closure in 1968.
The first Grand Lodge was opened in Sydney in 1845, Bro. Robert Barr being the first Grand Master. The institution grew and prospered; No.2 Lodge was opened in 1845, No.3, No.4, and No.5 (in Kiama on the New South Wales South Coast) in 1846, No.6 and No.8 in 1847, No.7 in 1850.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were also warranting lodges in New South Wales, and creating their own provincial Grand Lodges.
On 16 August 1888, after considerable consultation, the Masters and Wardens of the one hundred and eighty-three lodges assembled, the articles of union were again adopted, and the ” United Grand Lodge of New South Wales ” declared to be duly constituted and established.
British Freemasonry (that is to say lodges under the jurisdiction of the three Grand Lodges based in the British isles) is an integral part of the societies within which it operates overseas and it is therefore not surprising that changes in the wider world have had an effect on the UGLE’s District Grand Lodges. In some cases, often in combination with their local Scottish and Irish counterparts, English District Grand Lodges have declared independence and only a handful of Lodges that decided to remain under their Mother Grand Lodge; however, in the five shared Masonic territories where Grand Lodges have been formed and recognized since 2000, all but one of the UGLE’s lodges have decided not to transfer to them but to continue under the UGLE as before. In still other territories, such as Egypt, Burma and Pakistan, Freemasonry has been forced to close down altogether.
Yet despite the dissolution of the British Empire on the one hand and, on the other, the formation and recognition since 1850 of twenty-four sovereign Grand Lodges in former British territories overseas, the UGLE today still has thirty four District Grand Lodges looking after 700 or so lodges overseas, that is to say about ten percent of all the Lodges on its register. While that percentage has dropped from about twenty five percent in the 1880s, the number of District Grand Lodges (34) is not insignificant when compared to that of the Provincial and Metropolitan Grand Lodges in England today, forty eight. Indeed, District Grand Lodges still play an important part in the maintenance of regular Freemasonry overseas and in the UGLE’s relations with other Masonic jurisdictions, especially those with which the UGLE shares Masonic territory.
Pan-Caribbean Masonry
The Caribbean was one of the first regions to participate in Freemasonry, outside of the British Isles and in order to understand the genesis of the District Grand Lodges in the Caribbean, one must go back to the pre-UGLE or pre-Union days.
It is not surprising that outside of the British Isles, some of the oldest Lodges in the English and Scottish Constitutions are to be found in the Caribbean. This region was after all at the time the prized possessions of the European Colonial powers of the day.
The mid to late 18th century appears to have been a very busy period in the Caribbean with respect to the formation of lodges. The not – infrequent changes in Colonial power as result of the struggle for possession as well as the general state of turmoil in Europe as result of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the growth of Republicanism in the Netherlands, also contributed to the fluctuating fortunes of Freemasonry, particularly in Guyana (British Guiana) and some of the Eastern Caribbean islands. Most of these Lodges have long since been erased.
This period was also one of intense rivalry between the two Grand Lodges in English Freemasonry i.e., The Premier Grand Lodge (Moderns) and the Grand Lodge of the Antients (Atholl lodges). Scottish Freemasonry, not subject to such rivalry, enjoyed steady progress. Although there is evidence that Irish Freemasonry has always been influential in the Caribbean, particularly in the early days, this Constitution has had by far the weakest following among British Grand Lodges over the years within the Region. Why this has been so is not clear although the close association of Irish Freemasonry with the Atholl Lodges may have been a factor.
In 1737, a mere twenty years after the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge, one William Douglas, Commander of ‘H. M. S. Falmouth’, was appointed Provincial Grand Master for ‘the Coast Africa and the Islands of America’. This vague description has been the subject of much speculation, but it is generally felt by most students of Masonic history, that the term ‘the Islands of America’, applied to none other than the islands of the West Indies. The first record of a consecrated lodge in the English speaking Caribbean was that of Parham Lodge No.154 E.C., which was warranted in Antigua in 1738.
Bahamas
Similarly, in the Bahamas, in 1752 the Governor of Bahamas, John Tinker was appointed Provincial Grand Master of the Bahamas and places adjacent. He was initiated in 1730. And again, in 1759, James Bradford was appointed to the same office, but at that time, the Bahamas did not have any Lodges established, but it was not unusual to confer such a Rank while not having any Lodges under their jurisdiction. It would not be until 1837 that Royal Victoria Lodge 443 would be established.
Barbados
Alexander Irvine introduced Freemasonry into Barbados by founding St. Michael’s Lodge No 186 under the Premier Grand Lodge in 1740 and shortly thereafter Thomas Baxter (Baster) was issued with the appropriate patent to be Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Barbados.
From 1841 to 1890 there was an interregnum, and this ended with the appointment of Col. John Elliott, who was Inspector General of Police. His installing officer was His Excellency, Bro. Sir Walter Joseph Sengall, K.C.M.G., Governor of Barbados, and the ceremony took place in the Council Chamber of the House of Assembly, in the Public Buildings.
Guyana
Freemasonry in Guyana began with the Union Lodge which was chartered in its present incarnation by the United Grand Lodge in 1813. The Ancients Grand Lodge of England warranted the Lodge on July 29, 1813 and assigned it the number 358 but the Act of Union which brought together the Grand Lodges of the Ancients and the Moderns in 1813 as the United Grand Lodge assigned the number 462 to it. Subsequently in 1832 at the closing up of lodges the number was changed to 308 and so it remained until 1863 when its current number 247 was assigned to it.
Jamaica
It has been said that Freemasonry was ‘introduced’ into Jamaica in 1738 with the establishment of the Mother lodge No.182 (so named in 1776) which was warranted in that year, but, as can be gleaned from the above, this is highly speculative, and it may be far more accurate to describe that Lodge as being the first Lodge warranted to work on Jamaican soil.
A Provincial Grand Lodge had been established in Jamaica by the Premier Grand Lodge in 1742 with the warranting of Port Royal Lodge No. 193 brought along with it the formation of The Province of Jamaica, and the appointment of the first Provincial Grand Master in the person of Ballard Beckford, a somewhat notorious figure in Jamaican politics of the time, having figured quite prominently in a much publicized divorce case, which resulted in the passing of Jamaica’s first Divorce Bill, and his expulsion from the House of Assembly, three years earlier. By 1775, there were 14 active Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Premier Grand Lodge in various parts of that island.
With the formation of the rival ‘Antient’ Grand Lodge in England in 1751, the formation of Lodges under its jurisdiction took place naturally wherever its members were dispersed over the face of the earth. Some came to Jamaica, and by 1763 the Antients warranted their first Lodge at Old Harbour, with a second being warranted at Green Island, in the parish of Hanover, in 1772. There is also a record of a Provincial Grand Lodge in Bermuda in 1745.
At first, either by design, or out of an unspoken respect for each other, they basically kept out of each other’s way by respecting each other’s ‘territory’…. until 1775! In that year, the Premier Grand Lodge, by what appeared to be an act of open hostility, warranted their own Lodge at Green Island where there already existed an Antient Lodge. In 1786, the Antients retaliated by striking at the heart of the Premier Grand Lodge (or ‘Modems’ as they had become known) by establishing an Antient Lodge in Kingston, the seat of a number of Modern Lodges and the natural seat of power. By 1809, eight more Antient Lodges were established in Port Royal and Kingston, and, to add insult to injury, an Antient Provincial Grand Lodge was established in Kingston in 1796. The assault must have been too overwhelming for the Moderns, as history informs us that after their intrusion into Green Island in 1775, the Modems did not warrant any new Lodges until 1812 when a warrant was granted to a group of French refugees from Haiti, but this Lodge was short lived and soon vanished. Indeed, there is evidence that some of the Modern Lodges were moved to petition the Antients for new warrants!
The skirmishing obviously took its toll on both camps, as by the Union of the Antients and Moderns in 1813, many of the Lodges had ceased to function and so were erased from the register of the newly formed United Grand Lodge. Some survived, however, and two of the Lodges warranted by the Antients are still in good health today, having worked uninterrupted since their inception. These are the Royal Lodge No.207, warranted in 1794, and the Friendly Lodge No.239, consecrated in 1797.
The intense and often bitter rivalry of the 1atter 18th century, between the Premier and the Antients Grand Lodges of English Freemasonry appears to have been very evident in the Caribbean territories. It would seem however that the Antients (Atholl) Lodges attracted a more dedicated membership, as all six of the surviving English Lodges from that period are Atholl Lodges. These are:
Albion Lodge No. 196- Bridgetown, Barbados ———————-1790
Royal Lodge No. 207 – Kingston, Jamaica—————————-1794
Atlantic Phoenix Lodge No.224 – Hamilton, Bermuda————–1797
Prince Alfred Lodge No.233 – Somerset, Bermuda——————1792
Friendly Lodge No. 239 – Kingston, Jamaica ————————1797
Union Lodge No.247 – Georgetown, Guyana————————-1813
Trinidad and Tobago
Freemasonry came to Trinidad and Tobago later than its sister Caribbean islands. It is believed that this was most likely influenced by the fact that Trinidad had been a stable Spanish colony from 1498 up to 1797 when it passed to British rule. Under Spanish rule, the influence of the Roman Catholic Church was very dominant. The church at the time had adopted a firm anti-Masonic position. Another characteristic of Spanish colonialism of the day was the principle of the exclusive, minimal exposure to trade and cultural contact with other cultures. Although there were also significant numbers of French plantation owners in the colony at the time, these were also Roman Catholic and blended well into the society established under colonial Spanish rule.
On October 1st, 1858, Worshipful Brother Daniel Hart, Past Master of Royal Philanthropic Lodge No. 856, to be later renumber to 585 E. C. was appointed Provincial Grand Master under the United Grand Lodge of England for Trinidad, Grenada and St. Vincent. At this time, apart from Philanthropic, there was only one other English Lodge in Trinidad, Trinity Lodge No. 837 E. C. in San Fernando. On 2nd February 1850 Trinity Lodge was warranted by the UGLE with only two English Masons as founders, only to become dormant two decades later, returning its warrant in 1890 and was erased on the 3rd June, 1908.
After transmitting a List of Office-Bearers (sic!) for the year 1861 on the 5th January, 1861, Philanthropic went into the second of its dormant periods. We do not know the cause of this, but apparently even Brother Daniel Hart, with his tremendous influence as a Past Master of Philanthropic from 1850 to 1857, was unable to resolve whatever differences that might have arisen.
The Provincial Grand Master was accordingly placed in the embarrassing position of having no functioning Lodge in the city in which the Provincial Lodge was located. There is now little doubt that he was the moving spirit behind the scenes in the application of the 18th April, 1861, by seven Brethren to form a new Lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England. That Lodge was The Prince of Wales Lodge No 1169 E.C. By 1863, that Lodge’s name was altered by adding the prefix “Royal” at the instructions of Provincial Grand Master Daniel Hart and its number changed from 1169 to 867 in the Grand Lodge re-enumeration of 1863. The Philanthropic Lodge was in dormancy for the period 1842 to 1850 and came out of that experience in time to be renumbered in 1863 from 856 to 585 to 405 and had the term Royal also added to its name in 1859.
By 1865, all Provincial Grand Lodges were renamed District Grand Lodges and V. W. Daniel Hart was to become the first District Grand Master for Trinidad and Tobago.
By the year following the erection and consecration of the Prince of Wales Lodge, Daniel Hart the Provincial Grand Master erected Phoenix Lodge 1213 E. C. This Lodge was consecrated on 30th April 1862. During its short life span it attracted a number of Spanish members. For some unknown reason the Lodge became dormant during the period 1876 to 1879 and was erased on the 5th March 1889.
In 1869, Very Worshipful Brother Daniel Hart died and Worshipful Brother Robert Scott was appointed District Grand Master, with Worshipful Brother Alexander McKenzie Cook as his deputy. Later that year, Worshipful Brother Scott left the Colony and Worshipful Brother Cook became District Grand Master.
On March 14th, 1878, the District Grand Lodge charter was withdrawn which action resulted in Royal Prince of Wales Lodge applying for dispensations to Grand Lodge for Processions in Regalia and advancing Brethren in the way that District Grand Lodge would have done.
In 1895, the Pro Grand Master, the Rt. Hon. Edward, 1st Earl of Lathom visited Trinidad and at a visit to Royal Prince of Wales Lodge 867, he recommended the recommencement of a District Grand Lodge, but this proposal was never pursued at this time.
Several Brethren of Royal Prince of Wales Lodge No. 867 EC led by W. Bro. (later Sir) George F. Huggins conceived the idea of forming a third English Lodge in Trinidad in order to qualify for a District Grand Lodge. The Royal Connaught Lodge Charter was issued in 1907 but consecration was delayed by apprehension in Royal Prince of Wales Lodge of possible loss of membership to the new Lodge. Though assurances were given that this would not occur and that the reason for establishing the Lodge was for the purpose of reintroducing a District Grand Lodge, three English Constitution Lodges being required, there were nevertheless instant resignations from Royal Prince of Wales of three Founders of the new Lodge.
On the 17th November 1907, Royal Connaught Lodge called a meeting of all English Lodges at the Royal Prince of Wales Temple to discuss the formation of a District Grand Lodge, but nothing developed and the idea appears to have been abandoned on the ground that the time was inopportune.
As the official end of World War I was declared, Lodge Royal Connaught did their utmost to restart District Grand Lodge and in particular by applying to Grand Lodge on the 18th May, 1922.
Over the years, there have been several Grand Inspectors appointed by United Grand Lodge. They were:
Trinidad and Tobago Masters Lodge was erected and consecrated on Wednesday 23rd February 1966 by the M.W. Pro. Grand Master, MW Bro. Rt Hon. The Earl Cadogan, MC DL at Mt Zion, (the Philanthropic Temple). The formation of this Lodge allowed the other Lodges to successfully petition UGLE to form a District Grand Lodge since they now had the requisite 6 Lodges necessary to constitute a District.
On the 18th December, 1968, Trinidad again possessed a District Grand Lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England for the first time since the 14th March, 1878, and Royal Prince of Wales Lodge was proud to provide the New District Grand Master, Very Worshipful Brother Arthur Emlyn, O.B.E.
The inauguration was carried out by Installing Master, Right Worshipful Brother Frank William Radford Douglas, Assistant Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.
In the latter months of 1970, Right Worshipful Brother Arthur O.B.E., resigned as District Grand Master to take up residence in the United Kingdom and the RPOW Lodge was again honoured when Worshipful Brother William Whitelaw Thomson Boyd was appointed District Grand Master elect.
Since the formation of the District Grand Lodge 50 years ago, it is note-worthy that two new Lodges were formed which were aptly named after the first Provincial Grand Master for Trinidad and Tobago, Daniel Hart and the first District Grand Master of the present English District Grand Lodge, Arthur Emlyn.
There have been several District Grand Masters since the formation of the District Grand Lodge for Trinidad and Tobago:
Today, English Freemasonry is alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago and TT Masters is proud to be instrumental in the formation of the District Grand Lodge 50 years ago and we celebrate the 50th Anniversary with our English Brethren.