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69-480: Within the York Rite , a Royal Arch Chapter works the following degrees: A Royal Arch Chapter is in many ways the same as a Lodge; it has officers and a ritual degree system, which in this case consists of four degrees: Mark Master Mason, Past Master (in some jurisdictions the degree is named Virtual Past Master, to distinguish those who have taken this degree in a Royal Arch Chapter from those who were installed as

138-598: A Master Mason may join to further his knowledge of Freemasonry. But the York Rite is not found as a single system worldwide, and outside of the United States there are often significant differences in ritual, as well as organization. However, in most cases, provided that the Grand Body in question regards the parent "Craft" jurisdiction as regular, each distinct Order has recognized fraternal inter-relations with

207-626: A Royal Arch Mason at a subsequent meeting. A Mark Lodge and a Royal Arch Chapter share the same Warrant within the Irish system. In Scotland, the Mark Degree is still conferred in a Craft lodge. The degree may also be conferred in a Holy Royal Arch Chapter as a prerequisite for exaltation to the Holy Royal Arch . If a candidate for joining a Scottish Royal Arch Chapter has received the Mark Degree in his Craft Lodge, then he will affiliate to

276-548: A Worshipful Master in a lodge), Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch Mason. However, unlike Lodges, the titles of the Officers change depending on the degree being conferred: Every US state has a Grand Chapter, which performs the same administrative functions for its subordinate Chapters as a Grand Lodge does for its subordinate Lodges. In other countries there are either national or state Grand Chapters. The Chapter also has its own equivalents of Grand Lodge Officers, modified from

345-548: A charity dedicated to researching CAPD or Central Auditory Processing Disorder. The exact origins of the four Chapter degrees in its current form as part of the York Rite are unknown. The degree of a Mark Master Mason is seen as an extension of the Fellowcraft Degree. It originated in England, and is believed to have entered the York Rite via immigrants to America from Scotland and Palestine. The first record of

414-593: A separate Great Priory of the Temple and Great Priory of Malta, as, for example, in England, the Grand Master and other officers of both Great Priories hold simultaneous equal office in both bodies. Three degrees are administered in this system: Membership is by invitation and candidates are required to be Master Masons, holders of the degree of the Holy Royal Arch and to sign a declaration that they profess

483-642: Is also a Royal Arch Chapter noted in 1769 in Massachusetts (St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter in Boston , then known as Royall Arch Lodge), where the first Knights Templar degree was also conferred. Through a report compiled by the Committee on History and Research appointed by the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts in 1953 and 1954, it was found that St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter was the oldest Chapter in

552-629: Is also mentioned disapprovingly in Dassigny's "A serious and impartial enquiry into the cause of the present decay of Free-masonry in the Kingdom of Ireland" published in Dublin in 1744. Separate notes in this work indicate that the rite was practiced in Dublin, London and York, and described it as an " organis'd body of men who have passed the chair " (i.e. served as the Master of a Craft lodge). In 1749,

621-639: Is believed that the Chapter was constituted around 1758, but this date has yet to be proven. It currently works under a renewed warrant from 1780. The Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania claims to be the first Royal Arch Grand Chapter in North America and was formed on November 23, 1795, by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, while the first Chapter in the southern states was constituted in 1855 (like the State of

690-575: Is one of several Rites of Freemasonry . It is named after York , in Yorkshire , England, where the legend of the Rite was first practiced. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies , each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. The York Rite specifically is a collection of separate Masonic Bodies and associated Degrees that would otherwise operate independently. While

759-550: Is open only to Christian Masons who have completed their Royal Arch and in some jurisdictions their Cryptic Degrees. This body is modeled on the historical Knights Templar to carry on the spirit of their organization. Throughout history it has been claimed that Freemasonry itself was founded by the Knights Templar or that the Knights Templar took refuge in Freemasonry after their persecution. The Grand Encampment of

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828-676: Is presented by three Freemasons from across the UGLE constitution: In English politics, freemasonry has often been criticised by those associated with the Labour Party and trade unionism , because of a perception that freemasonry is aligned with the Conservative Party . The Labour Party became the second party of the United Kingdom from 1922 onward and stood on a platform of representing working-class interests, while

897-584: Is represented by an scepter topped with an Open Book; the 2nd Principal personnifies "Haggai" the Prophet and is represented with a scepter topped with all All-Seeing Eye and the 1st Principal is the representative of "Zerubabbel", Prince and ruler in Israel and bears a scepter topped with a Crown. York Rite In Anglo-American Freemasonry , York Rite , sometimes referred to as the American Rite ,

966-467: Is the case with Nesta Helen Webster in her Secret Societies and Subversive Movements (1924). The American-born but English-domiciled Lady Queenborough pulled fewer punches with her Occult Theocrasy (1933), claiming that English freemasonry was founded as a front for the " Manichean " Rosicrucians . Many of these conspiracy theorists also attempted to implicate Jews or Jesuits as working hand in hand with masonry (such as Barry Domvile , coiner of

1035-546: Is the first order a Master Mason joins in the York Rite. The Chapter works the following degrees: Membership in the Council of Royal & Select Masters or the Council of Cryptic Masons is not required for membership in the Knights Templar in some jurisdictions, so it can be skipped. In others it is required. It is called Cryptic Masonry or the Cryptic Rite because a crypt or underground room figures prominently in

1104-682: Is when it was conferred on William S. Davis on August 28, 1769, in St. Andrew's Royal Arch Lodge, and that the degrees came from lodges originating from the Irish Constitution. There was also a " Super Excellent" degree that simply disappeared from the St. Andrew's minutes after December 21, 1797, and it was postulated that it may have become the Most Excellent Master degree, first noted in St. Andrew's minutes on February 21, 1798. Similarities between this degree and material in

1173-565: The Freemason's Quarterly Review to promote charity to keep Freemasons from the workhouse, and to engage masons in the broader argument for social reform. The Earl of Zetland 's complacent and inept management of Grand Lodge played into the hands of the reformers, and by the end of the 1870s English Freemasonry had become a perfect expression of the aspirations of the enlightened middle classes. In response to conspiracy theories about Freemasons and generally hostile views gaining new life, due to

1242-604: The Grand Lodge of Ireland issued warrants to Lodges 190 and 198 to establish “Royal Arch Lodges”. From Ireland, the Royal Arch spread to England, where it fueled the rivalry between the two Craft grand lodges in existence at that time. In 1717 the original Premier Grand Lodge of England had been formed in London to govern Craft Freemasonry in England. From 1751, its claim to represent the whole of English Craft Freemasonry

1311-791: The Holy Royal Arch in the UK, did not necessarily occur in Canada. In most Chapters in Canada the Past master's degree is not worked, there are only a few exceptions. The degree of the Holy Royal Arch is considered the "completion of the Master Mason's degree" in Lodge – a phrase inherited from England, but which was officially abandoned by the United Grand Lodge of England in 2004. The Officer's titles listed above may differ slightly, and of course

1380-533: The 1720s, the first verifiable appearance of Royal Arch Masonry is in Ireland in the 1740s during a Dublin procession. According to Lodge No. 21's records, the “ Royal Arch ” was carried in a procession by “ two excellent Masons ” through Youghal, Ireland, on December 27, 1743. However, the oldest known Chapter in the world is Stirling Rock Royal Arch Chapter No 2 in Scotland, which has worked since 1743. The degree

1449-546: The 1990s when Jack Straw , Home Secretary in the Tony Blair government attempted to force all Freemasons who worked as police officers, judges or magistrates to publicly declare membership in the organisation. In 2009, the ruling that freemasons had to declare if they were judges or magistrates was scrapped by Straw after fears that he would lose a court case at the European Court of Human Rights . Critics regard

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1518-654: The 19° in the Early Grand Rite of Scotland are also enumerated upon, and they conclude that the degree is from that Rite. As for the degree of Royal Arch Mason, Turnbull and Denslow contend that "It is the most widely known and talked about degree in the Masonic system" because it had been part of the third degree until the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England . Although glimpses of Royal Arch Masonry vocabulary appear in Masonic literature from

1587-643: The Conservatives and Liberals were largely based in the middle-class and upper-class (similar to Freemasonry). After a number of Labour MPs were blackballed from joining Masonic lodges, the Prince of Wales who was concerned by the potential conflict, intervened and had the New Welcome Lodge created for Labour members in 1929. Herbert Morrison claimed that his 1935 bid for the Labour leadership

1656-482: The Craft ceremonies, while the "Moderns" held that Craft Freemasonry consisted of three degrees only and that the Royal Arch was at the most an extension of the third (Master Mason's) degree which was to be administered separately. When the "Antients" and "Moderns" merged in 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England , this was possible only after reaching a compromise on the role and purpose of Royal Arch Masonry. After

1725-623: The Craft. As a result, these Masons felt a stronger kinship with the unaffiliated London Lodges. The aristocratic nature of the London Grand Lodge and its members alienated other Masons causing them also to identify with the unaffiliated Lodges. On 17 July 1751, representatives of five Lodges gathered at the Turk's Head Tavern, in Greek Street , Soho , London and formed a rival Grand Lodge: " The Grand Lodge of England According to

1794-829: The Doctrine of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England ( UGLE ) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England , Wales , and the Commonwealth of Nations . Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron Tavern in London , it is considered to be the oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in

1863-597: The Grand Chapter of the Northern States, and later was broken down into the state-by-state Grand Chapter system. This body later became the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons International. On 10 November 2004, the Grand Chapter of the Holy Royal Arch in England declared the Royal Arch to be a separate degree in its own right, albeit the natural progression from the third degree, and the completion of " pure, antient Masonry ", which consists of

1932-467: The Grand Chapters around the world are members of an umbrella group called the General Grand Chapter, founded October 24, 1797. Notable chapters not under this umbrella include the U.S. grand chapters of Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The General Grand Chapter publishes a quarterly magazine called Royal Arch Mason and supports Royal Arch Research Assistance,

2001-481: The Grand Lodge, James Anderson published the Constitutions of Masonry for the purposes of regulating the craft and establishing the Grand Lodge's authority to warrant Lodges to meet. The book includes a fanciful history of the Craft, which nevertheless contains much interesting material. Throughout the early years of the new Grand Lodge there were any number of Masons and lodges that never affiliated with

2070-531: The Grand Master is a member of the royal family it is customary to appoint a Pro Grand Master . The Pro Grand Master fills the role of the Grand Master when he is not available due to his royal duties. It is distinct from the Deputy Grand Master who acts as the Grand Master's deputy rather than as acting Grand Master. In October 2022, the United Grand Lodge of England launched an official podcast titled "Craftcast: The Freemasons Podcast". The show

2139-640: The Indiana) and in 1876. After the independence of the American Colonies in 1776, Freemasonry in the United States remained relatively little influenced by the rivalry between the "Antients" and "Moderns" in England. In 1797, a group of Royal Arch masons met in Hartford to try to establish some sort of governing body for degrees that were largely conferred in the New England states, which became

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2208-586: The Mark Lodge belonging to the Chapter before proceeding to the Excellent Master and then Royal Arch Degrees. The April 30, 1793 minutes of St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter state that the so-called Excellent degree may have become the Past master's degree, and that a similar degree by that name was conferred in 1790 by King Cyrus Chapter in Newburyport, Massachusetts . The Past master's degree

2277-510: The Mark degree is in 1769, when Thomas Dunckerley , as Provincial Grand Superintendent, conferred the degrees of Mark Mason and Mark Master at a Royal Arch Chapter in Portsmouth, England. In Ireland, the degree of Mark Master Mason is still required to join a Royal Arch Chapter. A Royal Arch Chapter meets as a Mark Lodge, confers the Mark Degree on a candidate making him eligible to become

2346-700: The Moderns on the resignation of his brother, the Prince Regent ; and in December 1813 another brother, Duke of Kent became Grand Master of the Antients . On 27 December 1813 the United Grand Lodge of England ("UGLE") was constituted at Freemasons' Hall, London with the Duke of Sussex (younger son of King George III ) as Grand Master. A Lodge of Reconciliation was formed to reconcile the rituals worked under

2415-620: The Old Institutions ". They considered that they practised a more ancient and therefore purer form of Masonry, and called their Grand Lodge The Ancients' Grand Lodge . They called those affiliated to the Premier Grand Lodge, by the pejorative epithet The Moderns . These two unofficial names stuck. The creation of Lodges followed the development of the Empire, with all three home Grand Lodges warranting Lodges around

2484-489: The Royal Arch and Knights Templar. It is also common for non-Christians to join only the Royal Arch and Council of Royal & Select Masters, as the Knights Templar require members to be willing to defend the Christian faith, if needed. Membership in the Royal Arch is always required and must be kept in order to maintain membership in the other two bodies. Details on the individual bodies are as follows: Royal Arch Masonry

2553-460: The Royal Arch as the fourth degree of Craft Masonry. Under his influence, the "Antients" championed the Royal Arch degree in England, while it was met with hostility in the "Moderns". At the beginning of the 19th century, when the "Antients" and the "Moderns" moved from rivalry towards union, the role and purpose of the Royal Arch became a sticking point. The "Antients" viewed the Royal Arch as a fourth degree of Craft Freemasonry and worked it as part of

2622-560: The Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. " In 1823, the United Grand Lodge of England allowed Master Masons to join Holy Royal Arch Chapters without having previously passed through the chair of a Craft lodge. In Freemasonry in Scotland , a candidate for the Royal Arch must also be a Mark Master Mason , a degree which can be conferred within a Royal Arch Chapter if required. In Northern America, freemasons until

2691-462: The Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, of England and Wales , this order is colloquially known as the Knights Templar. Local bodies of Knights Templar are known as Preceptories ; local bodies of Knights of St Paul are known as Chapters; local bodies of Knights of Malta are known as Priories; all operate under a Grand or Great Priory , often with an intermediate level of Provincial Priories. Although some jurisdictions maintain

2760-439: The United States acknowledges the existence of these theories but states that there is no proof to justify such claims. A local Knights Templar division is called a Commandery and operates under a state level Grand Commandery as well as The Grand Encampment of the United States. This is unique among Masonic bodies as most report to the state level alone. The Knights Templar confer three orders, and one passing order as opposed to

2829-600: The Western Hemisphere by date of constitution, having been officially constituted April 9, 1769, though the records implied that the Chapter had been working prior to that date, and perhaps as early as 1762. The report also states that it is unknown whether the Fredericksburg Lodge in Virginia conferred only the Royal Arch degree or the entire series of degrees. Pennsylvania, however, claims to have

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2898-419: The Whig administration of England organised the Grand Lodge as a Hanoverian-loyalist counter to the Jacobite rising of 1715 , since the Whigs were concerned at the previous Jacobite influence in Freemason lodges. The Freemasonry that predominated in Hanoverian England was hence closely linked with Whiggism . In 1718 Sayer was succeeded by George Payne , a successful Civil Servant. The society then passed into

2967-399: The York Rite, or require York Rite membership to join such as the York Rite Sovereign College but in general the York Rite is considered to be made up of the aforementioned three. The Rite's name is derived from the city of York , where, according to one Masonic legend, the first meetings of Masons in England took place. The York Rite is also one of the concordant bodies of Freemasonry that

3036-453: The York Rite. They consist of: In England and Wales, the degrees of Select Master, Royal Master, Most Excellent Master and Super-Excellent Master are conferred in a separately warranted organization, the Order of Royal and Select Masters . The Holy Royal Arch is affiliated with various constitutions worldwide, many of which place different emphasis on the order. Officially known as The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of

3105-479: The care of John Theophilus Desaguliers , a scientist and clergyman, then back to Payne. In 1721, the Grand Lodge managed to obtain a nobleman, the Duke of Montagu to preside as Grand Master, and so was able to establish itself as an authoritative regulatory body, and began meeting on a quarterly basis. This resulted in lodges outside London becoming affiliated, accepting sequentially numbered warrants conferring seniority over later applicants. In 1723, by authority of

3174-412: The case to freemasonry through Michael Maybrick . Some native proponents of more generic anti-masonic conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati (based on John Robison and Augustin Barruel ) have typically sought to implicate only Continental Freemasonry as a subversive force, while claiming to not be attacking the United Grand Lodge of England itself or British freemasonry more generally. This

3243-427: The chair as Grand Master, and called themselves the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster . The City of London Corporation has erected a Blue Plaque near the location. Little is known of Sayer save that he was described as a Gentleman (a man of independent means) when he became Grand Master, but later fell on hard times, receiving money from the Grand Lodge charity fund. Historian Marsha Keith Schuchard notes that

3312-485: The corresponding bodies and degrees are present worldwide, the term is primary used by American freemasons. The three primary bodies in the York Rite are the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons , Council of Royal & Select Masters or Council of Cryptic Masons, and the Commandery of Knights Templar , each of which are governed independently but are all considered to be a part of the York Rite. There are also other organizations that are considered to be directly associated with

3381-409: The degrees. In some jurisdictions, a Most Excellent Master degree is offered between Select Master and Super Excellent Master, while other jurisdictions do not have the Super Excellent Master degree. The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in the Knights Templar

3450-411: The end of the 18th century performed Royal Arch ceremonies as well as some others that are now more familiarly part of Knights Templar and the Red Cross of Constantine . In Virginia and West Virginia, there is no separate Cryptic Council. The Cryptic Degrees are given under the Royal Arch Chapter. Fredericksburg Lodge in Virginia lists a conferral of the Royal Arch degree on December 22, 1753. There

3519-437: The general public to see what they do. Freemasons' Hall, London and the Library and Museum of Freemasonry also opened to the general public, including guided tours. Today, the United Grand Lodge of England or Grand Lodge currently has over 200,000 members meeting in over 6,800 Lodges, organised into a number of subordinate Provincial Grand Lodges which are approximately equivalent to the historic counties of England . When

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3588-400: The group Common Purpose as an attempt to set up a pro-Labour freemasonry equivalent. As with freemasonry in other countries, the United Grand Lodge of England has featured as the subject of Masonic conspiracy theories ; the most persistent of these attempts to link freemasonry to a "cover-up" or whitewash of the Jack the Ripper case (in some cases, conspiracy theorists have claimed that

3657-400: The history is different, and more intertwined with that of the British Empire from which it largely grew, there are Chapters that received their charters from the Scottish Grand Chapter and therefore differ in respects.. Also the name of the 3 first principals are not the same as in the USA. The 3rd Principal is referred to as "Joshua", the Assistant High Priest who dedicated the 2nd Temple and

3726-466: The killings were masonic ritual murder ), the inquiry into the Sinking of the RMS Titanic (though Lord Mersey , Sydney Buxton and Lord Pirrie ), and Bloody Sunday (though Lord Widgery ). In the Ripper case, Stephen Knight 's Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1976) attempted to implicate freemasonry and the British royal family in the murders through the personage of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale . Elements of this theory, through

3795-417: The new Grand Lodge. These unaffiliated Masons and their Lodges were referred to as "Old Masons", or "St John Masons", and "St John Lodges". During the 1730s and 1740s antipathy increased between the London Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland. Irish and Scots Masons visiting and living in London considered the London Grand Lodge to have deviated substantially from the ancient practices of

3864-415: The novel of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell , even made its way into a major American film, From Hell (2001). The Hughes Brothers who produced the film, even approached the United Grand Lodge of England to get the "masonic bits" right, but, they were rebuffed due to the anti-masonic nature of the storyline. Another thesis, promoted by Bruce Robinson in his They All Love Jack (2015), attempts to link

3933-400: The oldest extant Royal Arch Chapter in the world. Royal Arch Chapter No. 3, formerly Jerusalem Royal Arch Chapter No. 3, and before that Royal Arch Lodge No. 3, has complete minutes going back as far as December 3, 1767. The minutes from this date mention approving the minutes from the previous meeting. This Chapter began meeting under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England (Antients) and it

4002-408: The respective Grand Body within the York system. Since the York Rite is actually a grouping of separate organizations joined in order, each body operates with relative autonomy. And though they are referred to as one rite it is common for individuals to be member of some bodies and not others. For example, in many jurisdictions Cryptic Masonry can be skipped allowing the person to be a member of just

4071-429: The standard degree system found elsewhere in Freemasonry: In addition to the Capitular Degrees, Cryptic Degrees, and Chivalric Orders, there are several Honorary Bodies (sometimes called Invitational Bodies) that are associated with the York Rite and for which membership in a Royal Arch Chapter is requisite. Membership is by invitation only and usually only extended to those who have contributed in some significant way to

4140-424: The three Craft degrees and the Royal Arch. Following this decision by the Grand Chapter in 2004, there are currently significant ritual differences between Royal Arch Masonry as worked in England and Royal Arch Masonry worked as part of the York Rite in the U.S. Fraternal inter-relations remain as before. Royal Arch Masonry in Canada has strong ties to the UK since Canada is a Commonwealth country . Recent changes to

4209-466: The titles of the officers of a Royal Arch Chapter: In jurisdictions that have them, there are also District Deputy Grand High Priests appointed by the Grand High Priest to oversee the districts of the jurisdiction as the representative of the Grand High Priest. Grand Representatives are appointed to keep in contact with their counterparts in other jurisdictions. Grand Chapters also contribute to specific charities which differ from state to state. Many of

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4278-442: The two former Grand Lodges. The new Grand Master had high hopes for Freemasonry, having a theory that it was pre-Christian and could serve the cause of humanity as a universal religion. However, his autocratic dealings with ordinary lodges won him few friends outside London, and sparked open rebellion and a new Grand Lodge of Wigan in the North West. Within Grand Lodge, opposition centred on Masonic Charity. Robert Crucefix launched

4347-424: The union, the " Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch " would be fully recognized by the United Grand Lodge, but become a separate order with all Craft Lodges permitted to work the ceremony. In its Book of Constitutions , the United Grand Lodge of England declared that " ...pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz. those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason including

4416-463: The works of Stephen Knight and Martin Short , the United Grand Lodge of England began to change the way it dealt with the general public and the media from the mid-1990s, emphasizing a new "openness." This presentation was summed up by Provincial Secretary of East Lancashire, Alan Garnett who declared, "we're not a secret society or a society with secrets, but we are a private society." Lodges across England and Wales began holding open days, to allow

4485-408: The world, including the Americas, India and Africa, from the 1730s. In 1809 the Moderns appointed a "Lodge of Promulgation" to return their own ritual to regularity with Scotland, Ireland and especially the Ancients. In 1811 both Grand Lodges appointed Commissioners; and over the next two years, articles of Union were negotiated and agreed upon. In January 1813 the Duke of Sussex became Grand Master of

4554-441: The world, together with the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and the Grand Lodge of Ireland . Prior to 1717 there were Freemasons' lodges in England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the earliest known admission of non-operative masons being in Scotland. On St John's Day, 24 June 1717, three existing London lodges and a Westminster lodge held a joint dinner at the Goose and Gridiron alehouse in St Paul's Churchyard , elected Anthony Sayer to

4623-419: Was already in existence by 1797, and appears in a few monitors of the era: it is one of the four degrees in the Webb Monitor (1797) and appears in Jeremy Cross' monitor in 1826. The Most Excellent master's degree is considered American in origin, although it has been postulated by Ray Denslow and Turnbull that it was merely a rearrangement of preexisting material. They state that the first mention of it by name

4692-418: Was contested by the Antient Grand Lodge of England . In the ensuing debate, the newer grand lodge became known as the "Antients", while the older was referred to as the "Moderns". In 1746, Laurence Dermott , later the Grand Secretary of the "Antients", had been accepted into a Royal Arch Chapter in Dublin, which at that time was open only to those who had previously served as master of a Craft lodge. He regarded

4761-412: Was sabotaged by Lodge members who preferred first Arthur Greenwood and then Clement Attlee . Despite the creation of the New Welcome Lodge, there remained an element of hostility to Masonry within the Labour Party. As well as the alleged Tory connections, they accused Freemasonry of having unaccountable influence within the judicial system. This issue was brought to the forefront of English politics in

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