january - Grand Encampment, Knights Templar

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to a dentist after the Masonic Rebellion,a profession in which he engaged until hisdeath in 1862. 34Gage was by this time older and wasstill based in Liverpool, and thoughseemingly showing a lack of interest inMasonry, he still held a sense of importancewhen it came to his position withinthe Wigan Grand Lodge. His disinterestmay have been as a result of his closecolleague John Eden’s embezzlement ofMasonic funds, the relocation of theGrand Lodge to Wigan, or of Gage havinga family and changing his career froma tailor to a land surveyor. Gage went onto publish a map of Liverpool, whichwas based on his surveys of the portin 1836. 35 He was however, to remaina rebel to the end, effectively rebellingagainst the rebels. Gage was always anobstinate man, passionate, arrogant,and confident in the face of opposition,and his fight for the cause of AntientFreemasonry had been extremely fierceand proactive.He held the respect of his fellow rebels,and without Gage, there would havebeen no Wigan Grand Lodge, his leadershipinfluencing its original design. Hehad aspired to greater things, Gage, amere tailor having written to the Dukeof Sussex complaining about the waycertain brethren in Liverpool were beingmistreated being an excellent example ofan attempt to break down the class andsocial divisions. Gage died in 1867, aged79, though as his ex-Masonic rebel hadnoted, Gage would continue to inspirethe Wigan Grand Lodge. 36 The success ofthe rebellion, albeit on a local basis, isrevealed in its organization and the proactivestance of the Wigan Grand Lodge,its effect on the United Grand Lodge alsoproving to be permanent with the ratherlarge Lancashire province being dividedin two shortly after the rebellion, creatingthe more manageable western andeastern divisions.The End of the “Antients”The minute book for the Wigan GrandLodge ends in 1866, though James Millerwho wrote his memories of the Lodge ofSincerity in the 1950s stated that theGrand Lodge of Wigan did survive, supervisingthe last remaining lodge, theLodge of Sincerity, its last Grand Masterbeing John Mort who served as GrandMaster from 1886 until the lodge returnedto the United Grand Lodge in1913. James Miller was a young manwhen he was initiated into the Lodge ofSincerity in 1908. He followed his father,grandfather, and great-grandfather, inbecoming a Freemason under the WiganGrand Lodge and would become instrumentalin the survival of its memory.Miller discusses in his memoirs the festivalof St. John, which was celebratedby all lodges before the Union and mentionsthe practice of the Royal Arch, itsapron being worn by the Grand Master,John Mort, at all times. The Knight Templarorder was also practiced, and Millermentions a sickness and burial societywithin the lodge, which may have been acontinuation of the “funeral fund” whichwas mentioned in the minutes of theWigan Grand Lodge in 1839.John Mort seems to have heldthe Grand Lodge of Wigan togetherduring its final years, and he appearsin the Wigan Grand Lodge minutes forthe first time in 1866 when Peter Seddonwas Grand Master. Mort, like Miller,passed on his memories of the WiganGrand Lodge, enabling Eustace Beesley12 january 2013
The Magna Charta of Masonic Freedom, 1839. Photo by Fred Lomax.to write his history in 1920. Accordingto Miller, Mort was initiated in 1864. Heserved as Master of the Sincerity Lodgeon a number of occasions and becamethe last Grand Master in 1886. Millerpaints a cosy picture of an isolated lodgefilled with friends and family members.Mort’s son, also called John, was a member,and Miller’s uncle, Richard Warburton,was initiated on the same dayas Miller. Miller recited the merrimentof the lodge festive board, where eachmember of the lodge was allowed onedrink from the lodge funds. When thedrinks had been consumed, the WorshipfulMaster would call out “mortar,”and a Steward would take the trowelaround so that each Brother could givehis contribution to the next round ofdrinks. After these funds had been exhausted,a cry for “more mortar” wouldensure further drinks, accompanied bythe fine tenor voice of John Mort, Jr.,who was also a member of the Wiganknight templarParish Church Choir.These eccentricities reflect the lodgeas an apparent time capsule, surviving inisolation, having an independent and inwardlooking attitude. The drinking andsocializing seemed to have created adeep bond between the brethren, keepingthe last remaining lodge alive. TheGrand Lodge had met at numerous innsand taverns around Wigan, some meetingstaking place in the center of Wigan,such as the infamous Dog Inn at WiganMarket Place where the Grand Lodgemet on a number of occasions in 1839.Other meetings took place on the peripheryof the Wigan area, such as theAngel Inn in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Theuse of these inns was vital as importantmeeting places for the Grand Lodge.Many of them, like the Angel Inn and theRope & Anchor Inn in Scholes, were runby fellow brethren, enabling the GrandLodge to establish regular meetings, ensuringits continuity and allowing it to13
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Page 6 and 7: Prelate’sChapelbyRev. William D.
Page 8 and 9: The Liverpool Masonic Rebellionand
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Page 18 and 19: General SupplementThe space on thes
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Page 30 and 31: 30WEST COAST EASTER OBSERVANCE 2013
Page 32 and 33: 83 rd ANNUAL EAST COASTEASTER OBSER
Page 34 and 35: Knightsat the BookshelfBySir Knight
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