Page 52 - MML - Journal - Centenary Edition - Vol. 01 / 2023

that the Masters’ Lodges and Past Masters’ Lodges strictly confine their membership to the specific category after which they are named? A few phone calls and a quick browse through the by-laws of some of these lodges set me right: the terms were being used NOT in their strict Masonic sense, but in a more casual way; interchangeably and in both cases referring to the Installed Master, ie. one who has been placed in the presiding chair with due ceremony after being entrusted with the modes of recognition. Therefore, I too will follow this convention, and use the collective generic term of ‘Installed Masters’ Lodge’ to refer to the Past Masters’ Lodges and Masters’ Lodges.
In fact, Masters’ Lodges and past Masters’ Lodges are a very familiar feature in English Freemasonry and in their descendants; and of course, we in India too have inherited the system.
A Consensus Terminology - Installed Masters’ Lodges: Although familiar, the concept of an Installed Masters’ Lodge is a modern innovation within the context of Masonic history. The first attempt to form such a Lodge was in Derby, England around the 1870s. This attempt failed for several reasons; and the first Installed Masters’ Lodge came into being only in 1898, in London – the Jubilee Masters’ Lodge no. 2712. Since then, they have been established in many Masonic centers all over the world.
As a rule, Installed Masters’ Lodges do not carry our any ceremonies other than that of the installation of the new Master each year. This is so, even if their warrant permits them to make Masons. What then is their purpose?
They serve to bring Installed Masters together in a forum where they can exchange views, interact, network, socialize and most importantly, share their interest in Freemasonry beyond the routine ritual work:
through organized lectures, demonstrations and discussions.
Installed Masters’ Lodges should be considered a blessing to Freemasonry, facilitating the expansion of the Masonic horizons of its members, much beyond the narrow confines of the Craft Degree ceremonies. As one authority (Yasha Beresiner) put it, these Lodges are indeed the jewel in the crown of the Craft.
Lodge of Installed Masters of the 20th of April 1813: As I was studying the provenance of our Installed Masters’ Lodges, I came across a very curious instance. I found that the Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of the newly minted United Grand Lodge of England had issued a Warrant of Constitution for a Lodge of Installed Masters on the 20th of April 1813. You will note brethren; this was a full three-quarter of a century ahead of our Jubilee Masters’ Lodge no. 2712. So, what gives?
To appreciate the unusual circumstances which led the then Grand Master to issue a special Warrant for this new Lodge, we have to look back into the development of Freemasonry in England, leading to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813.
A Digression into The Founding Of The UGLE: Organized Freemasonry, as we know it today, came into being with the establishment of the first Grand Lodge in the world, in London, on the 24th June 1717. This grand original, as it were, is referred to as the Premier Grand Lodge. A competing Grand Lodge was formed in 1751 by one Lawrence Dermott, consisting initially of working-class Irish Masons, who had found themselves unwelcome at the lodges owing allegiance to the Premier Grand Lodge. This competitor successfully claimed that it was their form of Masonry which conformed to the original scheme of Freemasonry; and that the Premier
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A Publication of Madras Masters Lodge No. 103, GLI
Madras Masonic Journal Vol. 01 / 2023 - Centenary Year Edition