Ancients Grand Lodge

1751 Formation of Grand Lodge according to the Old Constitutions know as the Ancients Grand Lodge at London, formed with Scottish and Irish Masons practicing Irish and Scottish "masonry" which greatly differs from the Original English Craft.

The extent of the "irregular makings" so often complained of in the records of the Grand Lodge of 1717 may be shown by the fact that because of these the Grand Lodge erased from its list at least forty-five lodges between 1742 and 1752. Brethren so dealt with, along with many free lances, and also some independent, or "St. John's lodges," (about which many interesting things might be written) came together and formed a "Grand Committee" of "the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons"; this Committee formed itself into "The Grand Lodge of England according to the Old Constitutions," which Grand Lodge afterwards came to be called the "Ancient" Grand Lodge in contradistinction to the "Modern," as the older Grand Lodge became dubbed. The earliest record of the Grand Committee is of date July 17, 1751; on that day Lodges No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 "were authorized to grant Dispensations and Warrants and to act as Grand Master."

List of Lodges

No. Date Year Name Province 1 13 Aug 1759 Grand Master’s Lodge 3 18 Feb 1754 Lodge of Fidelity 5 2 Aug 1756 St George’s & Cornerstone Lodge 7 17 July 1751 Royal York Lodge of Perseverance 9 17 May 1769 Albion Lodge 11 19 Aug 1754 Enoch Lodge 13 6 Mar 1761 Union Waterloo Lodge West Kent 15 30 Jan 1752 Kent Lodge London 19 27 Feb 1769 Royal Atheistan Lodge 22 14 Dec 1757 Neptune Lodge London 24 24 Sept 1805 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Lodge Northumbria 25 10 July 1810 Robert Burns Lodge London 27 17 June 1811 Egyptian Lodge London 30 23 June 1777 United Mariners Lodge London 31 24 Mar 1806 United Industrious Lodge 32 30 May 1786 St George’s Lodge of Harmony 1814 34 25 Mar 1775 Mount Moriah Lodge 36 20 Aug 1808 Glamorgan Lodge South Wales ED 38 13 Mar 1812 Lodge of Union 1828 Chichester 40 5 Apr 1813 Derwent Lodge 43 3 Dec  1755 Trinity Lodge Warwicks 44 23 Feb 1803 Lodge of Friendship 47 17 Dec 1755 Newstead Lodge 49 26 Nov 1810 Gihon Lodge 50 Mar 1803 Knights of Malta Lodge 53 23 Jan 1812 Royal Sussex Lodge 54 12 Nov 1813 Lodge of Hope 57 16 Mar 1809 Humber Lodge 1810 62 16 Feb 1811 Social Lodge 63 14 Apr 1757 St Mary’s Lodge London 65 6 June 1810 Lodge of Prosperity 68 14 Sept 1807 Royal Clarence Lodge 1849 70 21 Mar 1759 St John’s Lodge 1858 72 15 Oct 1810 Royal Jubilee Lodge 73 29 Feb 1760 Mount Lebanon Lodge 74 16 July 1811 Athol 76 29 May 1761 Lodge of Economy 79 18 Mar 1813 Pythagorean Lodge London 80 18 Dec 1805 St John’s Lodge 84 6 Sept 1806 Doyle’s Lodge of Fellowship 87 18 May 1810 Vitruvian Lodge London 90 Jan 1809 St John’s Lodge 95 22 Dec 1802 Eastern Star Lodge 98 30 July 1805 St Martin’s Lodge Staffordshire 101 2 July 1813 Temple Lodge 104 31 Mar 1806 Lodge of St John Cheshire 107 22 Mar 1810 Philanthropic Lodge 110 20 June 1810 Loyal Cambrian Lodge South Wales ED 113 13 Mar 1812 Lodge of Unanimity 115 5 Sept 1767 St John’s Lodge 117 22 Mar 1810 Salopian Lodge of Charity Shropshire 119 14 Mar 1807 Sun, Square & Compasses Lodge Cumb/Westm 121 21 Dec 1813 Mount Sinai Lodge 125 13 Mar 1807 Prince Edwin’s Lodge 128 11 Nov 1803 Prince Edwin’s Lodge West Lancashire 130 22 Apr 1772 Royal Gloucester Lodge Hants & Isle of Wight 131 6 July 1772 Lodge of Fortitude 1826 141 8 Nov 1774 Lodge of Faith London 142 11 May 1775 Saint Thomas’s Lodge 143 10 Oct 1775 Middlesex Lodge London 145 1806 Lodge of Prudent Brethren London 146 24 June 1776 Lodge of Antiquity 147 1 Jan 1801 Lodge of Justice 151 8 May 1801 Albany Lodge 1816 152 30 Dec 1796 Lodge of Virtue 1832 153 18 Nov 1777 Inhabitants’ Lodge 155 19 Oct 1803 Lodge of Perseverance 156 27 Dec 1804 Harmony Lodge 158 4 Dec 1797 Adam’s Lodge 159 12 Jan 1802 Brunswick Lodge 164 30 June 1813 Lodge of Perseverance 168 10 Mar 1784 Mariners’ Lodge 171 1 Nov 1784 Lodge of Amity London 173 26 Sept 1785 Phoenix Lodge 175 8 Sept 1813 East Medina Lodge 177 7 Feb 1786 Domatic Lodge 178 26 May 1786 Lodge of Antiquity 1841 180 9 Mar 1787 St James’ Union Lodge London 184 13 Dec 1787 Gillingham Lodge of Benevolence East Kent 185 20 Dec 1787 Lodge of Tranquility 186 15 Jan 1788 Lodge of Industry 1821 London 188 21 Apr 1789 Lodge of Joppa London 190 15 June 1789 Oak Lodge 192 24 Dec 1789 Lion & Lamb Lodge London 193 15 Feb 1790 Lodge of Confidence London 194 31 Aug 1790 St Paul’s Lodge 196 6 Dec 1790 Albion Lodge Barbados 198 5 Jan 1791 Percy Lodge 199 1801 Lodge of Peace & Harmony East Kent 200 5 Mar 1791 Old Globe Lodge Yorkshire N & ER 201 25 Apr 1810 Jordan Lodge 203 10 Aug 1792 Ancient Union Lodge 204 20 Oct 1802 Caledonian Lodge 205 23 May 1793 Lodge of Israel London 207 10 May 1794 Royal Lodge Jamaica 209 13 July 1813 Etonian Lodge of St John Berkshire 210 21 Mar 1795 Duke of Athol Lodge East Lancashire 211 11 Sept 1795 St Michael’s Lodge 212 16 Oct 1812 Euphrates Lodge London 213 24 Dec 1795 Lodge of Perseverance Norfolk 214 3 Nov 1795 Lodge of Hope & Unity 1852 Essex 215 26 Jan 1796 Lodge of Commerce East Lancashire 216 22 Apr 1796 Harmonic Lodge 1819 217 1 Mar 1797 Lodge of Stability London 218 27 Dec 1797 Lodge of True Friendship 220 27 Dec 1796 Lodge of Harmony West Lancashire 221 15 Mar 1797 St John’s Lodge 222 17 Aug 1797 St Andrew’s Lodge 1863 London 223 27 Dec 1799 Lodge of Charity 1809 224 9 Aug 1797 Atlantic Phoenix Lodge 1847 Bermuda 225 20 Oct 1804 St Luke’s Lodge 226 31 Oct 1797 Lodge of Benevolence East Lancashire 227 25 Apr 1810 Ionic Lodge 228 19 Mar 1798 Lodge of United Strength London 229 11 Apr 1798 Lodge of Humility with Fortitude London 230 10 Aug 1810 Lodge of Fidelity 232 4 Mar 1801 Marine Lodge 233 1801 Prince Alfred Lodge 1862 Bermuda 239 31 Jan 1809 Friendly Lodge 243 18 Aug 1810 Loyalty Lodge Channel Islands 244 3 Jan 1812 Yarborough Lodge 1857 Channel Islands 245 29 Apr 1813 Duke of Normandy Lodge Channel Islands 246 29 July 1813 Royal Union Lodge Gloucester 247 28 July 1813 Union Lodge Guyana

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- Most interested to learn why the Lodge number does not follow the formation date chronologically?

The office of Grand Master was left vacant until a "noble brother" could be found to accept the position; and the place of Lodge No.1 was left standing to be occupied by the Grand Master's Lodge, a thing suggested no doubt by the Grand Lodge of Ireland having done the same thing.

In 1753 a dozen or so lodges were on the list; during the next four years, and largely owing to Dermott's activity, twenty-four were added; between 1760 and 1766, while the Earl of Kelly was nominally Grand Master, sixty-four more were taken in charge.

The list of Lodge Numbers started with those from the many Lodges which joined from the original Lodges which where erased from The Grand Lodge of England list between 1742 and 1752 at least forty-five lodges. So has time passed and new Lodges where formed the Grand Lodge of the Ancients allocated the between missing numbers to the List of Lodges under its Jurisdiction.

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