Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

it was consciously trying to ‘remodel’ the Craft would seem to be an
exaggeration. Everything in the fragmentary English records – and in
the far more plentiful and continuous Scottish records – goes to show
that there had not been any break (or break-down) in the Craft. 10
The Grand Lodge of England quickly recognized the need for a clearly
defined system of regulations, “not merely in respect of the new central
authority, but also with regard to the rapidly increasing membership of the
Order.” 11 Providing a set of rules which closely resembled British politics and
constitutionalism would reinforce its legitimacy and dispel any doubts regarding
the political loyalties of the freemasons. 12
Such was the immediate context for James Anderson’s Constitutions of
the Freemasons (1723). Born in Aberdeen in 1679 and educated at Marischal
College, Anderson graduated MA in 1698 and subsequently studied theology for
four years, suggesting that he was preparing himself for a career in the
Presbyterian ministry. 13 His connections with freemasonry are unclear at best,
and there is no definitive explanation as to the origins of the relationship
between Anderson and the Grand Lodge of England. What is clear, however, is
that the newly-formed Grand Lodge was ambitious in its search for elite
patronage and a codified system of rules. Until 1717, oral histories and
medieval documents which were collectively referred to as the ‘Old
10
Three Phases of Masonic History,” AQC, 77(1964), 261.
11
Lionel Vibert, “Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723,” AQC, 36(1923), 36.
12
Ibid, 11.
13
See David Stevenson, “James Anderson (1679-1739): Man and Mason,” in Freemasonry On
Both Sides of the Atlantic, (New York, 2002), 199-205 for an in depth discussion of Anderson’s
early life. For more biographical information on Anderson, see also Chetwode Crawley, “The
Rev. Dr. Anderson’s Non-Masonic Writings, 1712-1739,” AQC, 18(1905) 28-42; A.L. Miller,
“The Connection of Dr. James Anderson of the ‘Constitutions’ With Aberdeen and Aberdeen
University,” AQC, 36(1923), 86-103; Edward Newton, “Brethren Who Made Masonic History,”
AQC, 78(1965), 130-145.
14