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CRAFT FIRE IN THE SPOTLIGHTW Bro Brian Burdett, of Criterion Lodge No 6220,provides an interesting follow-up to our “Firing andFiring Glasses” article in Issue 42W BRO ROD TAYLOR said : “Firing is done throughout YorkshireNorth and East Ridings, but is rare in our Province. The reasonfor this is not clear.”I carried out a survey in 2006/07 of Lodges in several Provincesto determine whether there was a correlation between firing andsuch parameters as Lodge ritual, age of the Lodge and, motherdaughterLodge relation. Using “firing” in its widest sense, thatis PLR and synchronised clapping, as well as glass thumping, Ifound that in the following three Provinces, based on the Lodgesthat sent a return, the percentage of those practising craft firewere:Cheshire 75including the use of firing glasses and ‘running’ fireNorth & East Ridings 66firing by hand predominates; glass firing is carried out,including ‘running’ fireWest Riding 10Statistically, these figures would not bear scrutiny. However,the overriding factor was the ritual used. Those lodges usingEmulation or modified Emulation (including the so- NigerianRitual) tend to practise craft fire. The Province of Cheshire is an‘Emulation Province’.The next question is, ‘Why do the Ridings differ?’After the Union on 27 December 1813, a Lodge ofReconciliation was given the task of compiling and promulgatinga ritual that would be acceptable to the ‘Moderns’ and ‘Antients’.The Lodge began its work in March 1815; according to oneobserver, 20 or so meetings were held in London to demonstratethe ritual. Representatives of all Lodges were expected to attendthe demonstrations to learn the new agreed ritual and then toinstruct their Lodges as far as they could remember. It isimportant to appreciate that all instructions were given orally.This was following the practice of each of the Grand Lodges thatno part of the ritual was to be in writing.However, very fortuitously amember of the Lodge ofReconciliation, Bro WilliamShadbolt, contrary toaccepted practice, madecopious codified notes of theceremonies in 1815 and1816.The notes were notexamined in any detail until1974 when it becameapparent that the notes werecodified and constituted twomanuscripts. This discoverywas of vital importancebecause the manuscriptsrepresented two sets of rituals. One was written upto March1815 and is known as the “Earlier MS”, while the other waswritten after May 1816 and is known as the “Later MS”.The ritual approved by the Lodge of Reconciliation up to March1815 was substantially discarded and replaced by the ritualapproved by Grand Lodge in June 1816. Thus the “Earlier MS”recorded the discarded ritual while the “Later MS” recorded theritual that was ultimately adopted and was the precursor to thepresent Emulation Workings.Prior to 1816 some Provincial Lodges were represented atmeetings of the Lodge of Reconciliation to be instructed in thenew ritual, and at the same time certain members ofReconciliation visited the Provinces to give instruction, but, ofcourse, none of the ritual under instruction was the approved1816 ritual. The Lodges that had received instruction in theShadbolt Earlier MS continued to practise and use that ritual,although many graduallysubstituted the ritual with Emulationworking of the Shadbolt L MS.In the West Riding, during March1815, the Lodge of Probity atHalifax, then No 84, now No 61,attended Reconciliation in Londonalong with lodges from Wakefield,Sheffield, Leeds, Whitby, Hull andScarborough. Lodge of Probity,which had the largest attendancesat 16, accepted the task ofrecommending and teaching theamended ritual, or the Union Ritual,as it was sometimes called, to otherlocal lodges, so that a standard1st Choice Yorkshire LtdSUPPLIERS & INSTALLERS OF PREMIUM QUALITYGARAGE DOORSFree guidance and on-sitemeasuring for all door typesOFFICE: 01924 491562MOBILE: 07919 483893SHOWROOM IN MIRFIELD16