The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARkingdom, which is, in fact, otherwise proved byrecords of the building by them, at an earlier period,of cathedrals, abbeys an*l castles. But we date theYork Assembly as the first known and acknowledgedorganization of the Craft in England into anational body or Grand Lodge.After that General Assembly, the fraternity experienced,as in other countries, its alternate periodsof prosperity and decay. For a long time the YorkAssembly exercised the Masonic jurisdiction overallEngland; but in 1567 the Masons of the southernpart of the island elected Sir Thomas Gresham,the celebrated merchant, their Grand Master. Hewas succeeded in turn by Chas. Howard, Earl ofEffingham, and George Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon,and they in 1607 by the illustrious architect,Inigo Jones,* who inspired great spirit into theLodges. Men, not architects nor masons, but eminentfor learning, knowledge or position, were admittedas members of the body under the designationof Accepted brethren; hence the origin of thepresent style of the society,MASONS.FREE AND ACCEPTEDSpeculativeMasonry."& There were now two Grand Masters in Englandwho assumed distinctive titles; the Grand Masterof the North being called "Grand Master of AllEngland," while he who presided in the South wascalled "Grand Master of England." In the beginningof the eighteenth century Masonry in the southof England had fallen into decay. The disturb-65