Edmund Reid

The register also tells us how much, and for which years Abberline paid his membership fees. These Dues, today
as in Abberline’s time, cover the annual operating expenses of the Lodge. They are paid as an annual subscription
after an initial Joining fee has also been paid. Throughout their careers, members also have to find money to pay
for their Degree ceremonies which includes paying for materials received by the Candidate including regalia such
as an Apron and study guides. Members are also expected to cover the cost of dinners and are encouraged to give
to charity offering what they can afford. 8
Abberline was a fully-paid member from 1889 right up until he resigned from his membership of Zetland Lodge
in November 1903. His leaving the Lodge coincides with him retiring down to Bournemouth, where he lived for
many years until his death in 1929. It is interesting to note that he did not continue his Freemasonic career after
he moved and did not join any local Lodges in the Bournemouth area.
Interestingly, alongside the above membership details from the Registers there is also
a reference to Brother Abberline in The Freemasons Chronicle dated February 1891,
which mentions him being present at the Covent Garden Lodge of Instruction No 1614. 9
Covent Garden Lodge’s date of Warrant of Constitution was 1876, it being consecrated
in 1877. From 1877 the Lodge met at Clunn’s Hotel in Covent Garden, but the following
year they moved to Ashley’s Hotel nearby and by 1880 they met at The Criterion in
Piccadilly, 10 which presumably was where Abberline went in 1891.
Lodges of Instruction are where masonic learning takes place. These type of Lodges
are often associated with a specific Lodge but are not constituted separately. These
Lodges provide the Officers, and those who wish to become Officers, an opportunity to
rehearse ritual under the guidance of a more experienced Brother.
Lodges of Instruction are also places where lectures on symbolism and ritual are given
to develop the knowledge of its members.
Frederick George Abberline
In an email to the library at Grand Lodge London, historian Zeb Micic asked for any
information about Abberline’s membership of Covent Garden Lodge after having found
the above same online reference to the Detective Inspector in a search of Freemasonic
periodicals which are available on the UGLE Library website. 11
Assistant Librarian Peter Aitkenhead replied saying that “Lodges of Instruction draw their members from many
different lodges and it is impossible to identify the lodges whence they came unless their names appear in the
membership lists of the lodge to which the Lodge of Instruction is ‘attached.” 12 Therefore, because there are
no records maintained centrally of Lodges of Instruction, the librarian sadly could offer no further information.
However, thanks to the new registers available we can establish Abberline’s main lodge being Zetland.
Zetland Lodge had its Date of Warrant issued on 3 May 1845, and was consecrated officially as a new Lodge on 9
July 1845. Members originally held their meetings at various pubs in the Kensington area, but from 1868 onwards
the lodge met at Anderton’s Hotel 13 at 160 Fleet Street, which is where Abberline would have gone. Although
there was a pub present on that site since medieval times, the establishment only became known as Anderton’s
in the 1820s. The building was rebuilt in 1880 and a design for the new building by architects Ford & Hesketh can
be seen in an illustration from The Building News dated 12 December 1879. 14 With its red brick and stone facade
and Dutch-style gabled roof elements, it must have been quite striking. It was largely demolished in 1939 after
several buildings were built on the site, which today is now occupied by a branch of HSBC. Throughout the time
when Abberline visited, the Post Office Directory tells us the landlord was a Francis H Clemow. 15
7 www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com.
8 Ibid.
9 Freemasons Chronicle, February, 1891, p.9.
10 See Lane’s Masonic Records: The Library & Museum of Freemasons website (www.hrionline.ac.uk/lane/record).
11 Correspondence between Zeb Micic and Peter Aitkenhead dated 29 April 2015.
12 Ibid.
13 Lane’s Masonic Records: The Library & Museum of Freemasons website (www.hrionline.ac.uk/lane/record)..
14 Article containing information on the building’s history can be seen on www.archiseek.com as well as an illustration from The
Building News, 12 December 1879.
15 ‘Andertons Hotel’ by Stephen Harris on www.pubshistory.com.
Ripperologist 147 December 2015 17