THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

In 1769, "The Freemason Stripped Naked." Isaac Fell.
We may also mention here six valuable plates by Lanbert de Lintot: 1, Grand
Lodge of England. 2, Chapter and Grand Lodge. 3, Foundation of the Royal
Order. 4, Fourth and Last Stone. 5, Old and New Jerusalem. 6, Night; and also in
1770 appeared in London a Ritual in French, of the Rose Croix as the 7th
degree, the 6th degree being Knight of the East.
An effort was made at this time to Incorporate the Society by Act of Parliament
and to build a Hall; and, in reply to a circular letter, 168 Lodges expressed
themselves in favour of the proposal and 48 opposed it. A bill was accordingly
promoted in 1771, but the scheme was finally abandoned. In 1772 under Lord
Petrie, G.M., a Committee was appointed for the purpose of erecting a Hall, and
Preston's "Illustrations of Masonry" received the sanction of Grand Lodge. In
1775, "The Spirit of Masonry" was published by Brother William Hutchinson,
F.A.S., of Barnard Castle; it bears the sanction of the {514} Grand Officers of
England, and is dedicated to the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and
Scotland, and the Craft in general. He is said to have revised the Old York
Lectures and his system was used in Manchester. The foundation of Masonic
Hall was laid 1st May, 1775, and was dedicated on the 23rd May, 1776. On 10th
April, 1777, the first "Freemasons' Calendar" appeared.
In 1778 a dispute occurred between the time immemorial Lodge of Antiquity and
the Grand Lodge. This resulted in an application from Brother William Preston
addressed to the Grand Lodge of All England at York, which had met regularly
since 1761, for the grant of a Charter to establish a third Grand Lodge in London.
This was accomplished on the 19th April, 1780, and a Grand Lodge on the
Ancient system was constituted, with jurisdiction south of the Trent, and Preston
mentions it briefly in the 1781 edition of his "Illustrations." Now we have three
Grand Lodges in London and one in York.
During the ten years' existence of this new Grand Lodge it established only two
subordinate Lodges in addition to the "Antiquity," and the authority came to an
end with the readmission of Brother Preston in 1790 by the premier Grand
Lodge. In 1783 Brother Captain George Smith published a work entitled, "The
Use and Abuse of Freemasonry." The death of the Grand Lodge at York
following shortly upon that of Brother Wm. Preston left only the two London rivals
of "Ancients" and "Moderns," and efforts began to be set on foot to unite them. It
is asserted by the Rev. Brother A. F. A. Woodford, on the authority of Mr.
Walbran, the editor of the Chartulary of Fountain's Abbey, that the York Brothers
were in possession of a Charter, now missing, which was supposed to be that of
Athelstan; other brethren say the same, but assert that it was almost illegible.
On the 1st May, 1782, Henry Frederick Duke of Cumberland was nominated
Grand Master, with the Earl of Effingham as his Deputy. In 1784 a new edition of
the "Constitutions" was issued by Brother John Northouck; the {515} chief
change is that the word "Order" is often used for the customary titles of "Society,"
or "Brotherhood." On the 9th March, 1786, Prince William Henry, afterwards
Duke of Clarence, was initiated in Lodge No. 86 at Plymouth; and on the 6th
February, 1787, the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George IV., was initiated