Freemasonry: The Naked Truth

Becoming a Freemason in Birmingham

Becoming a Freemason

Regularity is a concept based on adherence to Masonic Landmarks, the basic membership requirements, tenets and rituals of the craft. Each Grand Lodge sets its own definition of what these landmarks are, and thus what is Regular and what is Irregular (and the definitions do not necessarily agree between Grand Lodges). Essentially, every Grand Lodge will hold that its landmarks (its requirements, tenets and rituals) are Regular, and judge other Grand Lodges based on those. If the differences are significant, one Grand Lodge may declare the other "Irregular" and withdraw or withhold recognition.

The most commonly shared rules for Recognition (based on Regularity) are those given by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1929:

The Grand Lodge should be established by an existing regular Grand Lodge, or by at least three regular Lodges.

A belief in a supreme being and scripture is a condition of membership.

Initiates should take their vows on that scripture.

Only men can be admitted, and no relationship exists with mixed Lodges.

The Grand Lodge has complete control over the first three degrees, and is not subject to another body.

All Lodges shall display a volume of scripture with the square and compasses while in session.

There is no discussion of politics or religion.

"Antient landmarks, customs and usages" observed.

Blue Lodges, known as Craft Lodges in the United Kingdom, offer only the three traditional degrees. In most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master is also conferred in Blue/Craft Lodges. Master Masons are able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in appendant or other bodies whether or not approved by their own Grand Lodge.

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system of 33 degrees, including the three Blue Lodge degrees administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America, South America and in Continental Europe. In America, the York Rite, with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry, and Knights Templar.

In Britain, separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but completely separate in England. In England, the Royal Arch is closely associated with the Craft, automatically having many Grand Officers in common, including H.R.H the Duke of Kent as both Grand Master of the Craft and First Grand Principal of the Royal Arch. The English Knights Templar and Cryptic Masonry share the Mark Grand Lodge offices and staff at Mark Masons Hall.

In the Nordic countries, the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany.

 

The earliest official English documents to refer to masons are written in Latin or Norman French. Thus we have "sculptores lapidum liberorum" (London 1212), "magister lathomus liberarum petrarum" (Oxford 1391), and "mestre mason de franche peer" (Statute of Labourers 1351). These all signify a worker in freestone, a grainless sandstone or limestone suitable for ornamental Masonry. In the 17th century building accounts of Wadham College the terms freemason and freestone mason are used interchangeably. Freemason also contrasts with "Rough Mason" or "Layer", as a more skilled worker who worked or laid dressed stone.

The adjective "free" in this context may also be taken to infer that the mason is not enslaved, indentured or feudally bound. While this is difficult to reconcile with medieval English masons, it apparently became important to Scottish operative lodges.

Master Masons in medieval England

A medieval Master Mason would be required to undergo what passed for a liberal education in those days. In England, he would leave home at nine or ten years of age already literate in English and French, educated at home or at the petty (junior) school. From then until the age of fourteen, he would attend monastery or grammar school to learn Latin, or as a page in a knightly household would learn deportment in addition to his studies. Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen he would learn the basic skills of choosing, shaping, and combining stone and then between the ages of 17 and 21, be required to learn by rote a large number of formal problems in geometry. Three years as a journeyman would often finish with the submission of a masterwork dealing with a set problem in construction or design. At this point, he was considered qualified, but still had a career ladder to climb before attaining the status of Master Mason on a large project.

In his function as architect, the Master Mason probably made his plans for each successive stage of a build in silverpoint on a prepared parchment or board. These would be realised on the ground by using a larger compass than the one used for drafting. Medieval architects are depicted with much larger compasses and squares where they are shown on a building site. Fine detail was transferred from the drawing board by means of wooden templates supplied to the masons.

The Master Masons who appear in record as presiding over major works, such as York Minster, became wealthy and respected. Visiting Master Masons and Master Carpenters sat at high table of monasteries, dining with the abbott.

Birmingham  is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest city, urban area and metropolitan area in England and the United Kingdom,[b] with roughly 1.1 million inhabitants within the city area, 2.9 million inhabitants within the urban area and 3.7 million inhabitants within the metropolitan area  and lies within the most populated English district. Birmingham is commonly referred to as the Second city of the United Kingdom.

Located in the West Midlands county and region in England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Central London, Birmingham, as one of the United Kingdom's major cities, is considered to be the social, cultural, financial, and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre.

 

A market town of Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew in the 18th-century Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw advances in science, technology, and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham.

The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain, was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London, and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades.

Birmingham's economy is now dominated by the service sector. The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121.1bn (2014), and its five universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions – the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the Library of Birmingham and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art, music, literary and culinary scenes. The city will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors.

Becoming a Freemason in         United Kingdom

Becoming a Freemason in  England

Region          West Midlands

Ceremonial county West Midlands

Historic county        

Warwickshire (Historic entirety)

Worcestershire and Staffordshire (added during 19th and 20th century expansion)

Settlement    c. 600

Seigneurial borough          1166

Municipal borough 1838

City status     14 January 1889

Metropolitan borough         1 April 1974

Administrative HQ   The Council House,

Victoria Square

Government

 • Type           Metropolitan borough

 • Body           Birmingham City Council

 • Leadership            Leader and cabinet

 • Executive  Labour

 • Leader        Ian Ward (Lab)

 • Lord Mayor            Mohammed Azim

 • Chief Executive   Chris Naylor (Interim)

Area

 • City 103.4 sq mi (267.8 km2)

 • Urban         231.2 sq mi (598.9 km2)

Area rank      145th

Elevation       460 ft (140 m)

Population (mid-2019 est.)

 • City 1,141,816

 • Rank          2nd in England and UK[a]

 • Density      11,040/sq mi (4,262/km2)

 • Urban         2,897,303 (3rd)

 • Metro          3,683,000 (2nd)

Demonym(s) Brummie

Time zone     UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)

 • Summer (DST)     UTC+1 (British Summer Time)

Postcode      

B

Area code(s) 0121

ISO 3166 code         GB-BIR

Police West Midlands Police

Fire and Rescue     West Midlands Fire Service

Ambulance   West Midlands Ambulance Service

OS grid reference    SP066868

Motorways   

M6

M6 Toll

M5

M42

A38(M)

International airports          Birmingham (BHX)

Major railway stations        

Birmingham New Street (A)

Birmingham Moor Street (B)

Birmingham Snow Hill (C1)

Birmingham International(C1)

GDP   US$ 121.1 billion (2nd)

– Per capita  US$ 31,572

Councillors   120

MPs   

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