P L AT E L
A B E RG AVE N N Y . A B E R G AVE N N Y .
AB E RG AVE N N Y .
AS H BURTO N AS H BY - D E- LA- ZOUC H .
L E EK.
VITTOR IA.W I N C A N TO N .
S EA L S a n d S TAM P S
USED lN TH E
F R EN C H PN SO N E RS’
LO D G ES
FRENCH PRISONERS’
LODGES.
A BR I EF ACQOUN T OF
Twenty=six Lodges and Chapters
F REEM ASON S ,
ESTABL I SH E D AN D C ON DUCTE D
FRENCH PRI SONERS OF WAR
E N G LAN D AN D E L SEW H E R E,
B ETW EEN 1756 AN D 1814.
I LLUST RAT E D BY E I G H T E E N P LAT E S , C O N S I ST I N G O F
FAC - S I M I L E S O F O R I G I NAL D OC UM EN TS,S EA LS ,
B y JO H N T . T H O R P,
R M. 523 and 2429 ; of Leicestershire and Rutland ;Honf Mem . of Lodges No. 50, 139 ! and 2433.
Authoe' of“ F ifty Y ears
'
R ecords of the ‘
7ohn of G aun t‘
Lodge , N o. 523“Anna ls of the C hapter of
‘F or titude
,
’
N o . 2 79"
M emor ia ls of L odge
N o. 9 1 An tien ts " ; “ The E a r ly H istory of the ‘Knigh ts of M a lta '
L odge, N o. G a ,(fr o.
LE I C ESTER : P R I N TED BY B R O. G EOR G E G I BBON S, KI N G STR EET.
I 9 o o .
All R ights R eserved. ]$ .
Y.
‘
G o
Ibis D ear jrrienb an'
b JErot ber
il liam gam e'
s Ib a gba -n
n sxa m. of tbe G ua no l ooge or IE-flg lafno
Sn (Bratetul R ecognition
of lDaluabl-e a ssistance all b D irection
12n flbasonic S tub? a im mascarcb,
f ree ly manu re-b upon many ®cca-
sions,
”
(these [pages
are
most materna lly) E eo‘
ic’ate‘
o
(the author .
l eiceater ,
1900 .
gf’r e fa c e .
TH E ex istence o f Freemasons’ Lodges amongst French
Prisoners of War ha s lo ng been known to the reading
Members of the Fratern ity . Ranging over a period
of about s ixty years , they were establ i shed from time
to t ime in many parts o f Great B ri tain,for wherever
a large number of priso ners were col lected together,there wou ld probably be suffi cien t Freemasons amongst
them to open and wo rk a Lodge .
A con siderable number o f these Prisoners ’ Lodges
were establ ished by the French so ld iers and sai lors
captured during the Napoleo n ic wars, and confined in
Great Britain,in Brit ish Co lo n ies o r i n towns tempo
ra rily occupied by the Brit ish fo rces.
At that t ime Freemaso n ry was ex ceedingly popu lar
i n the French army, many Regiments having Lodges
attached to them , i t wa s therefo re on ly natural , that
during the ir en forced id len ess, th e Freemasons amongst
the prisoners shou ld seek to rel ieve th e mono tony of
their existence,by devo t ing some port ion of thei r
t ime to the work ing o f the Mason ic ceremon ies in
Lodges establ i shed by themse lves.
Many Mason i c wri ters have reco rded the existence
of these French Prisoners ’ Lodges, and have given
6
some few part icu lars o f one and another of them , but
n o attempt has hi therto been made to gather up al l
th e scat tered detai ls,and p lace them toge ther on
permanen t reco rd .
A d i l igent search co nducted by me fo r some years
past , has resu lted i n th e d isco very of many o f these
Lodges hitherto unknown,and although the in fo rma
tion obtained,a nd reco rded i n the fo l lowing pages i s
o f an ex t remely fragmentary character,i t may p ro ve
o f in terest to some,and serve as a bas is fo r furth er
invest igat io n and enqu iry.
There were doubt less many mo re Lodges and Chap ~
ters establ ished than the twenty - six here reco rded , it
may therefore be confident ly ex pected that i n course
of t ime the l ist wi l l be co nsiderably i ncreased .
Wi th o n e ex cept io n , th e Cert ificates represented in
th e various P lates are en t i re ly d rawn by hand wi th
i nk and sep ia , and the ex ce l len ce o f thei r design and
ex ecu t ion,espe cial ly tho se issued by the Lodges at
Abergaven ny,Leek and Va lleyfie ld ,
bears wi tness to
th e sk i l l a s wel l as to th e patience o f some o f th e
French Maso ns.
Amo ngst the Members o f th e Maso n ic Bro therhood
to whom thanks fo r valuable assistance are espec ial ly
due , and h ereby g rateful ly t endered,are Bro thers
Wi l l iam James H ugh a n o f To rquay,Hen ry Sad ler
o f Lo ndo n , Frederick Gardner o f Abergavenny,James C . Hogg o f Kelso , Wi l l iam Hart of Mel ro se
,
Frederick J . W . Crowe o f Torquay,B . Weddel l of
Se lk irk,John Sha r la n d o f Tiverton and Reginald R
.
H utchings o f Wincanto n .
Many interest ing detai l s have also been taken from
Bro ther R . F . Gou ld ’
s i nvaluable “ H istory of Free
maso n ry,from the pages o f “ The Freemaso n
acknowledged
Qa n t e-
n t s .
0
PAG E
I ntroduéti on .
Basingstoke.
P e tersfield .
Ber l in .
“D e la F id-e lite
M agdeburg. Parfa ite Union .
Abe-rgaven ny.
“ En fants de M ars e t de N eptun e.
Ashbu r t-on .
“ D e s Am is R én n is.”
Ashby- de - la Zo uoh .
“Vrais Am is de l
’
Ordre .
Ashby—d-
e—laaZouch . D e la Justine. 61: de l’I
Un iOn .
C htepstow.
Kelso .
Leek. D e l’
Am itié.
Leek.
“ Reun ion D esiree .
M a l ta .
“ L es Am is en C aptiviAE.
M elros-
e ,“ L a B ienfaisan ce .
N ortham pton .
“ La B on ne Union .
P lym outh .
“ Am is R éunis.
"
Sanquha‘r. “ La Paix D ésirée.
Tiverto'n . E n fants d e M ars.
Va lleyfield .
Vittoria. D es I ntort-unes
W antage. C oeurs Unis ”
Win canton .
“ L a P a ix D ésir ée.
Brit ish P risoner-s“ o f War in “
F r ance.
g f f u s t r a t i o n s .
Sea ls an d Stam ps used in th e Lodges. F rontispiece.
Abergavenny.— I nterior of L odge- R o om .
Abergavenny.— L audy
’
s
Abergavenny.
— R ichards’ Lodge C ert ifica te.
Aberga venny.— R ichards’ C hapter
Abergavenny.— C o l lar and
Ashburton .— C arcen ac
’
s
Ashby- de - la—Zouch .
— Jean’
s L odge C ert ificate .
Ashby- de - la- Zouch .
— Jean’
s C h apter C e rt ificate.
Ashby- de - la -Zouch .
— Endorsem ent on G r ivaut’
s
C ert ificate.
Kelso .— D ec laration with Signatures.
Leek .
— P in gue t’s Certificate.
Leek — Endorsem ent on P ingue t’s Cert ificate.
P lym outh .— E ndorsem ent o n L escam e la
’s C er
tifica te .
Va lleyfie ld .—M er ic
’
s C ert ifica te.
Vittoria .
— P a.lis’
s C ert ificate.
Wincanton .
— P lum m er ’s
Winca n ton .
— Apron .
p . 2 7
P : 3 7
p. 4 1
p. 44
p . 48
p. 50
p 56
p. 60
9 7I
p . 76
p. 80
P 84
I 3
cfi tt t r o ou ct i o n .
FROM the year 1740 to 1815 Great Brita in and France
were a lmost constan t ly at war with one another.The
co nfli c t raged in Europe, Asia, Africa and America,the victory i n most cases remain ing with the Bri tish .
I n consequence of these successes a vast number o f
p risoners fe l l i n to the hands of the Bri t ish com
manders, who sh ipped them over i n detachments toEngland , where they were treated more or less harshly
as p risoners of war.
Large n umbers of these un fortunate men were
im prisoned in England in 1746, 1756, 1759 and 1779 .
I n 1759 no less than were located at Knowle,
near B ris to l , where they suffered much from want o f
food and c loth ing.
* But by far the greater number
were brought over during the Revolut ionary wars of
1797 to 1814, for i t i s computed that between 180 3
and the sign ing of the Treaty of Paris in May,1814,
upwards of French so ld iers and sai lors were
sen t over to England , many o f whom had been taken
prisoners during the Pen insu lar War. Of th is vast
number,about were either exchanged for Engl ish
men o f correspond ing ran k who were prisoners i n
France,1' or were i nva l id ed home, over d ied in
Vide “ No tes and Queries,"8th S .
, XL , p . 453.
M o n s. Ott was th e residen t French Agen t in L ondon for th e ex ch a nge
o f prison ers in the year 180 0 . Vz’
de Alison ’s H istory o f Europe ,
”
1854 Ed i t . , Vol . V. , p.
I 4
prison , severa l hund reds o f the commiss io ned o fficers
bro ke their paro l e and escaped from the co untry, but
the vast majo ri ty remained in capt i vi ty unti l Napo leo n’
s
ex i le to E lba gave tempo rary peace to Eu rope .
* I t i s
stated , that between Apri l 1 1 th , 1814, and August 27th
of the same year,no less than o f th e Fren ch
prisoners were sen t back to thei r nat ive land by the
Engl ish autho r it ies tThe common so l d iers and sai lors were most ly con
fined in huge barracks or priso ns, si tuated in d i fferen t
parts of the co un t ry, i n some cases,a s at Dartmo or and
Perth , espec ial ly erected fo r the purpo se . Thus
were impriso ned at Fo rton near Po rtsmouth , at
Portchester, a t Perth
,i n Dartmo o r pr iso n , i
in the Norman Cro ss Barracks near Peterbo ro ugh§on bo ard prison h u lks i n Po rtsmo uth harbour,
and severa l thousands a t Weedo n Barracks in No rth
am pto n sh ire , whi lst the remainder were d ist ributed o ver
the co un try,almost every town , po ssessi ng a ccom
m oda t io n fo r the purpo se, h aving its comp lement . “The Officers
,and tho se civi l ians who were enti t led to
rank as gent lemen,were al lowed to reside “
o n parole
W i th in assigned l imits and o n certain cond it ions. Th ey
were lo cated mostly i n the smal ler pro vincia l towns, and
being in many cases men o f rank and education,
“ were
Par t ly taken from a n a r tic le o n“ P r ison e rs of W ar , in C ham be rs
’
Jour n a l , 1854, Vo l . I . , p. 330 .
“I“ From Toon e ’
s“ C hron o logica l Reco rd , quo ted in No tes an d
Quer ies,”August, 1897.
1 Accord ing to Al ison H isto ry of Europe , 1854 Ed it ion , Vo l . IX . ,
p . we re a t D artm oor in th e yea r 181 2 .
Th e Fre nch Bishop o f M ou l ins vo lun ta r i ly took up h is abode n ea r th ispr iso n , in o rder to m in ister to th e sp iritua l n eeds o f th e pr ison ers.
(Ve’
de No tes and Queries,”
8th S ., IX . , p . 289 , an d X . , p.
Pa r tly take n from a n a r tic le on“ Prison e r s o f W a r
,in C h am b e rs
'
Journ a l , 1854, Vo l . I . , p. 330 . Also wide Howe l l 's H isto ry o f th ePh oen ix L odge ,
"
p . 66.
I S
esteemed fo r thei r po l ite and agreeable man ners, and
were received i n al l publ ic assembl ies with h igh con
s iderat ion and a courteous As al ready
stated , several hund reds broke thei r parole and escaped .
The genera l co ndit ions of thei r deten t ion were
probably made as l i tt le i rksome as possible,and a
great deal of conside rat ion was shewn them in many
ways, but in spite of th is, th e s imple fact of thei r being
under restrain t must have been exceed ingly gal l i ng
to so proud a race . That many remained in England
after peace was dec lared is wel l known , and proves that
in some cases at least thei r capt ivity had been neither
severe nor unpleasant.
The fol lowing are some of the towns in which the
French priso ners were located z— Abergavenny,Ash
burto n,Ashby - de - la - Zo uch, Bandon , Basingstoke,
Bedale,Bideford
,Boroughbridge
,Bristo l , Carl is le,
Carnarvon,Chatham
,Chepstow,
Chesterfield,Derby
,
Dover,Ed inburgh
,Falmouth
,Fa reham , Hawick, Kelso,
Knaresboro ugh,Launceston
,Leeds
,Leek
,Leicester
,
Mel rose,Mo n trose, N orthampton , Okehampton, Peebles ,
Pembroke,Penri th
,Pen ryn
,Pe r th ,
~P e te rbo ro ugh , Peters
fie ld ,P lymouth
,Pontefract , Portchester, Portsmouth ,
Red ru th,Richmond
,Sanquhar, Selk irk, Siss inghurst,
Tavistock, Tiverton , Tynemouth , Wakefie ld , Wantage,Wincanton
,Winchester, Wisbech and York . There
is no doubt that many other towns bes ides the fo re
going had thei r complemen t, ei ther temporari ly or
permanently.
Accord ing to S i r Arch ibald Al ison , the h istorian , the
French authori ties never rem itted one farthing for
the main tenance of this host of prisoners, but left
Vzde Thom pson’s H istory o f L e icester, 1876 Ed it . , p. 169 .
I 7
Fren ch priso ners from the lo ca l j ai l to h is own house ,because they were Masons this Brother was the father
of S i r Alex ander Burnes,the famous Asiat ic t rave l le r
,
and o f Dr. James Burnes,Pro vincia l Grand Master of
Bombay (Sco tch Const itut io n ) i n
I n September, 1842 , Bro . T . H . H al l,Grand Registrar
of the Grand Lodge o f England,was presen t at a
Meet ing o f the Grand Orien t o f France in Paris,on
which occasio n , a Mason named Bessin ex pressed to
him th e reco l lect io n o f benefi ts received from Engl ish
members o f the C raft,when a priso ner o f war in
E n gla ndfiThat the Freemaso ns amo ngst the priso ners were
received a s visi tors at Maso n ic meeti ngs in England,
Sco t land and I reland,th e minutes o f Lo dges at L e ices
ter,Winchester
,Bandon
,Selk i rk
,Hawick
,Melro se
,
Redruth and o ther towns amp ly test i fy, and in many
cases th ere is n o doub t they became Jo in ing Members
o f these lo cal Lo dges .
I n those towns,however
,where n o Lodge ex isted
,
o r where there were sufficien t Freemaso ns amo ngst the
pri soners to open and wo rk a Lodge by th emse lves,they seem frequen tly to have establ ished o n e of their
own,co nducti ng th e busi ness and ceremo n ia l in their
own language and acco rd ing to the French system ,
and in to which from time to t ime they admitted thei r
fe l low -
priso ners by in i t iat io n . Mo st , probably th e great
majority,
o f these Lodges were held w ithout any
warran t o r autho ri ty whatever, and although they are
be l ieved to h ave general ly confined themselves to the
admissio n o f thei r own co un trymen , there is n o do ubt ,
Vz’
a’e
“ Freem asons’
M aga zin e , 1862 , Vol . I I . , p . 3 29 .
‘I‘ Vide “ Freem asons'
Qua r te r ly Review, 1843, p . 324.
18
that in some cases they in it iated,or accepted as Join ing
Members,natives of the towns i n which they had
establ ished their Lodges.
The perusa l of the minute - bo oks,— for they doubt
less kept such— and o ther reco rds of these Prisoners’
Lodges,wou ld prove ex ceed ingly in terest ing, cou ld
they be obtained,for B ro . R . F . Go u ld , i n his
“ H i story
of Freemason ry ”
(Chap . XXX ., p . refers to the
ex istence,i n the arch ives o f th e Grand Orien t of
France,of a number o f documen ts formerly belong
ing to these Lodges,which co n tain very valuable
in format ion . After repeated app l i cat ion s made in re
cen t years to inspect these records, the French Mason ic
authorit ies at length declared , th at they had no know
ledge whatever o f any such do cumen ts, but prom ised
to communicate any in fo rmat io n o n the subject , which
a classificat ion of the archives, th en in progress , might
bring to l ight . This p rom ise st i l l remains unfu lfi l led ,so that it must be taken fo r gran ted that nothing has
been d iscovered .
But although the au tho rit ies o f the Grand Orien t of
Fran ce withho ld any in fo rm at io n they may possess,
it wi l l nevertheless be usefu l to p lace o n record al l the
detai l s that have been co l lected , together w i th photo
graphs and descript io ns of some of thei r re l i cs , before
they are lost or dest royed . I t is w i th th is object i n
view, that the fo l lowing pages have been prepared ,and in the hope that they wi l l prove in terest ing and
acceptable to Engl ish Freemaso ns.
19
gfia s tn gs tofi e . gt’eter s fi eté
1 7 5 6 . 1 7 5 8 .
cfleeés .
PROBABL Y th e earl iest reference to Freemaso ns amo ng
the French prisoners in Great Britain , i s co nta i ned in the
reco rds o f the “Antien t Boyne ” Lodge,N o . 84 Bando n
i n to which Lodge n ine French o fficers,l ocated there a s
p riso ners of war, were admit ted a s Jo in ing Members
i n 1746 and
B u t the earl iest acco unt of th e format io n o f Lodges
amo ng th e priso ners themse lves, is co ntained in a
Repo rt made to th e Grand Lodge o f Eng land , early in
the year 176 1 , by the Master o f a Lodge which had
j ust been co nst i tuted at Leeds. The acco un t is a s
fo l lows z— j'
Some t ime si n ce be ing in fo rmed o f some French
brethren (that are here in th is town amo ngst the
p riso ners o f war) having fo rmed a Lodge , some o f us
we nt to visi t them in o rder to ex amine their manner
o f wo rk ing ; and upo n o ur inqu iring o f them what
authority they had to work,o r a t l east to make
Ve'
de B ro . W . J. C h e twode C r awley ’s “ No tes on Ir ish Fre em ason ry ,in Ars Qua tuor C o ron a to rum ,
"Vo l . IX . , p . 7.
“I“ Vz'
a’
e“ Freem ason ,
”1886, p. 556. (An Ar tic le by B ro . W . J. H ugha n . )
20
Masons, we observed they were n o t Const ituted , a s i t
appears by the fo l lowing acco unt , which they related
to us, viz .
— That some time befo re the War wa s
declared there were some of our Brethren command
ing French ships that were taken and carried to
Hal i fax , i n No va Sco t ia ; being arrived there , they
made themselves known to some o f o u r Brethren that
reside there, who in t roduced them to thei r Lodge, o f
which B ro . Charles L awre n s,Go vernor o f that P lace ,
wa s then Master. Somet ime after, they were brought
here in England,and Quartered a t Basi ngsto ke , where ,
find ing themse lves a competen t Number, they fo rmed
a Lodge ; making yo u at th e same t ime thei r due
submissio ns,which wa s about th e lat ter end o f th e
year 1756, and to wh i ch you answered , they said , th at
i f they cho sed to have thei r Lo dge co nst itu ted , it
wo u ld co st them such a sum ; but their n o t being
fixed in England in any p lace , and even no t knowing
how lo ng th ei r stay wou ’d be in England,d id n o t
permit th em to be a t the e x pe n ce o f having their
Lodge properly co nst ituted ; h owever, they con t i nued
working and to make Maso ns — Abo ut Eigh teen
mo nths after, Part o f th em were remo ved from B a s
in gstoke and ordered to P e te rsfie ld : These find ing
themse lves a suffic ien t N umber, fo rmed a Lodge there ,and presen ted you ,
they said , thei r due subm iss ions
fo r the same , which wa s abo u t th e beginn i ng o f th e
year 1758 ; but they never had an answer to them .
“ No twithstand ing that , th in king, they said , that by
yo ur si lence yo u appro ved thei r wo rk , they co n t in ued
wo rk ing and mak ing Masons unti l l th e midd le o f th e
year 1759 , that they were again changed o f Quarters ,as were also tho se remain ing a t Basingstoke
,and
ordered to d ifferen t P laces , viz .
, some were sen t to
2 1
Darby, others to Pon tefract, others here in this town
(Leeds) , and o thers were exchanged and sen t to
France , those that are i n this P lace , being part of
tho se that remained at Basingstoke and part of those
that were made at Pete r sfie ld,formed a Lodge about
the lat ter end o f the year I 759 , and have worked and
made Masons u nti l l the present t ime : This is.
what
they have to ld us upo n ou r asking them if they were
Const ituted , and whi ch we have thought proper and
ou r duty to acquain t yo u with , that you may n o t be
igno ran t of what passes i n this P lace ; the mo re so ,because we find that they don ’ t work with good
harmo ny amo ngst themse lves, for we hear that i t i s
fou r months si n ce that th e Master of that fren ch
Lo dge and h is two Warden s fel l out , upon which they
parted — The two Wardens with thei r Secretary fo rmed
a Lo dge by th emse lves, which they held at the Turks
head ; and the Master with the rest of the Members
formed another a t the Talbot . Our B ro .
I Bastide and
other Brethren being acquain ted with thei r Quarrel,used thei r utmo st endeavours to reco nc i le them ; but
to n o purpose for nei ther o f them wo u’d come to any
reasso c iation,bu t exclude o n e another from each of
their Lodges ; so that no th ing but an imosi ty has
reigned amongst them sin ce ; making Masons in spite
of o n e another i n such a Manner, that Mason ry suffers
much by thei r p roceed ings. And we have proofs as
tho se a t the Turks H ead have made people Masons
whom we wou ’d not have fo r many good reaso ns .”
The d ifferences between the French Brethren a t Leeds
were subsequent ly sett led , and a comp lete reconci l iat ion
effected . Previo us to thei r qu i tting th e coun try a t th e
peace i n 1763, (the Seven Years’
War was term inated
2 2
by the Trea ty o f P aris,signed F ebruary l o th ,
1763)
they returned thei r thanks to the Br ethren of the“ Talbot ” Lodge in a ve ry elega n t writ i ng o ut name
of al l the French Bro th er Visitors, this wa s an swe red
in n o less e lega n t manner by B -ro . Thos. W o lr ich ,out
name of al l the Brethren o f th is Lodge . French
v isito rs
B rother
These Lodges at Basi ngstoke , P e te rsfie ld and Leeds,see m to ha ve been establ ished and worked without any
proper au tho ri ty, and are be l ieved to be the ea rl iest of
th e Fre nch Prisone rs’ Lodges in England,o f which
any reco rd rem ains. It is pro bable tha t th e v d id n o t
co nfine themsel ves to admit t ing thei r Own coun t rymen ,bu t in it iated En gl ishm en also ,
which led. to th e com
p la i n t of th e Leeds Brethren in the fo regoing Report .
Frederick Pain ,Od on .la Po rte,Franco is du P rée
Fran co is F o urne t t ,
E tienne la Porte ,Dom i n ique Mazet .
2 3
I N th e year 1762 a Warran t was granted by the Grand
Lodge of A l l Englan d,to a number of French priso ners
o f war at York .
The fol lowin g account o f this Lodge appears in the
Reco rds
No . 1 . Anno Secundo . Brother D rake, G .M .
On the 10 th . day of J une 1762 a con st itutio n or war
ran t wa s granted unto the fo l lowing Brethren,French
Priso ners o f War on thei r Parol (viz . ) Du Fresne ,Le Pett ier, J u l ian Vilfo r t , Pierre Le Vi l la ine , Louis
Brus le, and Francis Le Grand , Ther eby enabl ing them
and others to open and cont inue to hold a Lodge a t
the sign of the Punch Bowl in Ston egate i n th e City
o f Yo rk and to make New Brethren as from time to
time occas ion might requ i re,
neverthe less
them and thei r successo rs from making anyo ne a
Bro ther who shal l be a subject of Great Britain or
I reland,wi nk/z sa id L odg e was accord ingly opened
and held on the said l o th . day of J une and to be
continued regu larly on the second Thursday in every
month or oftener i f occasion shal l requi re .
”
Ve’
de Gou ld ’s
“ H istory of Freem ason ry , C hap. XVI I I . , p . 418.
gger ftn .
Qe ta gsibe ti fé.
”
(gam m a )
1758 .
th e year 1758 th e Grand Lodg e o f the Three
Globes (z u den drei Wel tkugeln ) in Berl in , granted a
Warran t fo r a French Lo dge to meet in that c ity
witho ut th e right o f i n it iat ing— to Gabrie l de L e r n a is,a Frenc h pri so ner resid ing there o n paro le .
*
This Lo dge,wh i ch was d ist inguish ed by th e name
of Fidel ity,
”m ost probably consisted exc lusive ly of
French priso ners. I’
t is not kn own h0w lo ng it co n
t in ued to ho l d its Meetings,but i t n o doubt died out
a t the term in at io n of th e Seven Years’ War in 1763,
i f n o t earl ier.
This Lodge, and the one at Magdeburg, part i cu lars
of which fo l low,are the on ly ones i n Germany, o f
which any t race h a s been d iscovered , but i n a l l pro
bab ility many more were establ ished by th e French
priso ners in that coun try, the ex istence o f which un fo r
tun a te ly can not be ascertained at the present t ime ,a lthough in fo rmat io n m ay po ssib ly st i l l be obta ined
by renewed search and enqui ry .
Vide Gould '
s“ H isto ry o f Freem ason ry , C hap . XXVI I . , p . 243 .
26
Q’a r fa i t e glu t i o n .
(g’e r fect gi rd
176 1
N UM BE R of French pr iso ners o f war were confin ed
in this Prussian fo rtress from th e year 1757 onwards,
and many of them became m embers o f the local Lodge
de la Fel i-ci té,
” establ ished there in the year
I n the same year the priso ners fo rmed“
a Lodge ther-e
am ong themselves,which the y n am ed Parfaite Un ion ,
”
but no in format io n beyond th e bare fact of i ts ex ist
ence can now be obtai ne‘d .1'
Vide“ Abbi ldungen Fre im aure r ischer D enkm unz en und M eda i l len ,
Vol . I ., p. 141 .
‘I' Via/e Gould'
s H isto ry of Freemasonry , C h ap. XXX p . 406.
AB ERGAVEN NY.— In te r i o r o f Lodge
- R oom .
(Via/e page
ZRBer ga v en n n . (ano n -r
a a n i s be gaa r s et be y ep tu n e .
(t t‘
br en o f gaa r s a n b y ep tu n e . )
18 13 18 14 .
I N the seco nd decade o f the present centu ry,a num
ber of French prisoners of war,at one t ime upwards
of two hundred , were lo cated at Abergavenny in
Monmouthshi re ; they co nsisted of sold iers and sai lors,a few of them being offi cers.
The “ rank and fi le are bel ieved to have been
lodged in a room in the o ld Cast le,and in severa l
large barns, whi ls t the officers, who were on paro le,
”
o ccupied private rooms in d ifferent parts of the town .
Amongst these prisoners were sufficient Freemasons
to establ ish and work a Lodge, under the appropriate
name of Enfants de Mars e t de Neptune .
” Trad it ion
poin ts to a large room in Monk Street,about one
hundred yards from the old Priory Church of St . Mary,
as the place where the Lodge was held ; the room
has a very handsome arched cei l ing, and also served
as a mess—room for the French ofii ce r ssj' I t i s n ow
used as a so l i c i tor’ s office .
I t i s qu i te impossible to fix the year when this
Lodge was establ ished,but i ts ex istence i n 1813 and
Som e o f th e d e ta i ls o f th is L odge h ave been kind ly suppl ied byB ro . F . Ga rdner, th e worthy Secretary of th e “ Philan thm pic
”
Lodge , N o . 818 Abergaven ny .
‘I‘ Vz'
de P la te I I .
28
1814 is proved by the date o f four Cert ificates , issued
by the Lo dge to its members, which together wi th
other Maso n ic re l i cs belo nging to the same Brethren ,
have come down to th e presen t t ime .
These Cert ificates are sp lend id spec imens of pen
manship , th e designs, which in three cases are very
e labo rate,being mo st beau t i fu l ly d rawn by hand .
Th ey are as fo l lows
1 . Craft Cert ificate to Benj . Plumm er, dated Ju ly 2 0,
18 13 .
2 . Ro se C ro ix Cert ificate to G . Landy , dated N o v .
2 3, 181 3 .
3 . Craft Cert ificate to Tho s. Richards , dated Dec .
4. R o se C ro ix Cert ificate to Thos. Richards, datedApri l 20 ,
1814.
They are a l l i n an ex ce l len t state o f preservat io n ,th e Seals i n th ree cases being in tact , and are most
in terest i ng a s wel l a s cu rio us do cumen ts. Al l bear,
amo ngst o th er signatures,that o f De Grasse Ti l ly
,a
very no ted Maso n , wh o brought from America , and
establ ish ed in France in th e year 180 4, th e Ancien t
and Accepted Ri te o f th e 33rd Degree . A sho rt
accoun t o f th is famo us man may pro ve in terest in g .
Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse T i l ly wa s
bo rn a t Versai l les in th e year 1766. H i s father
was th e ce lebrated Admiral de Grasse,
* who wa s
defeated and taken priso ner by the Engl ish Admi ra l
Rodney, i n a naval engagement off the I sl and o f
Domin ica ' in th e West I nd ies, on Ap ri l 1 2 th ,1782 .
Vide Gou ld ’
s H isto ry of Freem aso n ry , C hap. XX IV.
, pp . 1 24-
5.
2 9
He was i n i t iated early in l ife in the Scots Mother
Lodge o f the Socia l Contract (du Contrat Social) , Paris,*
and resided for some years in North America and
the West I nd ies, being a t one time a landed p roprietor
i n the I sland of St . D om ingo jWhile residen t in America he received the high de
grees of F reem ason ry, I and as early as 179 1 wa s Grand
I nspector of the rite of Perfect ion i n St . Domingo .§On February 2 1st , 180 2
, the Supreme Co unci l at
Charleston granted h im “ a paten t cert i fying that he
possessed the degrees up to Sovereign Grand I n spec
tor General ; that he wa s a member of the Supreme
Co unc i l of the 33rd degree, and Grand Commander
for l i fe of the Supreme Counci l in the French West
I nd ia I s lands, giving h im power to con st i tute, estab
l ish , d i rect, and inspect a l l Lo dges, Chapters, Co unci l s,Col leges, and Cons isto ries o f the Roya l and Mi l i tary
Order o f Ancien t and Modern Freemason ry over the
su rface of two
H e pro ceeded to St . Domingo and organ ised there
a Supreme Counci l of the 33rd degree for St . Domingo
and the French West I nd ia Is lands . This Sup reme
Counc i l had on ly a brief ex istence,for i n th e latter
part of 180 2 ,the negroes revo l ted for the seco nd time
against th e French dom in io n,and by the close o f 180 3
they were masters of the island . De Grasse T i l ly and
other prominen t members o f th e Supreme Co unci l fled
to France,and on September 2 2 nd , 1804, establ ished in
Vide Go u ld '
s“ H istory o f Freem asonry , C h ap. XX IV. , p . 1 25.
'I' load , p . 1 24 .
I p . 1 2 4.
Vz'
a’e R ebo ld
'
s“ H istoire des Tro is Gra ndes Loges, p. 96.
II Ve’
de C arson ’
s“ H istory o f th e A. a n d A. Sco tt ish Ri te , I n the
Am erican Append ix to Gou ld ’
s H istory o f Freem aso n ry , p. 641 .
3 1
Abergavenny Certificates are evidence that he was
i n terned in that town from Ju ly 2 0 th,181 3, unti l
Apri l 2 0 th , 1814. The three earl iest in date are signed“ De Grasse Ti l ly
, 33m ” and the latest Le C i e De
Grasse,
al l the s ignatu res being,witho ut do ubt
,
i n the same hand - wri t i ng.
*
Towards the end of the year 1814+ o r beginn ing of
1815 De Grasse T i l ly returned to France,and fo und
h is whole system in con fusio n . He immed iately se t
about i ts reo rgan isat ion,
“ but befo re he co u ld arrange
matters to h is satisfaction,he wa s compel led to leave
Paris i n 1816, it i s said , to avoid being arrested fo r
deb t,
”
i and d id n o t return unti l early i n 1818.
During h is absence mat ters had not impro ved , but he
st i l l hoped to heal a l l the d ifferences and p lace affai rs
upo n a satisfacto ry footing. H is effo rts were,however
,
al l i n vain,there was a divisio n in th e Supreme Co unci l ,
part of the members under Co unt Lal lemand ret i ri ng,
and establ ish ing a new Supreme Co unci l i n opposit io n .
De Grasse Ti l ly find ing h is autho ri ty go ne,resigned
his o ffice of Sovereign Grand Commander for the
seco nd t ime, Co unt D eca z e s being elected to that
o ffice in September,So on after this “ he d isappeared from publ ic v iew
and was heard of no mo re ; when and where he
d ied is not known .
C e r t i fica tes of the A . and A . Ri te in the L e iceste r C o l lectio n , da ted
June 3rd , 1816, a nd D ecem ber 2 2 n d, 1818, a re a lso sign ed byhim as
“ L e C IS8 D e Grasse .
"
1' Vide Gou ld ’
s H istory o f Freem aso n ry , C h ap . XXV. , p . 171 .
1 l l ud , C hap. XX IV . , p . 130 .
Vide R ebo ld’
s“ H isto ire des Tro is Grandes Loges, pp. 474- 5.
Vi'
de C a rson’
s“ H istory o f the A. an d A. Sco ttish Ri te , p. 650 .
32
The earl iest in date of the four Abergavenny Cer
t ifica tes was gran ted to Bro ther Benjamin P lummer,
a Join ing Member o f the Lodge . I t is a parchment
document,16 in ches by 14 i n ches, and was exhibi ted
by Bro . W . J . H ugh a n a t th e Sh ank l in Mason ic Ex
h ibition in the year 1886. I t subsequen t ly came i nto
the possess ion of th e writer,and wa s presen ted by
him to the VVo rsh ipfu l Master and Brethren of the
Phi lanthropic ” Lo dge,N o . 818 Abergavenny . I t now
hangs,a treasured re l ic
,upo n th e wal l s of thei r Lodge
room .
The design of this Cert ificate i s a copy of one of
the ord inary engraved French types of a century ago .
I t is very sim i lar to th at o f Richards (r ide Plate IV . )but much in ferior to it i n ex ecutio n . French C e r t ifi
cates of that period , although much more varied i n
design than tho se issued by th e Grand Lodge of
England,have however certain characterist ics which
are common to most . At the head is general ly de
picted a c louded canopy, co n tai n ing represen tat ion s
of the Sun,Moon and Stars, together with an i rrad iated
Triangle . On either side of the Certificate is a lofty
Pi l lar,with capital , that on the sin ister side bearing
the letter “B ” and that o n the dex ter side the letter “
J .
”
At the foot, ascended by three, five or seven steps,
i s a platform of squares, upon which are spread the
Working Tools and o ther Mason ic emblems . Figures
of M inerva, J ust ice, Truth , a s we l l as Faith,H ope
and Chari ty, are also frequently represented . There
are, of course, very many except ions to th is genera l
ru le.
The fol lowing is a transcript o f th e documen t
35
I n the forego i ng transcript the o riginal spel l ing is
retained,and it is a matter for surprise that there
sho u ld be so few errors . The reference to St . John
o f Scot land is i n teresting, and it wi l l be no t iced that
the Engl ish po rt io n is n o t an ex act translat ion of the
French . There are some o ther pecu l iarit ies to which
atten t ion shou ld also be d i rected,a s they are n o t
genera l ly seen o n Engl ish Ce rtificates. Thus,the date
and p lace of bi rth , together w ith th e pro fessio n o f the
rec ip ien t , are given — the French Maso n ic date is used,
2 0 th day o f the sth month ,” correspo nding to J u ly
20 th ,the year with th e French Masons commencing
wi th th e mo nth o f March — and the Cert ificate is
signed, as wa s customary i n France a t that t ime , by
al l th e Officers and by some,i f not al l
,o f the o rd i nary
members o f th e Lodge . Some o f the Offi cers, such as
th e Orato r,Ex pert
,Keeper o f the Seals, Archivist and
Ho sp i ta l ler, bear names qu ite unknown in Engl ish
Mason ry,but it is very po ssib le that th e wo rk o f
these Brethren,is carried out under the En gl ish C o n
st itu t io n by the Chap l ain , Deaco ns, Sec retary and
Almo ner.
Bro ther P lummer appears to h ave been th e twenty
six th member registered in th e Lo dge, that number
be ing used by th e“ Garde des Sceaux .
”
Benjamin P lummer,to whom this Cert ificate was
granted,wa s a very d ist i nguished Maso n , h is Mason ic
career being a s fo l lows
H e wa s i n it i ated i n th e“ Royal Athelstan Lodge ,
N o . 10 (n ow 19 )“Antients
,
” Lo ndo n , on June 4th ,1798.
P a r t ly taken from a com m un i ca tio n by B ro . H . Sad ler to “ The
Freem ason ,1 886. p . 51 1 .
36
He presided over the Lodge a s Master, resign ing his
membership in 180 5. He re - jo i ned in 180 9 , and paid
to December,1818.
He was appointed Grand Swo rd Bearer of the
Ant ien ts ” Grand Lo dge in 1804,J un io r Grand War
den in 180 5, and Senio r Grand Warden in 1806.
At the Union in 1814 he was appoin ted Past Sen ior
Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of Eng
land,and was present at th e Meet i ng of the Grand
Lodge held March 8th , 1815.
He joined th e French Priso ners’ Lodge Paix
Désirée ” at Wincanton,h is Certificate be ing dated
November 2 2 nd , 1810 .
H e also joined th e R oya l Naval Lodge , No . 57
(now 59 ) Moderns, Lo ndo n , i n 181 1 , and the French
Prisoners ’ Lodge “ Enfants de Mars e t de Neptune
at Abergavenny,his Cert ificate o f Membership i n the
latter Lodge being dated Ju ly 2 0 th , 181 3.
On October 2 n d,1799 ,
h e wa s exalted to the Roya l
Arch Degree under the An t ien ts,” and in 181 2 j oined
the same Order under the Modem s .
He he ld the o ffice o f Superin tenden t Grand Com
mander of Kn ights Temp lar fo r Wales i n 1813,
occupied the po st o f Grand Ex pert of England under
H .R .H . the Duke o f Kent in 1814, and was a
member of the “ Baldwyn ” Encampment at Bristo l,
his Cert ificate, dated 1816, being in the wri te r’ s
col lect ion .
On two of his Certificates B ro . Plummer is described
as “ Commercia l Agent ,”
and hi s membership of so
many Lodges and Chapters may be accounted for by
the fact , that he was either an agent for, or a deale r
i n , Mason ic c lothing and paraphernal ia . I n the a c
counts o f the fi r st Ph i lan thro p ic Lodge,No . 658
38
Gasp ard L a udy Commissai re des Guerres, né le
8 J ui l let 1768 a Lunevi l le, départemen t de la Meurthe ,
Reco nnu inst ru it dans l es t ro is h auts Grades prece
den ts, apr‘
es avo i r j ugé en o ut re de sa capaci té pa r
une scrupu leuse in format io n de sa co ndu ite Macon que
e t de ses moeurs,no us avo ns déclaré e t déclaro ns le
F . . Gaspard L a udy et re é levé a u Grade de
C h ?r de L ’
Aigle Parfai t e t S".11 M . so us lo
Tit re de d’
h e redo n , pari r, pa r l u i , jo u i r
de to utes les Prérogat ives at tachées a ce grade
respectable su r tou te la Surface de la Terre .
“ A ce s causes,nous l u i avo ns dél ivré le p résent Bref
auquel fo i do i t etre ajou tée po u r lu i servi r e t valo i r‘ en tan t que de beso i n ; e t po ur éviter to u te surprise
no us l ’avo ns fait accepter e t signer pa r lu i T3 .
e t Gaspard L a udy.
BE N I so it celu i qu i le R e co n n a it ra ,l'
ho n o re ra e t
le sou lagera dans ses beso ins e t qu ’e l le fé l ic ité po ur
no us a co prix si dési rable,de po uvo i r so uven t nous
acqu ite r d’
o b liga t io n s auss i sacrées e t auss i fla t te use s
pour un M
D ON N E A L’
O t d’
Abe rga ve n ny (M on tm outhsh ire
Angle te r re ) le 30 du Mois nommé Tisri 5574 co r
respo nda n t au 2 3 No vembre 181 3.
D e G r a sse T2717 . D ubou rg .
33me
Le G 8 I n q? Subu e
E . P ri sm ! de S t . j zzer r . L a mpo .
3 1m e
3 19
I n left margin : Accepté le Présen t Bref.
G . L awdy . )
39
[T RAN SLAT I ON ]
We Alex and re Fran co is Auguste De Grasse Ti l ly
H o norary So vereign Grand Commander a d v z’
ta m
fo r France 81C . 81 C . 81C . Deputy Grand Maste r o f th e
Grand Orien t o f France, 81C . &c . &c .
FA ITH , HOPE , CHARITY .
On account o f th e zea l and eagerness to pro ceed
to the perfect po i n t o f Maso n ry shewn by ou r Very
Wo rshipfu l and Perfect Bro ther Gaspard L a udy,war
co m m issary,born Ju ly 8th ,
1768 at Lunevi l le depart
men t o f th e Meurthe , al ready wel l versed in th e th ree
preced ing h ig h degrees, and after having fu l ly tested
h is su i tabi l i ty by a tho rough enqu i ry in to h is Mason ic
co ndu ct and genera l behavio ur,we h ereby declare
th e Very Dear Bro ther Gaspard Lan dy ex alted to th e
degree o f Kn ight o f th e Eagle,Perfec t and So vereign
P rin ce Freemaso n,under the t it le o f Ro se Cro ix of
H e r edom,in o rder that he may enjoy al l th e p re roga
t ive s be lo nging to this wo rshipfu l degree througho ut
the world .
F o r this purpose , we have g ran ted him the p resen t
Cert ifi cate,which must be faith fu l ly recogn ised so a s
to be of service to him in case o f need,and to pre
vent any misuse thereo f, we have caused this Cert ificate
to be signed by o u r Very Dear and Perfect Bro ther
Gaspard L audy .
B lessed be he who shal l rece ive,honor a n d assist
h im in case o f need , and what p leasure fo r us,i n
retu rn,to repay frequent ly an. obl igatio n so sacred
and flat tering fo r a Prin ce Mason .
“ Given at th e Orien t o f Abergavenny, (Mo nmo uth
shi re England) th e 3o th day of th e 9 th mo nth cal led
T isri 5574, co rrespond ing to No vember 2 3rd ,
40
The Brother— Gaspard Landy— to whom this Cert i
fica te wa s gran ted , returned to France at the conc lusio n
o f the war , and subsequen t ly jo i ned the Paris Lodge“ D es Phi lonomes
,
" the fo l lowing endorsement appear
ing o n th e back of the Cert ificate
Le hu it iem e jour du o nz ieme mois 5827, l a
des Phi lo nomes a a ffi lié a ses travaux le L audy
(Gaspard ) .
A . L ouver.
par Mand .
t de Secret ‘.a g?‘
R a ssie . P a ila . B ompa r d .
M . R x Vdu de 2
m e
B a z ot .
Vign a l .
33’
5’
.
e R + .
(The Lodge“ des Phi lo nomes has accepted a s a
Join ing Member Bro. Gaspard L audy, on the 8th day
of th e l 1 th month
From this endorsement it i s qu ite evident , that the
French Mason ic authorit ies recogn ised the val idity of
these Prisoners ’ Lodge Cert ificates.
Th e pai r of Cert ificates, Craft and Ro se C ro ix .
granted to Thomas Rich ards are very cu rio us and
in terest ing ; they are bo th beaut i fu l ly executed by
hand,and exceed ingly we l l p reserved . This Brother
,
who is described as a Merchan t, and a native o f Aber
gave n ny, was on ly a Jo in ing Member of the Fren ch
Lodge . He was in it iated in Lodge No . 144 Antien ts ,
E . F. Ba zo t was a d istinguished Fr ench author, an d was m ade a n
Ofli ce r o f the G ra nd Or ie n t o f Fra nce in 1826.
4 1
Merthyr Tydvil, (now the“ Loyal Cambrian Lodge
,
No . on August 3rd ,181 3, tak ing his subsequent
degrees i n September and November of the same year ;he was therefore a Master Maso n before he jo ined the
French Lodge, the 10 th month of his Cert ificate
co rrespond ing with the mo nth of December.
The Craft Certifi cate , which shews that Richards
was N O . 45 on the Lodge Register, is very sim i lar in
design to P lummer ’ s,previo usly described
,but much
superior to i t in exce l len ce of penmanship . I t is a
parchment document , who l ly ex ecuted by hand , 17%i n ches by 14 in ches i n s i ze
,and has the Seal i n tact
,
enc lo sed i n a tin box . I t is s igned by fourteen mem ~
bers,amongst whom are th e fo l lowing Offi cers
,i n
add it io n to those whose signatures are affixed to
P lummer’ s Cert ificate , viz . : Master of the Ceremo n ies,
I nner Guard (Le garde des portes) , and Tyler (Le
p réparateu r) . The fol lowing is a t ranscript o f the
do cument
P O S T T E N E B R A S L U X .
D th e o f th e o f th e
A Répan dus To a ll wh om it m ay con ce rn .
sur la surface de la terre .
SALUT , FORC E , UN ION . GREET IN G,FORT ITU D E
, UN ION .
Nous Vén érab le e t officiers de W e M aster a nd officers o f our Lodge of
la R E : S f Jean sous le free and accepted M a so n s,d ed ica ted
t itre d ist in c t i f des E n fan ts dc to St . Joh n , under th e t it le o f C h ildrenM ars e t de N eptun e a D O ?" of M a rs and N eptun e , regu la rl y as
d ’Abe rgaven n y(C om téde M on tm outh ) sem b led in th e Town of Aberga ven n yen Angle te r r e , ce r tifion s e t a tteston s M on tm outhsire in E n g la n d ; do h e rebyque le Th om as R icha rds ce r tifytha t B ro th erThom asR icha rdsM er
Vi'
de P la te IV. The origina l be lo ngs to the pr iva te co l lect io n of the wri ter.
n égocian t age de 39 an s n a ti fd’Abe rgaven n y, possede lo 3?
grade sym bo l ique , que son zelee t la pur e te
’
d e ses m oeurs l ’on tfa i ts ch érir de ses en fo i
de quo i n ous lui a von s dél ivré loprésen t C e r tifica t e t po ur qu
’ i ln e puisse servir qu’
au dit
R ichards n o us lui a von s fa itappose r sa sign a ture en m a rgen e va r ietu r
, afin qu’ i l r eco ive
jo ie sa t isfac t ion e t secours s’ il
se trouva it da n s le beso in , ofi'
ran t
le m em e re tour a chaque qui
se présen te ra d e vo tre pa rt .Fa it e t d él ivré dan s un l ieu
éc la iré ou r egn en t la P a ix, lo
S i len ce e t la C harité le 2 2 ?
jour du m o is de l ’an de
la 5813.
Le I f ? Sur f.
E . D epr z'
n c/ze .
Le Vén érab le .
42
ch an t is a Regu lar M aste r M a so n and
th a t during h is stay w ith us h as Be
h a ved in eve ry re spe c t a s a truea n d fa ith ful bro th er. I n
wh ereo f, we h ave de l ive red h im the
presen t C ert ifica te a n d tha t it
m igh t n o t B e m ade an im proper use
o f, have caused our sa id B ro ther
to write h is n am e in th e m a rgin ,A
'
e v a r i'
etur,
B e g g i n g y o u t o
g ive h im Joy, sa tisfa c t ion and
a ssistan ce a n d prom isin g to do
th e sam e to every lawfu l B ro
th e r who m ay com e from yourpart.
G i v e n u n d e r o u r h a n dan d sea l th is 2 2?h day of the
m on th 5813 .
Le 2 em e Sur t
R .
L e E xpe rt .
Pa squ ier .
30m
.
e '
Le M fre des C érém ies
L ’h ospita lie r . de B a r r ed .
A zjg n er ot. R .
R Le ga rde des po rtes. Le P réparate ur.L ’Arch f I/z
'
r la u t.
E . P a sca l de S t .j uerjy.
1a
In righ t m arg in : P a r M an dem en t de laSB ” Le Secréta ire . M en a r d.
I n le ft m arg in : Sce l lé e t t im bré pa r n ous ga rde des Sceauxe t Arch ives. (N 0 . G . L a udy .
N e Varie tur.l om as R ic/ta r dy.
L ’U
Si ." des E n fa n s de M a rs de N eptun e a PO ? d’Abe rgaven ny
(M on tm outhsire , Angle ter re ) réguliérem e n t co n st i tué sous les Auspices du S .
e t du grand d irec to ire des rite s réussis e t a ccepte’
s de Fran ce a
con n us sur la surfa ce du G lobe .
SALUT,UN ION ,
PA IX , EGAL ITE.
Nous M M .
con voqués e t assem b les dan s un l ieuo ii regn en t la F o i, l’E spéran ce e t la
C harité ; vu le zele e t l’em pressem en t
pour pa rven ir au grade e t po in t pa rfa it de la M ffi du e t E
“
.
Thom as R ich ard Négocian t N é a
Abergaven n y ( M on tm outh sire ) R e
con nu in struit dan s les tro ish auts Grades précéden ts, apresavo ir jugé en outre de sa capac i té
par une scrupu leuse In fo rm a t ionde sa condui te M acon e t de
ses m aeurs tan t qu’a u dehors ;n ous d
’un com m un accord soussign és
a vons déc la ré e t déc la ron s le TR ich ard etre m em bre de n o tre
STE} e t C h e.r de l’Aig le P a rfa it
e t SIS} M . . sous le t itre de Rd ’H e redon ; pour lui jouir de tou te s
les preroga tive s a t tach ées a cc graderespectab le sur toute 1a surfa cede la Te rre .
A ces ca uses n ous lui a von sdé l ivré le présen t Bre f, auque l fo i
do it étr e ajoutée pour lui servire t va lo ir en tan t que de b eso ine t pour éviter toute surprisenous l ’avon s fa it accepte r e t sign er
par lui T e t P R ich ard .
W e Free P' M M
Sum m on ed and assem b ledin a p lace Whe re in re ign Fa ith , Hopea n d C h a rity ; see ing th e Zea l and
eage rn e ss th a t our m ost D " and
P B Th om as R ich a rd M e rch and
bo rn a t Abe rgaven n y (M on tm outhsh ir e )h a s to a tta in th e degree an d pe rfect
po in t o f m ason ry h e be ing ackn owledged by us to be in struc ted in th e
th re e preceden t degrees, hav ing be
side s judged of h is ab i l it ies by a
scrut in ised en quiry of h is m ason iccon duc t a nd m ora l parts both
w ith in an d w ith out th e C } W e whosen am es a re h ereun der writ ten h a ve dec la r ed a n d do h ereby un an im ousl y dec lareour M D B Thom as R ica rd to be a
m em be r o four S'F‘C h J .Kn igh t o fth e P erfectE ag le an d Free S‘j:P underth e Tit le of R . o f H e redon , th a t h em ay
e njo y a ll the preroga t ives a t tached to tha tre spe c tab le degre e a ll over th e wor ld.
With regard to th e said causes, weh ave de l ivered un to h is own h and the
pre sen t certifica te to wh ich Fa ith m ust
be added so as to be of serv ice an d va
lidity to h im in al l n eed fu l cases, and
to avo id a ll k ind of surprise or tha t
a n im proper use m ay be m ade
45
Bén it so it ce lui qui le re
con n a it ra , l’hOn oxe ra e t le sou la
gera dan'
s ses beso in s e t que l le f'él icité p our n ous a ce prix si désirab le d e pouvoir souven t n ous ac
quite r d’obliga t ion s aussi sacrées
e t aussi fla tteuses pour un M
D On né a l ’ O t. d
’ Abe rga ven
n y le 2 0"Jour du 2
e M o is M “8 °
l’An de la 5814.
.e n E x erc ice. Le le Sur v i
320 10 M 1. G .
3 1"gd S R .
‘
le G d. Sur v i‘
G“. Ora teur. des 2? E xp
t
318: I", Sa m son . 3 1
6. R
3 Iem e G ” I I
G 8
r
P a r m an dem en t du S‘.
u C h ap .
Sce l lé e t t im bré pa r L e Se ct.e G il
n ous (N o . 39 )B al a z‘fl z
’
n .R .
le ft mar g in Accepté le pre sen t B re f.
of it ; we ha ve caused th is cert ifica teto be a ccepted a n d sign ed by o ur
M'
D’
B‘ Th oma s R ich ard .
B lessed be h e l wh o sh a l l accepthon our an d assist h im in h is Wa n ts
an d Wha t a fe l ic ity for us a t so“
de
sir ab le a price to be offe n ab le of
a cqu itt in g ourse l ves in ob l iga tionsso sacred a nd fla ttering fo r a free. P M
G iven un de r our h an d a n d sea l a t th eO ?
ofAbe rgaven ny th is 2 0 ‘.h day of th eM on th 5814.
L e rep résen ta n t . pa r‘t icu lie r
du (34 M e. an 0 5 de G? Tres .
Fran ce dans son G ‘i C h apf
f.’e
e t S i.“ G ‘l C om m a ndeurhono ra ire ad vita '
m .
L e C {5 D e G r a sse.
46
The Seal* on this Cert ificate is of red wax , co n
ta in ed i n an oval t i n box 2% by 2 in ches, and
suspended by six narrow ribbo ns of the fol lowing
colours,viz . : white
,l ight blue
,black , scarlet , dark
green and crimson . I n the cent re are a cross, com
passes and sector, surro unded by the words“ Chapitre
des E n fans de Mars e t de Neptune.”
Du ring the years 181 2 - 1814 there was no Lo dge
on the Engl ish Register i n the town of Abergavenny,
but some of th e residen ts had al ready been i n it iated
i n Lo dges establ ished i n th e adjo in ing towns of Po n ty
poo l and Merthyr Tydv il. Many of these Brethren
seem to have joined the French Prisoners' Lodge , whi le
i t is confident ly asserted that o thers were in i t iated in
that Lodge .
At the conclus ion of peace in May , 1814, the French
priso ners were at l iberty to return home , of which
privi lege no doubt the majo rity avai led themselves.
The Engl ish members of th e Lo dge,e leven i n number,
immed iately formed themselves in to a Lodge of I n
struct ion , to meet week ly at“ The King’ s Head I nn
,
unt i l,as thei r m inutes o f Ju ly 2 2 nd
,1814, state,
“ a d is
pe n sa t ion or a Dorman t Warran t cou ld be procu red .
A Petit ion to the Un ited Grand Lodge of Eng
land was accord ingly prepared , being signed by ten
Abergavenny Brethren , recommended by Lo dges
175 Merthyr Tydv il and 195 Pontypool , and sup
po rted by the Provincial Grand Master o f Monmo uth
shire,Col . Harnage . The Pet i t ioners nominated the
Rev . J ames Ashe G abb ,a s the fi rst Master
,James
Vz'
de Fr on t ispiece .
47
Jones, Gentleman , as the fi rst Sen ior Warden,and
Thomas Richards,Gent leman
,a s the fi rst J un io r
Warden . The Pet it ion wa s endo rsed “ The part ies
are al l known to B ro . P lummer,who wi l l vouch for
thei r respectabi l i ty.
On December 27th ,1814, a Dispensat ion to meet
fo r twe lve months wa s granted to th e Peti t io ners,and
under this they met for about s ix months,the M inutes
o f thei r Meetings being st i l l preserved . I n these
M inutes, under date o f J une 9th , 1815, the fo l lowing
ent ry o ccu rs
The Rev‘.i Charles Powel l wa s t ransferred from a
Modern Maso n in the French Lo dge to an Ancient
i n th is,and regu larly in it iated in the fi rst seco nd and
thi rd Degrees o f Maso n ry,and admitted a Mem ber
o f this Lodge .”
I t would seem from this extract,that the Reverend
Bro ther had been i ni t iated i n the French Lodge ao
co rding to the French system,but that Lodge not
bei ng recognised by the Grand Lodge o f England,
i t wa s necessary that h e sho u ld take his deg rees again
o n jo in ing th e Eng l ish Lodge . The reaso n fo r the
seco nd batch o f degrees being “An t ien t,may be fo und
in th e fact, that a ll th e o ther Brethren had been
made in Antien ts Lodges . N o fees seem to have
bee n ch arged fo r the re - i n it iat io n .
The Lodge was du ly consecrated on June 1 2 th
1815, a s the “ Phi lan thropic ” Lo dge , No . 658, by
Bro s. Benj . P lummer, P .G .W . of England , and F. C .
H usen be th,D ep . Pro v . G M . o f Bristo l . The Vicar of
the town,Rev . Wil l iam Powel l ,* was instal led as the
Th is B r o th er was st i l l l iving in th e yea r 1862 , be ing then n early a
cen tury o ld . (Vz'
a’e
“ Freem aso n s’
M aga zin e ,”August , 1862 , p.
48
fi rst Master,B ro . Thomas Richards being appo in ted
Sen io r Deaco n,and n o t Jun io r a s nomina ted
i n the Pet it io n . The Lodge h ad o n ly a brief ex istence ,
having been erased in 182 8.
Down to th e year 1860 ,two Brethren were st i l l
l iv ing in Abergavenny,wh o claimed to h ave been
in it iated in th e French Prisoners’ Lo dge, so that i f
i t were a ru le with these French Masons n o t to in i t iate
Engl ishmen in thei r Lodges, th e ru le wa s certain ly
broken in th e case o f Abergavenny . This in fo rmat ion
is o btained from an o ld resident Maso n o f th e town ,who had frequen t co n versat io n with th e two Brethren
referred to ,o n th e subject o f the o ld French Lodge .
Th e p r esen t Phi lan th rop i c Lodge , N o . 818 Aber
gave n ny ,h a s st i l l in its po ssessio n some o ld co l lars*
blue,w ith bro ad si lver lace— wh ich were wo rn by
the Officers i n the French Priso ners ’ Lodge,also a
number o f swo rds,
* used in thei r Rose C ro ix ceremo ny .
Besides these , there h angs upo n th e wal l o f th e p re
sent Lodge - room,an emblemat ical wo o d — carv ing ,
the
mean ing o f which is n o t quite c lear. These are a l l
undo ubted ly re l ics l eft beh ind by th e French p riso ners ,abou t who se l i fe i n Abergavenny a great many in terest
ing detai ls are st i l l t rad it ional ly repo rted . The Rev .
Wil l iam Powe l l , previously referred to,wa s a sincere
friend to the priso ners, who were indebted to him fo r
very many acts of k indness and co nsiderat ion .
Vz’
de P la te VI .
49
fi s fibu r fon (Qeo on )
“
Qe s (
“
am iss Qfie'
u n is .
(g i em n iteb fi r ien bs . )
18 10 48 14 . (12)
A CERTIFICATE granted to an in it iate o f th is Lo dge,
15 th e on ly record of its ex istence th at h a s been
d isco vered up to the present t ime . Un fo rtunate ly,
altho ugh th e do cumen t is signed and sealed,it is n o t
dated,but i t was
,i n al l probabi l i ty
,i ssued between
th e years 1810 and 1814.
This interesting documen t , the design o f which is
ro ughly drawn by hand on parchm en t, is 17 in ches
by I 4 i n ches in s ize , and is en t i re ly in the French
language . As a genera l ru le,these Priso ners’ Lodge
Cert ificates were who l ly written in Fre nch when,as
i n th is case,they were issued to a French Bro ther
,
shewing c learly that they were in tended to be used
i n French Lodges o n ly . Bu t whenever they were
granted to an Engl ishman , a s i n the case o f P lumm er
and Richards o f the Abergavenny Lodge , they were
m ade out bo th in French and Engl ish , that they might
serve as recommen datio ns in both French and Engl ish
Lodges . An exception , i n the case of the Wincan to n
Lo dge , wi l l be referred to later.
Although unfo rtunate ly somewhat faded , the Cer
t ificate is i n an ex cel len t state of preservatio n , the
50
large red wax Sea1,
* in an o val t in bo x 2% i nc hes
by 2 in ches,at tached to th e documen t by a nar row
ligh t blue ribbo n , being part icu larly fine .
The rec ip ien t , Pau l Carcenac , appears to have take n
the two fi rst degrees o n ly,whi le the let ter “ C ap
pended to four of th e signatures,deno tes that these
Brethren also had only attained th e s imi lar rank o f
Fel low - Craft (Compagno n ) .
I t wi l l be no t i ced,th at i n this Certificate the rec ip ient
i s obl igated to affi l iate himse l f to some regu l arly war
ranted French Lodge,immed iate ly o n h is retu rn to
h is nat ive land,thus recogn ising the L odge at Ash
burton as an i rregu lar o r tem porary o n e. o n ly .
A t ranscript and ro ugh trans latio n o f th e do cument
A LA G 3 . DU . D E
J . so us le t it re d ist in ct i f de
la D e s amis réun is séante a d’
Ashbur to n
en Angle te r re 21 Tous le s M ago n s régu l iers répandus
sur la surface de la Terre .
F . .
Nous ve’ nerable , Offic ie rs d ign itai re s e t m ‘embres
de la J. . so us le t i t re d ist i nct i f de
la D e s am is réun is séan te a d’
Ashbur to n
en An gle te r re , ce r t ifio n s attesto ns a to utes le s
Vz'
a’e Fron tispiece .
1 Vz'
de P late V I I . Th e or igin a l be longs to th e pr ivate co l lect ion ofth e wr i te r .
51
régu lieres e t a tous les M ago n s régu l iers
e t répand'
u s su r la su rface de la terre, que le F
P au l Carcenac , aide com missaire , est membre de no tre
a t te lie r, qu
’ i l possede le s deux premiers grades
de la m agon n e r ie App re n t if e t' Compagno n e t qu’ il
a t ravai l lé parm i nous a l’
e n t iere satisfact io n de to us
l es mai tres ; C’est pourquo i n ous prions to us les
81 toute s les de l ’un ive -
r s de le recon
n a it re e t l’
adm e’
t t re comme tel , apres les épreuves“d
’
usage , l u i p ro cu rer to us le s secours do nt il po urrait
avo i r beso i n , o ffran t le réciproque en pareill e c i rc-on
stance,en l ’oblige a n t de se faire a ffi lie r a ussito t so n
ar rivée en France a une reg u l iere reco nnue du
de F ‘rance . En foy de quoi lui avons dél ivré
le p résen t ce r t ifica t signé de no us, co ntresigné de no tre
secrétai re sce l l é des sceaux de no t re afin
qu ’ i l n e pu isse et re d’
a ucun usage a d ’
aut re qu ’au d it
Pau l Carce nac,, no us lu i avons fait appo ser sa signa
ture en ma rge Ne varietur. Dél i vré en regu l iere
men t assem blée le 2 91!19 J o ur du Mois de l
’an de
la vraie Lum iere .
France.
a de Cord‘
ova .
2“
.
n e
Sce l lé t imbré pa r nous L . M a tké. B r a n d s.
garde de s sceaux e t t imbre
A uber t .
(I n le ft margin : Ne Varietu r, C a r ce na c
52
[TRANSLATION ]
TO T H E G LO RY O F T H E GRE AT
ARCH ITECT OF THE UN IVERSE .
The very wo rshipfu l Lodge o f St . John , under th e
distinct ive name o f Un ited Friends, a t th e Orien t of
Ashbu rto n,Eng land , to al l regu lar Maso ns spread
o ver th e surface o f th e earth .
GRE ETING . FORTITU D E . UN ITY .
We Master,O fficers and members o f th e very
wo rsh ipfu l Lodge o f St . John,under th e d ist i n ct ive
t i t le o f th e Lodge o f Un ited Friends, a t th e Orient
of Ashburto n , England , cert i fy and at test to al l
regu lar Lodges and to al l regular Maso ns spread
o ver th e su rface o f th e earth,that ou r very dear
Bro ther Pau l Carcenac , assistan t commissary, i s a
member o f ou r wo rsh ipfu l Lo dge, that he h a s received
th e two fi rst degrees of Maso nry, Appren t ice and
Fel lowcraft , and h a s wo rked amo ngst us to the enti re
sat isfact io n o f al l th e Master—Maso ns. We therefo re
pray al l Breth ren and al l Wo rshipfu l Lo dges i n the
Un i verse to receive and admit him a s such after
the usual proo f, and obtai n fo r him such assistance
a s h e needs, o ffering to recip ro cate in sim i lar c i rcum
stances, and ob tain ing a promise from him that he
wi l l affi l iate himsel f a s soo n a s po ssib le after h is
retu rn to France , to a regu lar Lo dge , du ly recognised
by th e Grand Orient of France . I n witness whereo f,
we have del ivered to him the presen t cert ificate ,signed by us, co u n tersigned by o u r Secretary
,and
“
sealed with the Seal o f our wo rship fu l L o dge— and
in o rder that it may n o t be used by any other
54
gli s fifi n z b e z f a z éii o u cfj .
gfir a is Clll rn is be I’
Qr ér e .
(g r u e E r ien bs o f we Queer . )
18 10 : 18 11.
A NUM BE R of French priso ners of war resided in
this Leicestershi re town from the year 1804 unt i l the
peace o f 1814. The fi rst detachment , consist ing of
fo rty - two officers,arrived o n September 26th ,
1804,
others so o n fo l lowed , unti l they reached a to tal of
two hundred . Most o f them were officers o f th e
Army o r Navy,but there were also amongst them
abou t th irty civi l ian s,probably “ merchants sei zed by
the au th o ri t ies,i n retal iatio n for simi lar sei zu res in
France by Napoleon . The o ffi cers were a l lowed ten
shi l l i ngs and S ix pence , and th e civi l ians seven shi l l ings
and S ix pence a week fo r their main tenance, which was
paid to them by a Mr. Farnel l on behal f o f the B ri t ish
Go vernment They were, a s usual i n such cases,
“ on paro le, and were al lowed to wa lk a m i le in any
d irect io n outside the town , thei r favourite walk being
what is now cal led “ the Moun t Walk .
” During the
ten years these prisoners were i n Ashby,some of them
escaped , others were exchanged for Engl i sh officers
impriso ned in France, but the p laces of those who
55
left were a lways soon fi l led,and the fu l l n umber of
two hundred kept up . They lodged in private houses
i n the town,and accord ing to the registers o f Ashby
Parish Church,ten wedd ings took p lace between
French officers and residents in Ashby from 1806 to
June I st , 1814. Some of th e prisoners d ied , a nd were
buried i n the Parish Church - yard, e.g .
,Et ienne Lenon
on November 2 nd,1806, Francois Rabin on Apri l
15th, 180 7, and Xavier M a nde lie r on October 19th ,
180 8. At least two due ls with fata l resu lts are a lso
recorded as hav ing been fought amongst them ,the
vict ims be ing Capt . Colvin and Mons . D e n egres, the
latter being ki l led on December 6th ,
Two Lo dges , to one o f which a Rose C ro ix Chap
ter was at tached , were opened and wo rked during the
res idence o f the prisoners at Ashby,but whether they
were work ing contemporaneo usly,i t i s impossib le now
to ascertain .
The earl ier of these two Lodges,“Vrais Amis de
l’
O rdre ,”
(True Friends of th e Order) wa s wo rk ing in
the year 1810,but when it was started
,and when
d iscon t inued , i s not now known . There is a trad ition
i n Ashby, that the French o fficers celebrated its con
st itut ion by a Bal l , to which a number o f th e in
habitan ts were i nvi ted , the ho sts present ing to each
of thei r fa ir guests, two pai rs of white k id gloves ,one pai r lo ng and the other short .
Two Cert ificates, i ssued by the members of this
Lodge,are st i l l i n ex i stence
,o n e for the Craft degrees
,
the other fo r the degree o f Kn ight o f the East
M a ny of th ese de ta i ls are taken from an Artic le by R e v . C an o n D cn ton ,in Andrews’ “ Bygo n e L e icestersh ire
56
(Cheval ier d’
O r ie n t ) con ferred i n a Ro se Croix Chap
ter at tached to the same Lodge. These do cuments
are in ex cel len t preservation , bo th having oval Seals*
i n t in bo x es st i l l attached to them . They are ent ir e ly
i n manuscript , and a s usual with French Lodge Cer
t ifica te s,are signed by th e Officers and members o f
the Lo dge . One pecu l iarity abo ut these two Cert i
fica te s,is the fact
,that th ey declare the Lodge to
be under th e pro tect ion o f Lo rd Mo i ra, the Acting
Grand Master o f the Grand Lo dge of E n gla ndj‘
who se seat of Do n ington Park wa s i n th e immediate
neighbo urho od o f Ashby. I t may fai rly be assumed,
that th e pro tect io n o f Lo rd Mo i ra wo u ld o n ly be
granted ,o n th e understand ing that no ne but French
men shou ld be admit ted members o f the Lodge,and
a s far a s is known , n o Engl ishman wa s ever received
into its ranks.
The Craft Cert ificate is as fol lows :
A 3 .
Au N om e t‘
sous les Auspices du G 3 . de
France .
E t so us la pro tect io n im m ed ia t e de sa seigneurie
le e t F. Lo rd Mo i ra,agissan t
comme Mait re de toutes le s R égu liere s du
Royaume de la Grande Bretagne .
No us Venn. e t Membres de la
R égu lierem en t Const ituée pa r le s francais prisonn iers
Vz'
d e Fro n t ispiece .
1 N o t“o f Grea t Br ita in , as sta ted in th e docum e n ts.
1 Vz'
de P la te V111
P L AT E V I I I .
AS H BY- D E- LA- ZOUC H .— J e a n
’s Lodge C e r t ifi cate .
(Vz’
a’e page
57
de Guerre sur paro le a lo“
. D'
Ashby de la Zouch
C om te de Leicester en Angle te r re sous le
des Vrais Amis de L’
O rd r e . A Tous les M ago n s
Répandus su r la Globe .
UN ION . P R OSPER ITE. SALUT .
APRES avo i r ép rouvé qu’ i l en était d igne No us
avo ns adm is aux Grades Mags. Comps. e t
Mait re le F . . Louis J ean nat i f de Rouen,
Département de la Seine I n férieure, age de Trente
neuf an s, so us Lieutenant 31 la 1 l‘331.l e demi Brigade
“ d’
in fa n te r ie legere , e t a fin de le mettre a meme de
fai re de p lus grands prog rés dans les Vertus en lu i
fac i l i tan t l’
en t rée des ou el les se prat iquen t
no us l ’avo ns mun i de cette p lanche signée de nous
e t co nt resignée pa r lu i Ne Varietur pa r laquel le nous
prio n s tous le s F F . . MM . 21 qu i il la présentera de
seco uri r ce F . dans le besoin e t de lu i fai re l ’a ccue il
fraterne l que no us rese r vo n s a ceux qui no us vien
d ro u t de leu r part , lu i enjo ignan t de la fai re e n
“ registrer en s’
a ffi lia n t a une Regu l iere de L ’
o .
‘
il choisi ra so n dom ici le , ce a quo i i l s’est engagé
sur sa parole Macs.
Dél ivré a d’
Ashby de la Zouch en la Sea n ce
du 19°!n e Jou r du Mois de l’An n e
’
e M aco n x . 58 10 .
Le Vénérable. D e M a r com zay :
du de Jean du Désert , de
Valen cien nes .
Le If “ Sue Ad r ien ,
“
B ouvam’
; de la Loge de s Vrais“ amis de l ’o rd re .
“ L ? P z
’
ta cke ; ch
fi aum z
’
er ; O ra x. ch x.
Suf m ;
58
B a n dz'
a n ;
M erry ; M“
F on ta z'
n e ,
“ ch “ D'
o r
de E .
D . P ier r e , E .
S apam’
;
G a rdz'
n ; E .
F r . de Ca ste] ; E . .
j ul z'
a r a'e ;
Cog n et ; C ‘l ’ du 2 79; P sse du
G 2?de France . M em bs. fonds.
de la de la Régulari té de Lyon .
Memo “
. fonds. e t O r a ts. de la LesE leves de Them is O r r . d
’
An ve rs.
B a il/en ] ;
D z'
er ,
“
F er a ssz'
n
Segoz'
ns ; M .
L epag e ; d ’or
R on et ; M .
“
R ayer s ;
Pour le B u r det . Ch ? P“ ;M . de la de Taren te du rg
f d’
I n ff‘?Legere ;D ig
f‘.
a de la de l ’Un io n du rgfi Polonais ;
M . de du de Naples ;Vén".le de la de la Bonne Un ion de
Northampto n , en Angle te r re ; dela des Vrais Amis de l ’Ord re , d
’
Ash
by de la Zouch , en Angle te r re . D e M a r con nay .
(I n left margin :“ Scel lé e t t imbré par nous garde
“ des sceau e t t imbre e t An toin e.
(I n left margin :“ Ne Varietu r. A f ea n .
(I n right margin ;“E n rég
isous le N?
14 par nous“ Secret “
. P z'
ca r a’.
60
give him th at fraternal welcome which we accord
to al l those who come to us from them ,enjo in ing
him to have it registered on a ffi lia t ing himse l f to a
regu lar Lodge in the Dist rict where he may cho ose
h is domici le, and to which he has bou nd himself by
h is Mason ic wo rd .
“ Given a t the Orient O f Ashby- de - la - Zouch,at the
Meeting held o n the l gth day of the 9th mo nth of
the Mason ic year 5810 .
The Rose Croix Certificate is i n favour of the same
Bro ther,and is as fo l lows
Au Nom e t sous le s Auspices du de
France . E t sous la p ro tect ion imméd iate de sa
Seigneurie le e t Lo rd
Mo i ra agissant comme Maitre de toutes les
régu lieres du Royaume de la Grande Bretagne.
“ A Tous les Macons R e’
gulie rs Répandus su r le
Globe .
UN ION . P R OSPER I TE’
. SALUT .
NOUS soussignés en vertu des
pouvoirs attachés aux subl imes grades que nous pos
sédo ns, e t assistés des e t FF .
soussignés également é levés a des grades eminens,dési ran t récompenser le zele , l
’
a ctivité, le s ta len s e t les
vertus Macon “
. dép loyés pa r le Lou is Jean
nati f de Rouen , département de la Seine I n férieu re
Vz'
de P la te IX .
P L AT E I X .
ASHBY- D E - LA- ZOUC H .— J e a n
’s C h a pte r C e r t ifi c a te .
(Vz’
de page 60 )
61
age de Trente neuf a n s,sous Lieutenan t a l a H
em e
d em i Brigade d ’
in fa n te r ie legere,dans le s t ravaux de
la R . de s Vrais Amis de l’O rd re,régu lierem en t
const ituée pa r les Macons fran cais prisonn iers de
guerre a PO“
. d’
Ashby de la Zo uch en Ang le te r re , e t
dans les vues de co ntribuer de tout no t re po uvo i r a
do r mer chaque jo ur un no uveau lust re a l’o rd re auguste
no us avo ns l a faveur d ’
appa r te n ir , avons en raison de“ l
’
im po ssibilité de commun iquer, so i t avec le Grand
so it avec aucun autre Chap i tre Régu l ier de
France,co n féré au sus d it Jean le grade de
l’
in v ita n t pa r t icu lierem e n t a se faire regulariseren cette qual ité aussito t que possible, apres sa rentrée
en Fran ce,cc a quo i il s ’est engagé su r sa fo i Maco n .
“
Prio ns en co n seque n ce cel u i de s Chaps. O iI il sera
dans le c a s de se présenter po ur fai re légal iser le grade“ at l u i pa r nous co n féré, de vo u lo i r bien approuver e t
con fi rm e r cette promo t io n , e t de fai re a u d it“ l
’
accue il favo rable e t d ist i ngué que nous réservons a
tous les vrais qu i,comme lu i , posséde n t le s p lus
rares qual ités e t le s p lus ém inentes vertus. En fo i de
quo i nous lu i avons dél ivré le p résen t auquel nous
avo ns po ur plus d ’
au th e n t ic ité fait appo ser les sceau e t
t imbre de la de s Vrais Amis de l ’O rd re,e t
pou r éviter tou te surprise , avo ns a u d it F . . Jean fait,
en notre présence apposer sa signature en marge Ne
Varietu r,supp l io n s le de l ’avoir
toujours en sa sainte garde .
Fait a d’
Ashby de la Zo uch en An gle te r re le
z 3em e Jo ur du 1 2 Mo is de l ’an de la V “
. 58 10 (Style
Vulgaire le 2 3 Février
D e M a r eon n ay ; M . du
“ de Jean du Désert, de Valencienn es ;
62
Vemb l e de la des Vrais Amis de l’
O rd r e,
d’
Ashby- de - l a - Zouch en Angle te r r e.
“ L ? P ita aée
F on ta in e ;
S ig'
fier t ,
“ D’
o r .
“
H owa r d :
2e de la Lo ge de s Vrais
Amis de l’o rd re .
f on r n z’
er ;
L epag e ,D ’or
Cog n et ; du P S=e M ‘E; du
G a? de France. Memo “
. fo nd “
. de la
de la Régu larité de Lyo n . M em -b .
“
e t de la de s Eleves deTh em is d
’
An ve rs.
B a udia u G IL".
B ier ; d’
o“
Adr ien 19 ? Su rv . de la D de s vrais
“ am is de l’O rd re, d
’
Ash by de la Zo uch e n
An gle te r re .
P z'
m r a’
; d’
o r
Po ur le N . B a r ds! C h r P D “
M r . de la de Tarente du 19 ?
rgt. d
’
I n fi_e lg‘fe ;
de la d-e l’
Un io n du I f ? rg'?Polo nais ;
de p lus“
. du de Nap les ;Ve
’
nb le de la de la Bo nne Un io n de
N o rthampto n en Angle te r r e ; M de la
des Vrais Amis de l ’O rd r e, d
’
Ashby
de la Zouch “en Angle te r re . D e .ll a r rom m i'.
V “
(I n left margin : Scel lé e t t imbr é pa r no us garde
des Sceau t imbre e t Arch “
. A fr/“a im :
(I n left margin : Ne Varietu r. L . j a m .
63
[TRANSLATION ]
TO T H E G LO RY O F T H E GREAT
“ ARCH ITECT OF THE UN IVERSE .
I n the name and under the auspices Of the Grand
Orien t of France .
And under the immed iate protect ion of his Lord
ship, the very powerful , very i l l ustrious and very
worship fu l B rother Lo rd Moira, Acting Grand Master
of al l the regular Lodges of the Kingdom Of Great
Bri tain .
“ To al l Regu lar Maso n s spread over the Globe .
UN ITY. PROSP E RITY. GREETING .
WE th e unders igned So vereign Princes Rose Croix,
by vi rtue Of the powers belonging to the subl ime
degrees which we possess,and ass isted by the very
clear and very worshipfu l Bro thers undersigned equal ly
exalted to the h igh degrees, wishing to reward the
zeal,activi ty
,talents and Maso n ic vi rtues d isp layed by
the very dear Brother Lo u is Jean , nat ive o f Ro uen,
Department of the Seine I n ferieure, age thi rty - n ine
years,Sub - Lieutenant in the l 1 th ha lf~b r igade of
Light I nfantry,in the wo rk of the Lodge o f ‘True
Friends of the Order,’ regu larly con sti tuted by Fren ch
Masons, p risoners of war, at the Orient of Ashby- de
la - Zouch,England
,and with a desi re to co ntribute
,
to the utmost of our power, to shed each day new
lustre upo n the august Order to which we have the
privi lege to belong,h ave , i n con sequence o f the
impo ssibi l i ty of commun icat ing ei ther with the Grand
Orien t,or with any regu lar Chapter of France, con
ferred upo n the said Bro ther Jean the rank of
64
Ch eval ier d ’
o r ie n t,request ing h im part i cu larly to
have himse l f p roperly reg istered in th is degree a s
soo n a s possible after h is retu rn to France , to which
he h as bo und him sel f by h is Maso n ic o ath .
therefo re p ray those So vereign Chapters where he
may presen t him sel f, to have th e rank which we
have co n ferred upo n him legal ised , to approve and
co nfi rm this promo t io n , and to acco rd to th e said
Bro ther a favo rab l e and ho no rab l e recept io n , such as
w e acco rd to al l t rue Breth ren , wh o ,l i ke him
, po ssess
th e rarest qual i t ies and m ost em i nen t vi rtues. I n
to ken O f wh ich we h ave del ivered these presen ts, to
which fo r greater secu rity we have added th e Seal and
S tamp o f th e Lo dge ‘True Friends o f th e
Order,
’ and to prevent its misuse , we h ave requ ired th e
said B ro ther J ean to p lace h is signatu re Varietu r ’
in o u r presence in th e margin , supp l i cat ing th e Great
Architect O f th e Un iverse to have h im a lwa v s i n H is
ho ly keep i ng .
Done a t the Orien t o f Ashby - de - la - Zo uch,England
,
th e 2 3rd dav O f the 1 2 th mo n th o f the vear O f th e
True Ligh t 5810 . (Commo n stv le,February 2 3rd ,
181 1 )
Severa l o f th e Brethren who se signatures appear o n
these Cert ificates , were M asons O f high rank,notably
Bro . B urde t , an Ho no rary M ember,Cognet who signs
as Past Master, and De M a rcon n ay th e
Master ; it i s n o t surprisi ng, therefo re , that they sho u ld
seek to begui le th e weary ho urs Of thei r capt ivity, by
asso ciat ing together and wo rk ing tho se ceremo n ies in
which they had been in terested in happ ie r t imes.
I t is probable that the Lodge had n o t been long
establ ished , when B ro . Jean wa s adm itted,i nasmuch a s
66
on the sale o f wh i ch , i n Lo ndo n , he had to make a
heavy sacrifi ce . They resided at Ashby for some
years,Louis Jean being great ly esteemed , and there a
daughter wa s born . Later on , they returned to Ro uen ,
where,after twen ty—two years, Lo u is Jean d ied , leaving
h is w idow and daughter in great ly reduced circum
stances,ow ing to h is mo ther
,du ring h is absence i n
England,bel ieving him to be dead , having left th e
who le o f th e fami ly property to her daugh ter, wh o
dying yo ung,bequeathed it to her a ffia n ced lo ver.
Lo u is Jean ’s daugh ter, n o t lo ng befo re her father
’
s
death,had married a yo ung man named H an
Engl ishman by bi rth , bu t brought up i n France , who
so o n died,leavi ng h is widow wi th th ree vo ung ch i ld ren .
The two widows and th e chi ld ren left France , and
to o k up thei r abode in England , where M rs. H
d id h e r best to pro v ide for thei r wan ts by teaching
French and by fine need lewo rk . M rs. Jean d ied in
1867, h av ing been ch i ld ish and help less fo r seven
years, ye t so sensit ive and ret i ri ng wa s h e r daugh ter
,
that sh e never so ugh t fo r assistance i n h e r sad con
d i t ion,bu t st ruggled o n
,to i l i ng day by day
,to maintain
h e r fami ly . M rs . H wh o is O ver eigh ty v e a rs o f
age,is n ow an inmate o f a Hosp i tal in a M id land town ,
wh ere it is to be h oped sh e w i l l h ave a peaceful end ing
to a t roubled l i fe .
*
P a r t ly take n from a n Ar tic le by th e la te B ro . W . K e l ly,in the
Freem a son , 1886, p . 62 7.
.ZRs fiBwOe i ou clj .
3 k Ca gu s t t ce et be f’
gltn ion .
(gu s tice a in o gl n i tn . )
18 14 .
LATE i n th e year 181 3, o r early in 1814, severa l French
Officers arrived i n Ash by,who had been taken pr isoners
at Pampe luna i n the no rth Of Spain , which fo rtress ,after a siege o f three mo n ths
,had surrendered to
Wel l ingto n’
s t ro ops i n October, 181 3 . They brought
much money with them , part o f the vast t reasu re
carried away in their retreat to Pampeluna , after the
d isastro us defeat at Vi t to ria i n th e previou s J une.
Th is m o ney wa s co ncealed i n th e so les o f the i r boots
and in th e co l lars and cuffs O f thei r coats,and wa s
n o doubt very usefu l i n eke ing o u t the week ly al low
an ce m ade to the m by the Bri t ish Go vernmen t . One
o f them also brough t a dog wi th him ,which was said
to be th e o n ly o n e wh i ch had survived th e siege .
*
The o n ly evidence o f th e ex istence O f th e Lodge
De la Just ice et de l’
Un ion ,
”
is co nt ained i n an
endo rsemen t o n th e ba ck o f a French Certificate,
issued in 181 2 to one of the abo ve - mentioned Pam
pe lun a p risoners, by the m embe rs O f a Fr ench Mi l i tary
Pa r tly taken from Andrews’ “ Bygo n e L e ic estersh ire . p . 2 33 .
68
L odge held in the town o f Vit to ria .
* This Cert ificate
is a parchment do cument , who l ly i n French , 17% in ches
by 14% i nches, a n d is prin ted from an engraved plate ,the design be ing Of an o rd inary French type . The
text o f the Cert ificate is a s fo l lows
A LA GLO IRE D U DE
A Tous le s Maco ns régu l iers répandus su r la
surface de la Terre .
SALUT . FORCE . UN ION .
No us Ve'
nerable e t Offic ie rs de la D de s Am is
Réun is de S t . Jo seph , a l’
O r ie n t de Vi to ria (Espagne) ,régu lier em en t const ituée en 58 1 1 , ce r t ifio n s e t at tes
to ns que le F “ G r iz/a n t (A n toin e) est Membre
de no t re qu ’ i l po ssede les tr ois grades maco n
n iques,e t qu ’ i l a t ravai l lé parm i no us avec zel e e t
assidu ité : c ’est pourquo i nous p rio ns tous ceu x qu i
so n t a p rier de le re co n n a it re co m m e bo n e t l ég it im e
Maco n,e t de l ’adm e t t re comme te l a l eurs t ravaux
,
de lu i preter aide e t assistance en ca s de beso i n,
comme nous no us y som mes ob liges no us - m emes ; e t
po u r que le p rese n t C e r t ifica t n e pu isse servi r qu’ au d it
F r . G r iv a n z‘
(A n l oin e) , nous l u i avo ns fai t appo ser sa
signature en marge n e varietu r. Dél ivré en loge ,“régu lierem en t assemblée, d
’un l ieu t res—éc lairé,on
regn e n t la paix ,l ’un io n e t la charité
,le 9
" j o ur du“ 6g” mo is de l ’an de la 581 2 ,
répondan t a u
9 Aon t 1 81 2 .
L es Am is Réun is de . Sa in t -Joseph , estab l ish ed in Vi tto r ia in 1 81 1 .
(Vide R ebo ld’
s H isto ire des Tro is G rand es Loges,”
p . Th e
C e r tifica te be lo ngs to the L e icester Fr eem ason s’ Ha l l C o l lec tion .
69
Col . D'
Or a’a n . L . H er m a n . M en on .
S . . R . . 26 T l et
S cel lé e t Timbré par no us Par mand i de la L
Gardes des Sceaux e t Timbre B efg e r on .
de la Secrétai re .
(Signed in dex ter m argin : Ne Varietu r. G r iva u t .
The Seal— u n fo rtunately damaged— is Of red wax,
and is con tained i n a c ircu lar t in box two inches in
d iameter,attach ed to the do cument by l ight blue
nbbo n .
[TRANSLATION ]
T O T H E G LO RY O F TH E G REAT“ ARCH ITECT OF THE UN IVERSE .
TO al l regu lar Maso ns thro ugho ut th e Wo rld .
GRE ETING . FORTITUD E . UN ITY .
We Master and O ffi cers o f th e Wo rshipfu l Lodge
U n ited Friends o f St . J o seph ,’ regu larly co nst i tu ted
a t Vit to ria (Spai n ) in 581 1 , cert i fy a nd declare th at our
very dear Bro ther Anto ine G r iva ut is a member o f o u r
Worship fu l Lodge , that he ha s taken th e fi rst th ree
degrees o f Maso n ry,and ha s wo rked amongst us wi th
zea l and assidu i ty : we therefore pray al l those whom
it may co ncern , to receive him a s a true and regu lar
Maso n,to admi t him a s such to the i r cerem o n ies
,and
to aid and assist him in case of need,a s we o n o ur
part engag e to do ; and in order that the presen t
70
Certificate may alo ne be of service to the said Brother
Antoine G r iv aut , we h ave caused him to sign hi s
name in th e margin— n e varietur. Del ivered in
Lodge,regu larly assembled
,i n an en l ightened p lace,
where peace,un ity and charity reign
,the 9th day Of
the 6th month of th e year o f th e True Light 581 2 ,corresponding to August 9th ,
181 2 .
Within ten month s o f th e grant i ng of this C e rt ifi
cate,the French t ro ops were d isast rous ly beaten by
the Brit ish under a t th e batt le of Vi t toria
(J une 2 15t , The town was stormed w ith great
slaughter,whi le many p riso ners and much material of
war fel l in to the hands o f th e victors . Some of those
who escaped too k refuge in th e fo rtresses Of Pampeluna
and San Sebast ian,bo th O f which were subsequen t lv
captured by the Brit ish t ro ops.
*
Among those who escaped to Pampeluna and after
wards surrendered,wa s this Bro ther Antoine G r ivau t ,
who was sen t, probably with m a n v others , as prisoner
of wa r to England,and in Apri l , 1814. was res id ing
on parole in Ashby - de - la—Zo uch . This i n format ion
is Obtained from an endo rsemen t o n the back of the
Cert ificate j ust described , and is a s fo l lows
Am o ngst the spo i ls ta ken a fter o n e o f the ba t t les of th is cam pa ign ,was th e M ason ic D iplom a o f M a rsh a l So u l t. Th is docum en t waspresen ted in the yea r 152 3 to
“S t . N a th a lan
’
s"L odge , Tu l l ich
ia - M a r,Abe rdeensh ire . ve ry possibly by som e H igh la nd ve tera n
re turned from th e wa rs . I t r em a in ed in th e possession o f theLodge un ti l th e year 1850 , wh e n by th e m ed ia tion o f the GrandL odge o f Sco t land . it was re tur n ed to th e M arsha l through th eh an ds o f the M arquis o f N orm a n by , Brit ish Am bassador a t Paris.
The M arsha l's le tter o f a ckn owledgm en t , when rece ived , was
ordered to be se n t to the “S t . N a tha lan
’
s"Lodge , and the
preserva tion of tha t docum e n t shou ld prove a fa r m or e va luab lem em oria l of a d ist ingu ish ed B r o ther , tha n th e unwarran ted possession of A plundered pa r chm en t . M a r sh a l Sou l t d ied a few daysafter th e D iplom a was re tur ned to h im . (
" Freem asons’
Quarte r lyReview .
"1851 » P~ 183, a n d Freem ason s
'
M aga z in e ,"
1861 ,Vo l . I . , p .
‘
l' Vida P la te X .
P L AT E X .
AS H BY- D E—LA- ZOUC H .
E n d o r s e m e n t o n G r ivaUt’
s C e r t ifi ca te .
72
[TRANSLATION ]
Seen by us,Officers o f the ‘En l ightened Men ,
’ at
th e Orient of St . Servan,th e 3o th day Of th e 8th
mo nth O f the year O f the True Light 58 16.
From this second endo rsement it wi l l be seen that
B ro . G r ivau t arrived safely in h is native land and
visi ted a Lodge at St . Servan , near S t . Malo , i n th e
year 1816,after which no thing fu rther is known O f
h is Mason ic career .
Befo re leaving Ashby - de - la - Zouch fo r thei r belo ved
France,th e French Masons wh o had been located
there,d isposed o f thei r Lodge furn iture to some Eng
l ish Bre thren,wh o co n temp lated establ ishing a Lo dge
a t Repto n i n Derbyshi re. Bro . G . M uglisto n— a n
Ashby m a n — o n e of the pet it io ners fo r th e Repto n
Lodge , and subsequen t ly its fi rst Wo rsh ip fu l Master,i n fo rward ing th e pet it io n to the Grand Lo dge on
Ju ly 1 3th ,1815, wro te a s fo l lows : “We have also
Furn iture fo r th e Lodge n ow ready a t Ashby - de
la - Zouch,the same which the F rench priso ners had
when
Th e Warran t fo r the Rep to n Lodge— the Royal
Sussex,
”
N O . 690 (n ow N o . 353)— wa s n o t gran ted
u nt i l September, 1817, from which date un t i l the year
1869 , the Lodge contin ued to meet regu larly i n that
town . I n the lat ter year i t wa s remo ved from Repto n
to Winshi l l , a suburb Of Burton - o n - Tren t,where it
sti l l meets.
M in u tes o f “ Roya l Sussex ” Lodge , Septem ber 2 4th , 1817.
73
The furn i tu re O f th e O ld Priso ners ’ Lo dge,which is
stil l i n use,co nsists o f three Pedestals (for the Master
and Wardens) and a Canopy for the Master’
s Chai r .
The Canopy, which is dome - l i ke,is suppo rted by two
p i l lars, on e on each side “ it is part ly enclo sed by
cur tain s , a nd the Sun,Moon and Stars are pain ted
at the back . The Pedestals are O f p lain deal , orna
m e n ted respect ively with the Square and Compasses,
Leve l and P lumb - ru le . There is also a painted Tracing
clo th,dated 181 2 , about five feet by three feet
,rep re
senti ng o n one side the emblems o f th e E A . and E C .
degrees, and on the o ther side those o f the M .M . degree .
This Tracing - c lo th i s a lso a re l ic o f the French
P riso ners’ Lodge . The old furn iture is very much
prized by the Brethren o f the Royal Sussex Lodge,
o n acco un t o f its very in te rest ing associat io ns ; i t ha s
been recen t ly reno vated,espec ial care , h owever, being
taken that it shou ld st i l l retain i ts anc ient pecu l iari t ies.
75
Gtsets e .
I N common with many o ther of the border towns,
Kelso received its complement of French prisoners of
war,amongst whom were several Masons .
The fol lowing ex t ract is taken from Bro . W. F
Vernon ’s “ H istory o f Freemaso n ry in the Province
of Roxburgh,Peebles and Sel ki rkshi res
, &c . , (p. 13 1 )under the head ing of th e Kelso Lodge, N o . 58
On the Ann iversary of St . Andrew, 1810 , the Lodge
was favoured with a visit from several French Officers
(prisoners of war) at presen t res iden t in Kelso.
The Rt . Wor. i n addressing them,expressed the
wishes of himse lf and th e Brethren to do everything
i n thei r power to promote thei r comfo rt and happi
ness,after which he propo sed the healths Of the
Brethren,who were st rangers in a fo reign land
,
which was drank with en thusiast i c applause. These
prisoners resided in Kelso o n paro le from the month
Of November, 1810 , ti l l J une, 1814,when
,upon the
conclus ion of the genera l peace, they were l iberated .
As many as 2 30 were at one t ime lo cated in Kelso,and there is frequent mentio n o f their appearance
at the meeti ngs,when the harmo ny was great ly in
creased by the pol ite manners and the vocal powers
of ou r French B rethren — I n 181 1,on the z and Of
J une, on e of the offi cers, by name Jean Lauren t
Bogue,was entered an Apprentice .”
76
I t wo uld seem from t h e fo rego i ng extract , that the
French Brethren d id n o t establish and wo rk a Lodge
in Kelso,but were co n ten t with visi t ing the local
Lodge from t ime to t im e,— evidence O f which appears
i n a cu rious parchmen t document , st i l l preserved in
th e archives O f th e Kelso Lodge.
This 2 2 in ches by 18 i n ches,co ntains a De
c la ra t ion ,wh ich by o rder O f th e Grand L odge o f
Sco t land,wa s requ i red to be signed by every visi to r
to th e Lodge . This Declarat io n o ccup ies fo ur l i nes
a lo ng th e who le length o f th e parchmen t , and is as
fo l lows
I So l em n ly Swear by God,and as I shal l answer
to G od a t th e Great Day o f Judgement,that I was
du ly en tered an App ren t i ce Maso n within the Lodge
adh ibited to my Subscript ion ; and I fu rther so lemn ly
swear,by the Oath I now take and th e Oath that
I took,when I was so made a Mason
,that I shal l
never reveal any of the Secrets Of Maso n ry which I
may see o r hear in con sequence o f being admitted
a visit ing B ro ther in this Lodge of Kelso, except
to a true Bro ther. SO help me G od .
Below this Declarat io n are three columns o f signa
tu res,many o f them being dated and witnessed by
o n e or more members Of the Lodge , the earl iest date
bei ng No vember 2 0 th ,1804. Th e fi rst column con
ta ins the signatu res Of twenty - s ix visi tors,the second
n ineteen,and th e thi rd twen ty - fo ur. On the back o f
the parchment are mo re signatures, the last being
dated December 27th , 1830 .
Via’e P la te X I .
78
The foregoing l ist of signatures co ntain s references
to two Lodges establ ished and wo rked by th e French
prisoners of war in England,v iz .
C ce urs Unis a t Wantage, and
En fan ts de Mars ” at T iverton .
Referen ce is made to bo th these Lodges on subse
quent pages .
Seven of the Brethren whose names are inc l uded
in the l ist— Daguet , Val l in , B o r t in o t , L a rm in a t , An
glade,Fabre and Ro cho n— visited the Lodge of
Economy ”
N O . 88 (n ow 76) Winchester, on November
17th , 1810 ,whi lst passing through that town
, pro
bably from \Van tage , en r ou te to Po rtsmouth, to be
embarked for Scot lan d .
*
Not on lv at Kel so and but wherever
the French prisoners visited Lodges o f Engl ish Masons,
they were un iversa l ly received with fraterna l affect ion,
and hosp itably en terta ined . Many references to such
visits may be found in th e reco rds of O ld Lodges in
d ifferent parts Of th e co un t ry .
Vida “ E x tracts from the M in ute Boo ks of {th e Lodge ofEconom y , T. S toph er, p. 4.
79
31e 6 It .
Qe c’
gam i t ié
(fi r ien bs fyipj
1 8 1 0 .
A LOD GE and Chapter seem to have been working con
tempo raneo us ly in Leek , amo ng the French priso ners
resid ing in that town in th e early part of the p resen t
cen tury .
Beyo nd the bare fact o f some prisoners having been
there “o n parole
,
” nothing n ow seems to be known
as to thei r number,the date Of their arriva l or the
length o f thei r stay .
I n th e fine col lect ion o f Cert ificates belonging to
B ro . F . J W . Crowe o f Torquay,is one issued by
the Chapter“ De l ’Am it ié ”
(Friendship) , which was
wo rki ng among the French prisoners in Leek in the
year 1810 . This documen t was granted to an o fficer
of the 84th Regiment on h is receiving the degree Of
Cheva l ie r d ’
Or ien t (Knight o f the East) , the last but
one o f the seven degrees recogn ised at that t ime by
the Grand Orien t Of France .
*
The document is a mo st in terest ing one . The de
sign , which is rather uncommon , being ex cel len t ly
The seve n degrees were — 1 . Appre n t ice . 2 . Fe l low C ra ft . 3. M a sterM aso n . 4. E lec t . 5. Sco tch M aster. 6. Kn igh t o f the E ast .
7. Rose C ro ix
80
drawn by hand on parchment , 19% in ches by 15 i n ches
i n s ize . I t is in very go od cond it ion,the Seal* o f red
wax in a t in box being also i n tact .
As in the case of the Ashby - de - la - Zouch Lo dge,
already referred to, th e Leek Brethren claimed that
thei r Lodge was held under the especia l sanct io n o f
Lord Moira, at that t ime the Act i ng Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge o f England .
The claim is, no do ubt , a just on e , but it is mo re
than probable that h is lo rdsh ip would st ipulate befo re
hand , that none but French prisoners shou ld be received
as members of the L odge .
The fo l lowing are transcript and rough translat ion
of the Cert ificate - 1
A tous les Macons régu l iers répandus su r la sur
face de la Terre .
SALUT , FORCE, UN ION .
Nous e t de la L E S . Chaps .
Francaise de St. Jean so us le Titre distinct if de L’amit ie’
a L’
O r ien t de Leek en Angle te r re duem e n t const ituée
sous les auspices du rit francais , e t régu lierem e n t
l egal ise par l ’am e’
n ité magona en Ang le te r re ,en
vertu des pleins pouvo i rs nous dé légués par sa Seig
n eur ie le I l l . “
e t F . Le lord Mo i ra
Vide Fron tispiece . The Sea ] is a ttached to the docum en t by e igh tn arrow r ibbons, two ea ch b lack , b lue , green and red .
“I“ Vida P la te X I I . Th e orig in a l be longs to B ro . F. J. W. C rowe'sco l lection .
81
représen tant du en Angle ter re , Cert i
fio n s e t attestons que nous avons con fere au t res
C . F Simon Charles Victo r P in guet age de 41 ans,
nati f de M o n tague , Dept
. de L’
Orne Chef de E°u
au 84? R eg. Le grade S .
“ de Pour le
récompen ser du zel e de la co nstance qu ’ i l n ’a
cessé de man i fester en no us aidant dan s les Travaux
de cette L S “
. Prian t tous les des L"T “
auxquel les il se présentera de l’
a ccue illir avec les
honneurs du grade do nt il est re vetu . Fait e t dé l ivré
dans un l ieu tres éc lai ré le Jou r du 10? mois
de l’An de la Vraie Lumiere 5810 .
Le Vénérable .
Chev . d’
o r .
“
T/za r et .
Cna r les L ecZer c. Chev .
“ d ’o . a?
Ch .
“ S .
“D apny .
S .
“
Scel lé e t Timbré par D ie/eer in s .
nous Garde de Sceauxe t Timbre .
“A ign ier .
“ Chev .
(I n dex ter margin : Ne
[TRANSLATION ]
We Master and Officers Of the Worshipfu l French
Lodge and Chap ter o f St . John held at Leek in
Eng land under th e d ist inct i ve t it le of ‘ Friendship,’
du ly con st i tu ted under the autho rity of the French
H a r a’
onzn .
Ch d ’or .
t Or “
Par Mandemen tde la R L E .
“
M on n er et .
C hev d ’o
82
rite, regularly legal ised by the k indness of the E ngl ish Masons
,and by vi rtue o f the fu l l power de legated
to us by his Lordship the Very I l lust rious and Very
Worshipfu l B rother Lo rd Mo i ra represent ing the
Grand Lodge of England,cert i fy and attest that we
have conferred upon our very dear Brother S imon
Charles Victor P ingue t , age 4 1 years, nat ive of Mon
tagne,Dept . de l
’
O r n e,Majo r in the 84th Regt .,
the degree of Kn ight o f th e East a s a reward for
the zeal and constancy wh ich he has always ex
h ibited i n conduct ing th e wo rk of this Worshipfu l
Lodge,request i ng th e Master o f every Lodge at
which he shal l presen t himse l f, to receive him with
al l the honours due to the rank to which he has
attained . Done and del ivered in a place o f l ight
the l o th day of the l o th mo n th of the year of the
True Light 5810 .
84
I t is qu ite clear that these two Mason ic bo d ies were
d ist inct and separate,inasmuch as they had d ifferen t
Brethren a s Master and Secretary. I t i s a lso evident
that th e Brethren belonging to each were o n very
good terms,for the endo rsement records th e visi t of
a member of the Chap ter o f Friendship”
to the
Lodge o f Desi red Reu n io n .
" This pract i ce o f e n
do rsin g on their Cert ificates part icu la rs of v isits paid
by Breth ren to S ister - Lo dges, was very common
amongst French Masons a t that t ime, and tends to
make O ld French Cert ificates ex ceedi ngly in terest ing.
Many very valuable and curious specimens are the
Leicester Col lect ion .
The endorsement is as fo l lows
Vu a la L
d e l a Re’
u n i o n D é s i r é e
a de Leek le j our du
89. Mois de l ’an Macque 581 1 .
Le Y h.
l e
B r un et .
Par Mand :
“ B eig n iny . S
(“ Seen at the W. Lodge of ‘Desi red Reunio n ’ at
Leek o n the 7th day o f the 8th month o f th e vear
of Masonry
No thing further is known o f this Lodge .
Vide P la te X I I I .
86
Four parchment Cert ificates o f this Lodge , most
no tewo rthy specimens of Maso n ic designs and e legant
cal igraphy, were in ex istence as late as th e year 1880 ,
and are pro bably st i l l p reserved in th e arch ives of
one o f th e Malta Lodges.
The fi rst i s dated October 2 5th , 181 2 , and is en t i re ly
i n th e French language . Th e Lodge is described a s
“ The Lodge o f St . John , under th e d istin c
t ive name o f L es Am is en Capt iv i té,” and wa s held at
C it ta Vecchia,th e fo rmer cap ital o f the island , a smal l
town abo u t six mi les from Val let ta . This do cum en t
at tests that B ro . Ignat ius Vidal had d u ly taken th e
Thi rd Deg ree . I t i s signed by six teen Brethren , two of
th e signa tures being fo l lowed by Maso n ic marks,and a
wa x Seal is at tached to it by a blue ribbon . At th e
t ime th is Cert ificate wa s issued,B ro . H . Aubin was
H o n . B r o . Va rd ie r , B ro . D a n e sm il,
and B ro . L ombard,
On th e reverse o f th is do cu
men t is an endo rsemen t,dated December 2 0 th
,181 2 ,
declaring th at th e “ So vere ign Princes of the Va lley o f
To u lo n had co n ferred o n th e same Bro ther th e 18th
degree o f th e A . and A . Sco t t ish Ri te,th e endo rsement
being signed by Bro s. P . Pensa and H . Aubin .
The seco nd do cument is dated M arch 16th,18 14,
and
is also in French . I t at tests t h at B ro . N i cho las A tag lio t i
had been perfected a S P . Ro se C ro ix and Kn ight o f
S t . Andrew in th e Lodge Parfaite Un ion (Perfect
Un i ty) . I t bears a beaut i fu l o val Seal,about th ree
inch es lo ng by two i n ch es broad , attached to it by a red
ribbo n bo rdered with black . Around th e edge o f th e
Seal are th e words Sco z z e z e del la Perfet ta Unio ne
l’
O . d i Malta , whi le upon an elabo rate shield in th e
cen tre are dep i cted th e Square and Compasses and other
Maso n ic work ing - too ls. The body from which this
87
documen t emanated , was probably a Chapter attached
to the Lodge Les Amis en Capt i vité,”
th e M .W .S . at
the t ime being Pietro Pensa , whose name appears on the
Certificate al ready described .
The thi rd Cert ificate is dated May 1 1 th,1816
,and
attests i n the French language th e po ssession o f th e
Third Degree by th e same N icho l as Atag lio t i. I t wa s
issued by the Lodge L e s Amis en Capt iv ité , and th e
design is an e labo rate d rawing in water—co lours o f the
co lumns o f the Temple,surmo un ted by the sun
,mo o n
and stars. The Seal is c i rcu lar,at tached to the docu
men t by a blue ribbon,and is i nscribed Am is en
C apt ivite’ Or. I le de Malthe
, 36 Deg : de L a t "’ I n
th e cen t re o f th e Sea l is a Triang le , h aving the Ark o f
the Co venant in the midd le surmoun ted by th e Al l
seeing Eye,with a Square and Com passes ex tended
a t its base ; the Trian gle is su rro unded by a C ircle,
from which seven points , form ing a Star, ex tend towards
the c ircumference of the Seal , between each o f which
points is a five -
po in ted S tar. The do cument is signed
by L . Nan i , W .M .,Jean And ré Roed iger
, S .W . , and
j . A . H o chko fte r, J.W .
The fo urth Cert ificate wa s issued a s late a s Sep
tember 2 5th , 182 0 ,and cert ifies that B ro . Ignat ius
And re Vidal had fi l led,with h onour to himsel f
,the
offices o f D . of C . and J.W . i n th e Lo dge “ L es Am is
en I t is o f smal l d imensio ns and very
beauti fu l ly ex ecuted . The do cumen t is surro unded
by a border of acacia,having in th e cen t re o f th e
upper po rt io n an Al l - seeing Eye , with a branch o f
l i l ies on one side and o f acacia o n th e o ther. The
Seal,which is sim i lar to th e o n e belo nging to th e third
Cert ificate,is attached to the do cumen t by a red ribbon
edged with green,and co vered with green stars. The
88
Certificate is s igned by R . Stevens and twelve other
members o f the Lodge,fo ur o f whom ,
i n c lud ing th e
W .M .
, describe themselves a s Knights of th e Temp l e
and Mal ta .
” I t is quite c lear,by the \V.M . be i ng an
Engl ishman,that this do cum en t was issued after the
French prisoners had returned to thei r nat i ve land ,and the Lodge wa s being carried on by perm anen t
residen ts.
H ow long, and with what success , the Lodge“ Les
Amis en Capt ivi té” con t i nued to work is n o t kn o u n
bu t a s al ready stated, it erased from the Grand
Lodge L ist i n 182 3.
90
round the Cross,where they fo rmed a ci rc le ro und
the fo undat io n o f th e wel l ; th e fi rst sto ne wa s then
laid with the accustomed cerem o n ies, and th e Master
addressed a few wo rds o f cong ratu lat io n to the
Brethren , upo n the o ccasio n of t h ei r Mee t i ng. Th e
Breth ren then returned to the Lodge a n d spen t th e
afterno o n and even ing with th e ha rm o ny and co n
v iv ia lity that characterise th e Craft , and wh ich were
so su itable to th e occasio n .
Befo re depart i ng to thei r homes at the co nclusio n of
the war, th e French Brethren drew up a Mem o rial ,wh i ch wa s signed by upwards o f twenty o f th em ,
ex pressive o f thei r g rat itude , fo r the fraternal m anner
in wh ich they h ad un ifo rm lv been t reated by th e
Breth ren o f th e Lodge o f Melro se. This do cumen t is
said to be carefu l ly preserved am o ngst the man y o thers
o f i n terest belo nging to th is go o d o ld Lo dge.
M a n v at temp ts h ave been made to o btai n th e lo an,o r
a copy , of this do cumen t , bu t witho ut success . Th is is
very un fo rtunate , i nasmuch a s part icu lars o f o ther
Priso ners'
L odges m ight po ssiblv be o btai ned there
from— a s i n th e case o f th e Ke lso M S .
— fo r it wa s
a custo m wi th Breth ren to append to thei r signatures
th e name a nd lo cat io n o f their Mo ther— lodge . I t is to
be feared that th e do cumen t is no lo n ger i n th e arch i ves
of th e M e lro se Lodge,a s there can be n o reaso n wh y
its co n ten ts sh ou ld n o t be publ ished fo r the i n fo rmat io n
o f th e Maso n ic fratern ity .
9 1
Qto r ttja m p to n .
cfla gfio n n e gtn i o rt .
TH E ex istence o f this Lodge is on ly known from the
fact,that th e Master o f th e Lodge , i n 1810 , wa s
Hono rary Member o f th e Ashby - de - la - Zo uch Lodge
Vrais amis de L ’
o rd re, and h isname , i n that capacity,
appears o n the two Cert ificat es o f B ro . Lo u is Jean
described under the. head ing o f that Lodge .
The Master of th e No rthampton Lodge , B ro . F . N .
Burde t,seems to have been a Maso n o f co nsiderable
ex perien ce and high rank , being described a s“So vereign
"Prince Ro se Cro ix — Prussian Knight— Member o f
Lodge ‘ de Taren te ’ in the I st Regt . o f Light
I nfan t ry— O ffice r o f the Lodge‘ de l’Un io n
’ i n the
I st Po l ish Regiment— Member o f severa l Lodges
under th e Grand Orien t o f Nap les— Master o f the
W . Lodge ‘de la Bonne Un ion ,’ Orien t o f N o r th am p
to n in England— Ho no rary Member o f th e W . Lodge
des Vrais Am is de l ’O rd re,
’ Orient of Ashby - de - la
Zouch in England .
”
There are no trad it io ns i n Nor thampto n of a French
Priso ners’ Lodge,but the father - in - law o f the late
Bro . Butler Wi lki ns,D . Pro v . G .M .
,is said to have been
i n it iated in a Lodge of Po l ish refugees, which was
working in Nor thampton in the early part of the
presen t cen tury, a n d the apron . h e wo re i n that Lodge,a curious engraved F ine-h specimen is stil l i n
ex isten ce .
I t is j ust poss ible that this was th e French Prisoners ’
Lodge,as Bro . Burde t al luded to abo ve was an Offi cer
i n a Lodge at tached to a Po l i sh regiment , and a great
m a nv Poles who joi ned th e French ar my amo ngst
the prisoners of W a r i n Eng land .
94
This Cert ificate is a parchment document , 1 3 i n ches
by 10 i nches,who l ly writ ten in French ; it i s i n
ex cel len t p reservat io n , but th e Seal is wan t i ng .
As below is a copy of this i n terest ing C e r t ifica te* °
POST . TE N E B R AS . LUX .
A la Glo i re du Grand Architecte de
So us le s Ausp i ces du Sérén issime Grand Mait res.
D ’ un Lieu e’
c la iré oru R egn en t L’
Un io n, Le Si lence ,
La Ch arité,L ’an de la Vraie Lumiere 5797, e t le
z 7af?e j our du 10
9“.
l e Mo is L a S f
j ea n
dej er usa/em R égu lie r em e n t Co nst i tuée a du Port
a u Prince, Isl e S". Domingo ,sous le Tit re d ist in ct if de la
Réun ion De’
si rée .
A To utes R e’
gu liere s, répandues
sur la surface du Globes.
SA FORCE : UN I ON
No us Vénérable, 2d
. Survei l lan ts, DD
Macons de to us grades, déco rés de tous le s ho nneurs 8:
R égu lierem e n t 81 Fraternel lement a ssem bles so us le
poin t géomé t rique co nnus des seu ls Vrais Macons,
C e r t ifii o n s 81 At testons que le C'
. F . . Francois
L escam e la,habitan t de S t. Domingue a été recu
Apprent i Compagnon Mait re ; qu’ i l a deplus été
nommé Garde de s Sceau , Timbre Archives de no t re
pour l’
a n née suivante . Vu l es preuves qu’ i l no us
a co nstammen t donné de la pureté de se s Mo eurs,de
sa Charité envers le prochain , de son amit ié po ur ses
Th is C ertifica te be longs to th e pr iva te co l lec t ion o f th e w r iter.
95
F reres sa persevera n ce a n os. Mysteres ; N ous lu-i
avons dé l ivré le presen t C er tifi-cat, revetu des Timbre
Sceau de n otre Architectu re, sous leque l il a signé
en notre présence pour éviter toutes surprises, afin
qu’ i l R eco ive de tous les Vrais Macons, Joie, Sa t is
fact io n bon accuei l , offrant meme retour a chaque
F . . qu i se présen tera so us meme caution meme
Titre
Fait e t dé l ivré a l ’orient de Por t - au - Pri nce,Signé de
rrOus contresi'gné de not re F . . Secrétaire pour avoir
p l ein e t en tier Effet apres co n fro ntation de la signatu re
du d it Frere
Scel lé Timbré par nousGarde des Sceau T imbre Archives M tF e en Ts. P g , 5
de la rid - kw . H ub. Par Mandement de la1 . P a rk. la Reun io n Désirée .
Scel lé pa r no us S ala dz'
n ff
,M a m/a nds. Col/45m m .
M . . des
G? de M or ea u de L isle. C a r r e’
. Va uckez .
hospi tal ier. M s.
M . . en grade . G er z'
n ett .
trésorier. G? de Tr ?
M . . 1? E x p
f,
M e. En tout Grade . L abor z
'
ez .
(I n dexter margin : n e varietur“ L escam ela .
96
[TRANSLATION ]
T O T H E G LO RY O F T H E GRE AT
ARCH ITECT OF THE UN IVERSE .
Under the auspices o f the Mo st I l lust rio us Grand“ Master.
From an en l ightened p lace, where reign Un ity ,Si lence and Charity
,i n th e year o f th e True Light
5797, and th e 27th . day o f th e l oth . Maso n ic Mo n th .
Th e \V. Lo dge o f St . Jo h n of Jerusalem,regularly
const itu ted a t Po rt a u Pri nce,Island of S t . Do m i ngo ,
under th e d ist inct ive t it le of ‘Desi red R e —u n io n .
’
To Al l Regu lar \Vo rsh ipfu l Lodges th rough o u t th e
HEALTH . STRENGTH . UN ITY .
“7e Master, Wardens, Officers and Masons o f every
degree,ado rned with al l ou r honors , regu la r lv and
fraternal ly assembled o n th e geomet rica l po i n t known
o n ly to True Maso ns,cert i fy and dec lare th at o u r
very dear Bro ther Franco is L e scam e la,a residen t in
St . Dom ingo,h as received the degrees o f App ren t i ce ,
Compan io n and Master ; that he h a s also been
appo in ted Keeper o f th e Seal , Stamp and Archives
o f o ur W . Lodge for the ensu ing year. On account
of the co nstan t pro o fs that he h a s given o f the
purity of h is l i fe , h is charity to h is neighbour,his
friendship for the Brethren , and h is perseverance in
o u r mysteries, we have de l ivered to him th e present
Certificate,sealed with th e Seal and S tamp o f our
Lodge,under which he has signed h is name in o u r
presence to p revent any m isuse of i t,i n order that
98
SE C OND END ORSEM ENT.
Vu Par La De La Parfaite Egal ité Sce auté“ a du Port de Paix De L ’
E re vu lgai re le 1619 3
frimaire an 72 ‘ de .l a q e fl “ une incl . 8: le 62 3 du
9111e m s. m s. V3 . 5798.
Par mandemen t
M . E 13 . de 15.
[TRANSLATION ]
I nspected by the W'
. Lodge of ‘ Perfect Equal ity ’
establ ished at Port de Paix,i n the vu lgar era th e 16th .
o f Frimaire o f the 7th . year o f the French Republ ic
o n e and ind ivisib le,and th e 6th . of the 9 th . Maso n ic
“ mo n th of the year of th e True Light 5798.
Po rt de Paix is a smal l town on the North - west coast
of the Island of St. Domingo.
TH IRD EN D ORSEM ENT .
Vu pa r la francaise La Candeu r en instance
po ur ses co nsti tut io ns a up res du G 3 . de P e n silva n ie“ a de la Nouvel le Orleans le Jour du M
M 9 “? 580 1 .
Olssen .
Sec?
[TRANSLATION ]
I nspected by the \V. French Lodge Of ‘Cando ur,
’
working by const itut io n from the Grand Orient of
Pennsylvan ia at N ew Orleans th e 9 th . day of th e 6th .
Mason ic month 580 1 .
100
authentic in formation where they were held , but i n
this case there is no doubt o f the fact, and it is a
matter for surprise,that under th e stri ct ru les of prison
l i fe— probably much mo re strict than usua l i n the
case of prisoners of war— th e authorit ies a l lowed a
Lodge to be held among th e men commi t ted to thei r
charge .
I t wou ld be h igh ly in terest ing to know if th e
go vernor or warders o f th e pri son were members of
th e Craft , and in such ca se,i f an v o f them were
members of the Lodge or at tended its Meetings as
visi to rs . I n spite,however
,o f numerous enqu i ries
o n the spot , no in fo rmat io n whatever h as been ob ;
ta in ed ,nor is a n v th ing further known o f B ro .
Francois Lescam e la .
10 1
cm gt a ix Qés i r ée .
”
(Qes ir eb gflea ce . )
F this Lodge very l i tt le is known beyond the bare
fact o f its ex isten ce , which is pro ve d by th e fol lowi ng
two i tems i n a Sale Catalogue of Fre n ch Maso n ic
Books, &c issued in 1863, and which were stated
to ha ve belo n ged to the library o f one o f the principal
Lo dges in Paris.
The l ist is en t itled
“ Cata logue d ’une‘
préc ieuse co l lectio n de l ivres
anciens, manuscrits e t imp rimés, de do cumen ts o r i
gin aux , etc . su r L e s Francs - Maco ns do n t
la ve nte se fe ra Vend red i 27 m ars 1863, e t jo urs
su ivant s Paris. Libr airi e Tross 1863
As below are t ranscript and translat io n o f the i tems
referred to
N o . 43.
— M érn o ire histo rique de la format io n de la
R E . . La paix dési rée , a de Sangubar,en
E cosse , pa r de s Offic ie rs francais, prisonn iers de guerre ,e t p ro cés
— verbaux de s deliberatio n s,depu is le 1 3 j u in
181 2 jusqu’
a u 14 Oc tvo b re 181 3. I n —fo l. , cart — Man u
scri t impo rtan t,rempl i de t imbres e t de signat ures.
”
10 2
[TRANSLATION ]
H istori ca l accoun t o f the fo rmat ion of th e W .
Lodge o f‘Desi red Peace ’
a t Sanquhar i n Scot land ,
by French officers, priso ners o f war, and part icu lars
of the Meetings from J une 1 3th ,181 2 . to October
14th ,181 3. Fo l io . Bo ards. An important manu
script , fu l l of stamps and signatures.
”
No. 104 1 .
— Reglements de la S de S . Jean ,
sous le t i t re d ist inct i f de la Paix - Des i ree , a de
Sa nguha r , en Eco sse . I n - fo l. , b r .— Manuscript daté
de 181 °
[TRANSLATION ]
Regu lat ions of the W . Lo dge of St . John , under
the d ist inct ive t it le o f‘Desi red Peace ’ at Sanquhar,
Scot land . Fol io . Bro chu re . The manusc ript is
dated 181 2 .
I t appears from these two i tems that the Lodge
was establ ished i n J une, 1 81 2 , and held i ts last
Meeting on October 14th . o f th e fol lowing year. The
cause of th e d isco n t i n uance is n o t known , but i t was
probably due to th e rem o val o f some of its members
to another t own,a s th e au tho rit ies seldom al lowed the
French officers to remain in o n e p lace for any length
of t ime. The object o f these frequen t removals , was
doubt less to preven t them co ncerti ng measures for
escap i ng to thei r own cou n t ry . I t is i ndeed qu ite
possible,that the Sanquhar Lo dge it se l f was founded
by some members o f ano th er Lo dge of the same name,
which was held a t W in can to n in 1810,of wh ich par
t icula rs a re given o n a subsequent page .
I O4
g e f fi i r fi .
BETWEEN the years 181 1 and 1814 n in ety- three French
prisoners of wa r were lo cated i n this border town , al l of
wh om had been officers o r surgeo ns in Napoleon ’ s army .
They lodged with h o useho lders i n th e town , and being“ on parole were a l lowed to walk in the country one
m i le in any d irect ion , m easured from the mi lestone near
the cen tre of the town . They usual ly walked eastwards
towards Bridgelands,a tal l bush i n the hedge by the
way mark ing the l im it o f thei r wa lk . Th e Government
al lowance for thei r suppo rt wa s admin istered by a
Mr. Scott, an officer o f th e I n land Revenue who l ived
i n the K irkwynd ,and was rather a notable man i n h is
day. Much of thei r t ime wa s spen t i n fishing and
arranging dramat ic entertainments, some of the plays of
Cornei l le and Mol iere being acted with much spi rit .
A few of them were emp loyed by th e better class of
townspeople , in giving i nst ruct ion in French to thei r
chi ld ren,whi lst tho se who had been mi l i ta ry surgeons
were always ready to show thei r ski l l i n their own l ine,
and were gratified by being asked to be presen t at any
surgica l operat ion .
10 5
Amo ngst these prisoners there were many Free
masons , who from t ime to t ime visi ted St . John’
s Lodge,
No. 32 Selk i rk,no less than thirty - five names of
French Masons bei ng recorded as visi to rs i n the books
of the Lodge .
On March 9th ,181 2
,i t was reso lved by the Brethren
of the Selk i rk Lodge,that o n accoun t of the favo ur
done by some of the French Brethren,they should be
en rol led a s Ho norary Members of the Lo dge,the
names of twenty - three o f the French priso ners being
thus added to th e Lodge Rol l .
As was th e case at the neighbouring town o f Melrose,
the French Masons at Se lk i rk formed themselves into
a Lodge,and co nducted the Maso n ic ceremon ies in
thei r own language, the Brethren Of th e lo cal S t . John ’s
Lodge al lowing them the use of thei r room and fur n i
tu re , and being presen t as visi to rs at the Meetings.
U n fo rtunately the name adopted by the French Brethren
for their Lo dge cannot be ascertained .
The Minu tes of St . John ’s Lodge,N o . 32 Selk irk ,
reco rd as fol lows
January 1 3th ,181 3. The Lo dge being co n st i tuted
by the French brethren,they adm it ted Mat thew
G r e ive an apprent ice Freemaso n .
February 2 n d,1814. The Lodge met
,and the
French brethren admitted N icholas C ha rdan e l an
apprentice mason to assist John Currie in the o ffice r
ship (Tyler) at the meetings o f the French brethren .
”
The fol lowing names o f French priso ners are reco rded
o n d i fferen t dates as visi tors to the Sco tch Lodge at
Sel k irk,many of whom would n o doubt be Officers
or members of the French Lodge
106
Lieu t . Wilhe lm von Tieman (fH'
anove r ia n Cava l ry) .
Fred . Barran . de Lyh ir-s r- f.
El ie M aufras.
Bernard Dubose.
Pierre Et ien ne La uren t .
J oseph Mangan .
Joseph C lement d e Vi l leneuve.
Louis Arnaud .
Charle s Antoine L e fo rson n ez .
Hen ri C a ta laa
Vincen t S imo net .
Je an E ts P assem o n t .
Jean Fran cois Verr‘on .
Jacques Man ciet .
Lieu t . Fro issar t .
Lieut . B'
e lleva l.
Lieut. G u itaud .
M . Salm i-e r .
Lieu -t . N icolas Citro n .
Lieut . Jean Bapt iste Joseph L egray.
Amand G illaev .
Jean Bertrand St . Lary’
,
Charles de C o rbee .
Richard H ar lant .
Pierre le Coq .
An to in e St . Miche l .
Charles B reton .
10 8
c
(liftiv er to n .
a a n i s b e Qti a t s .
(Qfiifbr en o f gian ts . )
A NU M BE R of French prisoners of war, most of whom
were offi cers in the Navy, were b ille t ted i n the smal l
Devonshi re town of Tive rto n in th e early part of the
present century. It is n o t known in what year they
fi rst arrived i n the town, bu t some of them were
certai n ly detained there un t i l th e Peace of 1814.
Being “ on parole,
" they were lo dged i n private houses
in d ifferen t parts o f the town,but subject to the usual
restrict ions,being prohibited from walking more than
one m i le in any d i rect ion from th e cen t re o f the town,
and havi ng to repo rt themselves dai ly to the loca l
authori ties . Many of them were men of rank and
educat ion,and were t reated with much considerat ion
and kindness by the inhabitan ts.
That a Lodge “ Enfan ts de Mars wa s opened and
worked at Tiverton,by the Freemasons amongst the
prisoners located there i n the year 181 1 or earl ier,i s
eviden ced by the signatures o n the Kelso MS . pre
v iously referred to,*
o f three B rethren who had been
10 9
made in the former town,and who
, on December
2 7th , 181 1 , paid a fratern al v is i t to the Kelso Lodge .
The three B rethren were
René de L ausiere . M . les E n fa n s de Mars 21
de T iverton .
Pie rre Eu lal ie Pasquereau . M s. les en fa n s de Mars
21 de T iverton .
J u l ien M a r tev ille . Les E n fans de Mars 31 L ’orien t
de Tiverton .
These three Masons, the last of whom had on ly
attai ned the ran k o f Fel low Craft (C . Compagnon ) ,were no do ubt in it iated i n the Lodge at Tiverto n
,as it
was a genera l custom to append the name of thei r
Mother— lo dge when sign ing the Register,on the
o ccas ion of a visi t to anoth er Lodge.
I n what year the Lodge was fi rst o pened at Tiverto n
is not known , but there is l i tt le doubt that i t ex isted
for some years . The fi rst and on ly Master is sa id to
have been Alexander De la Motte, whose characte r
and great l i ngu ist ic knowledge pro cu red for h im,whi lst
st i l l a prisoner, th e appo in tmen t o f Teacher of Lan
guages a t B lun de ll’
s Schoo l . He con t inued to ho ld the
appoin tment after the conclusion of peace,set t led
permanen t ly in Tiverton,bu i l t h imse lf a house there
,
and d ied at a good o ld age, much esteemed and
respected by al l the inhabitants of the town . He left
two sons,both o f whom took good posi tions, but have
long since left the neighbourhood .
The Lodge i s be l ieved to have co nsisted of ten or a
dozen Mason s, who met week ly in a room in Cast le
street (then ca l led Frog- street) , unt i l two of the prisoners
I I O
escap ing, the Meetings were proh ibited by th e town
autho rit ies and more stringent ru les rigid ly en forced .
The Tyler of the Lodg e, Rivron by n ame, who ca me
as a se rvan t with one of th e officers, also remained in
T ive rton after the conclusio n of the war, and ea rned
a l iving at his o ld trade of s l ipper - maker, ren t ing
a smal l cottage in a co urt o ff Barrington - street .
Many interest ing part i cu lars of th is Lodge wi l l be
fo und in Bro. Sha r la nd’
s‘ Freemasonry in Tiverto n ,
”
publ ished in 1899 , from which some of detai l s
here given were obta ined .
[ 1 2
they gave the sign ifi cant name of M isfo rtune , a
Certificate issued in the year 1813 to a member of
the Lo dge being sti l l i n ex istence .
This document is of parchment, 14 i n ches by 1 2%in ches in s ize
,and is in an excel lent state of preserva
tio n . The design is of an o rd inary French type, with
the figu re of M inerva at th e foot. I t i s ent i re ly d rawn
by hand in ink and sep ia, and bears witness to the sk i l l
and patience of some French mi l i tary Mason , wh o se
name even is not known . Unfortunately th e Sea]
is missing.
A transcript and ro ugh translat ion of this Cert ificate
fo l low
A Tous Les Macon s Régu l iers Répandus Su r La Surface Du Globe .
SALUT . FORCE . UN ION .
Nous vénérable o ffic ie rs e t membres de l a R ble
L D . . de St. Jean so us le t itre d istinct i f de l’
in fo rt un e ,
régu lierem e n t constituée a de Val ley - fei ld en
écosse e t assemblée pa r les M . connus des seu ls
M . . déc larons ce r t ifio n s e t attestons que le
F. Martin Meric , Sergent au qua t r iem e
regim en t d’
in fan te r ie legere, membre de la l égion“ d
’
hon n eur , age de trente sept ans, nati f de Castanet
département de la haute - garonne, est membre de
no t re au tro isi‘
eme grade symbol ique. Que
la régulari té de sa condu i te, ses bonn es moeurs aux
travaux nous l ’ont rendu cher et recommandable .
Prions tous les maco ns régu l iers,tan t de s de
Vide P late XV. The or igina l be longs to th e fin e co l lect ion of B ro . Fred .
J. W. C rowe , of Torquay .
1 14
[TRANSLATION ]
We,Worshipfu l Master
,Officers and Members of
the W. Lodge of St . John regu larly con st itu ted under
the name of ‘Misfo rtune ’
a t Va lleyfie ld , Scotland ,
and assembled by the Mason ic Numbers known on ly
to true Masons,declare
,cert i fy and attest, that the
very dear Brother Martin Meric, serj eant i n the 4th .
regiment o f l ight i n fan try,a member of the legion of
honour,age thi rty- seven years, nat ive of Castanet
i n the Dept . of th e Haute Garonne, is a member of
our W . Lodge in th e thi rd degree of symbol ic
Mason ry . That the regu larity o f h is conduct and
h is good manners du ring our labo urs have made him
dear to us and wo rthy o f recommendation . We
therefore pray a l l regu lar Maso ns,both of French
and foreign Lodges,to receive th e said Brother Meric
in the said degrees,to give h im al l the considerat ion
that is due to him,and to render h im al l the assist
ance which he may need,as we shou ld be pleased
to do for them .
“ Done and del ivered i n o ur Lodge at Va lleyfie ld ,
Scot land , the second day o f the n inth month of the
year o f the True Light 581 3 . S igned by us, counter
signed and comp leted with the Seal and Stamp of
our Lodge,to take due and fu l l effe ct after the com
parison o f the s ignature o f th e said Martin Meric
which he has S igned in our presence ,‘Ne Varietur
,
th is second day o f October, one thousand eight
hundred and thi rteen .
The French p riso ners remained at Va lleyfie ld unti l
the term ination o f th e war i n 1814, the revers ion of
the mi l ls from thei r warl ike o ccupancy to the manu
1 15
facture of paper being hai led with joy by the in
hab i tan ts , a nd celebrated by a gen eral i l lumination .
On a spot in the grounds of Va lleyfie-ld where
upwards of th ree hundred o f the prisoners were
in terred , stands a neat chaste monument from a design
by Hami l ton,with the fo l lowing inscript ions
“TH E M ORTAL REMAINS OF
“30 9 PRISON ERS OF W AR ,
W H O D IED I N TH IS NE IGHBOURHOOD
BETWE EN 2 I ST. M ARC H ,181 1 , AN D 26TH . JULY, 1814,
AR E INTERRE D N EAR TH IS SPOT .
GRATA QU I ES PATRI/E ; SE D ET OM NES TERRA SE PUL C H R UM .
C E RTAI N INHAB ITANTS O F TH IS PARISH ,D ESIRING
TO RE M EM BER THAT ALL M EN AR E
BRETHREN , CAUSED TH IS M ONUM ENT TO
BE ERE C TE D I N TH E YEAR 1830 .
N Es POUR BEN I R L ES vrn ux D E VIE ILL ISSANTES M ERES
PAR L E SORT Ap PELEs
“A D EVE N IR AM ANTS, AIM ES, E POUX ET PERE S
“I LS SONT M ORTS EX ILES.
”
So m e o f the forego ing de ta i ls a r e taken from the “ Ga ze t teer o f
Sco t lan d .
"
1 16
gli i ttor ia .
Qes gn fo r tu n és .
”
(‘
g t’ye”
glin fo r tu n a te Qn es . )
1 8 1 3 .
TH IS Lodge, although n o t belonging to the French
Priso ners’ Lo dges i n Great Bri tain , i s in c luded because
the town of Vittoria was at the t ime held by the
Bri t ish army, and to p lace o n record a descript io n of
the very in teresting Mason ic Cert ificate,issued by the
Lodge .
By the Batt le of Vittoria, a town s ituated in the
no rth—east corner of Spain , the French cause in that
country received a very severe blow from which i t
never recovered . This town had been o n e o f the
principa l depots of th e French army from th e year
1808 and thei r d isastro us defeat there on J une 2 15t,
181 3, by the Duke of Wel l i ngton , gave to the Brit i sh
army an immense number o f prisoners, as wel l as a
large quantity of war materia l . The so ld iers and
others attached to the French army were fo rwarded
in batches to England from t ime to t ime a s priso ners
Of war, but a great many sti l l remained in Vi t to ria
up to the end of the year 1 81 3.
P L AT E X V I .
VITTOR IA.— Pa | is
’s C e r t ifi c a te .
(Vz’
a’e page
1 17
Some of these p riso ners who were Mason s , appear
to have establ ished a Lodge there i n the month of
November, 181 3, under the app ropriate t it le of“ Des
I n fortunés (the Unfortunate Ones ) , and to have issued
Certifi cates to the founders to rep lace those which , with
al l other documen ts,had n o do ubt been taken from
them by the Bri t ish mi l itary authorit ies . The Master
of th is Lodge wa s Lamarque,a name famous in French
mi l itary annals.
One of these Cert ificates h a s recen t ly come to l ight .
I t is an exceed ing ly in terest ing documen t of thick
white paper,17% i nches by 1 1% i nches
,the design
,
which is qui te a simp le o n e,being who l ly d rawn by
hand . The Stamp at the bo ttom dexter corner is a lso
d rawn by hand,and th e who l e documen t bears evi
de n ces of its pro visio na l character. I t has been wel l
preserved , every wo rd be i ng st i l l d i st in ct ly legible .
As below are transcript and t rans lat ion of the Cer
t ifica te .
*
Us.
“ A To us les Maco ns régu l ie rs . Un ion , Force, Salut !
Nous M“? R . . M . soussignés
faits prisonn iers de Guerre pa r l’
a rm ée Angla ise,apres
nous etre reco nnus p réalablem en t , par les P3 . e t
a ttouch em e n s con nus d e s seu ls nous et re re
spe ct ive rn en tassu rés d e n o s d ivers Grades
,tant par les
Vz'
de P la te XVI . Th e o r ig in a l be lon gs to the pr iva te co l lection ofth e w r i te r .
1 18
E x am e in s d’
usage entre to us le s que pour no us
avo i r vu mu tue l lemen t t ravai l ler 1a Pierre Brute dans
d i fférentes “ 1 que le dési r de propager sa V . . L.
no us a réun is po ur const ru i re a L’
o . . de Vito ria, un
No uveau Temp le a u G . A . de L ’
U . so us le t i t re d is
t in c t if de s I n fo rtu nés,at tendu que pa r l
’
E ffe t des
“ c i rco nstances n o s Dip lomes 81 t it res so n t tombés
a u pouvo i r de l’
E t ra nge r nous avo ns dé l ibéré en
régu lierem e n t assem b l é e t so us l’
app roba t io n du
de France, aup res duquel no us sommes en
I nstances de Co nst itu t io n,qu ’ i l y serait supp l ier pa r
u n e at testat io n so lem n e lle,signé de no us, e t n e Varie
tu r du auque l e l le sera dé l i v rée .
“ En C o n seque n ce no us déc laro ns e t at testo ns sur
no t re paro le a tous n o s Respect : m s. régul iers
de s deu x hemispheres e t pa r t icu liérem e n t a not re SS .
’
e t a ux 111 membres du G “
. de France
que le I Pal is,Jean Jo seph , age de 52 a n s
Domici l ié a Paris Directeu r de s hop itau x mi l itai res Est
véri tablemen t po ssédan t le Grade
e t l a d ign ité de Vénérable de la S f Jea n so us le
t i t re d ist in c t i f de Franco I be r ie n e de Zamo ra,
a in sy que no us l’avo ns reco nnu e t qu ’ i l no us en 31 paru
d igne pa r ses moeurs e t pa r se s Vertus ; déclaro ns en
o u t re que le v dénommé e st um de s fo ndateurs de
cet te R . . L qu 11 a m é rité pa r se s qual ités e t so n
Zéle d ’y et re é levé a la Dign ité de M“? des Cere
mo n ies.
“ Le P rese n t dél ivré au Pal is po ur remp lacer le s
Diplomes e t t it res M . . qu ’ i l a perdus e t l u i mérite r
a up res des M . . régul iers de to ute la Terre,l’
accue il,
l’
a ssista n ce e t la fratern ité que no us nous devo ns en t re
N OUS .
1 20
[TRANSLATION ]
TO T H E G LO RY O F T H E GRE AT
ARCH ITECT OF THE UN IVERSE .
To al l Regular M aso ns. Un ity, St rengt h ,Greet ing .
\Vo r sh ipfu l Master So vereign Princes Ro se
Cro i x and Master M aso ns,who se nam es are sub
scribed be low ,taken priso ners o f wa r by th e Engl ish
a rm v . having pre v iouslv acknowledged o n e ano ther
bv the Signs,
and Grips known o n lv to
M aso ns , and wh o se degrees have been several ly
pro ved bo th by the usual ex aminat io n , and by
mu tual wo rking o n th e Ro ugh Ash lar in di fferen t
Lodges , having a desi re to p ropagate the True Ligh t ,have un i ted to erect a new Temp le a t Vi tto ria
,to
the Great Arch i tec t o f th e Un iverse , under the
name of ‘Th e Un fo rtunate Ones.
’ Because by fo rce
o f c ircumstances our Dip lom as and M aso n ic Vouch ers
h ave fal len in to the h ands o f st rangers, we have
determ ined in regu lar Lodge assembled , and with
th e approbat io n o f th e Grand Orien t o f France,
who m we have pet i t io ned fo r a Co nst itu t io n , th at a
Cert ificate shal l be supp l ied , dul y s igned bv us,
and th e N e
'
Va r ie tur o f th e Master M aso n to whom
it m a y be de l ivered .
th erefo re declare upo n o ur wo rd a s Maso ns,
to a l l regu lar Breth ren th roughout th e two hem i
spheres, and e spe c ia llv to o u r Supreme Grand Master
and Ve ry I l lust rio us Brethren o f th e Grand Orien t‘
o f France , th at o u r very dear Bro th er Jo hn Jo seph
Pal is, age 52 years, domici led in Paris, Supe r in
tenden t o f Mil i tary Hosp i ta ls, is a Master M ason ,
1 2 1
having taken th e degree of Sovereign Prince Rose
C roix , and attain ed to th e d ign ity o f M aster of the
Lo dge of St . Jo hn,known by the name o f Franco
I be r ie n e, Orien t of Zamora, also that we have a c
knowledged him as such,as he seemed to be a
wo rthy Mason bo th in manners and vi rtues,and
dec lare further, that the said Brother is one o f the
fo unders of this worsh ipful Lodge , and has earned
by h is g ood qual i t ie s and Maso n ic zeal , the honor
o f being appo i n ted Master o f the Ceremon ies therein .
The p resen t Cert ifi cate is del ivered to Bro . Pa l is
to rep lace th e Dip lomas and Maso n ic Vouchers that
he has lost , and deserves from al l regu lar Maso ns
thro ughout the world , recogn it ion , assistance and
fraterna l welcome a s is customary amongst us.
“ Signed in Genera l Assembly, especia l ly co nvened
fo r the purpose, a t Vittoria,the 15th ,
Day o f the
9 th ,Month of the True Light 581 3.
H ow long this Lodge continued to ho ld its Meet
i ngs at Vittoria , o r o f how many mem bers it co nsisted ,are detai ls abo u t wh i ch it is n ow qui te impo ssib le to
obtain any in fo rmat io n . The Peace o f May, 1814,
however, wo u ld certain ly d isso lve th e Lodge , and e n
able the members to return to thei r respect i ve homes.
1 2 2
gfi a n ta ge . (gBer fis )
g o e u r s gtn i s .
(gln iteb fi e a r ts . )
ABOUT the year 18 10 a Lodge of this name was
open and working in this Smal l Berkshi re town,among
the French priso ners o f war lo cated there. They were
quartered in some large barns which have long sin ce
been pu l led down,and th e o n ly traces left i n the
d istrict of thei r so journ,are some si lver forks
,which
were made by them,and are now in the possess ion
of a Berkshire Maso n . There are a lso one or two
old paupers in the wo rkhouse, who pro ud ly boast of
being descendants o f th e Frenchies .
The ex istence of th e Lo dge held by the p risoners
at W'
antage,is ascertained from three signatu res i n
the Kel so MS .
*
Anglade, de \Vantage,Coeurs Un is .
A . Fabre, de Wantage, Cm urs un i s
Fran cois, M . . de Wantage,coeurs Un is
On November 17th , 1810 ,seven Freemasons
,pri
sone rs of war, visited the Lodge o f Economy,No . 88
Vid'
e p. 77.
1 24
gsin ca n ton . (g om er s et )
cfla gi’a ix yés i r ée .
(Qes i r eb g ea ce . )
1 8 1 0 .
I N March,1806, a large n umber o f French prisoners
of war arrived i n th is town . There were about two
hundred in al l,Genera l Ro chambeau being amongst
them .
This General was a so n o f Marshal Rochambeau,
who commanded the French under Lafayet te i n th e
American War of I ndependence . I n th e year 180 2
he was sent with an army o f men to St . Do
mingo in the West I nd ies, to assist in putt i ng down
a rebel l ion against th e French domin ion i n that I s land .
He landed on No vember 2 n d, and withi n a mon th
was compel led to su rrender to the black genera l
Dessal i nes, being al lowed however to re turn with h is
troops to France . War having in th e meant ime broken
out between Great Britain and France,Rochambeau
and al l h is vessels were captu red and carried as
prisoners to England .
*
Via'e C asse l l's “ I l lustra ted H isto ry o f England , Vol . VI . , p. 2 07.
1 2 5
Of the Lodge “ La Paix Dési rée,two Cert ificates
are st i l l in ex isten ce,both of which are prin ted on
parchment from an engraved p late by C lewitt , pri n ter,Wincanton .
This i s the o n ly P risoners’ Lo dge, as far a s is
known,i n which an eng raved p late was used fo r Cer
t ifica tes. I n every o ther case these do cuments were
en ti re ly wri tten and drawn by hand,some of the
designs,especia l ly those represen ted o n Plates IV .
,
X I I . and XV .,being sp lend id specimens o f pe nm a n sh i-p .
I t may be assumed therefo re,either that th e mem
bers ex pected to requ i re a large number o f these
fo rms,o r that they had no Mason amo ngst them ,
who wa s competent to execute these do cuments to
thei r sat isfaction .
The two Cert ificates are 15% i n ches by 15 in ches
in S i ze,and were gran ted to Engl ishmen , one being
a Join ing Member,and the o ther an I n itiate . The
same fo rms,i n which bo th French and Engl ish are
used,served no do ubt fo r th e French members also ,
which is qu ite an except io n , al l o ther Cert ificates
hitherto t raced,being made o u t i n th e French language
on ly,when in tended fo r French Maso ns.
The earl ier of the two do cumen ts wa s gran ted to
B ro . Benj am in P lummer,* wh o wa s a d ist ingu ished
Officer of the “Athol l ” Grand Lodge o f England .
I t is dated No vember 2 2 nd ,1810 , and a s usual with
al l French Cert ificates,is signed by a l l the Offi cers
and members of th e Lodge , i n this case fi fteen in
number.
As below is a transcript of this C e r t ifica te
” L l-r
Particulars o f P lum m e r’
s M ason ic caree r given on pages 35- 6.
1“ Vz'
de P la te XVI I . The o r igina l is in the C o l lec tion be longing to the
G ra nd L odge o f E ngland .
LA D U
AU N O M E T SOU S L E S
AUSPRm s D U G 3 0 3
D E FRAN C E,
A tous laM acon s d ispe rses sur
surfa ce du G lobe ,
SALUT,FORC E
,U N ION .
N OUS, VENER AB LE ET OF F L
C IE RS de la de S t. Jean ,
sous le t itre d istin c tif de L a pa ix
désirée,réguliér em en t e n in sta n ce a
d e Win can ton,en Ang le te r r e ,
e t assem b les pa r le s N N M con nus
d es V C E RTI F ION S , que le
F . . B enja m in P lum m er,ag en t
com m er cia l, (ex -pr em ier g r a n d Sumx i
da age du 3 9
an s, n a tif a’e Skep ton - m a llet C om /é de
Som er set,est m em bre de n o tre
au Tr oz'
sz'
ém e Grade sym bo l ique ,
que la Régu larité de sa con duite,se s
bo n n es mm urs, e t son ex act itude aux
Travaux , n ous l ’on t ren du ch er e t
lesPrion s tousrecomm an dab le
M acon s régu l iers, tan t des de
Fra n ce , que'
de ceux étra n ge rs, de
r econ n a itre ledit F . P lum m er dan s
la dite qua l ité, de lui acco rder la con
sidera t ion qui lui est due e t d e lui
porter tous les secours don t il pourra it
avo ir beso in , com m e n ous aurion s la
1 26
D E L’U
'
I N TH E NAM E U N D E R TH E
AUSP IC E S OF TH E GRAN D
LOD GE OF FR ANC E ,
M en th e
surface of th e E a rth ,
To a ll en l igh ten ed o n
GRE E T IN G .
W E TH E M ASTE R , WARD E N S
M E M BE RS of th eWo rsh ip fu l Lodge
La P a ix D ésirée regu larl y a ssem b led
in th e E a st of Win can ton in E ng lan d
D O HE RE BY C E RT I FY th a t ou r
Worth y Bro th er B enjam in P lum m er,
com m er cia l ag en t, (P a st Sen ior g r a nd
wa r den of tlze g r a n d lodg e of E ng
la nd) aged 3 9 Yea rs, bo rn a t Sh epton
M a l let C oun ty of Som er set wh o h as
Sign ed h is N am e in th e M a rgin h e reo f,is a M a ster M ason in th is our Lodge ,
of a good Report , b e loved and es
teem ed am on gst us a s such we
earn est l y recom m en d h im to th e
bro th e rl y B en e vo len ce of a ll Free
an d Accepted M ason s,
request
th em to pro tec t an d adm it our sa id
Bro th e r P la m m er in to a ll Regu la r
L odge s th rough out th e wh o le Un i
verse , p ledg in g a gra te fu l re turn for
th e k in dn ess sh e wn to h im .
I N TE ST IM ONY wh e re o f we have
h ere un to subscribed our N am e s and
sat isfact ion de le fa ire pour eux :
m em es
EN F OI de quoi n'o us lui a von s
a Cco'
rdé le présen t C e r ti’
ficat.
FAIT e t D EL IVRE en Loge , le
2 29 71 “ du 9971 18 de Pa n de la
n emor e 181 0 ) signé de nuns , con‘
tre -v
signé de no tre Secr éta ire,e t r evetu
des Sceau er Tim br e de n o tre Arch i
tecture , pour avo i r Son p lem Et en t ier
efi'
e t,-apres
‘
la con fron ta t ion de la Sig
n a ture (In , dit qu’ il a apposée
devant n ous.
1 27
a ffix ed th e Sea l of our Lodge, th is
z e n d D ay o f th e gtlz M on th,
C h . d’or .
E w'
n .
n Ou s G'
ard e des scea u e t
(Co un tersign ed on de x te r side :
L G 19?
M . 1 6}
“N e va rie tur . B . P /n m m er .
(C o un ters igned on sin ister side :“ Vu pa r Ls
’Ora'teur
,[rema nd elz.
’
1 28
The Seal of red wax is placed on three narrow
ribbons,white
,red and l ight blue
,the last - named at the
top. No device can n ow be seen on the Sea] , in con
sequence o i i ts damaged cond it io n .
An Apron , wo rn i n this Lodge in 1810 by Bro .
Duchemin , whose signature appears on the above
Cert ificate,i s sti l l preserved by his son
,who resides
i n the No rth of England . He visited Wincan ton a few
years ago , and the Apron was then photographed . I t
is a very handsome Apron of si lk, with the usual
devices painted thereon .
*
The seco nd exist ing Certificate issued by this Lodge
is prec ise ly the same as the one of P lummer’ s a lready
transcribed . I t is dated December 2 0 th,1810 , and was
gran ted to Harry Cooper, age 2 3 years , bo rn at Win
canton , and described as a cabinet—maker and joiner
(Marchand Eben iste) . The presen t owner of the Cert ifica te , Bro . R . R . Hutchings
,of Wincan to n
,has always
understo o d that Cooper was in i t iated in the Lo dge .
The do cument is not s igned by th e recip ien t, but bears
the s ign atures o f the fo l lowing n i ne members o f the
Lodge a t the foo t“Le Vs. Tocquev ille . C he .
r d’
o r
Le R oug et .
Le Su rvx . F leu r} .
Le secrétai re. M A . G z’
r a ud . E ccx.
Garde des Sceau e t Timbre . F r z'
a n essn on .
“L’
Ora teur . E . H ug uet . EL“
.
R a ca udy . MViolet. e l
R em lz'
ner . M .
Vz'
de P la te XVI I I .
1 29
There is a very fin e circu lar red wax Seal* “
0 11 blue
r ibbo n enclosed in a tin box two inches i n d iame ter
attached to this documen t . The device consists o f two
bran ches of o l ive enclosing a triang le, in which is an
a l l - se eing eye i rr adiated , the words La Paix D ési tée”
being pla ced along two sid es o f the triangle .
I t i s qu ite impo ss ible to ascer tain of how many
members this Lodge con s isted , or how long it cont inued
t o work , but when the French Bret hren we re sud den ly
ca l l-cd awa y from Wincan ton , they left ow1ng a goo
many hund red pounds to the tradesme n o
1 30
gfir itis t} g r is on er s of gila r
in fi r a n ce .
AFTER deal ing, as fu l ly a s c i rcumstances permit , with
th e Lo dges establ ished by French Prisoners o f War
i n Great Britai n and elsewhere,i t wi l l perhaps not be
co nsidered out of place to refer very briefly to th e
number and treatmen t of th e British Prisoners o f War
in France at the same period .
I t might natu ra l ly be expected that, considering
the eno rmous number o f French prisoners i n Great
Britain,there must have been a very large number
o f Brit i sh prisoners i n France . The exact number
o f th ese is however not known , or at any rate canno t
be ascertained now,bu t i t is bel ieved they d id not
exceed a total of many of whom were non
combatants,having been travel lers and temporary resi
dents in France , who were most unjustifiably arrested
and detained by the express orders of Napo leon .
*
Some Of them were adm it ted to parole, as with the
French prisoners in Great Britain , but a l l were located
i n fo rt ified towns , to reduce to a min imum their chances
of escape . A fund was raised in England by publ ic
subscript ion for the benefi t of these Bri tish p riso ners,
F o r part icula rs o f th is h Igh - handed proceed ing, m’
de Al ison ’
s“ H istory of Europe , 1854 ed it . , Vo l. V., pp. 277-8.
1 32
Many prominen t Maso n s o f high rank were, at one
t ime or another, prisoners i n th e hands of the French ;
two may be ment ioned here,altho ugh a long l ist cou ld
be compi led . Lord Rawdo n , afterwards Earl of Moi ra
and Marquess of Hast ings, Act ing Grand Master of
th e Grand Lodge of England from 1790 to 1813, was
captured by the French man - o f—war G lor z'
euse when
return ing i nval ided from America in the year 1782 , and
co nveyed as a pri soner o f war to the fo rtress of Brest ,bu t wa s soo n exchanged .
* Lt . Gen . S ir Chas . J .
Napier,
when Majo r o f the so th Regiment of
Foot,was wounded and taken priso ner at the Batt le of
Corunna,in 1806 he wa s subsequent ly al lowed to go to
England on parole , where h e fo und h is friends actua l ly
m o urn ing him as dead and admin istering h is effects
F o r the rel ief of th e po o rer Brethren amongst th e
Bri t ish prisoners, a co nsiderable sum of money wa s
co l lected by the Freem aso ns o f Eng land . The Treas
urers ’ accounts and Minute—boo ks of many o ld Lodges
ind icate the generous suppo rt accorded to this fund by
members of the Craft general ly,and at the Annual
Fest ivals of Provincia l Grand Lodges,as wel l a s
private Lodges,the Tyler’s To ast To al l poor and
d ist ressed Masons,
” doubt less often st imu lated the
chari ty of the Brethren . I n th e year 180 8, at a Meet
ing of the Provin cial Grand Lodge of Northumberland,
the Brethren went i n pro cessio n to church , when a
col lect ion was made “ fo r tho se poor brethren confined
Vz'
de Gou ld'
s“M i l i tary L odges, p. 172 .
“I“ Vz'
de Kn igh t’s C yc lopaed ia , 2 nd Sup. , 1858, p . 445.
133
in French A d i l igen t search amo ngst o ld
Lodge records wou ld bring to l ight many sim i lar
in stances of support .
Numero us cases are a lso o n record where p riso ners,who had the good fortune to be Freemasons
,were
re l ieved and ass is ted by thei r French Brethren,whi le
i n many other cases thei r treatment was rendered
less harsh by the represen tat ions or by the d i rect influe nce o f Fren ch Masons.
From a perusa l of the fo rego ing pages it wi l l be seen,
how in many ways the influence of Freemaso n ry was
exerted fo r the benefi t of the prisoners of war,and how
the establ i shmen t of Lodges amongst them tended to
rel ieve th e ted ious mono to ny of thei r l i ves .
Al ike i n England , Scot land , I re land , Wales and
Fran ce , the best efforts of the Fratern ity seem to have
been co nstan t ly d i rected , to al leviat ing the hardships
and p rivat ion s in c iden t to a p ro longed capt iv ity ; and
there is l i tt le doubt th at many a prisoner had good
cause to rejoi ce over h is membership of the Craft .
I ndeed the h istory o f every war of modern t imes,is fu l l o f i n stances of help and assistance rendered
to o n e another by Brethren in the opposi ng fo rces,
and every true Mason must rejoice to know that the
tenets, principles and lesso ns i n cu lcated in the Lodges
have been exempl ified in dai ly l i fe, that the Craft has
been able,on so many o ccasio ns
,to soften some o f the
Vz’
de Strachan’s
“ No r thum br ian M asonry, p. 10 6.
134
M ay this benign influe nce of F reema sornry grow an d
