it cannot, therefore, be supposed, that Freemasonry would be neglected under so eminent a patron.

SECT. II.

History of Masonry in England under St. Austin, King Alfred, Edward, Athelstane, Edgar, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Henry I. Stephen, and Henry II.; and also under the Knights Templars.

AFTER the departure of the Romans from Britain, Masonry made but a slow progress, and was almost totally neglected, on account of the irruptions of the Picts and Scots, which obliged the southern inhabitants of the island to solicit the assistance of the Saxons, in order to repel these invaders. As the Saxons increased, the native Britons sunk into obscurity, and ere long yielded the superiority to their protectors, acknowledging their sovereignty and jurisdiction. These rough and ignorant heathens, despising every thing but war, soon put a finishing stroke to all the remains of ancient learning which had escaped the fury of the Picts and Scots. They continued their depredations with unrestrained rigour, till the arrival of some pious teachers from Wales and Scotland; when, many of these savages being reconciled to Christianity, Masonry got into repute, and lodges were again formed; but these, being under the direction of foreigners, were seldom convened, and never attained to any degree of consideration or importance.

Masonry continued in a declining state till the

* See the Book of Constitutions, edit. 1784, p. 90.

year 557; when Austin, with forty more monks, among whom the sciences had been preserved, came into England. Austin was commissioned by Pope Gregory to baptize Ethelbert, king of Kent, who appointed him the first Archbishop of Canterbury. This monk, and his associates, propagated the principles of Christianity among the inhabitants of Britain; and by their influence, in little more than sixty years, all the kings of the heptarchy were converted. Masonry flourished under the patronage of Austin, and many foreigners came into England, who introduced the Gothic style of building. Austin seems to have been a zealous encourager of architecture, and appeared at the head of the Fraternity in founding the old cathedral of Canterbury in 600, and the cathedral of Rochester in 602; St. Paul's, London, in 604; St. Peter's, Westminster, in 605; and many others.* Several palaces and castles were built under his auspices, as well as other fortifications on the borders of the kingdom, which very considerably increased the number of Masons in England.

Some expert brethren, who had arrived from France in 680, formed themselves into a Lodge under the direction of Bennet, abbot of Wirral, who was soon after appointed by Kenred, king of Mercia, inspector of the lodges, and general superintendant of the Masons.

During the Heptarchy, Masonry continued in a low state; but in the year 856, it revived under the patronage of St. Swithin, who was employed by Ethelwolph, the Saxon king, to repair some pious houses; and from that time it gradually improved, till the reign of Alfred, A. D. 872; when, in the person of that prince, it found a zealous protector.

*See the Monasticon Anglicanum.

Masonry has generally kept pace with the progress of learning; the patrons and encouragers of the latter having been most remarkable for cultivating and promoting the former. No prince studied more to polish and improve the understandings of his subjects than Alfred, and no one ever proved a better friend to Masonry. By his indefatigable assiduity in the pursuit of knowledge, his example had powerful influence in reforming the dissolute and barbarous manners of his people.

As this prince was not negligent in giving encouragement to the mechanical arts, Masonry claimed a great part of his attention. He invited, from all quarters, industrious foreigners to repeople his country, which had been desolated by the ravages of the Danes, and introduced and encouraged manufactures of all kinds among them. No inventor or improver of any ingenious art did he suffer to go unrewarded; and he appropriated a seventh part of his revenue to maintain a number of workmen, whom he constantly employed in rebuilding his ruined cities, castles, palaces, and monasteries. The University of Oxford was founded

by him.

On the death of Alfred in 900, Edward suc

* Hume, in his History of England, relates the following particulars of this celebrated prince :

'Alfred usually divided his time into three equal portions: one was employed in sleep, and the refection of his body by diet and exercise; another, in the despatch of business; and a third in study and devotion. That he might more exactly measure the hours, he made use of burning tapers of equal lengths, which he fixed in lanterns; an expedient suited to that rude age, when the art of describing sun-dials, and the mechanism of clocks and watches, were totally unknown. By this regular distribution of time, though he often laboured under great bodily infirmities, this martial hero, who fought in person fifty-six battles by sea and land, was able, during a life of no extraordinary length, to acquire more knowledge, and even to compose more books, than most studious men, blessed with greater leisure and application, have done in more fortunate ages.'

ceeded to the throne; during whose reign the Masons continued to hold their Lodges under the sanction of Ethred, his sister's husband, and Ethelward, his brother, to whom the care of the Fraternity had been intrusted. Ethelward was a prince of great learning, and an able architect: he founded the University of Cambridge.

Edward died in 924, and was succeeded by Athelstane his son, who appointed his brother Edwin patron of the Masons. This prince procured a charter from Athelstane, empowering them to meet annually in communication at York; where the first Grand Lodge of England was formed in 926, at which Edwin presided as Grand Master. Here many old writings were produced in Greek, Latin, and other languages, from which the Constitutions of the English Lodges are derived.*

* A record of the society, written in the reign of Edward IV., said to have been in the possession of the famous Elias Ashmole, founder of the Museum at Oxford, and which was unfortunately destroyed, with other papers on the subject of Masonry, at the Revolution, gives the following account of the state of Masonry at this period:

'That though the ancient records of the Brotherhood in England were many of them destroyed, or lost, in the wars of the Saxons and Danes, yet king Athelstane (the grandson of king Alfrede the Great, a mighty architect), the first anointed king of England, and who translated the Holy Bible into the Saxon tongue (A. D. 930), when he had brought the land into rest and peace, built many great works, and encouraged many Masons from France, who were appointed overseers thereof, and brought with them the charges and regulations of the Lodges, preserved since the Roman times; who also prevailed with the king to improve the Constitution of the English Lodges according to the foreign model, and to increase the wages of working Masons.

That the said King's brother, Prince Edwin, being taught Masonry, and taking upon him the charges of a Master-Mason, for the love he had to the said Craft, and the honourable principles whereon it is grounded, purchased a free charter of king Athelstane for the Masons; having a correction among themselves (as it was anciently expressed), or a freedom and power to regulate themselves, to amend what might happen amiss, and to hold a yearly communication and general assembly.

6

That, accordingly, prince Edwin summoned all the Ma

Athelstane kept his court for some time at York, where he received several embassies from foreign

the realm to meet him in a congregation at York, who came and composed a general Lodge, of which he was Grand Master; and having brought with them all the writings and records extant, some in Greek, some in Latin, some in French, and other languages, from the contents thereof that assembly did frame the Constitution and Charges of an English Lodge, made a law to preserve and observe the same in all time coming, and ordained good pay for working Masons,' &c.

From this æra we date the re-establishment of Free-masonry in England. There is at present a Grand Lodge of Masons in the city of York, who trace their existence from this period. By virtue of Edwin's charter, it is said, all the Masons in the realm were convened at a general assembly in that city, where they established a general or grand Lodge for their future government. Under the patronage and jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge, it is alleged, the Fraternity considerably increased; and kings, princes, and other eminent persons who had been initiated into Masonry, paid due allegiance to that Grand Assembly. But as the events of the times were various and fluctuating, that assembly was more or less respectable; and in proportion as Masonry obtained encouragement, its influence was more or less extensive. The appellation of Ancient York Masons is well known in Ireland and Scotland; and the universal tradition is, that the Brethren of that appellation originated at Auldby, near York. This carries with it some marks of confirmation; for Auldby was the seat of Edwin.

There is every reason to believe that York was deemed the original seat of masonic government in this country; no other place has pretended to claim it; and the whole Fraternity have, at various times, universally acknowledged allegiance to the authority established there: but whether the present association in that city be entitled to the allegiance, is a subject of inquiry which it is not my province to investigate. To that assembly recourse must be had for information. Thus much, however, is certain, that if a General Assembly or Grand Lodge was held there (of which there is little doubt, if we can rely on our records and constitutions, as it is said to have existed there in Queen Elizabeth's time), there is no evidence of its regular removal to any other place in the kingdom; and upon that ground, the Brethren at York may probably claim the privilege of associating in that character. A number of respectable meetings of the Fraternity appear to have been convened at sundry times in different parts of England; but we cannot find an instance on record, till a very late period, of a general meeting (so called) being held in any other place beside York.

To understand this matter more clearly, it may be necessary to advert to the original institution of that assembly called a General or Grand Lodge. It was not then restricted, as it is now understood to be, to the Masters and Wardens of private Lodges, with