Masonic Symbolism on Chairs dated 1681 at Lurgan, County Armagh
and 1685, at St. Nicholas' Church, Carrickfergus, County Antrim.
Save the Trinity Manuscript, Irish Freemasonry is bereft of any manuscripts or documents that would indicate the presence or existence of Freemasonry in Ireland prior to the first recorded meeting of Grand Lodge in 1725(1). This is not the case with English or Scottish Freemasonry which has the benefit of many famous and well-known manuscripts, such as The Halliwell Manuscript, also known as the Regius Poem of 1390(2), or the "Schaw Statutes" of 1598, which are indicative of the origins of Freemasonry in England and Scotland.
Therefore in Ireland we look to other indicators as to the presence of the Craft. One of these indicators would be Masonic symbolism. There are two very old chairs which have carved on them Masonic symbols and they are of particular interest as they both have dates carved on them, one 1681, the other 1685.
Therefore in Ireland we look to other indicators as to the presence of the Craft. One of these indicators would be Masonic symbolism. There are two very old chairs which have carved on them Masonic symbols and they are of particular interest as they both have dates carved on them, one 1681, the other 1685.
The sketch furnished by Bro. Clendinning which appeared in Volume VIII of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, page 162, 1895.
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The 1681 chair came to light thanks to Bro. James H. Clendinning corresponding with Quatuor Coronati Lodge in 1895.
Bro. James H. Clendinning's(3) correspondence appeared in Volume VIII of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, page 162, 1895 as follows, "I enclose you a sketch made by a gentleman of the carving on an old chair which he had left him by his father, a brother mason. Is now used as a hall chair. He does not know where it came from or anything about it. I thought it might be of interest. It is only a rough sketch. We expect to have chair at our Bazaar at Lurgan on St. John's day next and I will try and procure you a photograph." |
The above sketch also appeared in the Lepper and Crossle's 1925 "History of the Grand Lodge of Ireland" with the following additional information "The chair was formerly in the possession of the late Captain Joseph M. Wilson, of Derry Lodge, Lurgan, and was used for the Master when the Brethren of Lodge No. 134 used to meet, in the early days, in the house of Captain Wilson's forefathers"
I do not know if the chair is still in the possession of the Brethren in Lurgan - I intend contacting them and I will let you know in due course.
I do not know if the chair is still in the possession of the Brethren in Lurgan - I intend contacting them and I will let you know in due course.
St. Nicholas' Church, Carrickfergus, County Antrim.
The other chair is to found at St. Nicholas' Church, Carrickfergus, County Antrim bearing the harp with the square and compass placed in the usual manner. Below the harp is the date 1685 and above the letters "A.J.R.K.C.B."
In the Belfast Evening Telegraph of Wednesday, 30th January, 1907 reference is made to the chair in one of a series of articles entitled "The Silent Land" which ran in the Belfast Evening Telegraph from 1906 into 1907. The article relates: "Passing the Chancel we notion a beautifully-carved oak chair bearing the date 1685 on a circular belt or scroll, which also carries what is to me a strange array of letters, "A. J. R., K. C. B.," and in the centre of the circle there is carved an Irish harp, surmounted by a compass and square. The history of the chair is lost, but it is probably one of the finest samples of seventeenth century wood-carving at present in existence. "The Belfast people would like to take that from us," remarks my guide - one of the most intelligent sextons I have met - a man who takes an interest in his occupation and position, and who knows most of the features of the establishment thoroughly." |
Chair at St. Nicholas' Church,
Carrickfergus, County Antrim. |
A comparison of the two centre panels of the chairs.
As can be seen from the the above slideshow the similarity of the lettering joined to the difference in dates and the variations in the tools is extraordinarily intriguing, however we do not know what words the mysterious letters "A.J.R.K.C.B." are intended to represent(5).
What is conveyed by the working tools, however, will require no interpretation. There is no doubt that, as depicted on these chairs, they have ceased to be "operative" and have become "speculative"(6), and more importantly, the dates 1681 and 1685, are an indicator that speculative Freemasonry was present in Ireland some considerable time before our first recorded Grand lodge meeting in 1725.
What is conveyed by the working tools, however, will require no interpretation. There is no doubt that, as depicted on these chairs, they have ceased to be "operative" and have become "speculative"(6), and more importantly, the dates 1681 and 1685, are an indicator that speculative Freemasonry was present in Ireland some considerable time before our first recorded Grand lodge meeting in 1725.
Footnotes:
(1) Unlike both English and Scottish Freemasonry, Irish Freemasonry has no manuscripts or documents which would indicate the existence of Freemasonry prior to 1725. I will be relating, in due course, the history of the "Seton" secession and how the actions of this particular gentleman may have left us bereft of such items.
(2) The Manuscript "MS." is a very small quarto on vellum, and is No. 17, A1. in the Bibl. Reg., British Museum. It is described in David Casley’s Catalogue of the MSS. of the Old Royal Library, 1734, page 259, as "A Poem of Moral Duties: here entitled, Constitutiones Artis Gemetrie secundem Euclidem. - 'Whoso wol bothe wel rede and loke.' " The existence of this MS. has been known for a long time, but its contents were mistaken until Mr. Halliwell-Phillips drew attention to it in a paper "On the introduction of Freemasonry into England," read before the Society of Antiquaries in the 1838-9 session. He thereafter published two small editions of a work entitled "The Early History of Freemasonry in England," giving a transcript of the poem, "In the year 1757, King George II., under an instrument that passed the Great Seal, presented [the old Royal] Library to the nation. At that time it was deposited in the old Dormitory at Westminster, to which place it had been removed from Ashburnham House, at the time of the lamentable fire which broke out in that building on the 23rd October, 1731 from which it fortunately sustained but slight injury." [Sims’s Handbook to Library of Brit. Mus., 1854. p. 35.] The facsimile is the exact size of the original. It bears the Royal arms stamped on both covers, and G.R.II., with the date 1757. The lettering on the back has also been reproduced. The MS. was bound in its present cover in or about the year 1838. The age of the MS. has been variously estimated. Mr. Halliwell and the late Rev. A.F.A. Woodford supposed it to have been written about 1390, or earlier. The MS. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the Craft of Masonry known. Mr. Halliwell pointed out that the writer of the poem was evidently a priest, from the words,"And when the gospel me rede schal," on line 629. He also drew attention to line 143, which intimates a still older MS. must have existed when the poem was written.
(3) Bro. James Hermon Clendinning of 95 Hill Street, Lurgan, County Armagh is listed as joining the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle in May 1890.
(4) Belfast Evening Telegraph, Wednesday, 30th January, 1907.
(5) History of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, Lepper & Crossle, page 38, published 1925.
(6) ibid.
(1) Unlike both English and Scottish Freemasonry, Irish Freemasonry has no manuscripts or documents which would indicate the existence of Freemasonry prior to 1725. I will be relating, in due course, the history of the "Seton" secession and how the actions of this particular gentleman may have left us bereft of such items.
(2) The Manuscript "MS." is a very small quarto on vellum, and is No. 17, A1. in the Bibl. Reg., British Museum. It is described in David Casley’s Catalogue of the MSS. of the Old Royal Library, 1734, page 259, as "A Poem of Moral Duties: here entitled, Constitutiones Artis Gemetrie secundem Euclidem. - 'Whoso wol bothe wel rede and loke.' " The existence of this MS. has been known for a long time, but its contents were mistaken until Mr. Halliwell-Phillips drew attention to it in a paper "On the introduction of Freemasonry into England," read before the Society of Antiquaries in the 1838-9 session. He thereafter published two small editions of a work entitled "The Early History of Freemasonry in England," giving a transcript of the poem, "In the year 1757, King George II., under an instrument that passed the Great Seal, presented [the old Royal] Library to the nation. At that time it was deposited in the old Dormitory at Westminster, to which place it had been removed from Ashburnham House, at the time of the lamentable fire which broke out in that building on the 23rd October, 1731 from which it fortunately sustained but slight injury." [Sims’s Handbook to Library of Brit. Mus., 1854. p. 35.] The facsimile is the exact size of the original. It bears the Royal arms stamped on both covers, and G.R.II., with the date 1757. The lettering on the back has also been reproduced. The MS. was bound in its present cover in or about the year 1838. The age of the MS. has been variously estimated. Mr. Halliwell and the late Rev. A.F.A. Woodford supposed it to have been written about 1390, or earlier. The MS. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the Craft of Masonry known. Mr. Halliwell pointed out that the writer of the poem was evidently a priest, from the words,"And when the gospel me rede schal," on line 629. He also drew attention to line 143, which intimates a still older MS. must have existed when the poem was written.
(3) Bro. James Hermon Clendinning of 95 Hill Street, Lurgan, County Armagh is listed as joining the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle in May 1890.
(4) Belfast Evening Telegraph, Wednesday, 30th January, 1907.
(5) History of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, Lepper & Crossle, page 38, published 1925.
(6) ibid.