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    Unlawful Societies Act of 1799

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    The document discusses a 1799 act that banned secret societies and required Freemason lodges to provide annual membership lists. It provides background on Freemasonry in Britain and Warwickshire, and examines a specific 1799 membership list from the Apollo Lodge in Alcester listing members' names, locations and various occupations.

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    Unlawful Societies Act of 1799

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    soportececati76
    23 views3 pages
    The document discusses a 1799 act that banned secret societies and required Freemason lodges to provide annual membership lists. It provides background on Freemasonry in Britain and Warwickshire, and examines a specific 1799 membership list from the Apollo Lodge in Alcester listing members' names, locations and various occupations.

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    The document discusses a 1799 act that banned secret societies and required Freemason lodges to provide annual membership lists. It provides background on Freemasonry in Britain and Warwickshire, and examines a specific 1799 membership list from the Apollo Lodge in Alcester listing members' names, locations and various occupations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views3 pages

    Unlawful Societies Act of 1799

    Uploaded by

    soportececati76
    The document discusses a 1799 act that banned secret societies and required Freemason lodges to provide annual membership lists. It provides background on Freemasonry in Britain and Warwickshire, and examines a specific 1799 membership list from the Apollo Lodge in Alcester listing members' names, locations and various occupations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    Returns of Members of Freemasons’ Lodges, 1799 – QS87/1

    Unlawful Societies Act of 1799

    “An act for the more effectual suppression of societies established for seditious and
    treasonable purposes; and for the better preventing treasonable and seditious
    practices”

    Britain in the 1790’s saw a number of radical and revolutionary groups emerge in the
    wake of the French Revolution. Characterised by their secrecy and secret oaths,
    this caused widespread distrust of societies. In particular, those that required
    members to take an oath not authorised by law.
    In 1799, the Unlawful Societies Act set out a number of provisions, including a ban
    on any meetings of societies that undertook secret oaths, such as the Freemasons.

    Freemasons and the Unlawful Societies Act

    In May 1799, a group of masonic representatives attended a meeting with the Prime
    Minister, William Pitt to discuss the problems the Act would cause them and
    explained that they supported the law and lawfully constituted authority.

    The Prime Minister expressed his worry that the Society would be used as a cover
    by others for seditious purposes, but was willing to support a clause to prevent the
    Act from affecting them.

    As a result, Freemasons were excluded from the Act, but lodges were obliged to
    return a list of members to the local Clerk of the Peace every year, which are
    recorded in the Quarter Sessions.1

    This practice continued until 1967.

    Freemasonry in Warwickshire

    Freemasonry can be traced to twelfth century England. The Provincial Grand Lodge
    of Warwickshire describes it as such:

    “As well as being one of the world's oldest secular fraternal societies, Freemasonry
    is an enjoyable association of like - minded men who work towards a common goal
    of being happy themselves and communicating happiness to others. This is achieved
    by work in the Lodge, largely based on a series of ritual ceremonies, with much in
    common with the old passion plays, which follow ancient forms and use
    stonemasons' customs and tools as allegorical guides. These seek to instil morality
    in all men: by teaching and practising high standards of conduct in society. These
    aims are furthered at the dinners held after lodge meetings and at other social
    occasions.” 2

    Warwickshire currently has around 4,500 members and 190 lodges. The Apollo
    Lodge, as mentioned in this month’s document, still exists to this day.

    Certificate and register of the names of the members of a Free-Masons Lodge


    (No. 537), called the Apollo Lodge and held at the Angel Inn, Alcester.

    Delivered 10th September 1799.

    These returns of members are an interesting insight into a Society usually


    associated with secrecy.The members are listed by name, location and occupation.
    The third column suggests the variety of occupations and social standings of masons
    in Alcester. Some of the occupations listed are:
    Surgeon, Needle maker, Hair dresser, Lieutenant 22nd Reg. of Dragoons, Joiner,
    Farmer, Attorney at Law

    Freemasonry is known for accepting members from all walks of life to meet as
    equals.3 In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, men-only societies were more
    associated with a more rigid demographic, such as in Gentlemen’s Clubs, these
    meetings of a non-political and non-religious nature can tell us something about
    alternative groups for men at the time.

    In addition, the Returns of Members are a useful tool for family historians who know
    or suspect their Warwickshire ancestor of being a Freemason.

    References

    1. Prescott, Andrew, ‘The Unlawful Societies Act of 1799’, A lecture presented at the second
    international conference of the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, 4-5 November
    2000.
    2. http://www.warwickshirepgl.org.uk
    3. http://www.ugle.org.uk/

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