Male and Female Grand Lodges Counter Misinformation With New 'Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales'

by Christopher Hodapp

If you've been reading Freemasonry Today, the official magazine of the United Grand Lodge of England, over the last couple of years, you've doubtless noticed an increasing number of articles highlighting female Freemasonry and reporting on cooperative actions between the male-only UGLE, female Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF), and the the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF). Back when the UGLE celebrated its 300th anniversary of the founding of the first grand lodge in 2018, the female grand masters from both the OWF and the HFAF were invited to the festivities. In fact, for quite some time, UGLE has stated that they consider both organizations to be in all ways "regular" Freemasons, apart from admitting women as members. In recent years, they have cooperated in joint public outreach programs, such as UGLE's Universities Scheme, which brings Freemasonry's message and opportunities to university campuses and encourages students to join a nearby Masonic lodge.

A couple of weeks ago, the UGLE, the OWF and the HFAF announced their most public cooperative partnership yet: the formation of a new Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales, a joint commission made up of representatives of the three English grand lodges specifically created to present a united voice for Freemasonry in the United Kingdom.

In a statement released online, the Council explained its formation and purpose:

This new Council aims to enhance further existing and longstanding collaboration and promote the fundamental principles of Freemasonry, including merit, tolerance, diversity, and inclusion, between the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF), and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF).

Even in 2024 Freemasonry continues to face various unfounded criticisms and inaccurate misconceptions, often stemming from deep-rooted prejudices, or preconceived falsehoods. Contrary to the erroneous claim that Freemasonry is exclusively male, women’s Freemasonry has been an integral part of Freemasonry in the UK for over a century. While Freemasonry is practised in single-sex Lodges, this is no different from many other activities, including most sports as well as many other community groups.

The establishment of the Council for Freemasonry will formally establish an overarching forum for collaboration. In addition, the Council will bring together the community service ambitions of all three bodies, coordinate communication and engagement with other organisations, drive the membership growth ambitions, particularly for women Freemasons, and allocate resources and facilities for the general benefit of both male and female Freemasonry.

The Council will include the heads of each Grand Lodge, and each Grand Lodge will provide the President for a twelve-month period, chairing Council meetings in strict rotation. The President for the first two years will come from the OWF and HFAF, with UGLE covering the third year.

The formation of the Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales marks a pivotal step towards enhancing cooperation, addressing misconceptions, and promoting the values of Freemasonry. This historic initiative reaffirms Freemasonry’s commitment to integrity, friendship, respect and service, while keeping community service and charitable giving at the absolute forefront of this historic organisation.

Almost immediately, the new Council got a chance to make its first big public noise. It all started over the news of a longtime male-only institution. 

In May, London's venerable Garrick Club (see these photos from their website) voted to admit women to full membership after almost two centuries of being exclusively for men. I guess Old Blighty is now saved after this brave and bold move. 

You'd have thought the good news just came in from Waterloo. It was the biggest victory since Old Boney got sent packing. Naturally, the UK press could scarcely contain itself.

The Garrick was originally founded in 1831 as a gentleman's club for actors, theatrical directors, and playwrights, along with deep-pocketed patrons of the arts—as its bylaws stated, for those of "gentlemanly accomplishment and scholarship." The club is named for David Garrick, considered to be the greatest actor of all time, or at least in the 18th century when he lived. Fans of Winnie the Pooh stories may have heard of the Garrick; upon his death, author A.A. Milne left the rights and royalties from the Pooh stories to the club in perpetuity. 

As a big, odious clot of bellyachers, the press in the UK despises same-sex clubs of men (Not clubs of women, of course. Same-sex clubs for men are branded as secret enclaves of deal-making, back-patting, and good-ol-toffey-nosed job networking, while same-sex clubs for women are to be celebrated as 'bold, brave, groundbreaking, and long-overdue.') So, whaddya think the UK press did after beating their rheumatic chests in victory over toppling another venerable bastion of male-only institutions? Of course, they took it as an opportunity to once again swipe at the Freemasons for not following suit and 'getting on the right side of history.' 

Private English mens' clubs were all the rage in the 19th century, and nobody in their right minds wanted to eat or socialize with actors anyhow back in the 1830s, so it made sense for them to establish a club of their own. The clubs flourished throughout the 20th century, as any faithful reader of P.G. Wodehouse novels* can attest, but private anythings for men have come under attack off and on for the last 50 years or so throughout Western society, especially in Britain. The Garrick still has plenty of actors and rock stars on its membership rolls, but it's also got its share of the upper icing-covered layer of the society cheesecake these days: not just actors, but lawyers, judges, high-profile businessmen, government ministers and policy advisors, even King Charles III himself. An attempt was made by some members back in 2010 to admit females as full members, but the existing membership failed to make the change at that time. A handful of members resigned in protest over the issue, making a big public show of it on their way out the door, but the Garrick held fast for another 14 years.

Earlier this year, the Guardian decided to stir the pot again and publicly published a list of the current Garrick members in an effort to force another vote on admitting women. As has been done in the past, the goal was to paint male membership in private clubs as a shameful, despicable fetish that shouldn't be permitted in a progressive society. Consequently, the club's reputation took a public beating over it, with the usual claims that these big-deal, establishment male movers and shakers in important parts of government and other institutions meet in their private clubs to make deals, craft legislation, scratch each others' needy backs, hire each other, and otherwise screw over whatever the English version is of smelly Walmart people and the Deplorables. And, by Zeus' thunder! the laydeez deserved to join their ranks so they could do it too, dammit! 

So, to stab into the soft underbelly of this story, the Guardian's exposure of the members fulfilled its purpose: a bare majority of 51% of the members of the Garrick finally voted in May to open the doors to the ladies, and immediately named Dame Judy Densch and Sian Phillips as full members. 

I suppose the Empire is saved now.

So what does this have to do with Freemasonry?

After the story broke reporting the Garrick's admission of women, the longtime journalist and English peer Baroness Patience Wheatcroft (not a made-up name), posted a column on the New European site entitled, Forget About the Garrick, What About the Freemasons? She seemed to have no problem with the Garrick excluding women because it's just an old geezer home for unemployed, has-been actors, and she even spent a few paragraphs declaring such clubs to be just fine and harmless because they're really unimportant to powerful people:

Put aside the fact that the rules ban business talk, a stricture that admittedly might be hard to implement, the [Garrick's] ornate Covent Garden building is not the beating heart of Britain. It is a haven for elderly thespians and those who wish to rub shoulders with them. Yes, that includes a gaggle of Conservative politicians but Michael Gove would probably be more interested in collecting the autograph of Brian Cox or Hugh Bonneville than trying to discuss matters of state. Jacob Rees-Mogg, should he ever deign to sit at the communal long table, would surely be too occupied playing to the crowd to say anything of import. . .

The Cabinet Secretary and the head of MI6 have stressful jobs and, like Pooh, probably enjoy a bit of relaxation and some favourite food. As they, along with a gaggle of judges, rushed for the club exit in the face of the Guardian campaign, they weren’t trying to ensure that women have equal access to power, merely that their own careers would not be blighted by allegations of unfair discrimination. Their willingness to drop their Garrick membership shows how little they value it – these people know where power really resides nowadays: in Silicon Valley, the trading desks of Goldman Sachs, and the offices of Blackrock.

However, the Baroness continues, as for those flaming Masons:

And right next door to the place where the Garrick’s historic vote was taken early this month – the Connaught Rooms – is the imposing Freemasons’ Hall. That’s home to the United Grand Lodge of England, an organisation which far pre-dates the Garrick and which remains firmly closed to women.

If the Guardian really wanted to pursue the principle of equality, then the mysterious power and influence of Freemasonry could be worth its attention. This international movement lists its principles as “Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Service”, all qualities that might be thought to have appeal to those of every gender and none. Undoubtedly, the movement does charitable works but there are some who suspect that its charity most decidedly begins at home.

Elaborating on its aim of fostering friendship, the Grand Lodge literature says: “All members share a sense of togetherness that strengthens their ability to succeed and grow”. Would it be at all surprising if that success at work was given a helpful nudge, perhaps a promotion, by a fellow mason in the same company?

And, yes, lest you think it was somehow left out of the piece, farther down in her editorial, the baroness managed to work in the universal English press anti-Masonic mark of snark: a reference to 'rolled-up trouser legs' (although, the term 'dodgy handshakes' was somehow left out).

Funny. This 'New European' sounds remarkably like the 'Old European' to my tin ear...

But this time, when the press began to crank out "the Garrick now admits wimmin, so wut in God's holy teeth is wrong with those bloody Masons?" columns, instead of spreading out and laying prostrate for another public flaying by the rent-seeking, activist presstitutes pounding on their tripe-writers, the brand new Council for Freemasonry immediately answered. 

On May 17th, they issued the following statement:

United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), The Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (Freemasonry for Women) are united in our surprise and unease at an article published in The New European by Patience Wheatcroft. The article contains a number of significant inaccuracies and we feel obliged to respond in order to provide Baroness Wheatcroft, and her readers, with an accurate representation of the truth.

Beginning with the numerous claims about Freemasonry’s entry requirements, we are delighted that the author has visited the UGLE website and reflected on the organisation’s core values of Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Service. While she was there, it is a shame, however, that Baroness Wheatcroft did not manage to locate the section of our website dedicated to Women Freemasons, who have been proudly meeting in this country for over 100 years. Indeed, even more simply, a cursory Google search would have revealed the websites of the two female Grand Lodges that meet in the United Kingdom, as well as their numerous social media channels. The links for all three of our websites can be found in the footer of this statement and we encourage you to peruse them at your leisure.

Secondly, on the points raised about our charitable commitments, we are proud of the impact that we, as Freemasons, have within the community. We are pleased that in 2020, during the dark and uncertain early stages of the pandemic, Freemasons contributed over £51.1 million to deserving causes. This includes not only financial contributions but also the dedication of over 18.5 million hours annually to volunteer work. In 2021, as the societal impacts of the pandemic continued to take hold, UGLE allocated over £4.7 million through specific relief programs, focusing on community support, food aid, domestic abuse, homelessness, and mental health.

Thirdly, in relation to the points made about members, we celebrate the diversity of our membership. Freemasons have been part of a unique and enduring social organisation for over 300 years, with no political or religious affiliations. Our diverse memberships include individuals of various ages, races, religions, cultures, and backgrounds. This is something that we wholeheartedly celebrate.

In reference to Baroness Wheatcroft’s remarks about customs within Freemasonry, we are surprised that such timeless traditions appear unfamiliar to a sitting Member of the House of Lords, where ancient practices linking the existing body to its predecessors are rightly celebrated. In the same way, our traditions come from historical links to medieval stonemasons and more information can be found about this on our websites and social media channels.

Finally, we are proud to be Freemasons. Articles such as the one referenced above only serve to spread misinformation and misconceptions and we are determined to not only stand up for our members, those of all genders and those of none, but to present, once and for all, the truth about Freemasonry.

Our doors remain firmly open.

United Grand Lodge of England, Order of Women Freemasons & the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (Freemasonry for Women)

One of the primary jobs of the new Council for Freemasonry is to counter public misinformation and press attacks against the fraternity by spreading the message that English Freemasonry is NOT just for men; that male and female Masonic organizations coexist, and are all alive and well and open for membership; and that none of these three grand lodges in Britain have any desire, intention, or reason for changing their practices or ideology of being a sanctuary from the outside world for their particular members, male or female.

So, if Baroness Wheatcroft finds herself somehow lacking in enough titles, memberships and benefits of her lofty station in life, she's certainly free to apply to the OWF or HFAF. After all, she's got as much chance of getting in as anyone else, provided she can pass an investigation and ball-and-cube vote. . .

*Just as an aside for Wodehouse fans, not only was P.G. himself a member of the Garrick (which doubtless provided him with endless fodder for his fictional Drones Club stories), but so are both actors Stephen Frye and Hugh Laurie, who played Jeeves & Wooster in what are the very best filmed versions of those stories ever made. 

Small world. Wouldn't want to paint it...

UGLE Leads Nightly Nine O'Clock Toasts To Absent Friends

by Christopher Hodapp

"If at nine o'clock you listen
when around this festive board,
If you listen very closely,
with your hearts tuned in accord,
You'll hear, when in the West and South,
you're charged in fullest measure,
Some distant voices calling,
"Brother may we have the pleasure?"

For at nine o'clock we Toast you,
wherever you may stand,
At home, or maybe out of town,
or in some far-off land;
With cheerful hearts and distant thoughts,
we steal a moment's leisure;
To call our ancient challenge;
"Brother may we have the pleasure?"

For we are bound together
by a universal link;
We drink from that Masonic Cup
from which we all may drink;
To our far-flung Brotherhood,
whose fellowship we treasure,
The old Masonic greeting,
"Brother may we have the pleasure?"

Brethren the Toast is "TO OUR ABSENT BRETHREN""!

Last Saturday night at 9:00PM GMT, the United Grand Lodge of England encouraged Freemasons everywhere to raise their glasses simultaneously, wherever they were, and toast the time-honored toast "To our absent brethren." 

The worldwide event was promoted on Twitter with the hashtag #TimetoToast. 

UGLE's Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes posted a Twitter photo of himself leading the toast at 9PM in London. Here in the US, it was 5PM in New York, 4PM in Chicago, and 2PM in Los Angeles. All over the world, individual Masons everywhere joined in, raised a glass in the lonesome quiet of their own homes, and sipped "from that Masonic cup from which we all may drink." And for that moment, we shared in this brotherhood that is so important to us all.

The solitude of the enforced COVID-19 virus isolation only made it more poignant.

Great Queen Street quickly widened the scope of the nightly tradition, and now hopes the entire world - whether Mason or not - will pause at 9PM every single night, wherever they are, raise a glass, and think of absent friends. 

Indeed, on Sunday night, UGLE Grand Secretary, Dr. David Staples did likewise at the stroke of nine. 

The nightly toast and the hashtag quickly circulated the Intertubz and social media over the weekend, and by Monday, both Newsweek and UK's The Week ran the story.

From FREEMASONS CALL ON PUBLIC TO JOIN CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION TO REMIND THEM THEY ARE 'NOT ALONE' AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK by Chantal da Silva:

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, however, Britain's Freemasons are breaking with convention to invite the general public to take part in a centuries-old tradition to remind people that they are "not alone."

The "Nine O'Clock Toast" is "a tradition within Freemasonry that has been observed for many hundreds of years," Dr. David Staples, the CEO and Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) told Newsweek on Monday.

From modern-day meetings at the pub to gatherings convened at the height of two world wars, the tradition, he said, sees members raise a glass during dinner at 9 p.m. each evening to honor their "Absent Brethren" or their fellow Freemasons who cannot be there with them.

"Our members know that wherever they are in the world and whatever they are doing at 9 o'clock, somebody will be raising a glass to them and remembering them," Staples said.

In the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has forced friends and family around the world to remain apart in order to avoid catching and spreading the virus, such a message could likely not be more welcome.

"This is a tradition that we have had for 300 years and it's something that we think helps people to not feel quite so lonely and isolated," Staples said.

With the COVID-19 outbreak forcing people to stay apart, whether they are living under lockdown policies, are in quarantine, or are choosing to self-isolate, Staples said he hoped that participating in the Freemason tradition might help them feel less alone.

Using the hashtag #TimetoToast, Freemasons and members of the public are being asked to participate in a nightly "virtual" toast.
"This is about sharing one of our traditions which we think will help people to feel a little less lonely, a little less isolated," he said. "If they can do that every night, to raise a glass to the people they're missing."

By Monday, even England's female Masons were on board with the idea. Grand Master Christine Chapman of the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF), one of two English grand lodges of Freemasonry for women, issued her own statement in accord with David Staples: 

"We must combat loneliness by ensuring that, even if we are all in our own homes, we are still connecting across the country."

"Dr Staples and I urge everyone to charge their glass at 9pm and say a toast to absent friends, and those working on the frontline," Chapman said.

Why at 9:00 PM, you ask? It is at nine o'clock that the hands of a clock form the fourth part of a circle, an angle of ninety degrees, which is celebrated and described in Masonic ritual. 

In some traditions, the nine o'clock toast is explained by saying that our Mystic Circle is not complete because of absent brethren, represented by that missing fourth part. 

Of course, that is in places that wisely never followed the American dabbling in Prohibition taken up so enthusiastically by some U.S. Masonic jurisdictions and which continues today. The rest of the world didn't fall for such tommyrot.

One caution that Grand Secretary Staples did mention, even in the press, was for Masons not to post online videos or images of Masonic toasting "choreography." Toasting in Freemasonry is as just steeped in symbolism and tradition as everything else we do.

 

Anyone who has ever attended a true Masonic Festive Board replete with the ceremonial seven toasts can tell you it is a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and harkens back to our early 1700's tavern origins. It is noisy, occasionally athletic, and deliberately complicated - particularly by the shank of the evening and after imbibing five or six previous toasts. We Masons even have our own specialized glassware for the occasion, known as 'cannons.'

But the one thing it was never, ever meant to be was solitary. Isolation is the very antithesis of our Masonic fraternity, and the toast to absent Brethren reflects that lament.

The Atlantic just posted an article on Monday about the corrosive and lingering damage that further breakdown in communal life and activities will have on society as a whole. The Western world was already suffering from the destruction of communal life and institutions before the COVID pandemic hit. When it finally passes, let us all seriously pray that civilization doesn't suffer a social recession to go with the doubtless economic one that will come in its wake.

By Tuesday this week, Masons all over the world were either joining in at 9PM London time, or alternately, individual lodges and some grand lodges were encouraging their members to meet online at 9PM in their local time zone and remember their own absent brethren. 

Personally, I think that UGLE has the right idea. Let's encourage everyone, Mason or not, to pause at the very same moment and remember absent friends.

Traditionally, the final toast of the evening is commonly called the Tyler's Toast, and in my own Lodge Vitruvan 767 here in my home town, our Festive Board's 7th toast ends with these words:

Dear brethren of the mystic tie, the night is waning fast,
Our work is done, our feast is o'er, this toast must be the last.
Good night to all, once more good night,
again that farewell strain,

"Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again."

Brethren, I give you the Tyler's Toast:

To all poor and distressed brethren,
Wheresoe'er they may be, on the land, the sea or in the air.
Wishing them a speedy relief from their suffering,
And a safe return to their native land, If they so desire.

Let's extend that same sentiment to everyone the world over.

A speedy relief to your suffering, and a safe return to your home. 

And normalcy once again. 

#TimetoToast

Female Lodge Consecrated in Washington, DC: America No. 57

Various Masonic Facebook pages have been lit up all week over an announcement that a female Masonic lodge has been chartered in Washington, D.C. by the Honorable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF) of the United Kingdom. 

The officers of the newly created America Lodge No. 57 of Women Freemasons  were installed with Mrs. Lourdes (“Lou”) P. Elias as the Lodge’s first Worshipful Master. She is the wife of Akram Elias, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

The Chaplain of America Lodge, CDR Lynn Chow, USN, Ret. gave the Invocation.

Chaplain Lynn Chow and WM Lou Elias at the Memorial Day event

The new lodge was officially consecrated on May 25th, Memorial Day, in honor of the women in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the United States and Freedom. It was also the Centennial of the 19th Amendment giving women in the United States the right to vote.

A gala celebration for the lodge officers, members and guests was held at the Almas Shrine Center in Washington, D.C. as an open event that included a traditional Masonic Festive Board, and was attended by the Grand Master of Free And Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia along with several former Grand Masters.

A press release widely distributed by the lodge describes it as "the first Women's Regular Masonic Lodge in the United States." Indeed, the story was circulated on the Internet by the United Grand Lodge of England, and in 1999, the UGLE stated the following about the HFAF and the Order of Women Freemasons: 

There exist in England and Wales at least two Grand Lodges solely for women. Except that these bodies admit women, they are, so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. There is also one which admits both men and women to membership. They are not recognised by this Grand Lodge and intervisitation may not take place. There are, however, discussions from time to time with the women’s Grand Lodges on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women). Further information about these bodies may be obtained by writing to the Grand Secretary. 

The Board is also aware that there exist other bodies not directly imitative of pure antient Masonry, but which by implication introduce Freemasonry, such as the Order of the Eastern Star. Membership of such bodies, attendance at their meetings, or participation in their ceremonies is incompatible with membership of this Grand Lodge.

U.S. male Masons will continue to register their shock and awe over the very notion of female Master Masons, dragging out their tired gags about breasts and Senior Deacons, while loudly reciting their obligations as though they wearing garlic to ward off vampires. Many U.S. Masons will indignantly shriek, "There's no such thing as female Freemasons." 

Of course, women can be Freemasons. There have been female Masons (and not the just ones who listen at keyholes or fall out of wardrobes into meetings while spying) since the mid-1700s. Regular, recognized male Freemasonry doesn't recognize them, they can't attend our meetings, we can't attend theirs. But they do exist, and in decent enough numbers to be taken seriously. Between 20-25% of the Masons in France are women right now, and Belgium has a substantial number as well. I don't have figures for the HFAM in England, but the OWF was founded in 1908, and they have some 6,000 members today in over 300 Craft lodges operating in the UK and overseas. Tellingly, different grand lodges we deem irregular in the U.S. have consecrated both female and mixed lodges in this country — with several, in fact, in Washington, D.C. Others have been in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and sprinkled throughout the country.

The UGLE has long had a far more pragmatic official position concerning women and Freemasonry than our U.S. grand lodges. When women show up at Freemasons Hall in London and ask about membership, they are cheerfully directed down the street to one of these two female Grand Lodges. In UGLE's view, they ARE completely regular - apart from admitting female members. They don't condemn the practice, they simply inform disappointed women Masons that they can't officially sit in each others' open lodge meetings. And as the statement clearly says, they have never accepted the Eastern Star in England.

HFAF Grand Lodge officers and members in London

UGLE invited the female grand masters of both the HFAF and OWF to their 300th anniversary gala in London in 2017. They even cooperate with each other with their University Scheme program, which seeks to introduce Freemasonry to college students by establishing lodges connected to college and university campuses. Interestingly, UGLE and the HFAF conferred with each other when they crafted their recent transgender policies in 2017, which were forced upon them by changes in English laws.

All of this is a lesson U.S. grand lodges need to pay attention to as the society shifts around us. Just as American grand lodges ignored Prince Hall Freemasonry for more than two hundred years, we have done the very same with female Freemasonry in this country. The Grand Master of the HFAF said in an interview last December that they are expanding and chartering lodges in India, Spain, Gibraltar, along with the new one in Washington this year. There are numerous other female lodges already at work across the U.S. that almost none of us are even remotely aware of.

American Masons have been able to pretend that the Order of the Eastern Star was sufficient for women to join as a panacea for legitimate Freemasonry, with suitable male Masonic lifeguards on hand to make sure they weren't actually conferring Masonic degrees. The internet, combined with societal upheavals and a shifting gender role landscape, is going to make the future very different. Female and mixed Freemasonry has never been at all popular in the U.S. historically, and these groups have remained quite small here. But that may change in the next decade. 

Nothing says our male-only fraternity has to begin admitting women, or even to extend recognition to the female grand lodge jurisdictions. Nothing says we have to violate our existing obligations, or even change them in the future. But there is no reason for American Masons to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that there is a world of women who are not satisfied by weak substitutes like the OES and are every bit as dedicated to the Craft of Freemasonry as we are. 

As the UGLE has clearly demonstrated for the last 20 years, doing so neither "breaks my leg nor picks my pocket."

UGLE and Female Freemasonry

Anytime the subject of women and Freemasonry pokes its head up, I'm well aware that the brickbats and hand grenades start flying. I know how this goes. Shrieks of "Women CAN'T be Freemasons!" come pouring out onto the message boards and Facebook comments. The blood drains from the faces of grizzled Past Masters and fresh faced new Master Masons alike. At least a dozen self-satisfied sniggerers feel compelled to bring up Senior Deacons and exposed breasts. At least two dozen bring up the Order of the Eastern Star. And there is a great gnashing of teeth.

Of course, women can be Freemasons. There have been female Masons (and not the just ones who listen at keyholes or fall out of wardrobes into meetings while spying) since the mid-1700s. Between 20-25% of the Masons in France are women right now. Regular, recognized Freemasonry doesn't recognize them, they can't attend our meetings, we can't attend theirs. But they do exist, and in decent enough numbers to be taken seriously.

With that in mind, the most recent issue of the United Grand Lodge of England's magazine Freemasonry Today arrived this week featuring an interview with MW Christine Chapman, Grand Master of the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, the smaller of the two principal female grand lodges in England. She's been a Mason for 42 years.

From the interview:

What are the origins of women’s Freemasonry?

The old myth that it began with inquisitive women being discovered hidden in lodge cupboards, grandfather clocks and under floorboards – and that they were made masons to protect the secrets – is entertaining, but none of these women went on to develop women’s Freemasonry.

It began in prerevolutionary 18th-century France with the Lodges of Adoption, which were female masonic societies under the adoption of masculine lodges. When the French Revolution arrived, all these lodges were for the chop, at least metaphorically. However, women were coming to the forefront of French intellectual society and Maria Deraismes, a well-known writer and supporter of women’s rights, was invited to become a full member of Loge des Libres Penseurs, working under the Grande Loge Symbolique de France. Her initiation in 1882 caused a schism, so this lodge and nine others seceded to form a new Grand Lodge called La Grande Loge Symbolique Ecossaise. And a new parallel movement was formed that eventually became known as Le Droit Humain, or the International Order of Co-Masonry.

Not long after this, the radical feminist Annie Besant travelled to France to join this movement and when she returned to England, she decided to formed the British Federation of the International Order of Co-Masonry in 1902, and remained its leader until her death in 1933. However, in true masonic fashion, there was a breakaway by members who wanted their Freemasonry to run along similar lines to UGLE. So in 1908 a new Grand Lodge was formed called the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry, or HFAM, although they later added The Order of Women Freemasons to their title and are now usually referred to as the OWF. Up until this point, female Freemasons had used the term ‘sister’. But now they decided that as members of a universal brotherhood, it was more suitable to be styled as ‘brother’.
‘It’s almost 24/7 now. I’m always at the end of my mobile and on social media, looking for opportunities to promote the fraternity’

What type of Freemasonry was practised in the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry?

For the first five years of its existence, they practised only the Craft degrees, but some members wished to introduce the Royal Arch. And having received the degree from former members of an extant UGLE chapter, they formed one themselves to practise the Royal Arch. But the Grand Lodge of HFAM decreed that the time was not yet ripe for this introduction.

So on 27 November 1913, Mrs Elizabeth Boswell Reid and her daughter Mrs Lily Seton Challen set up their own Grand Lodge to be known as The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, or HFAF, which is my Grand Lodge. Elizabeth Boswell Reid became our first Grand Master. So in 1913 we had three masonic Grand Lodges admitting both men and women, although women outnumbered the men in both HFAM and HFAF. Eventually these fraternities decided to become single-sex, and by 1933, we had achieved this aim in HFAF.
So HFAF was founded on the wave of social change in 1913?

We were inspired by the suffragettes and were founded on a streak of rebellion, because we’d broken away from another group. But they were all founded with the same principles – to empower women. We had one suffragette I know of – Helen Fraser, a great orator who inspired women to join the suffrage movement.

What’s the difference between the HFAF and OWF societies?

The OWF are much larger than us. But we like to think we’re more flexible and can react more quickly to initiatives and seize opportunities. Carpe Diem is one of my mantras and another is that there are no problems, only solutions. Take the consecration of our New Delhi Lodge. We had an Indian lady who came over to the UK, joined a lodge and took her degrees because she was determined to take Freemasonry to India. But she couldn’t get other Indian women to come over to England to take their degrees. So we went out there to make it happen.

What are the misconceptions about women’s Freemasonry?

We sometimes come across men who don’t think we could possibly be doing it at the same level as them. So we’ve had to fight that. Nowadays they’re much more supportive and UGLE is in particular. We also have to fight people who think we are somehow upset that we can’t join the men. At HFAF, we want to work as women, for an organisation of women, doing things for women. We have a saying: it’s a bit like football – the same game, the same rules, but different teams...

Read the rest HERE.

Take note that while the UGLE doesn't officially have any sort of visitation relationship or actually grant recognition to the female grand lodges, they do cooperate. Their Grand Masters were invited to the gala 300th anniversary celebration of UGLE last year. When ladies contact the UGLE asking about becoming Freemasons themselves, they do not rear up on their haunches, snort and harrumph about "NO WIMMIN," or offer up an alternative like the OES (which actually does not officially operate in England, and carries no standing with the UGLE). They cheerfully point to the two female grand lodges down the street. They even cooperate with each other with their University Scheme program, which seeks to introduce Freemasonry to college students by establishing lodges connected to college and university campuses. Interestingly, UGLE and the HFAF conferred with each other when they crafted their recent transgender policies last year, which were forced upon them by changes in English laws.

All of this is a lesson U.S. grand lodges need to pay attention to as the society shifts around us. Just as American grand lodges ignored Prince Hall Freemasonry for two hundred years, we have done the very same with female Freemasonry in this country. The Grand Master of the HFAF said in her interview that they are expanding and chartering lodges in India, Spain, Gibraltar, and Washington, DC in the coming year. There are numerous other female lodges already at work across the U.S. that almost none of us are even remotely aware of. 

American Masons have been able to pretend that the Order of the Eastern Star was sufficient for women to join as a panacea for legitimate Freemasonry, with suitable male Masonic lifeguards on hand to make sure they weren't actually conferring Masonic degrees. The internet, combined with societal upheavals and a shifting gender role landscape, is going to make the future very different.

Karen Kidd in Boston October 29th

"A good Mason ought to be a good man. He ought to be three times more circumspect in his life and conversation than those who have never taken the same oath. He ought to be thrice three times more vigilant than those who never bent the knee within due Square; having bound himself by the most solemn vow. He having obtained more light, ought to impart knowledge to those who are yet blind and ignorant; and by a virtuous life do honor to the profession."

from "A Series of Letters On Freemasonry"

by A Lady of Boston (Hannah Mather Crocker), 1815

It has long been said that Hannah Mather Crocker (1752-1829), granddaughter of Puritan minister Cotton Mather of Boston, was the "Mistress" of a female Masonic lodge—St. Anne's Lodge—in Massachusetts in the 1770s. Female Masonic author Karen Kidd devotes a chapter to Hannah in her book Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons.

Karen will present a paper at the New England Historical Association's Fall 2011 conference in October. The Conference will be held at Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 29, 2011.

Her paper is “Who Made a Freemason of Hannah Mather Crocker? Means, Motive and Opportunity of Revolutionary Bostonian Masons.”

Karen Kidd is a member of a lodge of the Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry, American Federation of Human Rights.

Her most recent book is On Holy Ground: A History of The Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry.