If you can't use one legend, go grab another - and thus after nearly four years
of being "Freemasonry", this group had found yet a different hook on which to
hang their claim to legitimacy: Free Masonrie! Now this isn't just a case of
poor spelling. It was their belated attempt to restructure the past - once again,
we might add! The internet forum gadfly, their "Grand Secretary" wrote
"...we, the Holy Order, simply reinstated
the Fellowship of the Craft, or Outer Orders of Free Masonrie on the 10th
December 2005. This took place in the Crypt of the York Minster and in the sight
of God." 1
In NONE of their comments and nowhere on their website did they
ever mention this "Free Masonrie" stuff their original announcements about this
particular paranomasia. (See
here where you can peruse their website for 2006 and 2007.) Mr. Clatworthy
then went on to write:
"I was baptised in the Holy and Royal Arch (something that you have never had in
the Moderns form of freemasonry) on the 23rd June 1948 and ordained on the 24th
June 1961 at the age of 21 years." ...and
he elaborates on this a few hours later writing
"As a matter of recorded fact, I was baptised
under the Holy and Royal Arch, on the 23rd of June 1948 and then ordained a
priest on the 24th June 1969. Generations of my family have also been so
baptised and so ordained. John Gordon Graves (Grand Master of All Free Masons)
and Richard Young (Chancellor) have similar backgrounds." ...as if the group, which he admits
they only started in December 2005, was actually around in the 1940s. It is to laugh!
But let's go back to the beginning:
The
self-created 'Grand
Lodge At York also wanting to be known
as The Grand Lodge of All England' {Dead Link - See Above} asserts that they are
the legacy
heir to a supposed meeting of all operative Masons called by King Athelstane
in York, England in 926 A.D. - despite the fact that the 'meeting'
they hang their hat on is simply a legend, proven as such over a century ago.
While their website cites Mackey and others as
their source, there are numerous other
Masonic writers (particularly those AFTER the 'age of realism' arrived in
Freemasonry in the late 1800s, and well after the death of Mackey) who stridently disagree. Even
contemporaries of Mackey claimed he was wrong in his
statements about the supposed York meeting.
To be fair, when the first Grand Lodge was
formed, it too claimed an absurd pedigree
- one which reached back to Noah and the Flood, the
Building of King Solomon's Temple and more. That, though, was
nearly three hundred years ago in 1717 when it
was fashionable to use such exaggeration to prove one's
own legitimacy. Even the Royal
Society did such things. That was then and
this is now!
Noting the absurdity of this all, the United Grand Lodge
of England (UGLE), the 'mother' Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in
the world, issued a statement
about this group: you can view
it most easily on a UK Provincial Grand Lodge website
here.
Their comments are FAR more harsh than ours. This is not just
a petty territorial dispute as the UGLE with about a half million members has
little to fear from the couple of people involved with their own so-called "Grand
Lodge". Nevertheless, all such self-created groups want to 'play the victim',
whining about persecution by the
'big, bad group' whose existence belies the bizarre claims of creation they make. Their "Grand Secretary", prancing about in forums irrelevant
to Freemasonry but where he has little fear of Masons responding (forums for
Catholics, the David Icke forum where
he's posted over 6,000 messages - with dozens more daily - places for
Holocaust deniers, and the like), haughtily
talking down to those who do not accept
his claims. In truth, it's very much like the Roman Catholic Sedevacantists who are completely sure that the current Pope is NOT the real
Pope - and so have created their own. (That there are a half dozen men claiming
to be the 'real' Pope is a minor irritant that's ignored because the person
making the claim knows that HIS Pope is the TRUE Pope!) The only difference is
that the Sedevacantists number, perhaps, in the thousands while this group
doesn't have more than a half-dozen members.
Peter said it's so - so it MUST be so!
It comes down to this: someone 'declares' that - because of the
name they've given their group or because they
went to the same city in which a legend (in this case, a fairy tale) originated -
that somehow makes them into
the group that was a thousand years ago
(or as recently as just 500 years ago) OR (depending on which
tack they take - and they use several), it makes them the 'rightful inheritor'
of that story through a 'revival'. (I wonder if the folks in the city of Rome, New York
ever tried to claim legitimate historical ancestry from....
Never mind.)
Does this
make sense? If so, no need to read any further: join them and be happy - if you
can find them now! However, in what to most
folks would be the 'real world', simply announcing that you've held a meeting
and
filed some paperwork with the government claiming a certain
name that wasn't in use by anyone else means that now you've 'reestablished' something that hasn't existed for a centuries
(or, in fact, quite probably never existed at all) is awfully
bizarre. According to a message we received from Mr. Clatworthy, the 'Grand
Secretary', threatening us:
"For your information, this
original and independent Grand Lodge was legally reponed(2)
here in York during December 2005 and legally constituted and registered as
such.
It is therefore the original and ancient Grand Lodge of All England at York
working under The Old York Constitution of 1705. It is our intention to
jealously defend this position by whatever means are at our disposal."
So, according to them, they're original and
independent and replaced a legend from centuries ago. Fine. Who are we to argue with such things and why would anyone
make threats to 'prove' it?
Starting a new Grand Lodge
Simply stated, in the present day for a new
Masonic Grand Lodge to form and receive recognition
as such requires several things
including either the absence of a Grand Lodge in that
geographical area (as was done a few decades ago in Alaska, USA, for example)
AND for it to be formed by THREE (count 'em - 3) 'regular lodges' already
operating in that physical location under the aegis of a regular and recognized
Grand Lodge. A couple of guys meeting somewhere (pub, chapel,
minster, Starbucks, cellar, whatever) and
claiming that they're "reponing" something doesn't really count - in
marbles or in Freemasonry!
And there's one other thing: the Grand Lodge
whose lodges are already there must ASSENT to the creation of the new Grand
Lodge. If you read the letter from the United Grand Lodge of England, sent to
all of their Lodge Secretaries throughout England and to the world (it's not
private: it's on official websites of the organization), you'll find
something quite different.
For those who aren't familiar with the
niceties of Masonic recognition, all of this may seem very tedious. However,
such requirements are necessary in order to ensure that those who are seeking to join Freemasonry will,
in fact, have the ability to 'travel in foreign countries' as Master Masons and
enjoy fraternal friendship with the 4-5 million Masons located around the globe.
Otherwise, any bloke on the street corner could grab a mate and go set up their
own little pub club, calling it a 'Grand Lodge' and begin
soliciting subscriptions. The
bottom line, though, is that regardless of how many
Masonic-related graphics anyone uses on their website,
regardless of whatever contrived history one might wish to bore folks with, and
despite employing Masonic titles including the cozy reference to 'Brothers', joining with
one of these groups is not going to cause ANYONE (except the small number of people
in that so-called 'Grand Lodge') to acknowledge you as a Mason. (Be sure
to see our page on
Fake Masonry for
more information.)
UPDATE: November, 2007 - Be careful about
what you read on the web - and how it can mislead. They
FORMERLY had on their website:
The Grand Lodge of All England at York has
established its Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity
with The Conference of Grand Masters of North America, The
Commission on Information for Recognition. (Written
confirmation received 27th October 2006)
Now why they needed to establish ANYTHING with
North America since they're in Merry Olde England is a mystery but that
notwithstanding, what they didn't
mention is that they had been told otherwise in
subsequent e-mails. You can, in fact, now read exactly what the Commission has to say about them:
2. An organization
calling itself the Grand Lodge of All England is presenting itself as a
legitimate Masonic Grand Lodge in England. It claims to trace its roots to a
Lodge at York, founded in 1705, which later styled itself a Grand Lodge in
1725, first named the Old Grand Lodge at York, and later the Grand Lodge of
All England at York. This Grand Lodge went dormant in 1740, was revived in
1761, and went dormant again in 1791, never to meet again. On December 23,
2005, an assembly of Masons met and “reclaimed English Freemasonry on behalf
of its rightful custodians.” The Grand Lodge of All England emerged and is
said to be a revival of the Grand Lodge that went dormant in 1791.
It must again be stated that the Commission does not determine the
regularity of a Grand Lodge; it only evaluates the facts available to
determine if the entity meets the standards for recognition, as adopted by
the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, and reports those findings
to the member Grand Lodges of this Conference for their use.
The Commission cannot validate the claimed legitimacy of origin of the Grand
Lodge of All England, since no documentation has been presented that this
Grand Lodge was reinstated or reconstituted in 2005 by a recognized Masonic
authority. In addition, it cannot claim exclusive territorial jurisdiction
since a pact or treaty does not exist to share the jurisdiction with the
United Grand Lodge of England. It is therefore the opinion of the Commission
that the Grand Lodge of All England does not meet the standards for
recognition.
Full report
here and
here. So, dear friend, read what's in red then read what
was ACTUALLY reported. Quite a difference, huh? Oh, and since that time, they've
created a page about how the Conference of Grand Masters is really quite
irrelevant. No recognition = no admittance for its members anywhere other than
it's own make-believe lodges with the only ones acknowledging its members as Masons
are the other members of that same group - that small coterie of believers.
UPDATE: December, 2007 - Gee whiz! They must be reading
this page....
December 2007 saw a flurry (perhaps 'frantic
outpouring'
might be a better description?) of essays, blog posts, etc. trying to justify
their LACK of recognition. Gone is the claim they'd made about "establishing its
Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity" with, instead, the Conference of
Grand Masters of North America now demonized as irrelevant to their existence. They also moan that
the statement made about them by COGMNA wasn't placed on the web until 7 months
after COGMNA's annual meeting - which, we'd think, could/should have worked in
their favor giving their fantasy a half-year reprieve! In reality, the back story is
that the e-mail sent them wasn't really what they claimed it was and they had
received a subsequent clarification that NOTHING had 'been established' by the
Commission. Their current claim that the Conference is back-peddling is
actually back-peddling of their own! If they want to make the claim that they
WERE acknowledged somehow, then they should produce ALL of the
e-mails they received from the Conference Secretary on the matter so that their
assertions could be examined
in the light of day!
In addition, the reponed Grand Lodge of All
England has now begun to violate even more Masonic 'landmarks' (and/or
traditions and/or protocols) by "invading" the territory of regular/recognized
Grand Lodges, ostensibly forming so-called Grand Lodges in the United States.
Their first is a lodge in Ohio which is headed by an individual who has already
belonged to TWO OTHER pseudo-'Grand Lodges' which are identified here on
masonicinfo.com as 'bogus'. He seems to
think that the third time will be the charm apparently - or really wants a
chance to wear a fancy apron! We wish him the best.
The Grand Lodge of All England, like the
Regular Grand Lodge of England, seems to be reaching out actively to
disaffected Black men in the US who belong to groups which are considered 'fake Masonry'
by Prince Hall Freemasonry. We can't help be impressed by the
loyalty of these new leaders: dangle a title in front of them and they're yours!
What a great way to increase membership, eh? What we've found
particularly comical is that their list of so-called lodges seems to grow each
month and yet, ironically, not a single member (except the Grand Secretary) is
ever seen anywhere online. What are the odds, eh?
(Nope: by mid-2009, they're now down to only two English soil lodges. Must be
the economy or something....)
Oh, and the 'next big thing' was their
breathless announcement that "After many
years of concentrated research, The Grand Lodge at York is pleased to announce
that it has traced the final resting place of King Athelstan's brother, Prince
Edwin of York." "...many years...."? This group had only been in
existence for two at the time of the announcement. For an organization claiming
a connection back to 900AD, you wouldn't think that two years is "many" would
you? But more than that, so what? Does this somehow give legitimacy to the fact
that a group (of perhaps three people
- like all of the 'fake Masonry' groups, their actual
membership is NEVER mentioned) got together in York, England and declared
themselves to be the legacy heirs of something that's been dead for a couple of
centuries? Not bloody likely....
Don't
link on me...
During August, 2008 there were two
hysterically funny instances brought to our attention. The prolific 'Grand
Secretary' had apparently been engaged in Internet threat campaigns against
sites that link (unflatteringly) to their website. Simultaneously, they
had
created a completely bogus line of succession of supposed Grand Masters of their
group and were contacting Masonic historians and authors begging them to
include their manipulated research material in future works.
The historical claims were completely
laughable and since then, I've been in communications with several Masonic
authors and researchers who had quite a chuckle over it all, several of whom
even checked this site to get 'the scoop' on this group.
The internet threat was the funniest and was
particularly comical if you know even the basics about internet
and legal protocols. A regular/recognized lodge
under the regular/recognized Grand Lodge of Arizona created a web page about fake masonry
that included a link to the Clatworthy so-called Grand Lodge of All England. Poor Mr. Clatworthy had a problem with that, sending an e-mail to them saying
"Whilst this Grand Lodge does not generally enter into correspondence with
disreputable bodies such as yours, we on this occasion write to you requiring
you to remove our name from the website. Failure to do so within 7 days will
result in a requirement being sent to your internet service provider,
GoDaddy.com, Inc., for your site to be closed down." HUH? Suddenly it's
illegal to link to another website? WOW! GoDaddy would have
such a laugh. In fact, Clatworthy even sent a copy
of his e-mail to the
Grand Lodge of Arizona as if he expected it to have some sort
of effect. It likely escaped his notice,
though, that the regular and recognized Grand Lodge of
Arizona was
just a couple of blocks away from the Webmaster's office.
Do you suppose that the Webmaster might just happen to
know the folks down the street already?
SO many of these self-created 'Grand Lodges' are formed by disgruntled
individuals who have no understanding of either Freemasonry OR reality that it's
not surprising that they would assume that no one in Grand Lodge would have a
clue as to their own members in such close proximity. Perhaps in their
world, but certainly not in real life.
Oh, and something which surely ALSO escaped
Mr. Clatworthy's keen eye was that the Webmaster happens to be an employee of an
ATTORNEY! Should we add insult to injury by noting that
said Attorney was the Master of
the Lodge of that website?
OK, if you aren't keeling over in laughter by
now, you've just got NO sense of humor at all.
So look out, folks: if you link to these
guys, why they're going to write to your internet service provider and say you
can't. Forewarned is forearmed - or something like that!
Masonicinfo Note: The flag shown above is a United States Naval ensign, flown
from 1775-1776. It was something we thought might be appropriate for this group
which claims to go back to 900AD. It's also relevant to today's actions: since
September, 2002 (LONG before this 'reponed' Grand Lodge of All England existed),
it has been flying on U. S. Navy ships involved in the Global War on
Terrorism.... The picture at the top of the page is of
King Edward
I - which somehow we thought quite appropriate as well.
Whatever you want...
All of the above notwithstanding, we have said before and will repeat it
here yet again even though Mr. Clatworthy claims his group is (was?) VERY angry about us writing
things which might cause you to recognize that they're not 'the real deal': if you want to join something you think is going to be just
right for you, GO FOR IT! PLEASE don't let anything we've written stop you from
doing what your heart most desires. In this case, if you want to meet up with a
couple of chaps you think are ok, you might enjoy
this organization and/or others like it. If, however, you want to be a true part
of the 300+ year old tradition that is Freemasonry and want to be able to visit
those Masonic lodge buildings found both locally and around the world, you won't
be able to do so. In addition, if you join an unrecognized (sometimes referred
to as "clandestine") lodge such as that run by the "Grand Lodge of All England", it could be a
far more difficult process to become a Mason in a regular and recognized lodge
later on.
That's just the way things are - and we don't make the rules on this stuff!
And just so you know, their website wasn't
created until January of 2006 so their claim to an ancient copyright lineage
going all the way back to 2005 is specious at best but we
won't quibble about a couple of months when there are several centuries
unaccounted for. See
here for the proof. What we found
even more comical, though, was that an apparent member of a regular/recognized
lodge in Maryland, USA owns their domain name! Oh, and before we get another e-mail from their
"Grand Secretary", this time railing that we're wrong about the ownership thing,
we'd encourage him to try transferring the domain admin name/address, for
example, without the owner's blessing. The point will be proven
pretty quickly. Still further, we sure hope that the
oh-so-web-savvy 'Grand Lodge of All England' didn't pay too much for their fancy
web design which is, simply, a (now older) rip-off of their
designer's own site using the open-source (free)
Mambo content
management system. Comical, eh?
Funny thing: as predicted, there's been a
falling out apparently and the great, grand lodge of all England can't or won't
pay its bills so doesn't get their domain OR their website. Ah, they'll attract
millions regardless, particularly with claims like this one:
"Free Masonrie is NOT a Christian sect. We have
Fellows who are Christians, Jews and Muslims. Free Masonrie pre-dates
Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is the fount of all of these religions."
Pasted from <http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?s=cc7d6f8aab959c2859aa7567e2b3a361&t=133470&page=15>
Uh-huh. You've GOT to be a good actor to pull that one off with
a straight face. Congratulations, Mr. Clatworthy! If, folks, you BELIEVE that,
coming - no doubt - from the 'finest academic minds' that Mr. Clatworthy could
muster, then you'll likely also be finishing up reading here to go look for
Elvis in your local 7-11 Store! Apparently, topping the absence of Elvis
Presley, his 'Free Masonrie' was off hiding for several thousand years until the
poning of the imaginary Grand Lodge in the 900's which he reponed a couple of
years ago. Talk about a secret priesthood, eh? So secret, only Clatworthy (and
perhaps the other two members of his group who've gone strangely silent of late)
knows about it. Just amazing.
There's a sucker born every minute:
On the David Icke Forums
- the only place which will tolerate his pompous pedantry it seems - Mr.
Clatworthy
wrote this on October 25, 2010:
"It is pure propaganda and
willfully dishonest to repeat, repeat, repeat "allegedly has three members"
when we have Fellows throughout the United Kingdom, in 21 other countries
plus 25 States of the Union in the USA."
And yet, ironically, not a SINGLE PERSON has ever come on to a
Masonic newsgroup nor have they joined Mr. Clatworthy on the Icke Forums to
support this bit of baloney. One can only think that the delusional Mr.
Clatworthy, sans website still and with a 2 year old blog post site, would
realize what a fool he must appear to the real world.
And just when we thought that Mr. Clatworthy had cornered the
market on genealogical foolishness and bizarre claims of grandeur, along comes
Mo Bedard to prove that there's no end to these self-created fantasies.
See here for more information
about his WebmasterMasons.
(1)
Perhaps if it had been held elsewhere it wouldn't have been "in the
sight of God"? You can read some of these odd claims
here on another typically inappropriate forum - at catholic.com.
(2)
\Re*pone"\ (r?-p?n"), v. t. [L. reponere; pref. re- re- +
ponere to place.] To replace. --R. Baillie.
Modern Language
Association (MLA): "repone." Webster's
Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 19 Jan. 2007. <Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/repone>
If you'd like to read Mackey's legend, you can
click here. Oh, and if you'd like to play dress-up along with
this group, you might want to consider the adorable costume shown
above. You can purchase it at
this link.
Updated 20 July 2009 and
28 December 2009, adding the hilarious claims of "Free Masonrie"
and again on July 18, 2010 noting the apparent demise of the charade
and in October, 2010 with more info about their sorry internet state and
bizarre claims of membership.
The information above may appear to some (especially if they have a grudge
to carry against regular/recognized Freemasonry) to be judgmental and
defamatory. However, sometimes facts don't paint a very rosy picture - and
all of the above is FACT! The last update for this has likely been done -
since they too are done. December 2, 2014.
Just
click on "Prince, the Search Dog" to find things on our site. He's on every page
and he'll take you directly to our search form where you can see if we've
written about whatever it is you're interested in. Prince has a great memory; he
always remembers where things are!