Encyclopedia Masonica

The sketches and floor plans of the Goose and Gridiron on pages 412 and 413 are reminders of the fact that the inns and taverns in which the Speculative Lodges met in Great Britain and America during the Eighteenth Century were not like the modern hotel or bar-room, but were a center of hospitality of a type no longer met with; nor were they like the present-day English "pub." The inn was often one of the most distinguished buildings in a town; beautifully constructed and furnished; and managed by an inn-keeper and a staff who made of hospitality a trained profession. Except in the smallest villages the majority of inns were built with at least one large room designed for Lodges and clubs, and these usually had a private service stairway from the rear, so that even after a Lodge's doors were closed it could still make use of the facilities of the kitchen, the wine cellar, and the staff of servants. Each inn had a sign in front which consisted of a picture and which gave it its name?The King's Head, The Boar's Head, The White Horse, etc. A Masonic Lodge took its name from the inn in which it met, and it was not until the end of the Century that Lodges began to be numbered. Even as late as the end of the Nineteenth Century American Lodges here and there continued to meet in hotels; there are some of these old buildings still standing, especially in the Middle West, and on the old coach runs; in more than one of them the old fashioned judas window is still in an upstairs door, though it has been a half century since Lodges made use of them. Lodge meetings in inns and taverns were never completely satisfactory; some Lodges must never have found them satisfactory to any degree, because their Minutes show that they kept moving about every one or two years. A lack of privacy, the inconvenience of having to pack furniture and paraphernalia away after each meeting, difficulties with landlords, and the over-nearness of the bar, these were disadvantages; but it is probable that the many small early Lodges could not have managed under any other system. A joke has been made of the fact that the first Grand Lodge of Speculative Freemasonry held its first Grand Communion in a tavern but no Eighteenth Century Englishman or American would have seen any point to the joke; learned societies, clubs, religious groups, literary circles, scientific bodies (like the Royal Society), artists' groups, public officers, army and navy clubs, clubs of philosophers, an endless number of such societies met in the same rooms. A good tavern was highly respected in any community; its "mine host" often was the first citizen of his town. See The English Inn; Past and Present, by H. D. Eberlein; J. B. Lippincott Co.; Philadelphia; 1926.

The Encyclopedia Masonica exists to preserve the wealth of information that has been generated over the centuries by numerous Masonic authors. As Freemasonry is now Speculative and not Operative, the work of a Mason is now conducted in the quarries of symbolism, literature, history and scholasticism. Freemasonry encourages intellectual exploration and academic achievement in its members and many Masons over the years have taken up this calling. The result has been that an incredible amount of philosophy, symbolic speculation and academic insights have been created. However, as Freemasonry teaches, human knowledge is frail and fragile. It is easily lost in the turnings of the ages and unforeseen catastrophes can result in great setbacks to human knowledge.

For too long these great works have sat on forgotten shelves, gathering dust and concealing the light that could be shed on the darkness of our ignorance. The Encyclopedia Masonica has been created to act as an ark, sailing through time, to ensure that future generations of Freemasons have access to the same knowledge that inspired the Brethren that came before them. It will contain the works of such Masonic Luminaries as Albert G. Mackey, Manly Palmer Hall, G.S.M. Ward, Albert Pike and many others. The Encyclopedia Masonica is a living work and the volunteers of Universal Co-Masonry will continue to labor until the most comprehensive Masonic reference work the world has ever seen has been created. The Encyclopedia Masonica is open to any who wish to use it and will remain open so that the treasures contained within may increase the wealth of all those who seek its wisdom.