THE MANCHESTER ASSOCIATION FOR MASONIC RESEARCH THE MANCHESTER LODGE FOR MASONIC RESEARCH 5502 Lots of Intriguing Subjects to be Covered in 2014 – Make a Point of Coming Along Our Next Meeting is the Installation – Tuesday 28th January 2014 in Bridge Street at 5.45pm “Masonic Codes & Cyphers” by WBro Tony Costello, PAGDC, by the new President of the MAMR The purpose of this inaugural paper is to bring to a slightly wider audience knowledge of the existence of some of the many Masonic cyphers and some codes, many in the past and in one case up to the present day. Since man has been able to make a visual representation of his thoughts, descriptions, instructions, information or requests, there has been a need to restrict some areas to a particular audience. This is when codes and cyphers began to evolve, very closely followed of course by those who wished to decipher them. We shall see who devised them, where they were used and consider why and what might have happened if they had not been used. Included in Our Later Meetings this Year, not one but two Prestonian Lectures! Tuesday 26th March 2014, Bridge Street, 5.45pm – the 2013 Lecture – “As we were seen – The Press and Freemasonry” by VWBro Dr Paul R Calderwood, PGSwdB. Dr Calderwood’s career has been in journalism and public relations. He has made a special study of this aspect of Masonic affairs in England focused on the 20th century, a period when initial high civic esteem became dissipated and vilification set in. The last two decades saw determined and successful efforts made to combat this. The changing context in which all this occurred is presented, together with identification of the likely triggers in this roller-coaster ride. … and a Great Start to the Autumn Season Thursday 11th September 2014 at 5.45pm – the current 2014 Lecture – “1814: Consolidation and Change” by WBro Dr Michael A Kearsley, ProvGOrator (Middlesex). Achieving the formal Union of Grand Lodges in 1813 was one thing: making the combined structures then work effectively and harmoniously was quite another! Dr Kearsley, who is a both a member of the research lodge of Middlesex, Temple of Athene No. 9541, and of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London, will present a timely and lively account of the issues and personalities involved. Members of Quatuor Coronati Lodge will be present, including the Master WBro John Acaster. And in recent weeks, several of our members have been busy elsewhere – In the autumn our Master, WBro Dr John Wade PPrJGW was invited to Singapore in order to deliver a presentation of his lecture “The Doctor, the Lodge and the Balloonist” concerning the Edinburgh Lodge Roman Eagle No. CLX, which worked its ceremonies and kept its minutes in the classical Latin language in Edinburgh between 1785 and 1793. This was given in the Scottish Constitution lodge Mount Faber #1825 on 25th November to an enthusiastic audience of brethren and their wives. There are also some lodges belonging to the English Constitution in Singapore, and some dark blue collars are visible in the picture, which reveals that the meeting also attracted several visitors to the lodge. John was also Master of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge #2076 in 2009-10. Our IPM, WBro Dr Richard Johnson PPrSGD made his bi-annual visit to Utah for the Scottish Rite reunion in Salt Lake City, and on 19th November visited a lodge in Idaho for the first time, and delivered a lecture on early English Freemasonry, as well comparing some aspects of English and US Craft Masonry. Fidelity Lodge #80 was chartered in 1921 and meets in Glenn’s Ferry, one of the main crossing points over the Snake River on the Oregon Trail that opened up the west coast of the USA to the pioneer settlers. The population in 2000 was 1611, but has since fallen to only 1319 by 2010. Despite this, the lodge has provided 3 of the state Grand Masters in the last 10 years – Skip Owen, Richard Broemeling and Jay Leonard (see picture). And another Past Master in the lodge, WBro John Acaster PPrSGW (WM 2002) was installed as the Master of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge #2076 in London on Thursday 14th November. About a dozen #5502 members travelled down to celebrate with him on his attaining that office after several years of helping to publish the AQC transactions. This makes him one of the few people to have been Master of #5502 and then #2076 research lodges – John Wade and Neville Barker-Cryer (WM 1998, and who sadly died in July 2013) have held the Masterships in the reverse order. His inaugural address at #2076 was entitled “The special significance of the Quatuor Coronati in relation to modern Freemasonry”, and will be published in full in AQC – the Quatuor Coronati (the four crowned ones) were stonemasons and Christians in the Roman Empire who were executed under Emperor Diocletian early in the 4th Century AD.