History
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This video is an extract from William Shaver’s Masonic Monitor of 1907, which is itself based upon Webb’s ‘Freemason’s Monitor’ of 1816. It gives an overview of the features of the 5 Orders of Architecture with a particular focus on our old friends, the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.
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A new Video! A commentary on and analysis of the 25 “ancient, universal and immutable” landmarks published by Albert Mackey in the American Quarterly Review of Freemasonry in 1858. Although clearly dated, error strewn and contentious to the modern reader, Mackey’s “landmarks” form a fascinating side-road in the histoy of the Craft. The paper “The…
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A new Video! The Craft occupies a small, but intriguing niche in the history of cinema. This video explores some of the more notable examples of Freemasonry on the silver screen and will test your filmic knowledge with a particularly challenging quiz at the end!
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A new Video! For our American brethren, this is a paper by Edward M. Gair which looks at the close Masonic connections with the Boston Tea Party, the event which triggered the American War of Independence. It looks at the crucial role played by the Green Dragon Tavern, lodge building, meeting place and safe house…
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A new Video! This anonymous presentation from July 1934 examines why ‘Blue’ is universally recognised as the Masonic colour and comes up with two contradictory theories to explain it!
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A new Video! This is a very early address given by De Witt Clinton in 1793 upon the occasion of his Installation. In it he outlines the fundamental tenets of the Craft, which have remained unchanged to this day. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
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A new Video! Next year is the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter. I had intended to save this video for that anniversary, but I’m going though a bit af an Ancient Egyptian phase at the moment, so here it is. This anonymous lecture was first presented in January…
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A new video! Owing to work commitments I don’t have time to edit up a full video this week. Instead here is a video of a Zoom presentation I did for the Qld Royal Arch Study Circle recently. It follows on from the Masonic Timeline of the Craft degrees from a few weeks ago. Apologies…
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A new Video! An interesting little undated and anonymous presentation from some time in the 1940’s or 50’s I believe, which details the ‘12 Original Points‘ of antient freemasonry. I’m not too sure of it’s historical veracity, but it will be of particular interest to Royal Arch masons. I wasn’t aware that any such details…
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A new Video! “Bronze Castings in Freemasonry – How they may have been built”, is another meticulously researched paper from Harvey Lovewell (and we know what that means – Maths content ahead!). It was first presented at the ANZMRC Kellerman lectures in 1998. Thanks again to Harvey for permission to reproduce this work.
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A new Video! The Art of Memory and Masonry is a fascinating and expertly researched talk was written by Clarence A. Anderson. I have tried my best to find a date for the text, but have been unsuccessful. My researches have found that there is a Clarence A. Anderson Jr. currently a member of St…
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A new Video! The True Masonic Student is a short presentation by Brother A.T. Hinchcliffe given to the Toowoomba Lodge of Instruction on 2 September 1954. Brother Hinchcliffe examines the meaning of the seven liberal arts and sciences to Freemasonry and identifies the ‘true’ calling for the student of Masonry.
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A new Video! 21 Masonic Aphorisms is a selection of Aphorisms for the instruction and benefit of all Freemasons, excerpted from The Book of the Lodge (1849) by Dr. George Oliver.
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A new Video! The Old Charges of Freemasonry is a detailed presentation, first published by Brother H L Haywood, describing the ‘Old Charges’ of Freemasonry, the foundation documents of Masonic practice – their origin and relevance to the Craft today.
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An Interesting Companion for a Leisure Hour Just for fun – this fascinating 1814 book is in the Library. Blending historical and geographical musings it includes a series of extracts, reflections and articles on topics Masonic. Designed to be dipped into a leisure it is an interesting companion indeed and one of my favourite texts…
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After my chastening brush with copywrite law I have re-edited the Leo Taxil video to remove the offending video content. The new (and presumably legal) version is now available here. The old version has been consigned to the pit, along with Taxil’s works and legacy!
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A new Video – Leo Taxil – The Great Masonic Hoax A follow-up to the first video I ever did. This is the story of the infamous Leo Taxil and the hoax he perpetrated, both on Masonry and the Catholic Church, in the late 19th Century. A hoax whose consequences are still reverberating to the…
From the Quarries 