Freemasonry: The Naked Truth

Becoming a Freemason in Salford

Becoming a Freemason

There are now three strands of Freemasonry in France, which extend into the rest of Continental Europe:-

Liberal, also called adogmatic or progressive – Principles of liberty of conscience, and laicity, particularly the separation of the Church and State.

Traditional – Old French ritual with a requirement for a belief in a Supreme Being. (This strand is typified by the Grande Loge de France).

Regular – Standard Anglo-American ritual, mandatory belief in Supreme Being.

The term Continental Freemasonry was used in Mackey's 1873 Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to "designate the Lodges on the Continent of Europe which retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the United States of America". Today, it is frequently used to refer to only the Liberal jurisdictions typified by the Grand Orient de France.

The majority of Freemasonry considers the Liberal (Continental) strand to be Irregular, and thus withhold recognition. The Continental lodges, however, did not want to sever masonic ties. In 1961, an umbrella organisation, Centre de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS) was set up, which today provides a forum for most of these Grand Lodges and Grand Orients worldwide. Included in the list of over 70 Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are representatives of all three of the above categories, including mixed and women's organisations. The United Grand Lodge of England does not communicate with any of these jurisdictions, and expects its allies to follow suit. This creates the distinction between Anglo-American and Continental Freemasonry.

In the early 20th century Freemasonry was an influential semi-secret force in Italian politics with a strong presence among professionals and the middle class across Italy, as well as among the leadership of the parliament, public administration, and the army. The two main organisations were the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge of Italy. They had 25,000 members in 500 or more lodges. Freemasons took on the challenge of mobilizing the press, public opinion and the leading political parties in support of Italy's joining the Allies of the First World War in 1914–1915. Traditionally, they promoted Italian nationalism focused on unification, and undermining the power of the Catholic Church. In 1914-15 they dropped the traditional pacifistic rhetoric and used instead the powerful language of Italian nationalism. Freemasonry had always promoted cosmopolitan universal values, and by 1917 onwards they demanded a League of Nations to promote a new post-war universal order based upon the peaceful coexistence of independent and democratic nations.

Freemasonry and women

Main articles: Freemasonry and women and Co-Freemasonry

The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of medieval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole" allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had wide local variations, such as full membership of a trade body or limited trade by deputation or approved members of that body. In Masonry, the small available evidence points to the less empowered end of the scale.

These considerations cause many masonic historians to see him as the guiding intelligence as the new Grand Lodge embarked on an era of self-publicity, which saw the sudden expansion of speculative Masonry, with a corresponding rise in anti-masonic groups and publications. Initiations began to be reported in newspapers. The noble grand masters were often fellows of the Royal Society, but the Duke of Wharton (1722–23) had just had his Hell-fire club shut down by the government, and joined, or possibly formed, an anti-masonic group called the Gormagons almost as soon as he left office. From 1721 the installation of the new Grand Master was the occasion for a parade, originally on foot, later in carriages. This became the subject of some ridicule, until starting in 1740 there were also mock processions by anti-masonic groups, leading to the discontinuation of the practice in 1747. The rapid expansion of Freemasonry also led to many new lodges failing after only a year or two. In addition to attacks from outside the craft, there were now disillusioned ex-masons willing to make money out of "exposures" of Freemasonry.

The City of Salford (/ˈsɒlfərd/) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after its main settlement Salford. The borough extends west from Salford to include the towns of Eccles, Worsley, Swinton, Walkden, Little Hulton, and Irlam. The city has a population of 245,600, and is administered from the Salford Civic Centre in Swinton.

The city's boundaries, set by the Local Government Act 1972, include five former local government districts. It is bounded on the south east by the River Irwell, which forms part of its boundary with Manchester to the east, and by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south, which forms its boundary with Trafford. The metropolitan boroughs of Wigan, Bolton and Bury lie to the west, northwest and north respectively. Some parts of the city, which lies directly west of Manchester, are highly industrialised and densely populated, but around one third of the city consists of rural open space. The western half of the city stretches across an ancient peat bog, Chat Moss. Salford has a history of human activity stretching back to the Neolithic age. There are over 250 listed buildings in the city, including Salford Cathedral, and three Scheduled Ancient Monuments. With the Industrial Revolution, Salford and its neighbours grew along with its textile industry. The former County Borough of Salford was granted city status in 1926. Thus, it is the local government district that is a "city", not the settlement of Salford itself. The city and its industries experienced decline throughout much of the 20th century. Since the 1990s, parts of Salford have undergone regeneration, especially Salford Quays, home of BBC North and Granada Television, and the area around the University of Salford. Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Super League and Salford City F.C. are a professional football club in League Two. Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, in Trafford, is opposite Salford Quays.

Although the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford was a 20th-century creation, the area has a long history of human activity, extending back to the Stone Age. Neolithic flint arrow-heads and tools, and evidence of Bronze Age activity has been discovered in Salford. The northerly section of Watling Street, a Roman road from Manchester (Mamucium) via Bury to Ribchester (Bremetennacum), passes through the city; a hoard of over 550 bronze Roman coins dating between 259 AD and 278 AD was discovered in Boothstown; and a Romano-British bog body, Worsley Man, was discovered in the Chat Moss peat bog. In 1142, a monastic cell (small monastic house) dedicated to St. Leonard was established in Kersal. The 12th century hundred of Salford was created as Salfordshire in the historic county of Lancashire and survived until the 19th century, when it was replaced by one of the first county boroughs in the country. Salford became a free borough in about 1230, when it was granted a charter as a free borough by the Earl Ranulph of Chester. The cell in Kersal was sold in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. A 16th-century manor house, called Kersal Cell, was built on the site of the priory. In the English Civil War between King Charles I and parliament, Salford was Royalist. Salford was also noted as Jacobite territory; its inhabitants supported Charles Edward Stuart's claim to the Kingdom of Great Britain and hosted him when he rode through the area during the Jacobite rising of 1745.

The City of Salford is bounded to the north by the boroughs of Bolton and Bury, to the south by Trafford, to the west by Wigan and to the east by Manchester. The natural mossland of Chat Moss lies in the south western corner of the city; it covers an area of about 10.6 square miles (27.5 km2), accounting for about 30% of the city's area, and lies 75 feet (23 m) above sea level. The moss makes up the largest area of prime farmland in Greater Manchester. Kersal Moor is an area of moorland spanning 8 hectares (20 acres) in Kersal; it is a local nature reserve and a Site of Biological Importance. Greenspace accounts for 55.7% of the City of Salford's total area, domestic buildings and gardens comprise 20.0%, and the rest is made up of roads and non-domestic buildings. To the south of Salford are the docks of Salford Quays, now home to the Media City UK. Media City UK is a large area that crosses the boundary into Trafford Park, Trafford. Although Salford Quays is in the City of Salford new M50 postcodes were distributed to the area to separate and create new boundaries in the early 2000s. Arguably [weasel words] the most affluent area in Salford, the Quays (as it is locally known) has seen regeneration and a growth in job opportunities and available housing in the 2010s. The River Irwell runs south east through Kearsley, Clifton and Agecroft then meanders around Lower Broughton and Kersal, Salford Crescent and the centre of Manchester, joining the rivers Irk and Medlock. Turning west, it meets the Mersey south of Irlam, where the route of the river was altered in the late 19th century to form part of the course of the Manchester Ship Canal. The ship canal, opened in 1894, forms part of Salford's southern boundaries with Trafford. The city's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The nearest weather station is 10 miles (16 km) away at Ringway, in Manchester; the mean highest and lowest temperatures (13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and 6.4 °C (43.5 °F)) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall (806.6 millimetres (31.76 in)) and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages.

Becoming a Freemason in United Kingdom

Becoming a Freemason in England

Region          North West England

Ceremonial county & Combined authority        Greater Manchester

Admin HQ     Swinton

Historic county         Salford Hundred, Lancashire

City status (Salford)            1926

Metropolitan borough status         1 April 1974

City status     1 April 1974

Government

 • Type           Metropolitan borough, City

 • Governing body   Salford City Council

 • Ceremonial Mayor           Cllr Peter Connor

 • Elected Mayor      Paul Dennett (L)

 • MPs:           Rebecca Long-Bailey (L)

Graham Stringer (L)

Barbara Keeley (L)

Area

 • Total           37.53 sq mi (97.19 km2)

Elevation       223 ft (68 m)

Population (mid-2019 est.)

 • Total           258,834 (Ranked 66th)

 • Density      5,810/sq mi (2,243/km2)

 • Ethnicity

(2005 estimate)        93.3% White

3.9% S.Asian and mixed

1.5% Black and mixed

1.0% Chinese and other

Demonyms   Salfordian

Time zone     UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)

Postcode      

M

Area code(s) 0161

ISO 3166-2   GB-SLF

ONS code     00BR (ONS)

E08000006 (GSS)

OS grid reference    SJ805985

NUTS 3         UKD31

Website         www.salford.gov.uk