Freemasonry and Women

From London and the Isle of Mull, George Sassoon reports to Ron Bracewell:

"As regards freemasons, I made a considerable study of them in view of their possible origins in the Knights Templars. When I borrowed a number of books on the subject from the Cambridge U.L., the man at the book check-out said: "you aren't thinking of joining are you, sir? My brother did and it cost him a fortune!". I reassured him that I was using the books purely for research.

In Britain, the masons are comparatively harmless politically, though a lot of policemen, lawyers and leading criminals are members which it is alleged has led to some very dubious acquittals. I have been told that the local lodge in Warminster, Wiltshire is like this. I was invited to join the one in the Isle of Mull to which a number of my friends belong, and which seems reasonably OK, but declined on the grounds that it would prevent me from discussing or writing about the brotherhood. The subscription there is only 15 pounds ($25) a year, and it is little more than a drinking club.

On the continent it is a different matter; the masons there are regarded as very sinister. I have a Belgian friend living here in Britain and invited him to join me at the Mason's Arms, Warminster, a pub noted for the excellence of its Bass beer. He was most reluctant, and I had to tell him that the establishment had no connection with the brotherhood, which holds its meetings elsewhere.

Anyway, as the result of my researches I became convinced that the masons did in fact originate from a group of Templars who escaped persecution at the hands of the French king, and landed up in Scotland via Ireland. They acted as military advisers to Robert the Bruce, enabling him to win an unprecedented victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314). In return, Robert allowed them to continue their activities in Scotland, and thence it spread to the rest of the world.

In Scotland, the women regard freemasonry with tolerant amusement rather than as a manifestation of male chauvinism. When their husbands go off to a lodge meeting, they say: "Och, he's away riding the goat."

Ronald Hilton - 7/19/01