THE MINERVA LODGE

The Minerva Lodge [Moderns] first saw the light of day on 8 th Oct. 1783 at a time when the northern part of America was legislating to prohibit the slave trade. Its first Worshipful Master Edward Coulson was an Alderman and a merchant in the High St who died in 1789. Coulson was a past Mayor of Hull who had been in office in 1781 when the money was voted for to found the Hull Infirmary. [ The Infirmary was sited initially in George St. in rented property, in what later became the Dorchester cinema.] Thereafter in 1784 it moved to a new building in the future Prospect Street.]

Coulson had been initiated in York’s Apollo Lodge and eventually became the Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 1782-85. Oddly enough, the senior and junior wardens named on the Warrant, important merchants in the town, never actually attended the lodge at all. It can only be supposed that WM Coulson made use of Messer’s Pease and Porter to attract support for the new venture. Naturally he would know them both well from his time as mayor, as well as through business. To balance this, two senior members of the Rodney Lodge, Samuel Bean [died 1810] and Thomas Fletcher defected after two years and joined the Minerva Lodge instead.

The Minerva Lodge was opened in style with the dignitaries from Provincial Grand Lodge of York present, one of whom was Dr. William Spencer a former Hull man. This Spencer was the one who, together with Lakeland, sold the ground on which the Hull Infirmary was built in 1784. It is now known as The Prospect Centre.

The lodge met in a small hostelry in Chapel Lane called the Masons Arms, which had a large back room, and this building was used by Minerva Lodge members until 1802 when they built their own premises. There were 14 members and three guests who sat down to dine at this early date, at a cost of three shillings each, one of the members being the landlord of the Masons Arms itself, Samuel Richmond. Sadly He died in 1797, aged 56 yrs, while they were still at Chapel Lane and his widow Isabella took over the premises. The Masons discreetly helped her financially. The pub itself continued until well after 1853 when it was finally demolished and replaced by a tin works. It stood nearly opposite the site where J.H. Fenner, had his workshop in later years at no 8. [Davis.]

The Masons Arms.

From Ellerby J. The History of the Minerva Lodge.1935 .

One of the first items of business was the fine of 10 /6d levied upon Charles Limeburner who refused to be made a Mason after expressing a desire to do so. He lived appropriately just outside the town walls where the limekiln creek used to run. This was an area where bricks were made which were used extensively in Hull, and where the original river Hull flowed out to the Humber. Presumably his forebears had been involved with the limekilns. Charles may have been put off the ceremony by the rumours of a “Masonic hot poker”! He would know nothing of the sharpness of the two swords recently purchased by Minerva from George Wallis for 28 shillings.

In 1785 The Worshipful Master [WM] Thomas Fletcher and the Senior Warden [SW,] Samuel Bean travelled to York to attend the Provincial Grand Lodge. The journey by stage coach used to take six hours each way and cost £2-8s [paid by the lodge]. It would involve an overnight stay and was rather laborious, depending on the weather conditions.

New memberships were about nine per annum, and the average age of candidates was 30 yrs. They came from as far away as Sweden and seemed slightly less professional in mix than the Rodney’s members. One of the new members, Charles Hart 35yrs had previously been a Mason and was admitted for half the registration fee. His occupation is not given. He was from Hull and may well have been a civilian member from the E. Y. Militia Lodge no. 442 [later 356] stationed in Beverley. This lodge was a military lodge that was founded in April of 1782 and moved around the country depending upon military requirements. It was responsible for the establishment of the Constitutional Lodge No 294 in Beverley in 1793. It itself, ceased to exist by 1829 and had probably not met for some years before that as it was ‘disembodied or embodied ‘from time to time. [Disbanded] This military lodge had a few Hull members but the membership reflected where the militia was stationed. Henry Maister of Hull, was a joining a member at the time he was the Colonel of the Regiment in 1787. He was from an important merchant family in the High Street of Hull. Another name, well known in Hull, was Robert Hustwick, a coach maker from near Mytongate, who was initiated in 1785.

Under the influence of Coulson the lodge was one of the earliest supporters of the Hull Infirmary, and the Sunday Schools Movement. This suggests that the early lodges were not just drinking clubs as some would suppose. However the punch bowls on the tables were frequently consulted during ‘labour as well as refreshment. ‘An average night’s drinking cost the lodge £2 and 10 shillings and, as stated, punch was available during and after the ceremony. There were many fines operative for bad behaviour and conduct like whispering in the lodge during a ceremony [not exactly unknown today] was fined in those days. Even the WM might be fined and in 1791 WM Atkinson was; for forgetting to put his apron on! [Peck]

The membership of the lodge fluctuated widely. There appear to have been 14 Masons originally. The initiation fee was 3 guineas, the annual fee 16 shillings [8 shillings for mariners] of which there were seven in 1799. The 1799 Unlawful Societies Act from which the Masons were partially exempted gives us some idea of the membership of certain years. It was rather undignified for the Masons to have their names scrutinized by the local dignitaries at the Quarter Sessions while sitting in judgement on all the petty thieves, rogues and vagabonds, but the alternative was closure.

These numbers reflect the rise and fall in the fortunes of the lodge. There were only three of the original members left by 1799, Bro’s Hallam, Wilkinson and Watson; all of them had been through the Chair, that is taken the senior position in the lodge.

Tivoli Tavern, 1 Mytongate, formerly the Bull & Sun Inn

[Photo. Ted. Tuxworth collection]

On the occasion of the centenary celebration of when William of Orange landed at Torbay in 1688, and the birthday of King William the third [1788], the Rodney and the Minerva Lodges met at the Bull and Sun together with visitors from around the neighbourhood. At this time there were the St. Mathews Lodge at Barton on Humber [formed 1787], St. Georges East Yorks. Militia, at Beverley [1782,] and lodges at York [1761] and Scarborough [1729]. These lodges were all linked by reasonable toll roads or ferry, but the distances were such that only visitors from Barton and Beverley were likely to have appeared, and then in small numbers because of the expense and time involved. The Masons proceeded to march to join the citizens of Hull who were meeting at the Cross Keys in Market place. Together they journeyed to Holy Trinity Church. After the service a more extended march was made with much music, the Masons parading their banners. On arriving back at King William’s Statue, where troops were assembled, the Masons paraded round the statue three times and gave three cheers after which they returned to the Bull and Sun. [Tickell]. Later, a fireworks display brought the evening to a climax. There would be the usual favourite fireworks, Golden Rain, Roman candles and Catherine wheels with rockets, fixed pieces, mortars, balloons and fountains illuminating the sky. [ An intriguing piece, the Dead and Alive wheel was lit on a display in 1815 to pay tribute to the Duke of Wellington and his brave men. ][Hull Advertiser] The whole town was specially illuminated after the firework display. The illumination would consist of many hundreds of oil lamps and beacons on the public buildings and merchants’ houses, together with bonfires, which would be most impressive when it is remembered that the town would be sparsely lit on a normal night. [Sheahan.] The fire risk must have been considerable. In 1809 the lodges marched and this time the new Humber Lodge [to be] was with them. They all dined together and the loyal toast was observed and cheered with a” three times” salute [Taylor]. Such processions were popular in the town and repeated in later years. Eventually marching did not take place without sanction after the union of the Grand Lodges in 1813. The local Masons did manage to sneak one in, in 1812, just before the union. of the rival Grand Lodges, and another to celebrate the victory at Waterloo in 1815 Presumably Beverley, Barton and Grimsby Lodges were represented.

LOCAL LODGES 1761-1812

The period from 1792-96 was one of very poor attendances. In 1799 the members, 37 of them in all, included George Earle a stonemason, John Medd, a leather cutter, David Mills a confectioner whose business was saved by some lodge assistance, his premises having burned down, Thomas Griffin, a painter, whose son achieved fame as a painter of marine art, Robert Feetam, a mariner and possibly the father of Thomas Feetam, a Mason of Minerva and later Humber Lodges, and Thomas Brown, a surgeon.

In 1800 the Rodney Lodge had built its own hall. The Minerva, not to be outdone, also obtained land from the same source; the Swedenborgians of Dagger Lane . They leased it on a 99 year lease and were able to let off part of the premises at £16 a year to the currier Thomas Medd, [father of John Medd] which covered the ground rent. A member of their own lodge built it, one Bro.Frank Appleyard. The land leased was approximately 44.5ft long and 25ft wide with about 140sq.yds of surrounding fringe, and the building was a lot smaller than the Mytongate Hall. By this means they were able to function much more cheaply than the Rodney. The hall was above a leather curing works which may or may not have been unpleasant depending on the tanning process, but the area was, as was the Rodney premises, surrounded by slaughter houses and many other sources of noxious smells from the vegetable or whale oil production, glue and varnish producers, and a brewery. The author can recall in the 1950s onwards, the smells of the fish meal processing in Hull if the wind was in the wrong direction. The smells of Stoneferrry and its industries then were overpowering at times, though perhaps unnoticed by the residents. There was an occasion in the period around 1980 when a surgeon refused to operate at the Hull Royal Infirmary because the smell was too distracting!

Robert Tealby, a raff merchant, [second hand dealer, particularly in marine equipment] was the Master at this time and also on later occasions. He became the Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 1809.

Bro. John Chapman, an upholsterer, was asked to make chairs in the York Lodge fashion, for 10 guineas or less. He did this but his bill was £25 and 17shillings. He was paid with reluctance. There was another Chapman, George Chapman in Rodney, a druggist. Perhaps they were related to, or even descendants of Nathaniel Chapman one of the first Masons in the town. Hull was a very small place with relatively few surnames.

There is no doubt that our forefathers observed the charitable principles of Masonry and looked after each other and the poor by means of collections for them. It is claimed and highly likely that both the Rodney and Minerva Lodges fell into financial difficulties in the early 1800’s partly because both lodges were too generous in assisting members in these impoverished times. Their funds were simply not adequate for the purpose.

In 1806 it is recorded that John Medd and the trustees entered into a business relationship with a William Potchett, a dancing master, who leased a certain low room or cellar beneath the lodge for a dance studio. As the minute book is lost no more is known of this intriguing let for a school of dancing. John Medd was now styled a gentleman, and Thomas Medd the currier [cutter, finisher and greaser of the leather with whale oil or dog faeces to make it suppler] is not mentioned so perhaps he had retired and the son become rich enough to move to other premises. The smell of leather might have been rather unromantic for the dancers.

In 1813 when the Ancients and Moderns united, there were a few teething troubles between the lodges. Minerva’s view that Atholl [Ancient] Masons would have to pay up and be re obligated before visiting them, probably caused trouble with the Humber Lodge. The Rodney and the Minerva both insisted that Humber raised its initiation and joining fees to match theirs.

The formation of The Apollo Lodge of Grimsby was supported in 1812. It acquired the old Warrant from a lodge in Louth [no.510] and prospered under its WM the Rev. George Oliver [born 1782]who had been, and continued to be, a frequent and popular visitor to Hull.He was exalted in the Rodney Chapter in 1813. Oliver was the Provincial Grand Chaplain of Lincolnshire in 1816, though he was not ordained until 1813. He was a colourful character who often courted controversy. A man of many talents he even wrote a comedy “The Sleeping Barber”. Initiated in Peterborough in 1801 at the age of 18 years by special dispensation, he had a distinguished Masonic career and was known as a prolific writer of Masonic history and an antiquary of note. He received an honorary rank as Past Deputy Grand Master of Massachusetts amongst others.

In 1817 all three lodges were in a financial tangle. In 1818 Minerva eased its problems by increasing the annual fee and by borrowing money from its members against the security of the lodge building. Most of the original trustees had died or left and all or most of the lodge members appear to have become trustees. There were 22 named including James Dibb, a broker and a previous Master, who had left after adverse comments on his second marriage whilst WM. in 1812-13. He was the one who had presented the lodge with a cask of Port. Such ingratitude! Presumably the building was valued at this time and most of the members bought a share, thus raising ready cash. Rodney disintegrated and formed a new lodge ,a move which was not exactly constructive and Humber was saved ultimately by mass defections from other lodges in particular Minerva [no. 467.]

George Coulson was WM in 1821 and 1822. He was a wine merchant and the grandson of Edward Coulson, the first WM. George was mayor in 1825 and 1828.

In 1819 Bro.William Crow became a joining member of the Lodge and was promoted rapidly to Senior Deacon. In 1823 he became the WM and First Principal of the Minerva Chapter as well. He had previously been initiated into the Godolphin Lodge [no.235] in the Scilly Isles in 1806[Grand Lodge records] and had become a member of the Hull Minerva Chapter in 1814.

One of the little mysteries described in the minutes occurred in 1821 when Bro. Crow presented the lodge with a silk flag in memory of Brother Viscount Nelson, painted by Mrs Jane Willoughby. She was a local portrait painter married to a member of the Lodge, a John Willoughby, a painter who came from a family of marine painters. John was said to have been taught by Ibbotson, the well known painter. Willoughby left the lodge in 1825 and went to the Humber and later became the Secretary there. He died at the age of 37yrs in 1831 and his widow continued his business as best she could. She sold the ladders and paint pots but retained the shop in Savill St. selling art materials.

The flag is a mystery similar to that of the stone in a lodge at Yarmouth, where a Nelson memorial stone exists, carved from a block of marble, in 1805 to form a perfect Ashlar. [Barker Cryer] Unfortunately Nelson was not a Mason as far as can be ascertained. [Webb] Crow was a sailor who might have sailed with Nelson though this is unlikely. He was not listed as being at Trafalgar and the ships he served on did not sail with Nelson at the relevant times. He hailed from Yarmouth; probably attended lodges there and thus might be aware of this stone and may have thought Nelson to have been a Mason therefore. The stone still is in existence. The flag will have long since disappeared.

The Nelson Stone.

Courtesy of Neville Barker Cryer

Crow was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and had lived all his adult life in a man’s world. He was used to discipline and command and soon exerted an undue influence on the lodge and on Hull Masonry. He and other kindred spirits had a different view as to how Masonry should progress and appears to have plotted and schemed on how to do so. In October of 1821 Crow applied to be a member of the Phoenix Lodge but they blackballed him possibly because he was a recent new member at the Minerva already. He and others then met under the banner of the Rodney Lodge which was by now defunct. Thirdly he became a member of the Humber Lodge in 1824 and dominated it, as it was on its last legs, having but few members.

Crow attended the Minerva Lodge one evening in 1827 and proposed that Bro. Northern, a watchmaker and jeweller, be raised to the Third Degree. As it was rather late the WM, Samuel Talbot Hassell, a prominent Hull citizen in the marine side of business, [promoted the use of steam tugs to tow sailing ships in and around port] thinking it would be a hassle, proposed that this be deferred. This proposal was carried. Crow went into a rage, made a great nuisance of himself and was finally excluded from the lodge for the evening. He then staged a walkout with Bros. Feetam, Leonard, Walton, and others including Bro. Northern. Ultimately this culminated in the defection of 17 or more brethren to the Humber Lodge. This was a calculated and contrived move by the dissident members as it transpired later that some of them had already joined Humber. They were waiting for an excuse to leave and be members of a lodge run to their own agenda and ideas. Naturally such a loss of members had a serious effect on the Minerva Lodge, tinged no doubt with relief at having got rid of the dissidents. They must have known that these brethren were plotting against them, and secretly attending another lodge. In a small town these manoeuvres would soon be common knowledge and there would have been an atmosphere of distrust in the lodge for some time past. By 1864, the Lodge had recovered and grown to a very large and unwieldy membership. Wor.Bro. Mosely and others from the Minerva Lodge proposed founding a new lodge to equalise the numbers and were supported by the Humber Lodge in their endeavours. A large number of the Minerva brethren vehemently opposed this move as they still remembered the events of 1827 when the departure of many of their members to the Humber Lodge had nearly destroyed them. Previous proposals to found a Kingston Lodge had been based on the premise of two weak lodges amalgamating. This one would in many eyes be splitting a strong lodge instead and involve the weakening of Minerva, particularly when the other lodge, the Humber was supporting the idea. Mosely and his supporters won the day and the Kingston Lodge became the daughter lodge of the Minerva [sponsored by Humber] but was for many, an unwanted child. It soon became clear that it represented no threat to the stability of the Minerva Lodge and harmony prevailed.

In 1833 the Minerva Lodge celebrated its Centenary successfully. Then further misery was heaped upon its members for in 1833-4 not only were they down to 18 members, but the Secretary misappropriated some of the funds and the WM, [probably Brother Salsbury] ran off with most of the remainder. By 1835 the rent could not be paid and they had to sell some of their lodge furniture. The organ too was for sale. It was a very low point and Bro S. S. Walton and Bro. Larard, who had rejoined from Humber, came to their rescue and took office again.

In 1838 - 1842 the Larards’ held sway as Worshipful Masters. This may have been to stabilise the lodge again, or that there was no one else willing to take the Chair. Perhaps the C. Larard who was WM in 1840 was Thomas’s son. T. Larard was a radical Liberal and was involved with James Clay’s early efforts to become Hull’s MP. [See later]

The lodge seems, to have been a quiet one at this time. However in 1853 The Rt. Hon Thomas 2nd Earl of Zetland, the Provincial Grand Master, said that he had had more trouble with Minerva than all the other lodges in Yorkshire, North and East, put together, when they refused to pay Larard £10 they had owed him for several years. This matter went to Grand Lodge and the General Purposes Committee. Letters from the Provincial Grand Master in 1857 say that Minerva has long been a disreputable lodge, after Bro. Martin[coal merchant] had taken Larard to court over a disputed bill for coal in 1850. [Zetland 7/E/27]

One of the original members of Minerva was George Earle. [1748-1827]. He was a stone mason and came from York. His was a surprising move as in the 1770’s York had many stone buildings and Hull very few, for brick was its building material. Earle married Mary Hargrave, the daughter of a gilder and carver in 1781. They were both late in the marriage stakes and his son John [1779-1863] appears to have been born 2 years before they married. This son also became a stone mason. George Earle’s new brother in law, Joseph Hargrave [1754-1802] was an architect and George was also lucky enough to work with the architect Charles Mountain Sen. They worked together on several Hull buildings such as Pease’s’ town house in Charlotte St. and his property at Hesslewood and on other George St. premises. By making the right business connections and working at a time when it was possible to bring stone to Hull more cheaply[canals and river] and when there was increasing prosperity among the merchants Earle and his family prospered. His move from York was well timed.

Later George Earle worked with Charles Mountain junior, as did his son John. In turn John’s son, Thomas also followed the family business. In 1829 Thomas designed the pediment featuring the sea and river gods, for Trinity House in Whitefriargate. George Earle Senior was WM of the Minerva Lodge in 1794 and 1799-1800 and in 1805 he was the Grand Architect in the Province. He became friendly with the Appleyards who were builders, and his grandson Thomas married an Appleyard in 1846. The Appleyards built the Minerva and possibly the Humber Lodge and were very loyal and faithful servants to the former Lodge through good times and bad. George Earle died in 1827 and was buried at Holy Trinity church in a vault [aged 79yrs.] He too had been a good and faithful servant to Hull and the lodge. He had had three sons John, Thomas and George. John was the architect responsible for several buildings including the Pilot office, whereas George Junior and Thomas were merchants who founded the Earle’s Cement Company which eventually became Blue Circle Cement. John’s sons ,Charles and William, became ship builders, who in 1851 started their own shipyard near the new Victoria Dock. During the launch of one of their ships, the Dowthorpe, a number of people were drowned as the ship, lacking ballast, keeled over.

The Earles were well known names in Hull for ship building and repairs, the cement business, and sculptures. Perhaps the greater sculptor was William Day Keyworth, a member of the Humber Lodge. Between them the Earles and Keyworths were responsible for many of the busts and statues that we see, even today, in Hull. W D Keyworth junior in 1889 presented a figure of William Wilberforce to the Wilberforce Lodge. It had to be transported from London at a cost of £12. This has now been presented to the Hull City Council.

The Wilberforce statue by Keyworth Jun .

From’ the History of the Wilberforce Lodge’ by G. Patrick.

Thomas Fletcher, the grandson of John Fletcher, a local painter, became known as a marine artist. It was a truly Masonic inheritance. Thomas, John’s son, had been a member of an earlier lodge in the town, No.267, where he had been exalted, while his son Thomas, born in 1759 was probably the first SW of the Rodney. He was WM in 1785, 1788 and 1795. A drawing still exists done by his nephew Rouncival Fletcher, keeping alive the family traditions. It is of a heart and lungs preparation for use in the Hull Medical School of the day. [Hovell]

Drawing of Heart by Fletcher R.

From the Author’s collection.

The medical life of the city and its political life were also strengthened by Freemasons. A Dr. Thomas Brown is mentioned in the early lists. He was a partner with Mr. Thompson, a druggist. He lived in Salthouse Lane and probably died in 1803. [Bickford]

In later years The Minerva attracted a number of doctors and dentists to its ranks so that in 1861 there were 8 doctors and 4 dentists.

Of the dentists, Simeon Mosely became well known and was the first WM of the Kingston Lodge in 1864 and a member until his death. He had an extensive practice and was an inventor of a process for improving the manufacture of artificial palates for the adaptation of artificial teeth in 1854. [Patent number 574 on 10 th March 1854] This invention was challenged as to priority of introduction by dentist John Wainwright of Birkenhead.

Hull Packet Sept. 1854 isssue no. 3639.

A typical advert which appeared in the Hull Packet, the Eastern Morning News and the

Leeds Mercury between the 1850’s and the 1860’s.

In 1868 Mosely employed a young boy to act as an errand boy at his house. The boy stole a small sum of money and Mosely was kind enough not to dismiss him. Later the boy, Samuel Hoakes, stole 5/- and was then reported to the police and dismissed. He got 6 weeks hard labour. [CQB/309 660-777] Life was harsh in those days. In 1844 Mosely had had a bag of dental tools stolen from him when living in London. One of the guilty parties Mary Howe, aged 60, was sentenced at the Old Bailey and got 10 years transportation.

Mosely, who had a flourishing practice at No15 Whitefriargate [on the site of the Kardomah Café in later years and next to the Custom House] surprisingly became bankrupt in 1873 as a result of lengthy litigation, possibly relating to the patent alluded to above. He died, in 1888, totally impoverished. He had been ‘on a black square instead of a white one’ in relation to his fortunes at the end. His daughter eventually had to apply to the Lodge for financial help and was given £10.

Of the doctors, Dr.J.P. Bell of the Humber Lodge and who was an honorary member of Minerva was the Provincial Grand Master. His house, “Waverley”, was built on the site of one of the windmills which dominated the skyline near to the old Cock and Crown in Myton.In 1873 he received a splendid testimonial from the Freemasons of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire for all his Masonic work.

Testimonial piece presented to J.P. Bell in 1873.

Author’s collection.

Sir Henry Cooper came from a wealthy family of whaling ship owners. He was distinguished for much civic work and was Mayor when Queen Victoria visited in 1854 on which occasion he was knighted. He was both a consulting surgeon and then a physician to the Hull General Infirmary, and was very involved in trying to improve the sanitary condition of Hull along with a number of other Masons such as Samuelson, Moss, Blundell and Dr. J H Gibson. He had many medical interests including phosphorus poisoning. In the chronic form this was a dreadful industrial disease of the times and was known as phossy jaw. One source of the phosphorus poisoning were the fumes generated by grinding up bones, treating them with strong acid and then heating the mixture to produce white phosphorus. The workers inhaled these fumes in their ill ventilated workplace. They ate and worked long hours exposed to this hazard. It even permeated their clothes. They were paid a pittance while their employers made large profits. The end result of the absorption of the phosphorus was a necrosis of the jaw which glowed in the dark, and smelt revolting as the jaw ulcerated and rotted. This ultimately resulted in a most unpleasant death. The manufacturing process of making household matches using white phosphorus continued from 1840-1910. The use of red phosphorus was safer but three times as expensive, so the original method predominated with white phosphorus in spite of the campaign against it,[ including the Salvation Army.] Fortunately it is not seen today.

Dr. F W Casson [1819-75] bought the Hull and ER Refuge for the Insane [Argyle St.] for £3000 from his father Dr. Richard Casson and he also owned Field House, a private Asylum, humanely run, in Anlaby . He enjoyed ill health, but managed to breed 11 children, played cricket for Hull and won prizes for his cucumbers. How did he have time for Freemasonry? The Dr Richard Casson[1790- 1847] who originally had the Refuge achieved some notoriety in 1816 for stealing the body of Ann Swales Gibson, the daughter of a cow keeper, from Myton Cemetery opposite to where the Cock and Crown was and still might have been. The girl died on the 7 th December, was buried on the 8th and had been stolen by the 9 th. When the father was informed he brought a court case against Dr. Casson. It appeared in court that Dr. Casson wished to make an anatomical dissection and so, assisted by his apprentice Henry Ellotson and a mysterious McTurk, had obtained the body. This was a crime which was common in London where the anatomy schools flourished, but would be rare in Hull. Casson had a busy surgical practice and many pupils. By the time that Hull got a medical school the Anatomy Act of 1832 had been passed enabling the bodies of unclaimed paupers or criminals to be used for dissection. The previous supply, from those hung from the scaffold or obtained illegally, did not satisfy the demand for dissecting material. Casson and his accomplices pleaded guilty and the Judge was quite lenient with them: a little moralising, a month for each of them in the local gaol and a fine of £100 for Dr. Casson. The father, Mr. Gibson, the injured party, was very surprised to receive a bill for the court case of over £22 and, as times were hard for cow keepers, he wrote to the Mayor asking if the costs could be taken from Casson’s fine. [Hull City Archives] Dr. Casson continued his medical career as there was no General Medical Council in those days to censure him. It was a difficult situation for surgeons and public alike. He continued to show an interest in anatomy and appears as a lecturer in anatomy and physiology and gave demonstrations at the new Medical School in 1832. As an Alderman and part time proprietor of the local newspaper perhaps he got off lightly. Three other young men, J. Godshead, aged 22, G. Scruton, 22 and J. Reiley, 17, got 3 months in jail and a fine of £20 each for a similar offence a few years later in 1834. The lady, Elizabeth Smith aged 66, who had died, was removed in a gig from the graveyard at Myton and left outside the old dissection rooms in Charles St. where the new Medical School was. No one there claimed it. The plan had gone wrong. The three men were eventually charged with stealing part of the shroud to the value of a penny, being the goods and chattels of her son William Smith. The charge over the theft of the cloth was because there was no financial value in a corpse in law but there was in a shred of cloth so a charge of theft could be brought. In 1836 a man called William Willis jumped over the wall of the graveyard whilst body snatching and fell and suffered double compound fracture of the leg. At the time He was carrying a foetus for some reason. He was not charged for his potential crime but he would have to have an amputation which carried a sizeable death rate. Body snatching occurred rarely for some years thereafter. [Hull Advertiser and Hull City Archives]

Myton (Kingston) cemetery today.

From the Author’s collection .

Dr. A. O. Arden was credited with reorganising the Minerva Lodge, putting it on a sound footing and making it more attractive. He unfortunately died aged 39 at the height of his powers and was a great loss to the lodge. There still exists a leaflet advertising a fund raising concert for the Benevolent Fund of the Lodge dated January 29 th 1857 and entitled “You Can’t Marry Your Grandmother” to be followed by ”Bombastis Furioso”. Arden was the WM at the time.

John Hare Gibson was a lecturer at the Hull and ER Medical School, which as one of the early peripheral medical schools was catering for young men to train at low cost compared with London. Sadly it was never really viable and closed in 1869. He, like Cooper, was a sanitary reformer but their efforts unfortunately did not avail to save Freemason John Ward when the next cholera epidemic struck in 1849. Gibson used to help his fellow Mason Dr. Casson at the Asylum on occasion. Gibson was widely read, knowledgeable about phrenology and mesmerism, well known topics in their day [Bickford] as well as about Mozart and Haydn who also happened to be Masons.

Dr. Thomas Walton, who came from an old and well connected family in Hull, was a surgeon and was WM in 1862. Four years later he resigned upon becoming a Roman Catholic, the Church not seeing eye to eye with Freemasonry..

Dr Angus McMillan was involved with a murder case in Hull in 1860 as a witness. He was the surgeon to many local institutions and a town councillor in 1864.

Dr. John Holden, who was born locally, went to the Hull Medical School and eventually lectured there. He lived in the Land of Green Ginger, the street with an evocative name.

Of the other personalities perhaps Zachariah Charles Pearson deserves a mention if only that the author spent many lunch hours in Pearson Park in the post war years. Pearson, the son of a merchant and master mariner lost his mother when he was young. She died in childbirth at her tenth pregnancy in 1825. The father, also Zachariah, in 1812 owned a small ship, the Midas, in a prize of war, but was a bankrupt by 1827. [Hull Shipping Register] Zachariah Junior ran away to sea briefly as a boy of 12, before being brought back to attend the Hull Grammar School. He later went back to sea at16 as an apprentice and rose rapidly through the ranks, was a captain by 1842, made a fortune and become a ship owner of consequence. His father became newsworthy when he rescued a child from drowning in 1822. He had bravely plunged into the swollen Sutton Drain to rescue the small daughter of one of his neighbours [, a Mr. Almond, a corn merchant,] even though he was virtually a non swimmer. [Hull Advertiser] Hull being low lying had many water hazards which attracted children. Many inquests were held on such in those times.

Zachariah Charles Pearson, a man of great personal charm, rapidly rose through the civic ranks and became Mayor in 1859 at the age of 38 yrs.

ZC Pearson .

Unpublished picture of Z.C. Pearson by courtesy of Marian Shaw.

It was he who suggested building a modern Town Hall [the Council met in Jarratt’s converted house in Lowgate before that] and was involved with the restoration of Holy Trinity Church and the opening of the Spring Head waterworks. Amongst other things he laid the foundation stone of the building that is now the Masonic Hall, Beverley Road, Hull where the Kingston, De La Pole, and Lord Bolton Lodges meet along with several others. He presented the land for the Pearson Park for the use of the people of Hull during his mayoralty. This showed him to be a clever businessman for he gave the land for the park [27 acres] but kept the fringe for sale for housing [10 acres], clearly made more attractive because of the park. He arranged for others to build the carriage road around the park and so gave the people their park at minimum cost and maximum credit to himself. A menu for the dinner he gave [gentlemen only] to celebrate the event, at the Station Hotel [Quality Royal Hotel now] is still displayed there.

Menu on the occasion of the opening of Pearson Park.

Courtesy of the Quality Royal Hotel, Hull.

It had become obvious in Victorian times that the working class in the towns were starved of recreational space and a philanthropic movement was started to create “peoples parks” for them. Pearson’s was the twentieth park in the country so designated. Thomas Earle’s statue of Queen Victoria commissioned by Pearson which still graces the park was impounded by the assignee when Pearson became bankrupt. It was eventually quietly paid for by Brother W H. Moss, a solicitor and member of the lodge, to save embarrassment. Queen Victoria was particularly interested in this statue as Prince Albert had helped with the carving and had died in the interim in 1861.

Queen Victoria by Earle.

From the Author’s collection .

Inauguration of Queen Victoria’s statue by Earl de Grey and Ripon 1863.

From ‘Notes relating to Hull’. Hull Local Studies Library.

Pearson was initiated into the Minerva Lodge on 13 th June 1860, and whilst a member of the Minerva Lodge he speculated heavily, by buying six Greek ships on easy credit, which he used to run guns and other goods for the Confederates in the American Civil war. A total of 10 of his ships were captured or impounded and he had not yet paid for some of them. One of Pearson’s ships, the Modern Greece was excavated in 1962 in the approaches to the Cape Fear River in America, near Wilmington and many artefacts are in the museum at Fort Fisher. [Pearson family communication]

Pearson’s descendant with gun from cargo

Courtesy of Marian Shaw.

It is ironic that the Mayor of Hull, home of Wilberforce should have been involved in this way with the pro slavery South against the North. Wilberforce must have spun in his grave. Perhaps Pearson as well as making money wanted to preserve the cotton trade and exports which would have benefited Hull industry. Over 2000 people were employed in Hull in the cotton industry. In 1862 the Kingston Cotton Mills closed as a result of the war and the shortage of raw cotton. On 24 th September 1862 Pearson was declared bankrupt and resigned his commission in the EY Artillery Volunteers and his Aldermanic gown. It was 1864 before Pearson’s’ bankruptcy hearing was reported because of its complexity and the American courts’ involvement. He owed £668,000 a colossal sum [in modern parlance over 50 million pounds]. Two years before his fall he had split away from his business partner of 6 years, James Coleman and thereafter had kept no proper accounts. He had lived somewhat extravagantly as Mayor and a public figure and may have got a little carried away by his prestigious position, this and being called “the people’s friend”. He became enticed by the chance of a 400 per cent profit deal to purchase on easy terms the Greek shipping line, previously owned by Stefanos Xenos, and now in the hands of the major London bankers Overend and Gurney. Pearson had finally and uneasily completed the deal, the Bank being very persuasive. Had he succeeded in his American adventure he would have been the richest ship-owner in the country but he was unlucky. The North American naval blockade was too effective for his ships to evade. One ship caught fire in England whilst being moved from dock to dock. The insurance company refused to pay out on a technicality as he was not covered for the short voyage. That alone lost him £35,000. He did not go to prison and was discharged from his bankruptcy in six months. Overend and Gurney a famous Quaker banking firm became bankrupt soon after, creating a situation called” Black Friday” and bigger in its day [1864] than the Northern Rock situation of 2008. A once proud and upright firm had strayed from sound business principles: it became ever more desperate in its dealings as Pearson found to his cost and finally was carried down. Justice was done. [It later evolved into Barclays bank]. Pearson lived quietly thereafter and died in 1891 at an advanced age having in due course paid off his debts in full. [Shaw M] He never owned another ship. He paid no further Masonic fees after 1861 and it is presumed that he resigned or was excluded.Opinions of him after these events were mixed. Many saw him as a victim rather than a crook. The banker JR Pease thought him “the greatest kite flyer we ever had in Hull” who had swindled Pease out of £500 and who had only £3000 to his name eight years before. Samuelson too was bitter, saying that “the town would have been better if we had never seen Mr. Pearson or his Park .” The town must have forgiven Zachariah as a memorial to him, paid for by the public, was placed in Pearson Park in 1897, carved by William Day Keyworth Junior, who tragically shot himself in 1902.

One of the most surprising personalities to be in the Minerva Lodge was Lord Ashley or Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftsbury or Lord Shaftsbury. They were one and the same person. He was a member of the Minerva Lodge in 1861. Lord Ashley was born in London in 1801, educated at Harrow and Oxford and it is difficult at first sight to see how he would become connected to a Hull lodge. When he stood for Parliament for Hull his campaign chairman was Anthony Bannister which would probably explain the fact that he became a Mason but the Humber Lodge might have been the one chosen in view of Bannister’s affiliations. Ashley was a melancholic individual who as a schoolboy decided to give his life to other interests such as the well being of the poor. He was extremely aristocratic in his manner and an Evangelical. He dissipated his energies on many causes but is perhaps best known for his Lunacy Act of 1845, his Factory Acts of 1847 and 53 and above all his work to help the boy chimney sweeps in his capacity as Chairman of the Climbing Boys Society. Their work, as 5-10 year olds, was truly beyond modern comprehension.

The Samuelsons, Martin and Alexander, were members of the lodge who had their shipyard at the mouth of the river Hull, hence Sammy’s Point, a well known landmark now graced by the” Deep “ .Martin was born in Hamburg in 1825 and moved to Hull in 1849. He had been a railway engineer by profession. He and his brother had been in partnership with a Mr. Knight, making rivets in Scott Street but in 1854 they split up from him, the year that they launched their first iron ship. Their first shipyard, in Lime Street., was cramped so they moved to land once belonging to the old Citadel at the mouth of the River Hull. They set the shipyard up in 1857 at “Sammy’s Point” and retained Scott Street for the engine production. By 1859 about 40 iron ships had been built. On 31 st October 1863, in the presence of James Clay MP, and to a gun salute from HMS Cornwallis, Martin launched 4 ships in one day. The Earl de Grey and Ripon [formerly Lord Goderich] was also in attendance and afterwards was made a Hon. Member of the Humber Lodge.

Samuelsons shipyard - Launch of 4 ships in 1863

From ‘Notes relating to Hull’ Hull Local Studies Library.

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He was at this time the Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of all England and the Provincial Grand Master of the West Riding of Yorkshire [Wildridge]. Like Clay he had been unseated from Parliament in 1852 as MP for Hull because of corruption in the election process there. He was the son of Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich of Nocton, who was the Prime Minister of George IVth for a short time before being replaced by the Duke of Wellington in 1828. The younger Goderich was not unduly put out by his loss of the Hull seat, and rapidly acquired another one elsewhere. He became Lord High Steward of Hull on the same day as the launch. Naturally Hull named a pub after him!

Earl de Grey in Full Masonic regalia.

Authors collection

Finally on this day, they all went to Pearson Park to unveil the statue of Queen Victoria by Earle, which Alderman Moss had ultimately paid for. Martin Samuelson became mayor in 1858. In 1863 Alexander withdrew from the business leaving Martin and Moss. In 1864 three ships were launched on one day and the Mayor H.J. Atkinson [a member of Minerva Lodge] and the two local MPs were in attendance, one of who was a large shareholder in the company, probably C.M. Norwood.[another MP] Cash flow was the main problem in such a rapidly expanding and fluctuating business as shipbuilding and bankruptcy soon threatened. The sleeping partner in the Samuelson’s business was W.H Moss. Moss was the solicitor to and secretary of the Dock Company, a Minerva Lodge member and Mayor of Hull in 1856 and 1862. He had a lot of explaining to do when the bankruptcy hearing occurred on 12 th April 1865. Alderman Bannister’s name became dragged into it as well. Bannister had received a payment of £871 in cash just before the firm went under. It is quite possible that Samuelson and Moss knowing of Bannister’s reputation over debtors thought it wise to pay him back quickly, and in cash, before they went bankrupt and before any other creditors appeared. Moss and Samuelson resigned their Aldermanic gowns in 1865 following the case. Martin emerged still in good repute and in 1870 designed the North Bridge over the River Hull. [The bridge before the present one] He became a founder member of the Kingston Lodge No 1010 in 1864 but resigned in 1875 becoming an honorary member in 1890. He died in 1903 aged 78. Sammy’s Point lingers with the locals but “The Deep “will no doubt soon replace it as a name for this area.

The officers who were Masons on the guard ship in the Humber, HMS Cornwallis were made honorary members of Minerva Lodge during 1857-1864. In 1857 the relationship might have been somewhat strained when the sailors went to help to put out a fire in Blanket Row at a wholesale druggists and finished up fighting the police for possession of a water hose and causing a riot. Officially the hoses belonged to the police and they were responsible for putting out fires. They may not have welcomed the assistance of amateurs. The mob, which enjoyed a fracas, was on the sailors’ side, cheering them on. There were several major injuries and in the end the Jack Tars won the day. The outcome of the fire is not mentioned. Captain Randolph who was leading them insisted on an enquiry. The Mayor, Thomas Thompson, the Magistrates, and the Watch Committee backed the police. Randolph reported it to the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State became involved before it was decided that it was much ado about nothing. Perhaps Randolph being friendly with many senior Aldermen who were Masons thought that he would be vindicated by such an enquiry so as not to get a stain on his career. Captain Randolph claimed his action was to protect his poor sailors from harassment by the police! The “fuss about nothing” included one death and a major injury. How times have changed.

HMS Cornwallis had been launched as a sailing ship in Bombay [Mumbai] in 1813 and converted from a sailing ship to steam in 1855. She was not scrapped until 1957 at Sheerness. She had served in the Crimean War in 1855 in the Baltic Theatre and before that in the Anglo Chinese [opium] war in 1841. She had a very long life.

Bro. Thomas Ewbank, another sea captain, commanded the whaler Sarah and Elizabeth in 1803. This was an ancient American built vessel built in 1775 which sailed for 84 years in the northern and southern polar seas under many captains. In 1805 Ewbank became well known for performing a T manoeuvre in which he sailed his ship in such a way that a ten or twelve gun French privateer trying to capture the Sarah and Elizabeth, and another ship, off Flamborough Head, would have come under his two guns and been shot to pieces without being able to train a gun on the whaler. The privateer realised that it had been out manoeuvred and sailed away back to France or to another target.

A figure who is less well-known is Edmond Balchin [1825-88] who was a gunsmith in Mytongate having premises adjacent to the Bull and Sun. He developed the exploding harpoon which terminated the life of a whale much more quickly than by previous methods thereby reducing its suffering, and making life safer and easier for the sailors. This was in 1859. Within a decade the trade was over, in Hull at least. [Credland]

These men are just some of those of interest, but space does not permit of them all. There is one who cannot be overlooked however.

The retired Managing Director of Blundell’s firm, H. Llewellyn Longstaff was largely responsible for financing Captain Scott’s first voyage to the Antarctic. He donated £25,000 to the Discovery expedition of 1901-4. It was he that gently insisted that a young friend of his son’s, one Ernest Shackleton join the expedition. This expedition became frozen in, and in 1903 the steam yacht Morning under Captain Colbeck [of the Hull shipping line Wilson] arrived to rescue him from the ice should it be necessary. Captain Colbeck [1871-1930] educated at the Hull Grammar School, was an experienced Merchant Navy officer from Yorkshire, with previous Antarctic experience, whose brother Haggitt Colbeck [first Captain of Hull Golf Club] was a Mason in the Minerva Lodge. Whilst out there, in December 1902 William Colbeck named an island, Scott island. This had on it a prominent stone column which he named Haggitt’s Pillar, for his brother and his mother. Scott stayed for another year, whilst sending Shackleton and the mail back to England. Mt. Longstaff in Antarctica was named by Scott after his benefactor. Scott and Shackleton were both Masons. It is of interest that Longstaff too was a Mason, being the Worshipful Master of the Kingston Lodge in Hull in 1867-68. Henry Blundell too became an early member of the Kingston Lodge. The Hull Golf Club was formed in 1904 and 7of its 9 founder members were also members of the Minerva Lodge. In those days the golf club was sited on Anlaby Road where the old Hull City football club played at Boothferry Park. It can be seen that Freemasonry was intimately intertwined with the life of the town as well as with the geography of the Antarctic.

The lodge at Dagger Lane is the second oldest lodge in the north of England according to Neville Barker Cryer. It remains an important treasure to Hull Masons particularly when so much of Hull’s Masonic inheritance has been destroyed.

Exterior of Minerva Lodge today.

Author’s collection.

Interior of Minerva Lodge today.

Courtesy of Neville Barker Cryer

In 1860 returns under the old Act of 1799 were still being made to the Quarter Sessions and the number of members was thus accurately recorded, being a total of 120, including 10 solicitors, 23 merchants and 9 doctors and dentists, but few mariners now. The latter seemed to gravitate to and predominate in the Humber Lodge. The premises must have been badly overcrowded. It is not surprising therefore that Simeon Mosely wished to form a new lodge. Thus was born the Kingston Lodge in 1864. Certain members of Minerva joined this new lodge including Martin Samuelson, the first senior warden and RA Marillier. Naturally Mosely was the first WM. It is pleasing to be able to report that both the Minerva and Humber Lodges together were instrumental in the formation of this new lodge, in a Masonic spirit of goodwill that had at times been lacking in the earlier days of their struggle for survival.

*Dedication Window, 1802*

*Minerva Lodge, Prince Street/Dagger Lane*

[Photo: www.yorkshirehistory.com 2009]

Introduction: Freemasonry and Acknowledgements
Hull Masons: The Pioneers
At the sign of the George and The Kings Head
The Rodney Lodge
The Minerva Lodge
The Humber Lodge
The Phœnix Lodge
William Crow RN
Conclusion
Bibliography

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Designed by Richard Hayton 2009
email hayton@hayton.karoo.co.uk