The Old Rules of the Grand Lodge at York have been transcribed from the original, written on parchment which is now in the custody of the York Lodge, No. 236, which meets at the Masonic Hall, York. They are as follows Articles agreed to be kept and observed by the Antient Society of Freemasons in the City of York and to be subscribed by every Member thereof at their Admittance into the said Society.

Imprimis. That every first Wednesday in the month a Lodge shall be held at the house of a Brother according as their turn shall fall out.

2. All Subscribers to these Articles not appearing at the monthly Lodge shall forfeit Sixpence each time.

3. If any Brother appear at a Lodge that is not a Subscriber to these Articles, he shall pay over and above his club [i.e. subscription] the sum of one Shilling.

4. The Bowl shall be filled at the monthly Lodges with Punch once, Ale, Bread, Cheese and Tobacco in common, but if any more shall be called for by any Brother, either for eating or drinking, that Brother so calling shall pay for it himself besides his club.

5. The Master or Deputy shall be obliged to call for a Bill exactly at ten o’clock, if they meet in the evening and discharge it.

6. None to be admitted to the making of a Brother but such as have subscribed to these Articles.

7. Timely notice shall be given to all the Subscribers when a Brother or Brothers are to be made.

8. Any Brother or Brothers presuming to call a Lodge with a design to make a Mason or Masons, without the Master or Deputy, or one of them deputed, for every such offence shall forfeit the sum of Five Pounds.

9. Any Brother that shall interrupt the Examination of a Brother shall forfeit one Shilling.

10. Clerk’s Salary for keeping the Books and Accounts shall be one Shilling, to be paid him by each Brother at his admittance and at each of the two Grand days he shall receive such gratuity as the Company [i.e. those present] shall think proper.

11. A Steward to be chose for keeping the Stock at the Grand Lodge, at Christmas and the Accounts to be passed three days after each Lodge.

12. If any disputes arise, the Master shall silence them by a knock of the Mallet, any Brother that shall presume to disobey shall immediately be obliged to leave the Company, or forfeit five Shillings.

13. An Hour shall be set apart to talk Masonry.

14. No person shall be admitted into the Lodge but after having been strictly examined.

15. No more persons shall be admitted as Brothers of this Society that shall keep a Public House.

16. That these Articles shall at Lodges be laid upon the Table, to be perused by the Members and also when any new Brothers are made, the Clerk shall publicly read them.

17. Every new Brother at his admittance shall pay to the Wait[er]s as their Salary, the sum of two shillings, the money to be lodged in the Steward’s hands and paid to them at each of the Grand days.

18.The Bidder of the Society shall receive of each new Brother at his admittance the sum of one Shilling as his Salary [see Rule 7].

19. No Money shall be expended out of the Stock after the hour of ten, as in the fifth Article.

These Laws were signed by ” Ed. Bell, Master” and 87 Members ; and though not unusual in character for the period, they likely to be the earliest regulations known of the old Lodge at York.

These Rules offer us however a considerable contrast to the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of England, published two years previously.

We discover sufficient of the style of their meetings to see that the Freemasons of York, at that early date, had begun to bestir themselves and assume the prerogatives of a Grand Lodge; doubtless in consequence of the London Constitutions being published, a little rivalry being engendered between the two bodies and because public attention was being directed to the Fraternity.” With regard to Rule 17, it has been assumed that this is a contraction for ” waiters,” but it is not improbable that it really means what it says. Raine, in his Glossary of the Fabric Rolls, published in 1859, says that ” Waits are musicians who still parade the towns in the north of England at Christmas time. At Durham they had a regular livery and wore a silver badge. Their musical abilities at the present time are not of the most striking character, but formerly they were deemed worthy enough to assist the choristers of the Minster.”

Hughan, in “Masonic Sketches”, gives a “Schedule of the Regalia, Records, etc.,” dated September 15, 1779, but it is much to be regretted that the “narrow folio manuscript Book, beginning 7th March 1705‑6, containing sundry Accounts and Minutes relative to the Grand Lodge” is missing, all efforts of discovery having so far proved abortive. With that valuable document before us, it would doubtless be easy to obtain clues to several puzzles which at present confront us. Its contents were well known in 1778, as the following letter indicates, which was sent by the then Grand Secretary (York) to B. Bradley, of London (J. W. of the Lodge of Antiquity), in order to satisfy him and William Preston (P.M. of the same old Lodge and author of “Illustrations of Masonry”) of the existence of the ancient Grand Lodge at York before the year 1717;

“Sir, In compliance with your request to be satisfied of the existence of a Grand Lodge at York previous to the establishment of that at London in 1717, I have inspected an Original Minute Book of this Grand Lodge beginning at 1705 and ending in 1734 from which I have extracted the names of the Grand Masters during that period as follows; 1705 Sir George Tempest, . . . .”