Premier Grand Lodge of England - The Book of Constitutions

The Book of Constitutions

George Payne took it upon himself to write the General Regulations of a Free Mason, which were recited at his second installation as Grand Master in 1720. Very little is known of the period from 1717 to 1721, due to lack of minutes and written material, but sometime during this period the Revd. Dr. James Anderson was either commissioned or took it upon himself to write The Constitutions of the Free-Masons containing the History, Charges, Regulations, & of that most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity: For use of the Lodges. According to Anderson, he was commissioned to digest the old "Gothic Constitutions" of Freemasonry. The book was submitted for approval to Grand Lodge, and published by order of the Grand Master in 1723, with the addition of the outgoing Grand Masters method of constituting a new Masonic Lodge. It started with Desagulier's dedication to the previous Grand Master, Lord Montagu. There followed a long "Historical" introduction, tracing Freemasonry back to biblical times, a set of six "Charges" (masonic obligations), an expanded version of Payne's Regulations, Grand Master Wharton's method of constituting a new lodge, and finally a section of songs. For the first time, all of Freemasonry, except for the ritual, was available in a printed book. Anderson received no remuneration from the pocket editions which started to appear in the 1730s, which may have inspired the revised edition of 1738.