Page 86 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

86 Amo Amass A-Muse - Lodge of the Nine Muses

founded by the famous Thomas Dunckerley, now No. 6, which was the leading Lodge of
the period. It had swapped Warrants with the Lodge of Honour and Generosity No. 165
then in decline, to gain the coveted low number.
Our miniature Jewel, at present worn by our Master of Ceremonies, was presented to
us by a member of that Lodge.
The other fashionable Lodge which met there was the Royal Lodge with two members
of our Royal Family as members. The Chevallier Ruspini was its Right Worshipful Master
the year that he founded our Lodge. This may account for the fact that he was not our
founding Master. The traditions of this Lodge, together with several others which had
lapsed, were taken over by the Royal Alpha Lodge No. 16 when it was reformed by
H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex.
Our Lodge met at the Thatched House Tavern from its foundation in 1777 and stayed
there for forty four years. This is believed to have been the longest continuous run of any
Lodge although the Prince of Wales’s Lodge No. 259 beat us in the total number of years,
having met there, on and off, for fifty three years, only leaving in 1862 when the Tavern
finally disappeared. It was while we were both meeting there that the famous incident
about our Candlesticks occurred.
Then there was the Lodge of Regularity No. 91, that met there when they copied our
Candlesticks and was most annoyed when the Grand Lodge borrowed theirs in order to
copy them.
Another Lodge which met there for a time was the St. Albans Lodge No. 29.
Altogether, I reckon that some thirteen Lodges used this venue at various times, not
including special occasions by Lodges and Chapters that usually met elsewhere. It was
here that Ruspini arranged for a special meeting of the Lodge of Antiquity, then No. 1, at
which the two halves agreed to re-unite. I believe that Ruspini must have been a habitué
of this Tavern. He lived just down the road in Pall Mall opposite to the Prince Regent,
who lived at Carlton House.
Brethren, we have now gone to ground in our original West End lair. May we remain
there in peace and happiness for many years to come.

P.J.D. September 1977