Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and in the wake of its connections to the scientific Enlightenment, Free and Accepted' Masonry became part of Britain's national profile and the largest and most influential of Britain's extensive clubs and societies. The organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious orders that pre-dated it but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed inner core at London's most influential lodge, the Horn Tavern. Freemasonry became a vehicle for the expression of their philosophical and political views, and the Craft' attracted an aspirational membership across the upper middling and gentry. Through an examination of previously unexplored primary documentation, Foundations contributes to an understanding of contemporary English political and social culture and explores how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment and connected the metropolitan and provincial elites. The book explores social networks centred on the aristocracy, parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, and provides pen portraits of the key individuals who spread the Masonic message. "Foundations & Schism" (Sussex Academic, 2013), have been described as the most important books on English Freemasonry published in recent times', providing a precise, social context for the invention of English Freemasonry'. Berman's analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.

This book examines the creation of the Antients Grand Lodge and traces the influence of Ireland and the London Irish, and most especially that of Laurence Dermott, the Antients' Grand Secretary, in the development of freemasonry in the second half of the eighteenth century. The book demonstrates the relative accessibility of the Antients and contrasts this with the exclusivity of the 'Moderns' -- the original Grand Lodge of England. The Antients instigated what became a six decades long rivalry with the Moderns and pioneered fundamental changes to the social composition of freemasonry, extending formal sociability to the lower middling and working classes and creating one of the first modern friendly societies. Schism does not stand solely as an academic work but introduces the subject to a wider Masonic and non-Masonic audience and, most particularly, supplements dated historical works. The book contributes to the history of London and the London Irish in the long eighteenth century and examines the social and trade networks of the urban lower middling and working class, subjects that remains substantially unexplored. It also offers a prism through which Britain's calamitous relationship with Ireland can be examined.

Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and in the wake of its connections to the scientific Enlightenment, 'Free and Accepted' Masonry rapidly became part of Britain's national profile and the largest and most influential of Britain's extensive clubs and societies. The new organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious orders that pre-dated it, but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed inner core. It became a vehicle for the expression and transmission of their political and religious views, and for the scientific Enlightenment concepts that they championed, and hence naturally attracted an aspirational membership. ... Through an examination of new and previously unexplored primary documentary evidence, the book aims to contribute to an understanding of contemporary English political and social culture and explore how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment, connecting a number of elite metropolitan and provincial figures. A range of networks centred on the aristocracy, parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, are examined; and key individuals instrumental in spreading the Masonic message are evaluated. Special focus is given to the role of the 'Craft' in the development of the scientific Enlightenment. ... Ric Berman concludes that Freemasonry should be recognised not only as the most prominent of the many eighteenth-century fraternal organisations, but also as a significant cultural vector and a component of the social, economic, scientific and political transformation then in progress. This analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.