Elias Ashmole A Celebrated English Antiquary and Freemason - Freemasonry Matters

27/01/2024, 14:48 Elias Ashmole A Celebrated English Antiquary and Freemason – Freemasonry Matters
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Elias Ashmole A Celebrated English Antiquary

and Freemason
24th July 2015
It may be said that never in the annals of Freemasonry has so much been
attributed by so many to one man: Elias Ashmole. Yet Ashmole’s own direct
patronage of the Craft was minimal at best. Why then the attention? And, more
intriguingly, why should a man of Ashmole’s standing become a Freemason in the
first place?
Elias Ashmole by John

Riley c 1683
Ashmole was born in modest surroundings on 23rd May 1617 at Lichfield,

Staffordshire. The well-respected family was not wealthy and the young Elias was
an ambitious man.
He pursued, from a young age, a diversity of interests that were to become the
hallmark of his life. He also pursued money and wealth and his second marriage in
1649 to Lady Mainwaring, 20 years his senior, was the transparent fulfilment of his
ambition.

https://freemasonrymatters.co.uk/index.php/elias-ashmole-a-celebrated-english-antiquary-and-freemason/ 1/13
He was now able to begin to amass the large collections of manuscripts, coins,
astrological and archaeological specimens and medical artefacts of which we are
today the beneficiaries.
In 1675 his whole collection was donated to Oxford University and the world-
famous Ashmolean Museum, the first museum in Great Britain, opened its doors.
By 1633 the talented 16-year-old had finished music school in his home town to
find himself following a legal career in London. This served him well. Ashmole was
constantly embroiled in litigation, which he invariably won.
The culmination of his legal career was the prestigious admission to the Middle
Temple in 1657. By age 25 Ashmole appears to be retired. Having given up his legal
activities he returned to Peter Mainwaring’s house in Smallwood, Cheshire in 1642
just as the Civil War was about to engulf the country.
He spent the next few years in leisure, composing poetry, reading and acting as
legal consultant. Ashmole was a staunch Royalist and in May 1644 he was
appointed a Collector of Excise and sent to Oxford where he decided to remain.
His name is closely associated with Brasenose College, although he does not
appear to have graduated from Oxford University, being given an honorary degree
later in life. During the course of 1645 and 1646, crucial years in the Civil War,
Ashmole’s political and military careers developed on parallel lines.
In May he was appointed as one of the King’s Gentlemen of the Ordnance of the
Garrison. In December 1645 Charles I appointed him commissioner, receiver and
registrar of excise of the City and County of Worcester.
In March 1646 he was made Captain of the Foot by Lord Astley, commander of the
Royalist infantry. Two months later, as Assistant Master of Ordnance, Ashmole
witnessed the surrender of Worcester to Cromwell’s forces and the final defeat of
King Charles in September 1646.
Ashmole depicted with

reference to his Royal
appointment as Windsor Herald
It was during this lull that he took a six-month ‘break’ returning to Smallwood and
on 16 October 1646 he was made a Freemason in Warrington. His initiation took
place at 4.30 in the afternoon. The precise time can be given thanks to what are
known as the Elias Ashmole diaries, but were in fact biographical annotations.
Ashmole only began the chronological ‘collection of occurrences and accidents for
my life’ on 26 December 1679. It was intended as source material for a future
biography, which never materialised.
He did keep a cipher diary between 1645 and 1649 in which his initiation is
recorded; otherwise the entries prior to 1679 were inserted from memory. His last
diary entry is dated 1692. In the whole of his extensive manuscript annotations
there are only two references to his Masonic activities, dated 1646 and 1682. The
first 10-line entry is lucid and typical of his entries:
1646 Oct. 4H.30pm I was made a Free-Mason at Warrington in Lancashire with

Coll. Henry Mainwaring of Karincham in Cheshire. The names of those that were
of the Lodge, Mr Rich: Penkett Warden. Mr James Collier, Mr Rich Sanchey, Henry
Littler, John Ellam, Rich: Ellam, Hugh Brewer.
Ashmole being made a Freemason
The famous extract from Ashmoles diary recording his being made a Freemason
The historical importance of this early record does not lie in what Ashmole did. He
did, after all, nothing more than record his initiation. The importance lies in this
being the first evidence of the initiation of an English speculative mason. That is
notwithstanding the fact that those present and listed would have certainly have
been initiated at an earlier date.
Yet, because of the very limited detail in the entry, there have been as many
questions raised, as have been resolved, by this historic event. The most
interesting argument still extant is the exact nature of the Lodge in which Ashmole

was initiated.
There is little dispute that, with the possible exception of Richard Ellom (sic) who
styled himself a ‘Freemason’ in his will, those present did not belong to the
stonemasons trade. The Lodge, however, will have consisted of several additional
members not present at the initiation and who may well have been working
operative stonemasons.
This may be read in the context of the London Masons Company, which Ashmole
was to attend in 1682 and which is discussed in further detail below. There are also
interesting hints at the nature of Masonic activity at the time.
Colonel Henry Mainwaring, with whom Ashmole was initiated, was a Roundhead
parliamentarian friend, related to Peter Mainwaring, Ashmole’s father-in-law and
Warrington was at this time a parliamentary stronghold. The implication is that
Freemasonry, from these very early days, recognised no political boundaries.
The structure of the Lodge is also hinted at by the significant reference to Richard
Penkett as a Warden (if one overlooks the unsubstantiated suggestion that Warden
was Richard Penkett’s last name). Furthermore, the conclusion has been reached
that Ashmole took his obligation not on a bible, but on what is now known as the
Sloane Manuscript No. 3438.
The text to the manuscript was written by an Edward Sankey, related to the
Richard Sankey mentioned by Ashmole, who signed and dated the ancient charge
‘16 October 1646’. It was probably expressly composed for the ceremony of
Ashmole’s initiation.
An interesting problem arose with the first printed edition of his diaries in 1717,
published to coincide with the formation of the first Grand Lodge. The printed text
differs from the manuscript version in a minor detail. It reads: ‘The names of those
that were then at the Lodge’ instead of ‘then of the lodge’ as written by Ashmole.
Half-title of

Ashmoles diary and
Dr Rawlinson’s copy
of 1717 edition
Title page of
Ashmole’s diary and
of 1717 edition
Bookplate of
Ashmoles diary and
of 1717 edition
Flyleaf of Ashmole’s
diary and Dr
Rawlinson’s copy of
1717 edition

The difference is significant, the former version implying that those present were
not members of the Lodge. There are two perennial questions raised with regard
to Ashmole’s initiation. Why did he join? And why is there no other mention of
Freemasonry in his extensive diaries until his visit to London in 1682?
The answer may lie in that Freemasonry was not an organisation of consequence.
Ashmole joined because by nature he was a joiner. He could not have resisted the
temptation to discover the nature of what even then was a mysterious association,
and he may well have found nothing of consequence in the fraternity. It is also
possible that he may have attended meetings unrecorded in his annotations until
the summons to the Masons Company in London.
Ashmole was an extraordinarily accomplished man. By 1648 he had extended his

studies in astrology and anatomy to botany and alchemy. This last subject, which
was to occupy him considerably, culminated in several publications, the first in
1650 under the pseudonym of James Hasolle.
This was followed by two further well-known works: Theatrum Chemicum

Britannicum in 1652 and The Way to Bliss in 1658. Much has been written of
Ashmole’s undoubted fascination with esoteric and hermetic studies. He often
consulted oracles and chose Mercury as his personal sign.
He also became the spiritual son of William Backhouse who, in 1653, bequeathed
him the secret of ‘the true Matter of the Philosopher’s Stone’. Yet Ashmole madea
point of not allowing his enthusiasm for alchemy to obscure his factual historical
research, and he never saw himself as a practicing alchemist.
He specifically stated that he never went past the stage of speculative enquiry.
Ashmole’s many lawsuits – as he says in preface to The Way to Bliss – deprived him
of the tranquillity of mind he wanted in order to pursue alchemy.
There is no evidence that Ashmole’s hermetic and esoteric interests extended into
his restricted involvement with Freemasonry.
Ashmole’s loyalty to the King paid off with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. A
year later he was nominated Windsor Herald, where he was registrar and treasurer
1688-1671. It is here that he wrote the monumental publication The Institution,
Laws & Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, completed in 1672.
The main entrance of the

current Ashmolean Museum
building
It was also as Windsor Herald that he saw himself qualified to propose the design
for the coat of Arms of the Royal Society, of which he was elected a member in
January 1661, a few months after the Society’s foundation. His submission, inspired
by the biblical reference in Amos 7, vv. 7&8 had, in the use of the plumb rule, also
Masonic connotations of which Ashmole would no doubt have been aware.
The drawing shows a shield divided into two, the upper half with the Royal coat of
arms on the top lefthand side. A hand protruding from a folded sleeve holds a
plumb rule between thumb and index finger descending into the lower half of the
arms. 
At the base the legend Rerum Cognoscere Causas, abbreviated from Virgil’s full
sentence: felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas which translates: happy the man
who could learn the causes of things.
The official design of The Royal Society, however, is not that designed by Ashmole.
But he was a founding member of The Royal Society, whose first president, Sir
Robert Moray, had been initiated five years before Ashmole.
In May 1641 Moray was serving with the Scottish forces besieging Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, and on 20th May he was admitted a Mason at St Mary’s Chapel Lodge of
Edinburgh, the first recorded Masonic initiation on English soil. It is interesting to
speculate whether the two men discussed Freemasonry.
The second and only other Masonic mention in the 1,850- odd manuscript pages
that comprise his annotations and diaries is dated 10th March 1682, 35 years after
his initiation, and states:
About 5 pm I reced a summons to appr at a lodge to be held the next day at

Masons Hall London
with an additional entry on the next day:
11th Accordingly I went & about Noone were admitted into the fellowship of
Freemasons, Sir William Wilson Knight, Capt. Rich: Borchwick, Mr Will: Woodman,
Mr Wm Grey, Mr Samuel Taylour & Mr William Wise. I was the senior Fellow among
them (it being 35 years since I was admitted). There were present beside myself the
Fellowes after named. Mr Thos: Wise Mr of the Masons Company this present
yeare. Mr Thomas Shorthose, Mr William Hamon, Mr John Thompson, & Mr Will:
Stnaton. We all dyned at the Half Moone Tavern in Cheapside, at a Noble Dinner
prepared at the charge of the New-accepted Masons.
The same questions arise in this instance as they did with regard to the first entry.
What ceremony did Ashmole exactly attend? He was the senior Fellow among
them, thus a speculative gathering in an operative environment of the Masons
Company of London. Of the ten who ‘dyned at the Half Moone Tavern’ eight were
operative Masons employed by Christopher Wren.
Ashmole ‘reced a summons to appr’ implying that he was known to be a Mason.

The recorded ceremony of the ‘acception’ in the Masons Company has yet to be
explained. It appears to be a ‘club within the club’ to which selected individuals 
were admitted as members.
Ashmole’s presence here may be seen as evidence, or at least suggest, that

Ashmole’s own Lodge into which he was initiated in 1646 was of a similar
composition, namely an operative lodge with non-Masons as members, and that
the ceremony Ashmole experienced at his making was the same ‘acception’
ceremony that Ashmole was now attending in London. The arguments continue.
Once again, the first printed version of the diaries published in 1717 deviated from
the original entry in a manner which was misleading at best. The word ‘by’ was
inserted before Sir William Wilson, reading:
11th Accordingly I went, and about Noon were admitted into the fellowship of
Freemasons, by Sir William Wilson…
This implies that the candidates or ‘newly accepted’ Masons were their own hosts,
which was certainly not intended by Ashmole. James Anderson, in his second Book
of Constitutions, published in 1738, makes an equally misleading statement.
Paraphrasing Ashmole’s words, Anderson quotes him as saying ‘…when we
admitted into the Fellowship…’ implying that Ashmole actively participated in the
ceremony.
From 1675 Ashmole lived quietly in south Lambeth in the grounds that once
belonged to the Tradescant family. For the next decade he continued writing,
completing works on the Antiquities of Windsor and a Biography of John Dee. He
also gathered material for various projects never completed.
John Hart, curator of the Worcester Museum, recently commented: “What a pity
Elias Ashmole never anticipated Robert Gould and wrote a history of Freemasonry.”
However, Ashmole appears to have had plans for a history of Freemasonry,

evidenced in several writings and references. All the more pity that this project
never took off and that none of the material collected, outside of minor references
to details of the Temple in Jerusalem, survived or has been located.
Elias Ashmole died on 18th or 19th May 1692, well into his seventies, and no doubt
oblivious to the speculative legacy that was to follow his long and fulfilling life.
Selected Bibliography and Sources

Aligh Josten, Elias Ashmole, Oxford, 1966.
Churton Tobias, Elias Ashmole 1617-1692: Notes on his life with special attention given
to his connections with Freemasonry & Rosicrucianism. Privately printed folio, 1992.
Ovenell R.F, The Ashmolean Museum 1683-1894, 1986.
Page Bryan F, Elias Ashmole: The First recorded English Freemason. Prestonian
Lecture, 1988.
Rogers Norma, The Lodge of Elias Ashmole, 1646. AQC 65, 1952.
Rylands W H, Freemasonry in the 17th Century. Published in the Warrington Masonic
Magazine, December 1881.
Scanlan Matthew, The Mystery of the Acception, Heredom Vol II, 2003.
Tuckett J E S, Dr Richard Rawlinson and the Masonic Entries in Elias Ashmole’s Diary.
AQC 25, 1912.
 Famous Freemasons, Knowledge, Masonic Knowledge

 Ashmolean Museum, Brasenose College, Elias Ashmole, Freemasonry, King’s
Gentlemen of the Ordnance of the Garrison, masonic, Oxford University,
Rosicrucianism, Sloane Manuscript No. 3438., Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
 Freemason & Archbishop of Canterbury – Dr Geoffrey Francis Fisher (1887-1972)
 For Serious Master Masons – Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
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27/01/2024, 14:48 Elias Ashmole A Celebrated English Antiquary and Freemason – Freemasonry Matters

Freemasonry Matters   Menu

Reading Time: 10 minutes

Elias Ashmole A Celebrated English Antiquary

Elias Ashmole by John

Ashmole was born in modest surroundings on 23rd May 1617 at Lichfield,

Ashmole depicted with

1646 Oct. 4H.30pm I was made a Free-Mason at Warrington in Lancashire with

Ashmole being made a Freemason

Ashmole was an extraordinarily accomplished man. By 1648 he had extended his

This was followed by two further well-known works: Theatrum Chemicum

The main entrance of the

About 5 pm I reced a summons to appr at a lodge to be held the next day at

with an additional entry on the next day:

Ashmole ‘reced a summons to appr’ implying that he was known to be a Mason.

Ashmole’s presence here may be seen as evidence, or at least suggest, that

However, Ashmole appears to have had plans for a history of Freemasonry,

Selected Bibliography and Sources

 Famous Freemasons, Knowledge, Masonic Knowledge

The Tylers Toast – Long Version – by Rudyard Kipling

Freemasonry: Lyrics of Masonic Songs

Esotericism of the Game of Chess Related to Freemasonry

Nine Working Tools

Those Mysterious Pillars: BOAZ and JACHIN

Geometry and Masonry: Sacred Geometry

THE FIVE NOBLE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE

Aleister Crowley and Freemasonry

THE MASTER’S WORD AND THE ROYAL ARCH

Freemasonry: Lyrics of Masonic Songs

The orders and degrees of the masonic family

How to Become a Mason

Wearing the Tercentenary Jewel

Preparation, Practice and Performance & Masonic Speech Making

Workings – The many versions of Masonic Ritual

Rick Wakeman – Rock Star and Freemason in Chelsea Lodge 3098

Famous Scottish Freemasons – Jock Stein 1922 – 1985

The History and Meaning of the Apron

A Gentleman’s Introduction To The Seven Liberal Arts

©2024 FreemasonryMatters.co.uk. All rights reserved.

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