How did Freemasonry come to Madras?

Freemasonry first reached Madras in 1752 with the warranting of a lodge under the English Constitution, listed in official records as Lodge No. 222 1. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India notes that this pioneer lodge does not appear to have received a formal name.

This original lodge on the Coromandel Coast was in all probability established through Captain Edmund Pascall, who served as the first Provincial Grand Master for the region 1. Formal administrative oversight was renewed on 27 February 1767, when Lord Blaney issued a deputation appointing Pascall to the office of Provincial Grand Master for Madras, an appointment characterized in historic Masonic literature as a revival of the office 1.

Because the Madras Presidency was subjected to constant wars and severe interruptions during the mid-eighteenth century, no local records or lodge returns survived from this earliest period 1. Despite these disruptions, the 1752 warrant established the initial presence of the fraternity in Madras, paving the way for the later constitution of military and civilian lodges across the Presidency 1.

Early Craft lodge activity on the Coromandel Coast began in 1752 with the warranting of the first lodge at Madras under the English Constitution 21. Originally numbered 222 on the English roll, this pioneer lodge underwent several renumberings until its erasure in 1790, at which point its number was assigned to the Stewards' Lodge 1.

An Atholl (Ancients) Provincial Grand Lodge (No. 218) was inaugurated on the Coromandel Coast between 1781 and 1782 by several stationary and ambulatory military lodges, according to research published by Leiden University. Following the 1786 union between Athole and Regular Masons at Madras, several prominent lodges were constituted or restructured 1. Provincial Grand Lodge No. 152 was reconstituted as the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity (No. 1 locally), which was consecrated in October 1786 and remains the oldest surviving lodge in the District according to the District Grand Lodge of Madras 1.

Other early lodges established or reconstituted during the late 1780s included the Carnatic Military Lodge (formed in 1786 at Arcot), the Lodge of Perfect Harmony (No. III locally, originally formed at St. Thomas' Mount in 1779 and later assigned No. 419 on the English register), and the Lodge of Social Friendship (No. 420, established in 1787) 1. Additional early English Constitution lodges working on the coast included No. 2 Coast of Coromandel (No. 398 at Arcot), No. 4 Coast of Coromandel (meeting at St. Thomas' Mount and Madras), and No. 5 Coast of Coromandel (No. 421 at Trichinopoly), as recorded in Lane's Masonic Records.

By 1806, the active roster under the Madras Provincial Grand Lodge included Lodge Strength and Beauty at Vellore, Lodge Unity, Peace and Concord at Madras, Lodge Philanthropists in the Scotch Brigade, and Lodge Unity & Friendship in the 33rd Regiment 1.

Resolution of the differences between the Antients (Atholl) and Moderns (Regular) Masons on the Coromandel Coast took place in 1785–1786, anticipating the 1813 Grand Union in England by twenty-eight years 1. Disgusted by the silence of the Antient Grand Lodge in London regarding their communications, Atholl brethren welcomed a proposal from Brigadier-General Matthew Horne—who was re-appointed Provincial Grand Master of the Moderns in 1786—to transfer their allegiance to the older Grand Lodge 1.

Under this arrangement, the Atholl Lodge at Madras surrendered its powers in 1785 and accepted the United Provincial Grand Lodge, according to the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. The brethren gave up Athole Warrant No. 152 and received a new warrant to form Lodge Perfect Unanimity 1. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India notes that Lodge Perfect Unanimity (later No. 150) became the oldest lodge in continuous existence in Madras. To commemorate the local union, the banner of Lodge Perfect Unanimity combined the coats of arms of both rival Grand Lodges 1.

Subordinate lodges under the Atholl body followed their parent lodge's example 1. A lodge founded at St. Thomas' Mount in 1779 surrendered its Atholl warrant and was reconstituted by Brigadier-General Horne as Lodge Perfect Harmony No. III under the Grand Lodge of England 1.

Atholl Masonry was never revived on the Coromandel Coast after this union 1. When the Antient Grand Secretary in London wrote in 1797 assuming Lodge 152 was still active under its original warrant, provincial leaders replied in 1798 confirming that the lodges in the East Indies had for years derived their authority under the Grand Master of England 1.

The early lodges on the Coromandel Coast experienced diverse fates throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as local organizations reorganized, shifted allegiances, or lapsed.

Among the early lodges established on the Coromandel Coast, Lodge Perfect Unanimity maintained unbroken continuity, whereas all other early lodges eventually lapsed, went into suspended animation, or were erased from the register over time according to research published by the Internet Archive.

The original Moderns lodge established at Madras in 1752, which was designated No. 222 on the English roll, was erased from the English register in 1790, as recorded by Phoenix Masonry. Following the local union of 1786 between the Antients and Moderns lodges prior to the 1813 Grand Lodge Union in England, the subordinate lodges were restructured or renumbered under a unified Provincial structure, as documented by Lodge Quatuor Coronati No. 2076 and the Internet Archive.

Several early lodges formed or re-warranted during this period met varied ends 1: - Lodge Perfect Harmony No. III (originally constituted in 1779 at St. Thomas' Mount and reconstituted in 1786) suffered during the war with Tippoo Sahib; its members later reopened the lodge at Seringapatam after the fall of Mysore, but it was eventually erased in 1813 1. - Lodge Strength and Beauty (warranted locally in 1795 at St. Thomas' Mount) ceased working around 1798 1. - Lodge of Philanthropists (warranted in 1799) became extinct around 1820 1. - Lodge of Unity and Friendship (warranted in 1801 in the Scotch Brigade 94th Foot) returned its warrant before 1810 1. - Lodge St. Andrew (warranted in 1803 in H.M. 33rd Regiment) returned to England in 1810 and resumed its Atholl warrant 1. - Lodge of Fortitude & Perseverance (warranted in 1812) united in 1823 with St. Andrew's Union No. II and returned its warrant 1.