what actually happens during the installation of a worshipful master according to early prestonian practice

During the installation of a Worshipful Master, the candidate is taken from among his fellows by the Deputy—who has previously examined him and found him well skilled—and presented at the pedestal to the Grand Master or presiding Master 1. The Deputy presents him as a brother of good morals, great skill, and fidelity 1.

The Grand Master then directs the Secretary to read a summary of the ancient charges to the Master-elect 1. These nine charges require him to be a good man and true, to obey the moral law, to remain a peaceable subject, to respect civil magistrates, to honor the original patrons and supreme rulers of Masonry, to avoid private quarrels and intemperance, to remain faithful to the lodge and discountenance impostors, and to promote the general good of society and the knowledge of the Art 1.

Upon the Master-elect signifying his assent to these charges, the Secretary reads six regulations of the Grand Lodge 1. These declare that no man or body of men can make innovations in the body of Masonry; require homage and regular attendance to the Grand Lodge; mandate that no new lodge be formed nor irregular lodge countenanced without proper authority; mandate due inquiry before initiating candidates; and prohibit unvouched visitors 1. Once these regulations have been presented, the presiding Master addresses the Master-elect directly 1.

In the system of Masonic instruction compiled by Preston, the proceedings and governance surrounding installation are illustrated specifically in the eighth and ninth sections of the lectures 1.

The formal establishment of a Board of Installed Masters originated in 1810, when the Lodge of Promulgation formed such a board to install incoming Masters and establish the installation ceremony, as a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge notes.

Standardisation across the jurisdiction was finalized in 1827, when a Lodge or Board of Installed Masters was formally established under the United Grand Lodge of England to fix uniform procedures following the 1813 Union of the Antients and Moderns, as further research read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge records.

The Virtual Past Master degree arose because reception into the Royal Arch originally required a candidate to have presided as Master over a Symbolic Lodge 23. Restricting the Royal Arch strictly to "Actual Past Masters"—those who had served a full term in the East—severely limited the number of eligible candidates 3. To circumvent this restriction without abolishing the traditional prerequisite, chapters introduced the ceremony of "passing the chair," creating the status of "Virtual Past Master" to qualify candidates for exaltation 23.

Initially, this constructive passing of the chair was performed within a standard Master Mason's lodge, as lodge minutes from 1796 illustrate 3. By late 1796, lodges began closing the Master's lodge to open a distinct Past Master's lodge, formalizing the procedure into a separate preparatory degree rather than a mere qualification 3. Robert Freke Gould argued that conferring the Arch upon brethren who were not legally qualified brought about this constructive passing through the chair, which entailed an extra ceremony beyond the simple forms known to early eighteenth-century Masonry and helped evolve the Installed Master ceremony 2.

In post-1813 English practice, authorities moved against the custom. Under the United Grand Lodge of England, the practice of conferring the Virtual Past Master degree was formally forbidden in 1826, though it lingered in some British jurisdictions until around 1850 2. In contrast, the degree was retained in the United States as a standard preparatory degree within Royal Arch Masonry 23.

---