when did lodges stop meeting in private rooms and move exclusively to taverns during the early revival

Prior to the formation of the first Grand Lodge in 1717, many lodges were private and held their meetings in private homes 3. During the early revival period in the eighteenth century, speculative lodges shifted predominantly to meeting in inns and taverns, as demonstrated by the four original London lodges that convened at the Goose and Gridiron, the Crown, the Apple-Tree, and the Rummer and Grapes 123.

The library does not record a specific date when meeting in private rooms ceased altogether, nor do the sources indicate that lodges ever moved exclusively to taverns to the exclusion of all other venues. Tavern venues were widely used by contemporary clubs and learned societies, but they posed recurring difficulties for lodges, including a lack of privacy, trouble with landlords, and the need to repeatedly store furniture and paraphernalia 3. Consequently, lodges frequently relocated, and over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, bodies increasingly sought dedicated halls, private rooms, or hotels 34.

Meeting in inns and taverns was standard practice for provincial lodges across England throughout the eighteenth century 53.

Official lists and lodge records from counties such as Norfolk, Devon, and Durham show provincial lodges routinely constituted and meeting at local public houses and taverns 5. For example, the lodge constituted at Fakenham in 1765 met at the Red Lion; lodges in Plymouth and Plymouth Dock met at the White Hart, the Pope's Head, the Bunch of Grapes, and the Dolphin Inn; and a lodge constituted at Sunderland in 1755 met at the Masons' Arms 5.

Inns of the eighteenth century served as primary civic and social centers across Great Britain, featuring dedicated private rooms suited for assemblies and clubs 3. Provincial lodges frequently took their names from the sign of the host tavern and shifted their meeting places from one inn to another over time 53.