when was elias ashmole made a mason and where did it happen

Elias Ashmole was initiated on 16 October 1646 at a lodge in Warrington, Lancashire 1234. His diary records that the initiation took place at 4:30 p.m. 3 He was admitted alongside Colonel Henry Mainwaring in a lodge presided over by Warden Richard Penket, with six other brethren present 134.

The United Grand Lodge of England notes Ashmole's diary entry as a key historical record of early Freemasonry in England. Neither Ashmole nor Mainwaring was an operative mason by trade, making the Warrington lodge one of the earliest documented examples of an English lodge composed of accepted or speculative Masons 34.

Ashmole's own diary entries demonstrate that he was not the first recorded speculative Freemason in England 5.

While Ashmole's initiation on 16 October 1646 at Warrington is often cited as a milestone, his diary entry lists six other brethren present—such as Richard Sankey and Henry Littler—as well as Colonel Henry Mainwaring, who was admitted alongside him 53. Research into the wills of those present indicates that the members of the Warrington Lodge in 1646 were already accepted, non-operative Masons 3, and the existing members had been admitted before Ashmole 5.

Furthermore, in Craft Masonry within Scotland, earlier lodge minutes record speculative admissions preceding Ashmole's initiation 3. The Lodge of Edinburgh recorded the presence of John Boswell as a member in 1600 3. In 1641, five years prior to Ashmole's initiation, Sir Robert Moray was initiated at Newcastle by members of the Lodge of Edinburgh 3.

The United Grand Lodge of England identifies Ashmole's diary entry as the first recorded evidence of the initiation of an English speculative mason on English soil, as recorded on ugle.org.uk. However, historical writers note that the Warrington Lodge itself pre-dated Ashmole's entry, suggesting speculative Freemasonry was already established in the region well before 1646 5.

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Ashmole recorded attending a lodge meeting thirty-five years after his initiation 213. On 10 March 1682, he received a summons to attend a lodge meeting the following day at Masons' Hall in London 13. He attended on 11 March 1682, noting in his diary that he was the senior fellow present 213.

Six men, including Sir William Wilson, were admitted into the fellowship during this meeting 213. Of the ten brethren who made up the lodge for that gathering, nine were members of the Masons' Company, though Ashmole was not 2. Following the ceremony, the attendees dined at the Half-Moon Tavern in Cheapside at the expense of the newly accepted members 213.

These entries from October 1646 and March 1682 are the only two references to Masonic lodge meetings found in Ashmole's personal diary 3.