The circumstances, under which the Warrant of our Lodge was granted, The Lion & Lamb Lodge No 192, are as far as we can ascertain, without parallel in the annals of FreemasonryLet me first set the scene:
It is London 1789. George III, the "mad" King was on the throne. In April of that year, Fletcher Christian, and his crew, mutinied on the bounty. George Washington was inaugurated as the 1st President of the United States on April 30th; and in July, the French were revolting. On the 14th, the Paris mob sacked the Bastille and began the French Revolution.
John Wesley was wandering the country on horseback, preaching religion and prolifically writing his hymns. William Wilberforce was fighting to abolish slavery.
The only means of travel in those days was by stage-coach. The mail coach from London to Bristol had only started five years earlier. Then, a journey from London to Birmingham took two and a half days. Dover was two days, dining at Rochester and sleeping at Canterbury. York was 4, Exeter 6, and Edinburgh was 10 days in summer and 12 in winter.
It was the age of Dick Turpin and other famous highwaymen.
In towns, the sedan chair and horse-drawn carriages were the mode of transport. The first bicycle, the "bone-shaker", was not to appear for another 20 years.
Robert Adam, the architect, was designing grand London houses. John Nash was designing grand London Squares. Capability Brown, the gardens; and Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton - the furniture.
Gentleman wore waisted coats with wide cuffs, and cravats. Wigs were tied behind and powdered on special occasions. Snuff boxes were in vogue, as smoking was considered a low habit - fit only for sailors and workmen.
The ladies wore heavy skirts, worn over hoops or whalebones; their hair in curls or ringlets, with little lace caps. Every lady of fashion carried a jeweled fan.
It was the age of Beethoven, Hayden and Mozart,. Mozart was currently working on The Magic Flute, a Masonic opera.
The Times of London, "The Great Thunderer", was first published in the previous year.
London, in those days, was very different to how we see it now. It did not exceed a total area of 5 square miles, ending in the NE at Shoreditch Church; in the North, Islington, Saddlers Wells and St Pancras; those in Bond Street would look to the West over open fields; and in the South West, the limit was Tothill Fields, adjoining Westminster; South of the River was Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and Southwark. Lambeth was only an uninhabited marsh.
The population was about 250, 000 and indeed the population of the whole of England-was well under 9 million - about the same as London as it now is.
It was amidst this that on 24th December 1789, Christmas Eve, Lodge Number 258 now the Lion & Lamb Lodge was consecrated, at the Sign of the Sun, in Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields just around the corner behind Holborn Tube Station.
The only records we have are from Vol 1 of 'The Atholl Grand Lodge and Stewards Minute Book' preserved here in Freemasons Hall. The Grand Secretary's charges to Lodge No. 258 for the petition, warrant, Grand Secretary's fees, Book of Constitution, Persuivant & Tyler, were £3/7/6. The warrant here displayed cost 10/6d.

The new Lodge number 258, now the Lion and Lamb Lodge as we know it, came into being and when consecrated it was in the company of 165 Lodges on the Roll of the Antients Grand Lodge and 174 on the Regular or Moderns Grand Lodge. In other words, there were only 340 Lodges on the Register of the two Grand Lodges at that time.
As I have already said, the circumstances were without parallel and to understand why we must go back in time a further 3 years to 17th February 1786, the day that the Domatic lodge was founded.
The first minutes of the dispensation meeting for what was to become the Domatic Lodge specifically state, and I quote" for the purpose of making and forming a lodge of operative masons "
The name Domatic being of Scottish derivation used to describe those engaged solely in the mason craft and not the general building fraternity. Domatic Lodge was therefore specifically set up to be an operative lodge.
Freemasonry at this time was becoming more widespread and many of the learned and well-to-do in society were eager to want to join this new esoteric club.
To the effect that Domatic was an operative's lodge, is shown in the minutes of a meeting of April 24th 1786, when two brethren were refused joining the lodge as they were not operative masons. This caused some considerable bad feeling in the lodge and did not find favour with the existing members as, of necessity, it restricted their numbers and indeed they were in further difficulties as several brethren had changed their vocation. Accordingly, at an Emergency Meeting held on 15th December 1789 the Worshipful Master proposed obtaining a new Warrant to the Lodge, known as a Working Warrant to enable Free and Accepted or Speculative Masons to be members of Domatic Lodge. This was agreed to and the new Warrant was actually obtained in some 9 days - perhaps an object lesson in speed to United Grand Lodge today. Domatic were therefore now working 2 warrants
This second Warrant - indeed our own Warrant displayed. bears the names of W.Bro. Sir Watkin Lewes, Master Elect. Sir Watkin Lewis was a very influential and important man. He was M.P. for the City of London, an Alderman, and former Lord Mayor of London. He was initiated on 5th November 1781 in the Lodge of Emulation No. 12 on the register of the Premier Grand Lodge, (i.e. the Moderns.) On 20th June 1788, he was described as "modern remade in Lodge No. 1" which was the Antients Grand Masters Lodge No. 1. His transfer of allegiance, as well as his high standing probably accounted for his rapid promotion and he became Junior Grand Warden Elect in 1789. At his remaking as an Antient the year previously, the three degrees were conferred upon him in one meeting, but he had never been installed as a Master of a Lodge. The Antients Grand Lodge must have valued his high standing enough to appoint him Junior Grand Warden Elect but the problem they encountered was that he had not served in the office of master of a Lodge. This may explain the haste surrounding the production of the new warrant and the consecration of Lodge 258 with Sir Watkin Lewis as Master and in 1790 he was proclaimed Senior Grand warden.
The simultaneous working of the two warrants continued for 6 years by the one lodge was unique in the annals of freemasonry and during that time Thomas Harper, goldsmith & jeweler became a joining member - many of his jewels are on display in the museum.
Eventually however due to falling numbers, the second warrant became 'burdensome' and it was resolved to dispose of it in such a manner as was best for the lodge, especially as an application had been made for it by a respectable company of gentlemen. The warrant was sold for 1 guinea on 26th January 1796,
The Lion and Lamb Lodge had finally fledged its wings and left the security of its mother lodge (or should that be Elder Sister lodge, that is for the purists to decide) to determine its own future.
In those early days fines for non attendance were strict. From the Original book of Rules and Orders:
Rule2: If any member be adfent One Hour after the appointed time of meeting he fall be fined fixpence…. (All this is written in F's instead of S's so I will revert to modern parlance) and if absent the whole night he fall be fined One Shilling except such absentee be sick, lame, in confinement (I think that is TB rather than Pregnancy) or upwards of 3 miles from the place of Meeting.
Rule12:
If any member of this Lodge comes 'Disguised in Liquor', he shall be admonished for the first offence; for the second of the same nature, he shall be fined One Shilling; and for the third, he shall be excluded and reported to the Grand Lodge.
Many meeting places were recorded in the first few decades of the Lodge's history, indeed between 1789 and 1810, 9 hostelries are recorded and between 1810 and 1825, a further 10.
The circumstances causing us to leave certain hostelries make very interesting reading. In 1813 we met at an Inn known as the "Hope and Anchor" Union Street, Blackfriars. However, the Lodge left this hostelry under rather peculiar circumstances and the actual minute of May 6th 1813 reads:-

"In consequence of the closet wherein were kept the regalia, jewels etc. (the property of the Lodge) being broken open, Brother Andrews - presumably the Landlord - was called up to state by whom and for what purpose it was done but, failing to give the Brethren a satisfactory account, and his wife having at the same time come up to the door of the Preparatory Room and behaved in a most outrageous manner, it was not only deemed advisable to move the property of the Lodge, but it was also the unanimous opinion of the Brethren present that they could not, in justice to themselves nor the Craft in general, meet in the house again".

This resolution was acted upon and the property of the Lodge immediately removed to the house of Bro. Matthews till a suitable place could be found where, to use the language of the Minutes - "our property might be secure and our persons safe from assault".
So far I have explained the origins of the Lodge, but not the origin of the name. It was not until November 1835 that the words "Lion and Lamb Lodge" appear on the minutes instead of London, comma, Lodge No.258 and from the research done by Brother Botley, it would seem that the name arose as a direct consequence of the union of the two Grand Lodges and the part that this Lodge was to play in bringing that about.
It was part of the Articles of Union that the Lodge of Reconciliation be formed, which was entrusted "To promulgate and enjoin the pure and unsullied system, that perfect reconciliation, unity of obligation, law, working, language and dress may be happily restored to the English Craft". The Lodge of Reconciliation was formed by the two Grand Secretaries of each of the Antients and Moderns Lodge, and nine Brethren from each body.
Our Lodge was well represented as 2 Brethren were appointed to that committee Bro James Mc Cann and Bro Thomas Harper Jnr (son of Thomas Harper) also a brother palmer was also remunerated for his time and expenses.
One of the directives of the new Grand Lodge was that all lodges were to have a name as well as a number. When lodges were first named, it was usual or customary for them to be named after places, associations, or Masonic characteristics etc, even from the taverns where they met, but there are no records of any meeting places of the Lodge where the name Lion and Lamb appears.
Following the Lodge's part in promoting the union, it does not take a great stretch of the imagination to imagine the Brethren debating a name for the Lodge which would reflect their part in the union.
The answer would appear to lie in heraldry. The lion was self evident to the members of the Lodge at the time. It was the lion rampant of Scotland, one of the emblems of the Antients Grand Lodge, which arms have also been adopted in their entirety by our Lodge and appear on our banner. The lion also appeared on the armorial bearings of the Duke of Kent, the Grand Master of the Antients Grand Lodge; whilst the lamb appears on the Coat of Arms of the Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of the Moderns Lodge.
Thus the name Lion and Lamb was adopted by the Lodge at the time of the formation of the Union of the Grand Lodges as it symbolised the merging of the Antients, represented by the lion, with the Moderns, represented by the lamb. There is also reflection of the Old Testament quotation:- "The lion and lamb shall lie down together" indicating a final peaceful resolution between the two warring factions.
Throughout our 200 year history, the Lodge has seen its ups & downs. Membership during the early to middle part of the 19th century as well as the post war years of the 20th century was at a peak, even to the extent of having to restrict the total number of members to 100. Unfortunately, the closing decades of the last century saw us passing through a lean period both in respect of members and funds. On several occasions during the 1880s and 1890s the words - "No Work - No Banquet" appeared on the Summons and in 1884 we had no initiates or joining members. The minutes and summons for a few years therefore made rather sad reading. Funds were so low that both in June and December 1895 we had no banquet or supper and there were similar occurrences in 1897. The attendance at our bicentennial meeting was perhaps not as great as one would have desired, there being 25 members and 24 guests.
Over this time we have had as members some very influential masons. I have already mentioned Sir Watkin Lewis and Thomas Harper and his son. Peter Thompson and Henry Muggeridge, two of the most respected and influential Preceptors of the 19th Century were both long standing members of the lodge as well as George Kenning of Toye Kenning and Spencer, regalia manufacturers, the Kenning Dynasty lasting over 100 years
It may not seem it but This has been just a brief resume of the Lion & lamb lodge. There is so much history that inevitably much more has been left out than put in.
I don't think I can better finish this Address than by quoting the actual words with which Bro Cohu terminated his address to the Lodge 87 years ago. I quote
" I am afraid I have tired you, but when I begin to recall the many happy hours I have spent at the good old Lion & lamb I do not know how to leave off.

W. Bro Simon Marner. WM. SLGR.