 Emulation Lodge of Improvement
Emulation Working takes its name from the Emulation Lodge of
Improvement, which meets at Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street,
weekly on Fridays from October to June. It first met 2nd October
1823 and was formed specifically for Master Masons to provide
instruction for those who wished to make themselves ready for
office and succession to the Chair. At least eight lodges were represented at
the inaugural meeting including two members from the Lodge of Unions. The Emulation Lodge of
Improvement was first sanctioned by the Lodge of Hope no. 7.
In 1830 the number of members of the Lodge of Improvement from the Lodge of Hope
had dropped to one and the the sanction was undertaken by the Lodge of Unions, which
has remained the sponsor ever since.
The ritual forms for use in the United Grand Lodge of England
were produced by the Lodge of Reconciliation and were approved
and confirmed by Grand Lodge in June 1816. These have formed the
basis of Emulation Working since its inception in 1823. It has
been the policy of the committee of the Emulation Lodge of
Improvement to preserve the ritual as nearly as possible in the
form in which it was approved by Grand Lodge, allowing only those
changes approved by Grand Lodge to become established practice.
Due to the fact that Grand Lodge took the view that the
ritual should not be committed to print, oral repetition formed
the means of transmission. It was not until 1969 that the
Emulation Lodge of Improvement sponsored publication of the first
edition of the "Emulation Ritual".
An Emulation Silver Matchbox is awarded to a Brother who works a Masonic
Ceremony according to Emulation Ritual without prompt or correction. For more
information visit emulationritual.org
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