Dr. David Harrison

Dr. David Harrison

Dr David Harrison is a UK-based Masonic historian and author of fifteen books on the history of English Freemasonry, alongside numerous papers and articles published in leading journals including the AQC, Philalethes Journal, Freemasonry Today, MQ Magazine, The Square, Knight Templar Magazine and the Masonic Journal. He has frequently appeared on television and radio, including BBC Radio and the French documentary La véritable histoire des Franc-Maçons, discussing his research.

He gained his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2008, focusing on the development of English Freemasonry. His thesis was published by Lewis Masonic in 2009 as The Genesis of Freemasonry, which became a bestseller and is now in its third imprint. His subsequent works include The Transformation of Freemasonry (2010), The Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge (2012), The Lost Rites series (2017–2021), and The Life and Death of John Yarker (2024), which won the AVDA award for Best Masonic History Book.

Dr Harrison lectures internationally, has delivered keynote addresses across Europe and North America, and is a Past Master under the United Grand Lodge of England. He is also a member of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 and a Fellow of the Philalethes Society.

Pillars of the Craft: Freemasonry's Enduring Values as Exemplified by History's Great Masons

Discover a system that evolved during a short period of Masonic experimentation that witnessed four Grand Lodges operating in England

Explore the mysterious engravings of de Lintot, which acts as a window into his Masonic world and shows how Masonic rituals in higher orders that are still practiced today were interpreted at the time.

Learn more about key Masonic figures of the time such as Cagliostro, Ruspini and William Preston, who also feature in previous books in the Lost Rites series; Rediscovered Rituals of English Freemasonry & Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry.

Discover the other colourful characters in the circle of de Lintot who shed light on Freemasonry's place in the vibrant London scene that entwined Masonic themes and new ideas during the Age of Enlightenment.

Delve into the relationship of the Rite of Seven Degrees with other seven degree orders such as the Rite of Clermont and the Baldwyn Rite, which is still practiced today in Bristol.