Dr. Paul Calderwood

V.W.Bro Dr. Paul Richard Calderwood PGSwdB is a specialist in this period of

history, having been awarded the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Goldsmiths,

University of London, for his thesis on the history of Freemasonry in the

twentieth-century.

For his essay on Freemasonry and Architecture in twentieth-century Britain he

was awarded the Norman B. Spencer Prize in 2010, by Quatuor Coronati Lodge

No 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research. Now a full member of that

Lodge, he served for three years as its Secretary. Since 2017 he has been the

Secretary of the Editorial Committee of QC and its Book Reviews Editor.

Appointed by UGLE as the Prestonian Lecturer for 2013, he is the author of a

number of books including Freemasonry and the Press in the twentieth century

and The Mark of the Red Dragon. He has also contributed sections within a

number of other books including The Treasures of English Freemasonry as well

as Reflections on 300 Years of Freemasonry. A former journalist, Dr

Calderwood's articles have appeared widely in a range of international journals.

He was initiated into Freemasonry in 1974 and is a former Assistant Metropolitan

Grand Master in the Craft, Deputy Provincial Grand Master of the Mark

Province of South Wales and Assistant Metropolitan Grand Superintendent in

the Royal Arch.

Discovering Secrets Of The Unlawful Societies Act

This is the first academic study that has been carried out of a neglected subject,

undertaking a comprehensive and country-wide analysis of official documents that

provide details about 34,000 Freemasons.

Recent research has brought to light, for the first time, a treasure-store of authoritative

detailed information about the kind of men who belonged to Freemasonry and the lodges

which they formed. Under the terms of the Unlawful Societies Act, Masonic lodge

Secretaries were ordered to send to the Court of Quarter Sessions a full list of members, with additional details, every year from 1799 to 1967. Many of these documents have survived but few of them have been explored in a systematic manner. To start the process of examining them, this book investigates all the surviving documents from lodges in Wales. Although it is a Welsh study, it has important lessons for those who are interested in English social history because many of its discoveries and conclusions apply to both countries.

It describes who belonged to the organisation, where they met and how their lodges grew and shrank. 

- Illustrates the important part played by Freemasons in the life of the nation.

- Provides a rich new source of information which will be of deep interest to students of social and masonic history.

- Aids in genealogy and family history research.

- Informs many of the social and economic developments which have taken place in Britain over the past two centuries.