fraternal groups have a major effect on these dynamics. 74 The masonic archive is rich in material for investigating social networks, not only in such obvious sources as membership lists but also in petitions and correspondence, where in discussing the need for a lodge its social connections may be described. For example, a letter from a lodge formed by working men in Stratford in East London, protesting against a decision of the English Grand Lodge that it was a spurious masonic body, contains the following unusually explicit statement of the advantages of freemasonry for the Victorian artisan: « Stratford and its neighbourhood contains a population of some thousands of skilled mechanics, artisans and engineers, many of whom from their superior attainment or from the exigencies of trade are called upon to pursue their avocation in the various states of continental Europe or in our own colonial possessions and to whom therefore the advantages arising from Masonic Fraternity are of great consequence.» 75
The exciting potential of an approach which examines the interaction between freemasonry and other social networks, such as professional contacts and membership of other fraternal organisations, has been recently demonstrated by two outstanding articles concerned with two very different professions. Simon McVeigh’ s study of freemasonry and musical life in 18th-century London has shown how freemasonry assisted in securing patronage and work for musicians and also supported professional alliances, sometimes in surprising ways. 76 Roger Burt’ s study of Cornish freemasonry in the 19th century reaches some intriguing conclusions about the social composition of masonic lodges in south-west England. 77 He found that « the lodges were dominated by the mostly young( most initiates were aged under 30) middle-class and‘ petit bourgeois’ groups of mercantile and manufacturing interests, professionals and small business operatives.» 78 The Cornish membership records reflect the increasing mobility of this social group, and freemasonry may have helped build international contacts facilitating profitable employment abroad.
Conclusions Research into freemasonry explores the interconnections between such major themes of modern scholarship as public space, gender, race and social networks. These themes essentially all revolve around one major issue, the construction of social identity, and the study of freemasonry, because it concerns an identity which is both public and concealed at the same time, provides a unique perspective on this issue. Methodologically, the study of freemasonry presents many challenges, but the point that
74
Alisdair Rogers and Steven Verkovec, Introduction to op. cit., pp. 15-21.
75
See Appendix, Document No. 13, below.
76
Simon McVeigh,“ Freemasonry and Musical Life in London in the late Eighteenth Century”, in: David Wyn Jones( ed.), Music in Eighteenth-Century Britain, Aldershot: Ashgate 2000, pp. 72-100.
77
Roger Burt,“ Freemasonry and Socio-Economic Networking during the Victorian Period”, Archives 27( 2002), pp. 31-8.
78
Ibid., p. 33.
113