On September 16, 2010, Dr. John S. Wade, the distinguished 2009 Prestonian Lecturer, will present his lecture, "Go and do thou likewise: English Masonic Processions from the 18th to the 20th Centuries" at the Dayton Masonic Center, 525 West Riverview, Dayton, Ohio. The lecture will be held in the Scottish Rite Auditorium and will begin at 7 pm. No reservations are required. Brothers wishing to partake of a fine evening of Masonic education should not miss this event.
William Preston (1742-1818), after whom the lecture is named, was a very active and influential Freemason at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. In addition to developing a system of Masonic lectures, he also wrote Illustrations of Masonry, which more than any other book has influenced the development of modern Freemasonry. In fact, this book was cited by the delegates at the 1809 inaugural session of the Grand Lodge of Ohio as the authority by which the Lodges in the state met and formed the new Grand Lodge.
At his death, Preston bequeathed to the United Grand Lodge of England the sum of £300, the interest from which was to be applied to some well informed Mason to deliver annually a lecture on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degrees of Masonry, according to the system practiced in the Lodge of Antiquity during time Preston was its Worshipful Master.
With occasional intermissions, lectures on his method were delivered from 1820 until 1862, when the Lectureship was allowed to lapse. In 1924 it was revived, with certain modifications of the original scheme: the lecturer delivering a paper on a Masonic subject of his own selection.
The Prestonian Lecture is the only lecture held under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of England and, with the exception of the years 1940-46, regular appointments have been made annually since 1924 to the present day.
