The Tyler
The Tyler is a lodge officer whose responsibility includes guarding the meeting from outside the lodge room. Under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the Tyler and Inner Guard are distinct offices.[1][2]
Appointment under UGLE
The Tyler must be a registered Master Mason. Normally elected by the lodge, he may instead be appointed by the Master where the lodge resolves to use an unpaid subscribing member. Unlike other office-holders, a Tyler need not be a subscribing member of the lodge he serves.[2]
Historical examples
Some earlier Tylers combined attendance at meetings with paid work caring for the premises. Anthony Sayer, elected the first Grand Master in 1717, later earned money as Tyler to the Lodge of Friendship and Old King's Arms Lodge. The Museum of Freemasonry records him setting up rooms for meetings in the 1730s, after he had fallen into financial difficulty. His later employment shows that serving as Tyler was compatible with having previously held senior Masonic office.[3]
Henry Sadler's appointment as Grand Tyler in 1879 made him the resident caretaker of Freemasons' Hall, London. He and his family lived in the building. When he discovered a fire in the Grand Temple in May 1883, his response helped prevent it from spreading to the library and other parts of the hall. Sadler subsequently became the institution's first Librarian and Curator.[4]
A depiction in Masonic literature
In The Meaning of Masonry, Walter Leslie Wilmshurst identifies the attendant supporting the drunken Freemason in William Hogarth's Night as a lodge Tyler. He uses the scene to criticise the conduct of earlier Masons.[5] The British Museum catalogue describes the supporting figure more cautiously as a serving man.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ United Grand Lodge of England, What is a Lodge and its Officers?, “Roles of Lodge Officers”. Accessed 24 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 United Grand Lodge of England, Book of Constitutions: Craft Rules, 2026, rules 104(b) and 113. Accessed 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Museum of Freemasonry, “Learn about freemasonry: Who was the first Grand Master?”.
- ↑ Museum of Freemasonry, “The man who grew a library”.
- ↑ W. L. Wilmshurst, The Meaning of Masonry, chapter II, “Masonry as a Philosophy”, pp. 57–58.
- ↑ British Museum, Night, collection number Cc,2.129, description. Accessed 24 September 2026.
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