Robert Freke Gould (10 November 1836 – 26 March 1915) was a soldier, barrister and prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and Masonic historian. He wrote a ''History of Freemasonry'' (6 vols.) (London: Thomas C. Jack, 1883–1887), which remains a standard reference work on the subject.

Early life and career

Gould was the son of the Rev. Robert Freke Gould, Rector of

Stoke Pero Luccombe or Luckham is a village and civil parish in the Exmoor, Exmoor National Park in the England, English county of Somerset. It at the foot of the moor's highest hill, the Dunkery Beacon, and is about one mile south of the A39 road between ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and a brother of the Countess of Strafford. The younger brother of Thomas Wentworth Gould, Robert Freke Gould was born in

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay towar ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

aged 18 in 1855 as an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot, then as a lieutenant in the

31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

.The Founders of the Lodge - Quatuor Coronati Lodge website
/ref> He served in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He commanded a company during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

of 1860 and served on the Staff of General Staveley during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

of 1862. On leaving the Army he qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1868, working mainly on the

Western Circuit Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

. Gould became a Freemason in 1855 when he was initiated at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

in the Royal Navy Lodge, No. 429, and was

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

of the Inhabitants Lodge at Gibraltar in 1863, also of the Meridian Lodge, No. 743, a Military Lodge attached to his regiment. He devoted himself to Masonic and military literature from 1858 and on giving up his Law career in 1877 he devoted his life to writing and research. On 29 July 1869 he married Louisa Maria Gough, the daughter of George Gough. Gould was made Master of the Moira Lodge in 1874 and was appointed Senior Grand Deacon of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

in 1880.Clarke, John M. ''London's Necropolis: A Guide to Brookwood Cemetery'', Sutton Publishing (2004), p. 110 He was a Member of the Board of General Purposes (1876–83) and of the Colonial Board (1876-9).

Quatuor Coronati Lodge

Along with

Charles Warren Sir Charles Warren (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was a British Army officer of the Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his military ...

, William Harry Rylands, The Revd Adolphus Frederick Alexander Woodford,

Walter Besant Sir Walter Besant (; 14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant. Early life and education The son of wine merchant Wi ...

John Paul Rylands John Paul Rylands, FSA (1846 – 22 March 1923, Birkenhead), was an English barrister, genealogist and topographer. John Paul Rylands was the son of Thomas G. Rylands of Highfields, Thelwall in Cheshire who died in 1900. He was admitted to t ...

, Major Sisson Cooper Pratt, William James Hughan and George William Speth he was one of the founders of

Quatuor Coronati Lodge ''Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076'' (its Latin title meaning '' Four Crowned Ones'') is a Masonic Lodge in London dedicated to Masonic research. Founded in 1886, the Lodge meets at Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street. The name of the Lodge i ...

in 1886. Dissatisfied with the way the history of Freemasonry had been expounded in the past they founded the lodge, obtaining a warrant in 1884. Due to the absence of the first Master Sir Charles Warren on a diplomatic mission in Southern Africa, the lodge was not formally inaugurated until two years later. They insisted on using an evidence-based approach to the study of Masonic history. As such, their approach was new and unusual, and they intended that the results should "replace the imaginative writings of earlier authors on the history of Freemasonry." This began what is now called the "authentic school" of Masonic research. Gould was the lodge's second Master.W.H. Rylands and W.J. Songhurst, Obituary for Robert Freke Gould in ''Ars Quatuor Coronatorum'' - the Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge Vol XXVIII Part 1
-

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

pg111

Later years

In December 1913 Gould was made a Past Grand Warden in honour of the Centenary of the Union of the Grand Lodges of England. Gould died at his home at Kingsfield Green in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

in Surrey aged 78.Robert Freke Gould - Brief Obituary in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum - Transactions of Quatuor Coronatum Lodge - Google Books pg63
/ref> On his death he was buried in the nearby

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

.Robert Freke Gould ''The Builder Magazine'' June 1915, Volume I, Number 6 - Phoenix Masonry website
/ref> He left a widow, Louisa Maria Gould who on her death in 1929 aged 79 was buried with him.

Partial bibliography

*''The Four Old Lodges: Founders of Modern Freemasonry and Their Descendants'', Spencer's Masonic Depot, London (1879) *''The Atholl Lodge'', Spencer's Masonic Depot, London (1879 *''The Military Lodges: The Apron and the Sword, or Freemasonry Under Arms'', Gale & Polden (1899) *''History of Freemasonry: Its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs, Etc'', Jack (London), (1883-7) *''Concise History of Freemasonry'' Gale & Polden (1903)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Robert Freke 1836 births 1915 deaths People from Ilfracombe British military personnel of the Second Opium War British military personnel of the Taiping Rebellion Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England People from Woking Burials at Brookwood Cemetery 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot officers East Surrey Regiment officers English barristers Military personnel from Surrey Military personnel from Devon 19th-century British Army personnel