Masonic Lodges occasionally come in for criticism due to the fact that originally they almost invariably met in taverns. In fact, modern Freemasonry started at the first Grand Lodge meeting on June 24, 1717, at the Goose and Gridiron Tavern in London. In the colonies, lodges met in taverns. There were two perfectly good reasons for this: 1) as noted in another post, the water in towns and cities usually wasn’t fit to drink; everyone drank beer or wine, and spirits were much used. A lodge meeting was invariably followed by a refreshment hour, or often preceded by a dinner, and of course alcoholic beverages were served. 2) Lodges met in taverns because there were no masonic temples in those days, nor did lodges own their own buildings. The only place with a large room to rent for a meeting, ball, soiree or other function was a tavern. Such rooms were upstairs from the tavern itself, and the tavern also provided catering service for dinner or refreshments. The location of the tavern’s meeting room is the reason why in many, if not most, lodge buildings the lodge room is on the second floor, the dining room on the ground floor.
During the 19th century, when most lodges started building their own facility, or in cities where a Temple might be built for several lodges plus York Rite bodies, they then took care of their own catering. Coupled with the rise of the Temperance movement starting in mid-19th century, lodges started to forbid alcohol in their buildings, so that in the latter part of the century up to quite recently, and still to this day in many jurisdictions, all lodge buildings were or are strictly dry. About 10 years ago, relaxations in this rule started to occur. In Maryland, it is now lawful for a lodge (or other masonic body) to have alcohol in the building at a lodge function, but there are certain strict rules. A majority of the members present at a stated meeting must approve the serving of alcohol, and a choice of non-alcoholic beverages must always be provided for those who don’t drink alcohol.
