Miners, Mariners & Masons
The Global Network of Victorian Freemasonry

Freemasonry played a major role in the economic and social life of the Victorian era but it has received very little sustained attention by academic historians. General histories of the period hardly notice the subject while detailed studies mainly confine themselves to its origins in the early eighteenth century and its later institutional development. This book is the first sustained and dispassionate study of the role of Freemasonry in everyday social and economic life: why men joined, what it did for them and their families, and how it affected the development of communities and local economies.

Introduction: Freemasonry—a Global Institution
Cornwall and Cornish Freemasonry in the Nineteenth Century
The Economic and Social Structure of Cornish Craft Lodges and Side Orders
Reason for Joining, Part 1. Life-Enhancing and Reassurance: Social, Intellectual, Spiritual, Charitable
Reasons for Joining, Part  2. Occupational: Mutual Assurance, Access and Networking
International Comparison: The Western United States
Other International Comparisons: Victoria, Australia and Southern Africa
The Influence of Freemasonry: Members and their Communities
Conclusion

Roger Burt is Professor Emeritus of Economic History at the University of Exeter. He has been a consultant to mining companies and government departments and contributes to radio programmes on mining related issues.