He presided
regularly at its meetings for upwards of eighteen years. He presented
the lodge with three beautifully carved mahogany candlesticks, and the
trowel and mallet which he used in laying the first stone of the great
cathedral in 1675. In 1688 Wren was elected Grand Master of the order,
and he nominated his old fellow-workers at St. Paul's, Cibber, the
sculptor, and Strong, the master mason, Grand Wardens. In Queen Anne's
reign there were 129 lodges--eighty-six in London, thirty-six in
provincial cities, and seven abroad. Many of the oldest lodges in London
are in the neighbourhood of St. Paul's.

"At the 'Apple Tree' Tavern," say Messrs. Hotten and Larwood, in their
history of "Inn and Tavern Signs," "in Charles Street, Covent Garden, in
1716, four of the leading London Freemasons' lodges, considering
themselves neglected by Sir Christopher Wren, met and chose a Grand
Master, _pro tem._, until they should be able to place a noble brother
at the head, which they did the year following, electing the Duke of
Montague. Sir Christopher had been chosen in 1698. The three lodges that
joined with the 'Apple Tree' lodge used to meet respectively at the
'Goose and Gridiron,' St. Paul's Churchyard; the 'Crown,' Parker's Lane;
and at the 'Rummer and Grapes' Tavern, Westminster. The 'Goose and
Gridiron' occurs at Woodhall, Lincolnshire, and in a few other
localities. It is said to owe its origin to the following
circumstances--The 'Mitre' was a celebrated music-house in London House
Yard, at the north-west end of St. Paul's. When it ceased to be a
music-house, the succeeding landlord, to ridicule its former destiny,
chose for his sign a goose striking the bars of a gridiron with his
foot, in ridicule of the 'Swan and Harp,' a common sign for the early
music-houses. Such an origin does the _Tatler_ give; but it may also be
a vernacular reading of the coat of arms of the Company of Musicians,
suspended probably at the door of the 'Mitre' when it was a music-house.
These arms are a swan with his wings expanded, within a double tressure,
counter, flory, argent. This double tressure might have suggested a
gridiron to unsophisticated passers-by.

"The celebrated 'Mitre,' near the west end of St. Paul's, was the first
music-house in London. The name of the master was Robert Herbert,
_alias_ Farges. Like many brother publicans, he was, besides being a
lover of music, also a collector of natural curiosities, as appears by
his 'Cat