Anthony Sayer (c.1672 – 1741), on 24 June 1717 (the

Feast of St. John the Baptist The Nativity of John the Baptist (or Birth of John the Baptist, or Nativity of the Forerunner, or colloquially Johnmas or St. John's Day (in German) Johannistag) is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist. It is observed ...

), at the formation of the first

Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

at London, the members present elected as their first Grand Master "Anthony Sayer, Gentleman". He further served Grand Lodge as Senior Grand Warden under

John Theophilus Desaguliers John Theophilus Desaguliers FRS (12 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a British natural philosopher, clergyman, engineer and freemason who was elected to the Royal Society in 1714 as experimental assistant to Isaac Newton. He had studied at O ...

. Apart from being London's first, he is also the Grand Master "about whom less definite information is known than any of his successors in that high office." He seems to have fallen on difficult times, probably falling foul of the "

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", like many of his contemporaries.J. Walter Hobbs, ''Mr. Anthony Sayer, Gentleman'', Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 37, 1924, pp. 218–239 He petitioned Grand Lodge for charity in 1724, 1730, and 1741. He also twice received assistance from the Old Kings Arms lodge, which he served as tyler, or outer guard. His death is recorded in the minutes of that lodge in the month prior to 6 January 1741/2. Whatever his difficulties, he retained a great deal of respect amongst his brother Freemasons. The newspaper report of his funeral, in January 1741/2, states - "A few days since died, aged about 70 years, Mr. Anthony Sayer, who was Grand Master of the most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in 1717. His corpse was followed by a great number of Gentlemen of that Honorable Society of the best Quality, from the Shakespears Head Tavern in the Piazza in Covent Garden and decently interr’d in Covent-Garden church." Freemasonry Today
Steven Smith, Back to Basics, 14 December 2011, retrieved 30 December 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayer, Anthony 1672 births 1740s deaths Grand Masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England