Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier
at the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon of the secretary's office at 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 T ...
and later secretary of the
Royal Institution for Girls. He is credited with the structural design of the
S.R.I.A. with the rituals acquired from the store room of
Freemasons Hall. He was also a founder of the
Ancient and Primitive Rite
The Ancient and Primitive Rite, also called the ''Order of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraim'', is a Masonic Rite. First popularized by John Yarker, it is generally considered clandestine by Freemasonry, Masonic organizations withi ...
of Misraim in England.
Various controversy around the origins of the
S.R.I.A. seem to be resolved in a paper given at the General Assembly of the S.R.I.S. at Perth, 3 May 1947 and thereafter at the Metropolitan Study Group,
S.R.I.A. on May 10, 1947 by the author, R.W. Frater H.C. Bruce Wilson, VIII°, 9°,and printed in Proceedings of General Assembly held at Perth, 3 and 4 May 1947. It was printed for Private Circulation by the S.R.I.S. at Edinburgh, 1947 on pages 10–24.
[The Origin of our Rosicrucian Society, Bruce Wilson]
The paper concludes that especially the opening and closing
S.R.I.A. (funded 1866) rituals were adopted from a body of the S.R.I.S. (Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia), which was in operation in 1830. The other parts of the ritual were adopted with changes, for instance to the number of Ancients. It also concludes that the lineage of the
S.R.I.A. is derived from the German Golden Rosy Cross of 1776.
Robert Wentworth Little's grave has recently been recovered at the Camberwell Old Cemetery on common ground and is now being restored.
See also
*
John Fletcher Little
John Fletcher Little (1843 – 9 August 1914) was an Irish physician and Liberal Party politician.
Little was born in County Tipperary. He studied in Dublin and took the L.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P. in 1866. He practiced medicine at Woolton. Fletche ...
References
Sources
*Complete History of the Rosicrucian Order by
H. Spencer LewisThe Origin of the Rosicrucian Society
1840 births
1878 deaths
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