Schism examines the creation of the Antients Grand Lodge and traces the influence of Ireland and the London Irish - and most especially that of Laurence Dermott, the Antients' Grand Secretary - in the development of freemasonry in the second half of the eighteenth century. This new and extended second edition highlights the accessibility of the Antients and contrasts it with the Moderns, the original Grand Lodge of England's exclusivity.
The Antients instigated what became a six-decades long rivalry with the Moderns and pioneered fundamental changes to the social composition of freemasonry, extending formal sociability to the lower middling and working class, and creating one of the first modern friendly societies. It had particular importance and resonance in America, another theme explored in the book.
