Anon. [William Preston], State of Facts: Being a Narrative of Some Late Proceedings in the Society of Free Masons, Respecting

William Preston (1742-1818)2 is a well-known gure of eighteenth-century Freemasonry, the famous author of Illustrations of Masonry, published in 1772 and constantly re-edited until 1861.3 While Preston was alive, there were nine English editions, two American ones and three German ones.4 is was probably the most widely distributed general history of English Freemasonry at the time, dealing with masonic principles as well as chronicling Grand Lodge events since 1717. At the Mitre Tavern, where Antiquity Lodge No. 1 met, Preston inaugurated a series of prestigious meetings for the instruction of the brothers and le a legacy of £300 to enable the Grand Lodge of Moderns to perpetuate this tradition a er his death.5 With a few exceptions, including World War II, the tradition has been faithfully kept. e United Grand Lodge of England each year nominates one of its members to write and deliver the Prestonian Lecture, which is also published.