Robert Thomas Crucefix, Redux

Abstract

Robert Thomas Crucefix (1788-1850) was a charismatic and polarizing figure in English freemasonry through the 1830s until his death. He is best remembered for founding the Freemasons’ Quarterly Review and as the primary force behind the establishment of the Asylum for Worthy, Aged and Decayed Freemasons. He was not only an active Craft mason and Junior Grand Deacon in the Grand Lodge, but he also joined, and often dominated, other degrees and orders in England, Scotland, Ireland, France and the United States. Though there has been no proper biography of Crucefix, much has been written about his masonic activities, and especially about his ongoing confrontations with the Duke of Sussex, who served as Grand Master for much of the time Crucefix was a freemason. His private life has been virtually ignored, and this is especially true for his medical career, around which a cordon sanitaire seems to have been thrown, fending off inquiry. This study is a preliminary foray beyond that boundary, exploring both Crucefix’s medical career and its broader implications.