Men of Staunton - or are they?

by Barry Martin

(Chess Magazine October 1994)

Howard Staunton's mighty contributions to chess should not camouflage the fact that a remarkable climate had already been created for the game prior to the great man's rise to glory," (1)

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, players - and also writers - such as Stamma, Sarratt, Lewis, Walker and Philidor, (2) amongst others, had already excited a popular enthusiasm for chess that had gone far beyond mere idle curiosity. Indeed, Philidor's classic book L'analyse du jeu des Echecs, 1749, was published in London, while Philidor himself feted at Parsloe's club in St.James (founded 1774), where he was the incumbent master of chess from February to May each year, and it was to him you went to learn about the game. Philidor was also the first player referred to as a Grandmaster by George Walker and others. In Bell's Life, a popular Sunday paper in which Walker had a chess column, the term 'Grandmaster' is met for the first time on February 18 1838 when it refers to William Lewis as 'our past grandmaster'. (3) The term is used more commonly towards the end of the 19th century in respect of chess players, but its origins are from an entirely different source - that of Freemasonry.
Howard Staunton is best known to day for the chess men which bear his name - but Staunton had in fact given his name to the design for a fee. This design was an immediate success when the Staunton pattern pieces were first manufactured in the 1840's - and to the present day remains the internationally recognised standard, being used in all official competitions.


Nevertheless, despite this success, Staunton died in near poverty and mystery surrounds the source of the design of the chess pieces. (4) Standard references cite Nathaniel Cooke as the originator whilst others suggest that he collaborated with John Jaques (senior) in 1839. (5) The design was certainly registered by Cooke in 1849 and later that year marketed through Staunton's own chess column in the Illustrated London News. (6) Other sources, including Murray's History of Chess, (7) suggest that Staunton himself designed the set and, indeed, in his "anonymous" column he had the following comment placed on November 17 1849.

"Liverpool Chess Club - Mr.G.S.Speckley hon.sec. departure to China presented with set large ivory chessmen (of the pattern designed by Mr.Staunton)..."

Whatever the truth as to who the designer or designers were, (8) the set has a profound look and beauty which leaves the unmistakable impression that the originators knew what was required of them and how to achieve it. The design is richly wrought and it may surprise readers to learn that there are strong connections with Freemasonry. (9)

Although there is no evidence that Staunton was himself a Freemason, he must have been aware of these associations. Amongst many famous peole, Dukes, Prince Regents, even Kings, were Freemasons, as was George Washington, buried with full Masonic honours, and it is easy to understand how its lore and symbolism was incorporated into everyday activiies - including chess and architecture. (10)

The Staunton pawn is linked to the Freemason's compass and square. (11) Chiswick House displays the same ball and square motif as the Staunton pawn. In the Craft the square symbolises morality and righteousness, and compasses symbolise spirituality. This particular meaning is also closely associated with the earlier moral and religious importance allocated to chess play in the latter half of the 15th century. Le jeu des echoes de la dame, Moralise, a manuscript written at that time, describes the game of chess, based on the new powers of the Queen (after 1475), as a game played between the devil and a lady - with the lady's soul as the wager. The chess board represents the world and each piece and pawn is titled and described. (12) For example, the king's pawn, "pion", is the love of God, etc. The idea was that concerns of morality lead to concerns of spirituality and by leading an exemplary life the reward was eventual resurrection to the life hereafter - a win against temptation, the devil and damnation. Freemasonry in its purest form has a comparable concern. Philidor's much quoted comment that "... the Pawns; they are the very life of the game", may in this context have very special significance.(13) Even Murray alludes to Freemasonry when he states that "during ing play, the King, Queen and other chess men stand according to their several degrees. When the game is over, all are tumbled back into the - bag and Pawns may lie above Kings, and Bishops above Rooks".(14)

The Staunton pattern knight is generally thought to have originated from the look of the horses' heads depicted in the Elgin Marbles which were brought to this country in 1816. But if Cooke and/or Jaques and/or Staunton, in designing the set, wanted a horse's design, why choose the Elgin group when real horses abounded in the London streets and equestrian sculptures littered most public places? There were countless images already surrounding them on which they could have based their design. The answer is more clearly related to the symbolic importance that the Elgin group represented and, more specifically, their significance to Freemasonry.

The Elgin marbles form part of the east pediment of the Acropolis in Greece which is dedicated to the "Birth of Athena', to the left of Athena herself is the sun god chariot of Helios, rising from the sea after a night racing underground from west to east. Its resurrection each new day as the new sun was considered a miracle in itself. In Egyptian religion, Heliopolis, a city to the north of Egypt, was dedicated to the worship of the sun god Re, and its later priests claimed Osiris (King and Judge of tne dead) was Re's grandson and they switched their worship to him. On-Helios, as depicted in the Elgin Marbles, is therefore linked indirectly with Osiris, the god of resurrection and rebirth. and rebirth. (15) This is in itself of tantamount importance in Freemasonry as is the word "On" which forms one of the most sacred words in the Craft. It is this that attracts the designer(s) of the Staunton chessmen. It is interesting to note that only two of the Helios horses' heads are at the British Museum, the other two making up the group of four are still in Greece.


It would therefore be in accordance with the spirit in design of the Staunton chessmen that the knight represented those powerful ideas associated with the horses of the Elgin Marbles and not just their looks. It would also suggest that the real designers of the Staunton chess intended the pieces to carry symbolic importance in accordance with Freemason thinking and this in addition to their very visual and practical advantages in the playing of chess. (16)

That Howard Staunton was a Freemason has yet to be proved but this in itself would have been quite usual the day. Indeed many coffee houses in and divans that were centres for chess were also meeting places for Freemason's lodges. (17)
Against the background of Howard Staunton as chess supremo, educator and learned Shakespearean actor, it should be known that Staunton's life was one of spare means and not the life of luxury that one might have envisaged. His estate was estimated to be worth less than £100 at his death.

It was following my Tate Gallery lecture in July 1993, entitled "Men of Staunton - Or Are They?" that I enquired about the whereabouts of Staunton's grave and commemorative. Nobody responded to the first point and mere did not seem to be anything extant on the second. I am indebted to Marc Loost who was able to give me details as to where the Staunton grave was situated although he had not visited the site. I immediately ventured forth to visit the grave of our national hero whose wife, incidentally, was also buried with him. To my horror I discovered that the grave was marked with nothing other than grey mud which extended right across the boundary site in that part of Kensal Green cemetery. I was thunderstruck! I invited Raymond Keene and Brian Clivaz to join me the next time in visiting the grave and we resolved to form the "Staunton Society" in order to correct this national disgrace. The Society will raise membership and funding to design and erect a suitable headstone for Staunton and his wife and increase public awareness of his prowess and also of chess as a informing agent in our national culture.

With respect to the commemorative plaque, I was given a tremendous boost when the Times published a letter by myself and signed by John Speelman, Daniel Wade, Bob King and Gareth Williams, requsting that a plaque be erected to honour the memory of Howard Staunton. The present situation is that, after sending a formal request to English Heritage, I received a reply that this is a serious enough proposal for them to look in to earnestly. Let's hope that succeeds!

Nigel Short has agreed to be the Honorary President of the Staunton Society, which will have its annual dinner at Simpson's-in-the-Strand on November 1st. A newsletter, the promotion of chess and education about London and its chess environs - together with conducted tours to places of historical interest - will be just some of the attendant features characterising the Society. (19)


The Staunton Pawn has the same proportions as King Solomon's Temple - in front of which stand the pillars of Boaz and Jachim. (as shown above) The Staunton knight represented the powerful ideas associated with the horses of the Elgin Marbles.

The sun-god chariot of On-Helios - as depicted in the Elgin Marbles and whose link with Osiris, the Egyptian god of resurrection and rebirth, is of tantamount importance in Freemasonry.

FOOTNOTES: page 36 October 1994 CHESS
1.Iin 1993 Nigel Short challenged Garry Kasparov for the world championship exactly 150 years after Howard Staunton won against St Amant in Paris in 1843, thus bringing me focus of the chess world to London and Simpson's-in-thc-Strand in particular. Staunton was the chess editor of the Illustrated London News from 1845 to 1874. He started the Chess Player's Chronicle in 1841, although the first Engish chess magazine was George Walker's The Philidorean 1837-8, and me first newspaper with a chess column was the Liverpool Mercury 1813-14.

2. Phillip Stamma, a native of Aleppo, Syria was for a time in 1745. an interpreter of Oriental languages to the British Government. His The Noble Game of Chess which included 74 openings and 100 end games, was printed in French, English German and Dutch. Sarratt translated the works of earlier writers of the game thus making them known for the first time to English readers. Those fea tured included Damiano. Ruy Lopez, and Selenus. William Lewis' Series of Pro gressive Lessons, 1831, followed his translations of Greco and Carrera, published in 1819 and 1822. Lewis lived fiom 1787 to 1870 and was the first recorded chess player to be referred to as a Grandmaster (see below). He was taught to play chess by Sairatt. George Walker (1803-1879) edited the chess column in the Lancet from 1823-4. From 1835-1873 he edited the chess column in Bell s Life which featured sport and scandal. He founded the Westminster Chess Club at Huttman's, 1831, the St. George's Club in Hanover Square. 1843, and established the custom of recording games. His book Chess Studies, 1844. contains 1020 games from 1780 to 1844. I give these details as partial background to Staunton's arrival to chess There are many other contributors of great importance including Philidor himself (see below)

3. In 1717 the Freemasons formed the Grand Lodge of England and a Grandmaster was required to be at its head. A certain George Payne was Grandmaster 'from 1718-1719, as was the 8th Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard, a Catholic, in 1727. The Lord Weymouth was elected on 17th April 1735, etc. The term 'Grandmaster' originated from this point in Freemasonry. Earlier Lodges had 'Masters'. In July 1993 I gave a lecture at the Tate Gallery entitled "Men of Staunton - Or are they?" and appraised the origination and mystery surrounding the design of the Staunton chess men and their links with Freemasonry.

4. Nathaniel Cook(e) registered the Cooke design in March 1849. However, numerous sources make interesting comments relating to this. For example, D.Hooper and K-Whyld in The Oxford Companion to Chess state that the Staunton chess set was designed 'around 1835 by Nathaniel Cook(e) who probably knew -of earlier sets bearing similar features'. An intriguing comment! V.Keats in his book Chessmen for Collectors also gives 1835 -as the date of their design by N.Cooke of the Illustrated London News. One question -that immediately emerges is why wait 15 -years to register their design? The suggestions that Cook(e) is 'of the LL.N: and further that he was its proprietor, (hear-say), are contradicted by me IJL.N. itself. Cook(e) was not its proprietor and had nothing to do with the I.L.N. Herbert Ingram was its proprietor. Cook(e) was previously in partnership with Ingram's in Nottingham where they were involved in an newsagent and bookselling company, However, their money came from a recipe that Ingram's had acquired that was for Old Parr's Pill'Ña laxative! It was from money gained by successful sales of this mat Ingram was able to come to London and setup the LL.N. in May 1842. Its first editor Bayley was replaced by John Timbs in 1845, who, along with Ingram, appointed Howard Staunton as the chess correspondent.

5. Cook(e)'s daughter married John Jaques Senior who had set about standardising chessmen 'in 1839'. Jaques intro duced croquet to Britain at the 1851 Great Exibition as awell as snakes and ladders, ludo. tiddlywinks. John Jaques the 4th made a miniature Staunton set for Queen Mary's doll house.

6. A number of references were made in the I.L.N. during the latter part of 1849 praising the Staunton chessman compared to existing sets. These appeared in Staunton's own chess column and one can conclude that they were written by Staunton himself. Retail outlets were mentioned particularly that at the "office of The Chess PLayer's Chrinicle at W. Leuchar's Piccadilly" (Staunton's publication). For example, I.L.N. September 8th: "In the simplicity and elegance of their form, combining lightness with real solidity, in the nicety of their proportions one with another, so that in the most intricate positions every piece stands out distinctively, neither hidden of overshadowed by its fellows, the Staunton Chess men are incomparably superior to others we have ever seen, An advertisement appeared on September 29th for the set; ' For the Finest African Ivory, with a richly ornamented box of 'Carton PierreÕ and a new Treatise on the game by the Author of The Chess Player's Handbook £5.5.0d' (Staunton again).

7. Murray H.J.R. A History of Chess1913

8. I believe the set to be by a number of designers and refined over a long period of time. The pieces and pawns are of symbolic importance particularly with reference to Freemasonry.

9. See below

10. Chiswick House/Villa. Chiswick, London, was built by Lord Burlington, Richard Boyle (of Burlington House, the Royal Academy of Art, Piccadilly fame), in 1723-9. There are strong Freemason associations about the building including the ball machicolations that express the com pass and square symbols used in Frecmasonry and exemplify the Staunton pawn. The house was based on the Villa Rotondo (the Capra Family House), in Vicenza, Italy. (It was originally designed for Signer Paolo Armerico, a Referenary to Popes Pius IV, and Pius V. Andrea Palladio designed the Villa in the 16th century and it is itself based on the Pantheon in Rome, the great 2nd century Roman temple built under a vast dome open to the sky). La Rotonda is me popular name for the Pantheon.

11. Both Murray and later Keats ibid allude to the Staunton pawn as symbolising the Freemason compass and square but either expand on this point or make any explanation. The following is a Masonic description: the square used m architecture enabling the architect to form and fashion his work symbolicallyÑteaching us to form and fashion our lives. An emblem of morality points out that the roost important obligation is to do unto others as we would they should do unto us, and to act on the square with all mankind. The compass reminds you to circumscribe your desires and keep your passions within due bounds. In Freemasonry, a volume of The Sacred Laws (The Bible) plus the Square and the Compass symbolises the Ark of the Covenant which contains laws made by God and agreed by Man and originally kept in the Holy of Holies in King Solomon's Temple. King Solomon's Temple was 30' wide and 90' longÑthe Staunton pawn has the same proportions,

12. Murray, ibid. British Museum manuscript add. 15820.

13. Philidor, Francois-Andre Danican 1726-95 (also a composer of music). In 1747 he came to London and was introduced to Stamma, Cunningham, the Lords Elibank, Godolphin and Sunderland at a private room at Slaughter's Coffee House. His important book L 'analyse du jeu des Echoes 1749 (English edition 1750), is quoted. It is an interesting fact that many coffee houses doubled as Lodges for Freemasons and chess clubs.

14. Murray, ibid.

15. The two pillars in front of Solomon's Temple, Boaz and Jachim, meaning Strength and Establishment respectively were themselves in imitation of Egyptian temples dedicated to the resurrection of Osiris that had two pillars symbolising Set and Horus, his brother and son. The horse's head to the right of the Athena group belongs to the chariot pulling the moon goddess Selene, hot from its night's long labour and seen just before sinking below the waves. It is interesting to note that, just prior to the Elgin Marbles arriving in London, an important event occurred in 1813 when the Duke of Kent as Grandmaster of the Ancients and his brother the Grandmaster of the Modems met in the Lodge of Reconciliation and the United Lodges of England came into being. The Duke of Sussex became its first Grandmaster. If this is confusing perhaps a comment by the French writer LePage writing in Le Symbolisme, October 1953, may help: 'It is absolutely useless for a Frenchman to try to understand English Masonry unless he realises that the Crown, the Anglican church and the United Grand Lodge of England are one God in Three Persons'.

16. LL.N. November 24th 1849. 'The additional facilities which the new chess men afford for the acquirement of a knowledge of the game render them an invaluable acquisition to the young amateur. Fine players will play finely with almost any chess men; but the best can hardly fail to produce finer games with pieces so admirably distinct and expressive as the 'Staunton' Men'. Many chess sets were confusing, with pieces looking too similar inevitably creating mistakes during play. Others were spindly or top heavy and fell over easily. The Staunton men were also leaded at their base, giving them added stability on the board and firmness in weight when handled.

17. Freemason Lodge No. 46 was held at Mount's Coffee House in Grosvenor Street

18. The Times August 7th 1993.

19. Details of The Staunton Society and its inaugural Banquet follow.
Nigel Short has agreed to become President of the Staunton Society; Ray Keene QBE is Chairman; Barry Martin, Secretary, and Brian Clivaz. Hon.Treasurer. Together, we are now inviting all chess enthusiasts to support us by joining the Staunton Society and attending the inaugural Staunton Society annual Black Tie Banquet on Tuesday November 1st, starting at 7.30pm. This will be held at Simpson's-in-the-Strand, the traditional home of world chess and one of Staunton's favourite venues. Our initial target is to raise £14,000 to erect and maintain a polished granite headstone in the shape of a chess knight to mark Staunton's grave in Kensal Green Cemetery.



(Goddesschess wishes to thank Mr. Frank Menzel of Montreal, Canada for his kind assistance with the transciption of this essay from the printed page to html.)