On St. John the Baptist's Day, 24th June 1717, four old Lodges in London and Westminster met, and organized a governing body, called a Grand Lodge. This Grand Lodge gradually took control of all the Lodges meeting in England. The word speculative now became linked with the word accepted; speculative meaning masonry in a symbolic sense. The two original grades of masonry were organized into three degrees:

1. the Entered Apprentice;
2. the Fellow Craft; and
3. the Master Mason.

In 1723, the Grand Lodge approved a Constitution, and was soon chartering Lodges, not only in England, but in the expanding colonies, and other overseas countries.