 Brierley was a regular attendee at the Freemason Lodge of Union (originally a Lancashire Lodge of Union No.50), according to the records that exist between 1824 and 1830 and from 1840 to 1848.The Lodge migrated from Manchester to Mellor in 1822.It met at the Devonshire Arms and several other hostelries in the locality before it shifted to the Shuttle Inn (renamed the George) at Ludworth.