Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

The data need careful qualification, as it represents single years in some
cases, and relatively continuous returns for most of the eighteenth century in
other examples. What is striking is that each lodge in this study was largely
dominated by one category, and location seemed to affect lodge composition.
Early lodge returns from Edinburgh reveal social complexions represented
almost entirely by major trades, although by the mid-eighteenth century elite
groups were more prominent in the capital. These findings are similar to Clark’s
data on Modern Lodges in London, which show freemasonry’s early inability to
attract fashionable support but steadily attracting elite patronage and gentlemen
by the 1760s. 65
In aggregate, the data show that lodges maintained a great deal of
autonomy over recruitment. Critical analysis of who joined the lodges and
overlapping club membership reveals that at least some Edinburgh lodges were
socially biased towards the respectable classes. Although it is difficult to
quantify any trends of exclusivity and elitism in other lodges represented in this
study, it is clear that a high proportion of masons outside of Edinburgh were
artisans. Combining major trades, military, seafaring and victualling, and
comparing the percentages to professional and gentlemen composition, the
results signal regional reliance on middling classes and tradesmen, similar to
recruitment patterns in the north of England. 66
65 Ibid, 321.
66 Ibid, 322-323.
96