Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

een elected Substitute Grand Master, and his influence is clearly evident during
the reconciliation between the Grand Lodge and Kilwinning over the lingering
issue of masonic precedence. Within two years of Inglis’ election, the deadlock
had been broken, and each lodge had appointed representatives to discuss the
terms for a final settlement. 33 As Lindsay argues, it was “evident that secret
pourparlers had been opened between Inglis and his Whig supporters in Grand
Lodge, on the one side, and the Lodge of Kilwinning on the other.” 34
The Whig presence in the Grand Lodge and the problems with
Kilwinning were not the only factors which contributed to the schism of 1808.
Only twelve new lodges were chartered between the years 1795 to 1808. New
charters had fallen over fifty per cent during this period, compared to the
previous fifteen years when twenty-seven new lodges were established.
Significantly, there were no new charters between 7 August 1799 and 3
December 1806. This suspension of lodge expansion coincides not only with
the Secret Societies of 1799, but also with the Maybole Trial and the beginning
of the Masonic Secession. Thus it may be argued that this period of masonic
stagnancy, combined with the increased Whig presence and a polarization of
party loyalties within the Grand Lodge, weakened the institution of Scottish
freemasonry and ultimately opened the door for a split.
on terms not only honourable and advantageous to the Grand Lodge but to the cause of Masonry
in general. Sir John therefore proposed that a Select Committee be named by the Grand Lodge
with authority to open a Communication with the Kilwinning Lodge either by letter or by a
meeting with the Master and a Committee of that Lodge in order to ascertain their views and
demands. The Grand Lodge having taken this matter into consideration agrees to the propriety
of opening a communication with the Kilwinning Lodge,” Grand Lodge of Scotland Minutes.
33 Grand Lodge of Scotland Minutes, 14 February 1807.
34 Lindsay, Holryood House, 294.
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