Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

opposed to operatives, which “were still mired in the traditional idea of the
lodge as an autonomous entity.” 115
The differences between operatives and speculatives also manifest
varying motivations among Scottish and English freemasons for joining a lodge.
The reasons for becoming a member of a particular club or society, whether
masonic or otherwise, were as numerous and varied as the individuals and
personalities comprising their membership: general fellowship and drinking,
political and religious discussion, taking part in sports, and social and national
improvement. Clark argues that eighteenth-century British clubs and societies
attempted to erase class and social boundaries by creating an atmosphere
characterized by diverse economic and occupational backgrounds. However,
Broadie maintains that eighteenth-century societies were predominantly male, as
women were not among the “first rank of contributors.” 116 And freemasonry
was no exception, although the brotherhood was ostensibly open to “all creeds
and classes.” 117 In banning women, the “lodge licensed itself as another all-
men’s drinking club.” 118 Indeed, this assortment of backgrounds, motivations,
and interests is what Clark acknowledges as “one of the distinctive features of
British associational life.” 119
115 Kahler, “Grand Lodge of Scotland,” 108.
116 Broadie, Scottish Enlightenment, 29.
117 Marie Mulvey-Roberts, “Hogarth on the Square: Framing the Freemasons,” British Journal
for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 26(Autumn 2003), 251-252.
118 Ibid. Clark also states that “British freemasonry, like most eighteenth-century societies, was
exclusively male,” British Clubs, 320. See also James Van Horn Melton, Rise of the Public,
258-259.
119 Ibid, 1-25. Also see Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood, 9-10; James Van Horn Melton,
Rise of the Public, 254; See Roberts, Mythology, 26. Roberts writes that “in joining lodges…the
freemasons were only doing what many other men of their time were doing: the early eighteenth
century was a great age for the formation of small assemblies and clubs for social enjoyment.”
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