Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

Chapter One: Introduction
The ‘Happy Hunting Ground’:
Tracing the Origins and Development of
Scottish Freemasonry
During the first half of the eighteenth century, freemasonry was already
an old-established part of Scottish and British culture. Although its secrecy
sometimes evoked sceptical feelings, freemasonry did not normally provoke the
extreme anti-masonic attitudes prevalent in Europe. 1 Its organization and
development were such that it had always precluded any serious accusations of
treason or sedition from the public and the government. However, as the second
half of the eighteenth century progressed and the French Revolution exercised a
significant influence over political thought, British freemasonry was targeted by
a suspicious government intent on monitoring the activities of secret societies.
As such, heavy-handed legislation passed in the 1790s to stamp out radical
groups transformed Scottish freemasonry from a convivial, charitable
association into an organization characterized by intense political rivalries and
power struggles.
The friction among Scottish freemasons during the end of the century
was directly caused by government legislation as well as problems stemming
from the formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736. Smouldering inter-
lodge disputes combined with accusations of treason triggered a decade of
1 British freemasonry did receive some criticism during the eighteenth century, although it was
infrequent and principally confined to England and Europe. See S.N. Smith, “The So-Called
‘Exposures’ Of Freemasonry Of The Mid-Eighteenth Century,” AQC, 56(1943); Knoop and
Jones, “An Anti-Masonic Leaflet of 1698,” AQC, 55(1942); N.B. Spencer, “Exposures And
Their Effect On Freemasonry,” AQC, 74(1961). Spencer notes that “considering the number of
exposures, it is marvellous that they have had so little effect on the Craft,” 145.