SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY 1725-1810 ... - Lodge Prudentia

Three separate incidents occurred during its formation and development
which reinforce Lyon’s claims: first, the sending of invitations announcing the
Grand Election and the formal establishment of the Grand Lodge; second, the
ordering of lodges on the Grand Roll of Scotland; and third, the handling of a
communication sent by Maybole Lodge to the Grand Lodge in 1737. 45
Ultimately, these three events precipitated widespread indifference towards the
Grand Lodge and prevented many lodges from acknowledging it as the supreme
governing body in Scotland; several lodges “never joined the Grand Lodge at
all, while others did so and retired, though of the latter some renewed their
allegiance.” 46 Although the Grand Lodge was the authoritative masonic body,
for years it waged a war of attrition with the much older, venerable lodges in
Scotland.
Its official recognition as the putative head of Scottish freemasonry and
the election of the first Grand Master were held on 30 November 1736, St
Andrews Day, at Mary’s Chapel Lodge in Edinburgh. 47 Only four out of forty-
nine Scottish lodges, however, were involved in the detailed planning of such
important events. Furthermore, these four lodges were located in Edinburgh,
attesting to the initial solidarity and exclusiveness of their endeavours.
According to Lindsay, members of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge in
Edinburgh composed a letter which expressed their objections “to the permanent
seat of Grand Lodge being in Edinburgh as likely to give an undue preference to
45 For further discussion on numerous other disputes that occurred during the Grand Election,
see Kahler, “The Grand Lodge of Scotland,” 99-101.
46 Gould, A Concise History of Freemasonry (London, 1903), 275.
47 Freemasons traditionally held elections on St Andrews Day.
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