OLD MASONIC LODGE
Old Masonic Lodge ©
Although the exact date of the formation of the Lodge Kirknewton and Ratho No. 85 is not known, in 1761 they applied for and received an official Charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Lodge Kirknewton and Ratho first carried the number 109, in 1816 it was given the number 84, in 1822 Number 80. It appears to have been given the number 85 in 1826.
I have copied the Charter and the spelling and typing are as represented on the copy I have whether it is as spelt in 1761 or the mistakes are in the copy I do not know.
To All and SUNDRY to whose knowledge these presents shall come GREETING. WHEREAS upon APPLICATION to the GRAND LODGE of Free and Accepted Masons for the KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND by William Christie, Master, James Rule and John Muir, Wardens, John and William Torbet, Stewarts. John Graham Secretary, and other Brethren of a Lodge of Free Masons held at Kirknewton and Ratho PRAYING the GRAND LODGE would grant warrant for expanding a CHARTER under their Seal erecting the Petitioners into a Regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons by the title and Designation of the Lodge of Kirknewton and Ratho. THE GRAND LODGE accordingly granted warrant for expending the underwritten PATENT of Constitution and New Erection in the Petitioners favour. KNOW YE THEREFORE that the MOST WORSHIPFUL THE GRAND MASTER OF SCOTLAND and THE GRAND LODGE thereof aforesaid HAVE CONSTITUTED, ERECTED and APPOINTED and hereby CONSTITUTE, ERECT, and APPOINT the Worshipful Brethren above-named and their successors in all time coming to be a true and regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons by the Stile and Title of the Lodge of Kirknewton and Ratho and appoint and ordain all Regular Lodges to hold, own and respect them as such hereby GIVING GRANTING, and COMMITTING to them and their successors, full power and Authority to meet, assemble, and conveen as a Regular Lodge and to admit and receive Apprentices, pass Fellowcrafts, and Raise Master Masons upon payment of such composition for support of their Lodge as they shall see convenient, and to elect and chuse Masters and Wardens and other Officiers Annually or otherwise as they shall have occasion.
Recommending to the Brethren aforesaid and their successors to reverence and obey their Superiors in all things lawful and honest as becomes the honour and harmony of Masonry. The Said Brethren by accepting of this present Charter becoming faithfully sound and engaged not to desert their said Lodge so constituted, nor upon any pretext what-soever to make any separate or schismatical meetings without the consent of their Master and Wardens for the time, nor to collect money or other funds separate from the common stock of their Lodge to the prejudice of the poor thereof:
They and their successors in all time coming being also obliged to obey and pay all due regards to the Acts, Statutes, and Regulations of the Grand Lodge already made or hereafter to be made, for the Utility, Welfare, and Prosperity of Masonry in General, and to pay and perform whatever is stipulated or demanded of them for the support of the dignity of the Grand Lodge. And to RECORD in their books which they are hereby appointed to keep this Present CHARTER of CONSTITUTION and ERECTION, with their own REGULATIONS and BYELAWS, and their whole procedure from time to time as they shall occurr, to the end they may be more readily seen and observed by their BRETHREN, SUBJECT allways to the review of the Grand Lodge: AND ALSO THE BRETHREN aforesaid and their successors are hereby required punctually to attend the whole General Meetings and Quarterly Communications of the Grand Lodge by their Representatives, being their Master and Wardens for the time, or by lawful proxys in their name; provided such proxies be Master Masons or Fellow Crafts of some established Lodge holding of the Grand Lodge, to the end they may act and vote in the Grand Lodge, and be duly certicrate of the proceedings thereof:DECLARING their precedencie in the Grand Lodge to commence from the date hereof; AND TO THE END these presents may be the more effectually kept and preserved the same are hereby appointed to be recorded in the Books of the Grand Lodge.
Given at the Grand Lodge held at St Marys Chapel in the CITY OF EDINBURGH the third day of August in the year of our Lord ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE by the MOST WORSHIPFUL and RIGHT HONOURABLE DAVID EARL OF LEVEN present GRAND MASTER MASON OF SCOTLAND, GEORGE FRAZER ESQ. DEPUTY GRAND MASTER, RICHARD TOD ESQ. SUBSTITUTE GRAND MASTER, WALTER STEUART and MAJOR JAMES SETON ESQUIRES GRAND WARDENS and the seal of the Grand Lodge appended hereunto. WITNESSING to these present JAMES HUNTER ESQ. GRAND TREASURER, ALEXANDER MCDOUGAL ESQ. GRAND SECRETARY and GEORGE BEAM GRAND CLERK.
| Edinburgh Tertic Die August,1761.Recorded in the | Composition of two Guineas to the Grand Lodge for this Charter. | |
| Books of the Grand Lodge | JAMES HUNTER, G. T. | |
| P. Alex McDougall G. Secretary | LEVEN G. Mr. | |
| Geo. Beam G. Clerk. | Geo Frazer. D.G. Mr. | |
| Richd Tod. Sub. G.M. | ||
On the 5th March 1791, “The Right Worshipful Master brother Mathew Wilkie intimated to the lodge that the day of the sale of Hatton Estate was now at hand they should come to an immediate resolution of getting the Charter Right of the Lodge Room from the Earl of Lauderdale previous to the sale.
"The Lodge was unanimously of the opinion that a tack of 99 years (another publication states 999 years) should be got from the Earl in the name of the Master and the other officers, and their successors in office, for the yearly payment of a small sum. It was likewise proposed to the Lodge that it should be advantageous to purchase from the Earl the under flat of the Lodge, and request brother James Bowmaker to lay a proposal of that kind before his Lordship."
Two years later it is recorded: -
“The Charter applied for to the Earl of Lauderdale had been granted and the treasurer was authorised to pay the expense of the same, which amounted to £4.00. This was for the upper part of the building.”
In 1792 in conjunction with the Parish of Kirkliston the Brethren signed a Petition to Parliament to abolish the Slave Act.
The Lodge had invested in property in the village in 1851, for £333. In an 1801 Feu the property was described as part of the North Croft of Ratho on the north side of the street of Ratho (now known as Caroline House and Masonic Vila).
Caroline House ©
and
Masonic Villa ©
They retained this property for which they received rent from its let.
The property was sold in 1882 to David Smith, schoolmaster for £552, the titles having changed somewhat to “Piece of ground measuring about 250 feet along the North Side and 114 feet Northwards, with Dwelling House thereon.” The proceeds were dispersed amongst 21 Brethren who each received £26. 6s/7d. the Brethren having to sign the deeds. Receipts for the disbursement of money are in the Lodge records.
Tom Murray who currently resides in Masonic Villa corroborates that his title deeds contain these signatures.
In 1849 the Lodge let its meeting room as a school at the rent of £6.00 per annum. In December 1850 it decided to terminate the let but later extended it until the following May.
In 1861 the Lodge celebrated its centenary which was held on the 27th December that year.
In 1887 plans were drawn up for new premises. However these apparently came to nothing.
In July 1893 the Lodge Hall was renovated by removing the ceiling and replacing it with a wood-built arch roof at a cost of £50. The premises were papered in December of the same year at a cost of thirty-three shillings. (Was this when the picture of the Earl of Lauderdale was covered up?)
The Ratho Flute Band and the Blue Ribbon Band had the use of the hall for rehearsal at a cost of three shillings per night; the Evangelists and Faith Pilgrims received a reduction of two shillings, as did the Girls’ Friendly Society.
In 1926 when the Lodge room was being redecorated the removal of wallpaper revealed a painting on the plasterwork of James Lauderdale wearing full Masonic dress. This work was restored, but in 1959 when alterations were being carried out on the property at the rear, water penetrated the wall and it was destroyed.
In 1927 electricity was introduced to the village and the Lodge had this installed for heating and lighting shortly thereafter.
It has had several prominent local members, see articles on: -
William Cameron Peat Brown, who presented a Master's desk, Warden's pedestals and altar, all of carved oak, along with other benefits to the premises.
and
David Watson Stevenson, who presented two marble busts on his being made an honorary member in 1889.
As the records show, the Lodge was already meeting in the premises on Main Street and that it was owned by the Earl of Lauderdale. This would make the property much older than 1791 (the oldest confirmed date in lodge records).
Apparently it was surrounded by a wall at the rear with a large entry gate from what is now School Wynd (was it possibly the dowagers house? and could this have been Margaret, Countess Dowager of Lauderdale?) This would also explain the coat of arms on the roof.
If this were correct it would make this the oldest surviving building in the village apart from the church. Carefully examined, the old pictures of the building show the walls before they were harled. The undressed stone indicates a building of considerable age. Unfortunately, the date of origin of the Lodge cannot be confirmed
Old Masonic Lodge ©
The building was modernised by the then Edinburgh District Council, which also harled the walls and won the 1975 Heritage Award for this renovation work. The Lodge occupied the top floor of the building the lower floor was a butchers shop.