Chapter Eight
THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY
Masters
Returns were made to Grand Lodge in 1789, 1791, 1793 and 1796. The Master when the first of these was sent was Captain Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine a nephew of Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster and a "brother-in-law of Sir James Sinclair of Mey. Campbell was about 23 years of age and on half-pay from the Army. He seems to have spent the rest of his life in Caithness - living either at Thurso Castle or Barrogill Castle - although he did not long retain his interest in the lodge. Campbell is known to have been blind for a considerable time before he died in 1825.
In 1793 the Master was Captain (later Major) James Williamson who was about 30 years of age. He was a grandson of Benjamin Williamson of Banniskirk who had been a founder and strong supporter of St.John's Lodge. Two of his brothers later occupied the chair. James Williamson was for a long time Agent for the British Fisheries Society and gets honourable mention in the unpublished history of that society. While he occupied that post he held the freehold of Ackergill and took some part in the affairs of the first Wick lodge. He married a daughter of George Gibsone and they are commemorated in Old St.Peter's Church.
In 1795 the Master was John Rose again as we see below. Although there was more than one John Rose on the roll, it is most likely that only one took a prominent position in the affairs of the lodge.
Some Other Members
Before the great Reform Bill of 1832 the freeholders alone had a vote in parliamentary elections. In 1789, for example, there were only 23 voters in Caithness and it is interesting to see that at least 10 of these were members of the lodge. Of these we have already mentioned Sir John Sinclair, James Sinclair of Harpsdale his uncle, John Davidson, his factor and John Rose, of the Ulbster vote. We have also mentioned Sir William Dunbar and Robert Manson Sinclair of the independent voters. Incidentally, both Davidson and Rose were ineligible to vote because they held Customs posts.
In addition to these we find among the independent voters Colonel Benjamin Williamson, James' s elder brother, who will be discussed in Chapter Eleven, John Campbell Sutherland of Forse, James Sinclair of Durran and Sir James Sinclair of Mey.
John Campbell Sutherland was an English barrister but he did not "live in much state. It was said of his house that chickens and ducks took precedence over each other on his stairs and the drawing-room door could only be opened with the help of a servant with a fork." Although a cousin of Sir John Sinclair, he was a political opponent.
Sir James Sinclair was the 7th Baronet of Mey and followed his father and grandfather in membership of the lodge. On the death of the Earl of Caithness in 1789 he made a claim for the earldom and, after four years of litigation, the House of Lords recognised him. As the 12th Earl he entered politics and was Postmaster General in 1812. Sir James joined St.John's Lodge in 1783 and continued his membership for as far as the records go. In 1801 the Secretary wrote to Grand Lodge asking whether the Earl was Provincial Grand Master but it is improbable that he ever held that office.
Apart from the freeholders the merchants were the most active group in the lodge. A notable Thurso family of merchants well represented were the Millers. Of four brothers, George, Daniel and John were members, and George and Daniel both occupied the chair of Senior Warden. It was Daniel's son who endowed the Miller Institution and a grandson of John who endowed the Miller Medal and gifted the library to the school.
The First Wick Lodge
The British Fisheries Society was having some success late in the 18th century in promoting the herring fishing industry at Wick and the town began to expand. One consequence was a desire among the Wick members of St.John's Lodge that they should have a lodge of their own. Among the Thurso records is a petition addressed to Grand Lodge craving a charter. They give as their reason for wishing a charter that 20 miles over bad roads and in wintry weather made it difficult for them to practise Freemasonry. This petition has an endorsement on it written by the Secretary of St.John's Lodge and dated 27th December 1791 "but unsigned. It is difficult to see that St.John's Lodge would refuse to support the petition and we must suppose that the Wick brethren decided not to proceed.
A new petition was presented in 1793 however, and was endorsed on. St Andrew's Day of that year by the Master and Wardens of St.John's Lodge. That petition is given in Appendix 2. It came before Grand Lodge in February 1794 and a charter was granted in the name of St.Fergus's Lodge at Wick. Grand Lodge waived the requirement that two lodges should endorse a petition for a charter. Because of the remoteness of Wick they accepted the endorsement by St.John's Lodge alone and authorised that lodge to carry through the consecration at Wick on St.John the Baptist's Day 1794.
It was not until 3rd December 1795 that John Rose, Master, and Gray Campbell and Captain Kenneth Stewart, acting Wardens; of St.John's Lodge performed that duty. Baillie William MacLeay was installed as Master, Gray Campbell as Depute Master, Captain Stewart as Senior Warden, John Durrand as Junior Warden, Harry Bain as Treasurer and Hugh Warden as Secretary. All of these appear on the roll of St.John's Lodge.
MacLeay was Master until 1806 and later became Provost of Wick from 1814 to 1818. He was a merchant who had started out in business in Ross-shire before shifting to Wick. In Caithness MacLeay was undoubtedly an active and prominent man in his day but on the larger stage he is quite outshone by his descendants. His son and three of his grandsons were distinguished for their achievements in natural history, in exploration and in colonial administration.
We will mention here only Alexander MacLeay who, like his father.had joined St.John's Lodge before 1786. He, too, was a merchant in Wick until 1794. Then, at the age of 28, he went to London and became a civil servant. In over 20 years of service he occupied important posts in the Transport Board. He then emigrated to Australia and was Colonial Sec retary in New South Wales for 12 years. On his retirement he entered the Legislative Council and at the age of 70 he was its first Speaker. But,perhaps,even more important was his enthusiasm for natural history. From his early days in London he had been Secretary of the Linnaean Society and he carried on his studies in Australia where he built up a large collection of insects and cultivated a notable garden.
St.Fergus's Lodge did not prosper at first and soon went dormant but it was resuscitated in 1803 when one of the petitioners was Major James Williamson.
The Old Statistical Account
It was in the last decade of the 18th century that Sir John Sinclair compiled his famous "Statistical Account of Scotland". In the section dealing with the parish of Thurso he wrote:-
"There is a lodge of Free Masons,both numerous and respectable,called Thurso St.John's, which stands No. 45 on the roll of Scotch lodges. On festival days, from 50 to 60 Brethren commonly attend, and such is the state of their funds, that they have it now in contemplation, to build an elegant lodge-rooms which they propose to add to the new town-house."
The attendance figures are surprising because it would mean a large percentage turnout but Sir John may be correct. The new town house was to have been built on the site now occupied by St.Peter's Church.
Miscellaneous Notes
Two other items are singled out from the accounts. The first is the purchase of a seal in 1791. It was obtained from the firm of David & Alexander Deuchar of Edinburgh,. Alexander was not then a freemason but in the early years of the 19th century he was very active in the Craft and in the other masonic orders. He inspired Supreme Grand Chapter and Great Priory.
The second item is that the Treasurer's accounts for 1784 and later include among the assets "Mr.Angili his dues of admission being a Barrometer in the Treasurer's hands 18/-" . We do not know whether this pledge was later redeemed or whether the debt was eventually written off,
Chapter Nine
For a time before 1782 the lodge had been meeting in a room provided by Mrs. Jean Bruce but in 1783 they were meeting above the schoolhouse and they, probably, continued there until 1791, at least. This seems to have been near the Meadow Well. For social occasions they were in the habit of shifting their furniture to a storehouse and bringing in a caterer.
The Funds
All the early Treasurer's accounts deal only with single year's figures and we cannot tell what total funds have been accumulated. There is, however, little doubt that the total must have long been negligibly small. It is only for 1801 that a scrap of paper shows that £268 have been deposited with Sir John Sinclair. At the opening of the 19th century there was only one bank agent in Thurso and, as he failed a little later, it is, perhaps, fortunate that the lodge had not dealt with him.
From 1801 the funds seem to have risen sharply as Sir John had £400 by the end of 1806. A memorandum quoted later says they had £420 in 1808 but the date may be in error. Sir John was paying 5% around 1805 on this money.
The First Site
In 1793 - when there is some reason to suppose that the funds amounted to just under £100 - the members considered three possibilities put to them. They could buy the hall and house known as Morrison's Old Hall, which was available; or they could try to buy Nimmo's house which was very well situated; or they could build a hall in the older part of the town. To build in the new town would be much more expensive and the hall would be more difficult to let. This alternative was not therefore, put forward.
The proposed building was to have a lodge room,18 feet by 22 feet, a court room or hall,18 feet by 16 feet, an ante-chamber,14 feet by 8 feet, and a room of unspecified dimensions for an airing woman. Nimno's house seems to have been a little larger. The lodge must have chosen to build because later in the same year a plot of ground was bought from William McBeath and Isobel Taylor for £15. It was 15 feet by 60 feet. The next event of which we know is that this plot was sold in 1799. Perhaps the rate of increase of the funds had encouraged the lodge to build in the new town after all.
The Second Site
The fact that they had accumulated £400 caused the members to hold a special meeting on 7th January 1807 at which they were to select a site and to give authority for beginning to build. Colonel Benjamin Williamson of Banniskirk, who was then probably residing at Oldfield House, seems to have been given charge of the operation. He may well have been Master at this time and for the succeeding three years although it is only in 1809 that we have definite information. The accounts for 1807 show that he has spent £150 on wood and £13/10/- on lime and that these are the only relevant items.
The records do not give the site of the hall but local tradition agrees with the Register of Seisins which says:-
"The Trustees of St.John's Mason Lodge,Thurso, seised, Feb.25, 1814,- in a lot or area of ground with the house thereon on the west side of Traill Street, Newton of Thurso, par.Thurso, on Feu Charter by Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, August 27,1811."
Financial Crisis
The position becomes confused again, after the hall is under way until we come to a batch of papers dealing with the year 1811. A committee has been set up to consider the state of affairs and John Rose takes the leading part in formulating a. new policy.
One trouble was that the late Treasurer - and perhaps, the late Secretary - has had a few pounds from the funds. The amount was not great but the lack of zeal may have been more serious. But the chief source of trouble is that they have embarked on a very ambitious programme as we shall see. Rose recommends that they raise subscriptions for a "Sinking Fund" and get a loan on the "Heritable Security of the Tenement itself". We do not know about the loan but on 16th January 1811 the following circular was issued: -
Subscription for raising a Sum of money in aid of the Funds appropriated by the Lodge of Thurso St.John No.45, for erecting a Free Mason Hall at Thurso. Introduction.
This Lodge, although remotely situated is of long standing and many worthy Free Masons, who are now to be found in different parts of Europe, Asia, and America, were first admitted Members of that ancient and honourable fraternity within the Body of this Lodge and have their names recorded in its Books.
To those absent Members it will be gratifying to know that a Fund set on foot in the year 1784, by the payment of small Quarterly Collections from such of the Brethren as chose Voluntarily to contribute Two Shillings per annum, and a moderate fee for entrants did, in the year 1808 amount to the accumulated Sum of £428 Sterling.
It was then resolved to employ this money in building a House for the permanent accommodation of the Lodge.and although the Funds at the time were not fully adequate to the undertaking yet so ambitious were the resident Members of the Lodge to have the Money applied to the best of purposes, and so confident of meeting with liberal support from their absent Brethren that they did not hesitate to commence the work; and they have now the satisfaction to behold a good substantial Fabric compleated as to the Shell which when finished inside, will, they flatter themselves, prove an ornament to the Town and "bear lasting Testimony to the Merits of the Lodge.
Upwards of £500 has been already expended in the execution of this laudably undertaking; and it is calculated that nearly as much will be required to finish the House in the manner intended. In order to accomplish so desireable an object, the resident Members of the Lodge feel it their duty, to afford to the many worthy Brethren who call this their Mother Lodge, and whose absence prevented their contributing hitherto to its Funds, an opportunity of evincing at once their Zeal for the honor of the Craft, and their firm attachment to the Interests of the Mother Lodge; and the respect they bear to whatever is creditable for their Native Land.
Daily experience proves that among Scotchmen but particularly Highlanders; the farther they are removed from home, the stronger their attachment grows to the Country that gave them birth, and the more solicitous they become to promote every Public undertaking connected with the Credit of their Country.
In contemplation of this Benevolent Disposition the resident Members of Thurso Lodge could not but cherish the hope that in the widely extended Circles of their Brethren in both Hemispheres, as well as at home, many of them will gladly embrace the opportunity thus offered them of contributing less or more on the present occasion. Nor can the promoters of this Subscription be without hopes of finding in the List of Subscribers others of their Fellow Masons who tho' not so immediately connected with Thurso Lodge, yet actuated by that Spirit of Universal Benevolence and Brotherly Love which is the true Characteristic of the Order, will be induced to bestow their Mite towards the accomplishment of the object for which their aid is thus humbly solicited.
It is requested that Subscribers will take the trouble to engross the Sums they Subscribe in words at length in the lines, as well as in Figures in the Money column; and that Gentlemen abroad will have the goodness when they return their Subscription Papers, to address them to the Secretary of the Free Mason lodge at Thurso, N.B., and to signify where the monies Subscribed, may be called for.
NB. It is intended to have a List of the Subscribers neatly engraved and framed to be hung up in the public Hall of this Lodge. Thurso St.John's Lodge 16th Jany 1811."
We do not know what response this persuasive circular produced except that St.Fergus's Lodge at Wick voted to give a donation of 2 guineas.
The End of the Record
The circular is less than candid in one respect, John Rose's report shows that £524 has already been spent and that the lodge was accordingly £50 in debt. The building fund itself was about £90 in debt.
At this time the Master was William Henderson and in November 1811 he offered to take over the superintendence of the building. His offer was accepted but it is not clear what benefit will flow from the appointment. In January of 1812 plans were passed for a "stone stair to the great hall" which was to be built by Daniel Taylor, whose name will come to further notice in the history of St.Peter's Operative Lodge.
In March notice was given of a motion to sell "the House now building by the Lodge Hall" but in April the motion was withdrawn because a fuller discussion will take place on June 24th. And there the lodge record ends. We will have a little more to say about the hall in the final chapter.
Chapter Ten
RELATIONS WITH GRAND LODGE
After the reinstatement of 1787 St.John's Lodge, like most other lodges, made returns to Grand Lodge every few years and so remained precariously on the roll. For a few years around 1800 they received a small sum of money for the widow of John Taylor. Taylor had become a Freemason in 1790 in order to be Tyler to the lodge. After a year or two he enlisted and went to Ireland leaving behind him with no visible means of support his wife, five small children and a sixth unborn. He died in Ireland.
Proxy Masters
In the negotiations about Mrs,Taylor, Captain George Sinclair is referred to as Proxy Master but it is not known whether he held that post officially because Grand Lodge's minutes are deficient at the relevant time. The first recorded Proxy Master was Walter Moir who held the appointment in 1799 when Grand Lodge's minutes recommenced. Moir was an accountant, a member of Caledonian Lodge and was active in Edinburgh masonic circles until about 1822. In 1799 and 1800 he was Master of his lodge and as such was a member of Grand Committee. His re-election to the chair of his lodge in 1808 will be mentioned below.
In 1806 a proxy commission was made out in favour of Donald Horne who was also a member of Caledonian Lodge. Horne was a W.S.in Edinburgh and grand-father of the World War One general, Lord Horne. His father, William, was a member of St.John's Lodge and a founder of St.Fergus's Lodge at Wick. When the commission came before Grand Committee it was, with others, rejected as part of some plot which does not concern us here. The ostensible reason for the rejection was that the commission was dated 29th December instead of 27th. A new commission was made out and was accepted in August of the following year. Horne was Master of Caledonian Lodge in the years 1817 to 1822 but he had ceased to be Proxy Master around 1809.
One imagines that Horne gave up the proxy in order that a Caithness Freemason might be appointed. It is not quite clear why Horne gave it up. Perhaps it was withdrawn as the lodge threatened in the matter of the Associated Lodges dealt with below; perhaps he quarrelled with the Lodge temporarily on that matter; perhaps he was concerned that the lodge was again running into arrears. What was happening was that the Treasurer was taking credit for the sums due to Grand Lodge but was not remitting them. In 1811 the lodge wrote to Grand Lodge offering a composition of 3 guineas and explaining the difficulties they were in with building debts and defaulting office bearers. They also put in a reminder that they had contributed 5 guineas to the building of Freemasons' Hall in Edinburgh. The composition was accepted.
Donald Horne was asked to resume the proxy but he did not respond. The lodge then turned to Neil Ryrie who accepted and became Proxy Master at the end of 1811. Ryrie was born at Camster and joined St.John's Lodge in 1788 when he was a merchant in Thurso. Later he set up in business as a brewer in Edinburgh. For two years around 1810 he was a Baillie there.
These Proxy Masters were none of them regular in their attendance at Grand Lodge but they may well have given satisfactory service for all that. The principal duty we know about was that of passing on the dues to Grand Lodge. This was not an onerous task as it only involved one payment every three years on average.
Neil Ryrie is not known to have been active in Edinburgh Freemasonry. In 1815 he was a member of the committee which organised the St.Andrew's Day banquet. His next appearance at Grand Lodge was for the festival of St.Andrew in 1827 when he was merely listed as a distinguished member. We may suppose his proxy to have ended effectively in 1815 because later dues seem to have been transmitted directly to Grand Lodge.
During the terms of these Proxy Masters there are a number of occasions when Proxy Wardens are also listed but it has not seemed worthwhile to note them.
Provincial Grand Masters
Caithness had no Provincial Grand Master from the time that Sir William Dunbar stopped attending the lodge soon after 1760 until 1801. Although Sir William lived until 1795 when he had reached about 85 years had no connection with St.John's Lodge for the last 20 years at least. In 1801
Sir George Steuart Mackenzie, 7th Baronet of Coul, was made Provincial Grand Master of Orkney. A later minute includes Caithness in his title and, at his request, Ross & Cromarty were added. Sir George occupied the post for 25 years but we do not know of anything to relate him to St.John's Lodge, His successor did not have Caithness in his title. We are unlikely to be wrong in dismissing both men as irrelevant to our history.
The Secession of the Associated Lodges
We now come to a lengthy digression on a matter which, though only marginally related to the history of St. John's Lodge,has a general interest. The matter was rooted in politics.
The parties of the day were the Whigs and the Tories. At the beginning of 1807 the Government was a coalition known as "The Ministry of All the Talents" whose chief ministers were Whigs. This Government brought in a bill to enable Roman Catholics to occupy the higher commissions in the army as they already could occupy the lower commissions. The King, George III, was bitterly anti-Catholic and refused to entertain the bill. The Government then dropped it but the King asked for an undertaking in writing that they would not raise the matter again. On their refusal to give the undertaking he dismissed them when a Tory Government came in to replace them.
Now the leading members of Grand Lodge were Whigs. It is not, therefore, surprising that they tried to reject a motion brought forward at the May 1807 communication of Grand Lodge by Dr.John Mitchell, Master of the Caledonian Lodge, that an address of congratulation be sent to the King for his defence of the Established Religion. The motion was declared lost by 27 votes to 28. Mitchell claimed a miscount and demanded a scrutiny but this was refused.
At a special communication in June,summoned at the request of Mitchell's adherents, a motion for "No scrutiny" was brought forward by James Gibson (later Sir James Gibson Craig,1st Baronet of Riccarton), a well-known Whig, and was carried by 95 votes to 47. This did not settle the affair which dragged on in Grand Lodge and was the subject of numerous pamphlets.
There was another circumstance which made this affair a very dangerous one for Grand Lodge. The Kilwinning Lodge had been outside Grand Lodge from 1744 until 1807 and, as part of the settlement in that latter year, she had been given a place on the roll ahead of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel)No.l. This placing, which was not justified by the available evidence, but was probably necessary to heal the breach in Scottish Masonry, was a source of dissatisfact ion to the Edinburgh lodges generally.
Thus by June 1808 the leading members and, probably, the majority of the members of the Lodge of Edinburgh, Canongate Kilwinning Lodge, St.David Lodge, Edinburgh St.Andrew's Lodge and Caledonian Lodge were in revolt. By July they were meeting as the Associated Lodges and 47 of them were suspended by Grand Lodge. To replace suspended office bearers new elections were held in the rump lodges and it was at this time that Walter Moir was re-elected to the chair of Caledonian Lodge. He held the office until 1814.
Legal proceedings were instituted against the Associated Lodges but the Court of Session refused Grand Lodge the exclusive jurisdiction it claimed. The revolt did eventually peter out and by 1813 all the suspended members except Mitchell had been re-admitted. In several cases they were immediately elected to office again and the crisis was safely passed.
In August 1808 it was reported that 98 lodges had written to express their approval of Grand Lodge's actions in this affair. There is no further mention of the opinions of daughter lodges. One wonders how many of them shared the view of St.John's Lodge.
St.John's Lodge Comments
In January 1809 the lodge was sufficiently upset by the dispute to appoint a committee to look into it. They reported, in February and it was ordered that a copy of the report should "be sent to Grand Lodge and to the lodges which were named in it.
The report is as follows:-
Your Committee having read with attention the several communications from the Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, containing proceedings against Right Worshipful Brother Mitchel,Master of the Caledonian Lodge Edinburgh and his adherents, and also certain Minutes and Resolutions of the Lodges Cannongate Kilwinning, Edinburgh St.Andrews and Mary's Chapel, after mature deliberation on their contents, beg leave to Submit to the consideration of the Brethren the following Resolutions.
I/. That St.Johns Lodge Thurso,views with deep regret, the unfortunate quarrel which has arisen between the Grand Lodge and several of the lodges under its care,
2/. That this lodge shall on no Account interfere in this business nor pay the least attention to the repres entations of either Party; for however coloured with the appearance of Masonry, this Lodge can consider the proceedings on both sides as nothing else than Party Spirit and Political Cabal utterly inconsistent with the Principals and derogatory to the true interests of Free Masonry, and which, if persisted in, must end in the Subversion of all Masonic order.
3/. That the Lodge deprecates the idea of Seceding from the Grand Lodgo of Scotland; but humbly begs leave to recommend in the strongest manner, to the Office Bearers of the Grand Lodge the necessity of adopting every measure calculated to conciliate the Seceding Lodges and restore them to their allegiance to the Grand Lodge.
4/. That as it does not appear that means calculated to obtain this most desirable object were tried by the Grand Lodge before those measures of severity which occasioned the Secession were resolved to This lodge will not for the present make any Election of a Representative to the Grand Lodge, but will in every other respect maintain its connexion with and acknowledge its allegiance to it.
5/. That this Lodge will never admit that a difference of opinion between Grand Lodge and any Lodges under its care or the Representatives of such Lodges is to warrant the Grand Lodge in depriving such Representatives of their right of acting as Members of Grand Lodge.
6/. That this Lodge has not been able to discover any reason why Brother Gibson did not meet with any share of the Censure and Punishment inflicted by the Grand Lodge on Brother Mitchel and his adherents,"
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