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A settlement called Kilwinning

Matthew Scanlan, MA
The Cornerstone Society.
www.cornerstonesociety.com
A Town called Kilwinning.
This article appeared in the summer 2000 edition of Freemasonry Today.
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There are many legends about the antiquity of the trade, but perhaps none as curious as
the one that surrounds a dark village in Scotland called Kilwinning.

Located on the banks of the Garnock River about 25 miles southwest of Glasgow, this small
the community is very close to the Ayrshire coast, where the Irish Sea crashes and swirls
with the waters of the Clyde fjord.
At a certain distance from the village, the ruins of an ancient abbey remain in the shadow against
the hill illuminated by the sun, without any features of a modern landscape.

At first glance, the village appears like any other in this part of Scotland, and its only
the attempt at redemption is the occasional pub and social center, and the well-preserved Masonic lodge,
that last December celebrated four centuries of existence.
Numerous myths surround the fabulous lodge.
After the formation of the First Grand Lodge of London in 1717, the writer and Freemason
Jonathan Swift published an anonymous letter in Dublin that was intended to be sent by the Great
Mistress of the Society of Women Freemasons. She included in it the 'famous and ancient lodge.
Scottish Kilwinning, branch of the Temple of Solomon, formerly known as the Knights
of Saint John of Jerusalem and the Brothers of the Order of the Templars. Although the tone of the
the letter was something fantastical, the story became immensely popular in the 18th century.

On December 26, 1736, after a Masonic meeting, a banquet was held in

a Parisian restaurant on Rue du Paon.
At the banquet that followed the ceremony, a Scot named Andrew Michael Ramsay
he spoke of the great purpose of the Order, that of the unity of all men of minds
clarified, who had a love for the arts, science, and religion, to the point that 'the
the interests of the Brotherhood will come to be those of the human race as a whole.

He associated the craft with the mystery societies of the ancient world and expressed that the rites
mystical events held at those festivals marked the traces of Noah's pure religion and the

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Patriarchs. He declared that the Order was revived during the Crusades before moving to England
under the reign of Edward I, from where he made his way to Scotland.
He stated that Jacobo, Lord Steward of Scotland, was the Grand Master of a Lodge established in
Kilwinning in the west of Scotland in 1286 after the death of Alexander III King of Scotland
a year before John Balliol ascended to the throne.
Thus, from this celebrated speech, the popular belief arose that the
Freemasonry had some descent from the religious military orders of knights.
crusaders, a myth that resulted in the creation of many new Masonic rites, some of the
which still resonate today.

Facts over fantasy.

The first mention of the Kilwinning lodge appeared in a single group of documents.
known as the Schaw Statutes, which were issued by the Master of Works of Scotland
(Master Builder in Scotland) at the end of the 17th century. In 1583, King James VI of Scotland appointed
William Shaw as a grand master of the Royal palace and supervisor of all the masons of
kingdom.
After several years in that role, Shaw, now General Warden
he clearly found reasons to reform the Office, and on December 27, 1598, he issued
new regulations that were to be circulated among all the Freemasons of Scotland. They established that
no mason could be admitted to a lodge without being tested and having presented a
work; that each brother should be diligent, obedient, and charitable to one another; a
Vigilante (Warden) would be elected by each lodge and that no master could work with
unqualified or qualified Masons, or "cowans".
Clearly, no one was satisfied with the new rules and exactly one year later,
a second meeting took place on the day of San Juan at the Palace of Holyrood.
A commissioner sent by the Kilwinning lodge showed up there to ask for clarification of the
status and lordship of the lodge, since it had not been mentioned in the statutes.
Thus, consequently, the assembly decided to issue a second group of regulations.
drafted by Shaw directed specifically at the lodges of the west coast, by name.
The new statute emphasized that no apprentice or tradesman would be admitted except
within the parish of Kilwinning; that all banquets would be paid for by the newcomers.
apprentices and newly arrived companions to the Trade (newly made) and that the Watchman and the
Deacon of Kilwinning would swear in the ordinary men of the Office.
Thus, the most significant aspect of that group of regulations is the language used, which ...
has often been conveniently ignored by historians.

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William Shaw declared: that all the statutes of the predecessors of Kilwinning must be
observed by all the 'maister massounis' (master masons) as before; that the
Vigilantes would take "trial of the art of memory and science thereof" (a test that does not
outside the art of memory and of science); that the Lodge of Edinburgh would be like 'in all time
coming as before (just like in all times), the main one of Scotland and that Kilwinning
it would be the second, 'it being notoriously manifest in our ancient writings'.
notoriously manifest in our ancient writings).
Clearly then, from the terms of those two groups of statutes, it appears that
Kilwinning existed before 1589, a claim for which there is some corroborating evidence.
There was also a certain number of lodges led by Shaw at the time when he
issued the new regulations just like the lodges in Aitchison's Haven, Edinburgh, St.
Andrews, Stirling, Haddington and Dunfermline: It is known, for example, that the lodge in Aitchison's
Haven was probably related to the Cistercian monks of the abbey of
Newbattle in Midlothian.
In 1526 King James V issued a Letter to the monks authorizing them to build a shelter.
in their lands, for the purpose of transporting coal from the mines of the Barony of
Prestongrange.
El albergue fue primeramente denominado Millhaven, y existen referencias a él en las antiguas
minutes of the lodge, although it later changed its name to Aitchison's Hav.
It is believed that the now-disappeared lodge originated in that time, but unfortunately
The records, which begin in 1599, maintain silence about their origins.
Still, there are references to the lodges prior to the time of Shaw. In Aberdeen on June 27
From 1483 there is a recorded mention of six 'Masons of the lodge.'
they were commissioned for a job in the city, and in 1536 there is another reference to the ancient
custom of the "Lady Lodge of Dundee" (see Note of the T).
And indeed, any proud local will tell you that the Mother lodge is considered
popularly known as the oldest pedigree with the intention of dating it to the construction
from the abbey itself, when the monks settled here after having crossed the
waters from France.
But, if the lodge in Kilwinning already existed in such remote times, how is it that today we have
so little evidence of it?
The answer may be simple, like the new regulations from Schaw
they specifically required that all lodges employ qualified notaries and maintain
records, as it was an innovation, all previous activity had not been preserved.
Furthermore, the cartulary of the Kilwinning monastery cannot be consulted, as the records of
the abbey was tragically lost some time after the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and
how well they could keep some vital clues from the antiquity of the lodge itself.

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Kilwinning since the early times.

The name of the village derives from an Irish evangelical monk, Saint Winnin, who arrived in the
mouth of the Garnock River in 715 AD, where he established a community of cloistered monks,
term that in Gaelic is said as "Kil", and from there comes Kilwinning.

Those monks practiced a primitive form of Celtic Christianity, who for example
Easter was celebrated in a different way than in Rome.

In ancient Irish manuscripts, there are references to the 'Cele De' which means 'companion'.
of God, or sworn ally," which in Latin took the form of "Coli Dei" and from there the name Culdees.
At the beginning of the twelfth century, a group of reformed Benedictine monks traveled from
Normandy, France, and made contact with the last remnants of the Culdees in
Kilwinning and other places across the country. It is believed that the French monks began to build
its monastery around 1140 and took them half a century to complete it, but nothing is known about a
the lodge of Freemasons will continue after the completion of the abbey.

However, it is known that the monastery was inhabited by an abbot and his monks in 1212.
and that became one of the richest religious establishments in all of Scotland.
In 1309, during the Wars of Independence with England, the Abbot of Kilwinning, Bernard
de Linton became the Chancellor of King Robert Bruce, and it was he who recorded the heroic
words of the King before the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
After the great victory of the Scots over the English army in that celebrated battle,
It was once again Abbot Bernardo who took note of the famous Declaration of Arbroath in
1320 and who proudly registered as the Scottish nation had
fought bravely following William Wallace and good King Robert for their freedom.
Not much is known about Kilwinning during the medieval era due to the lack of
documents, but a declaration in the Records of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland
(Treasurer) mentions in November 1491 how King James IV
he visited Kilwinning and was entertained at a dinner, presumably at the monastery itself.

Unfortunately, the abbey was destroyed during the Reformation by the 5th Earl of Glencairn, a
jealous Protestant follower of John Knox.
Obviously, the construction industry, both in Scotland and in England, was affected.
As a result of the moments of unrest, by 1590 it was probably already in the...
the need for some reform.
Perhaps this is the reason William Shaw issued his statutes in 1598.
In 1643, the lodge called itself 'the ancient lodge of Scotland' (The Ancien Luge of
Scotland) and seems to have gathered in the upper chamber of a local inn or brewery.

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Like other institutions of the Craft both in England and Scotland during the century
17, Kilwinning began to admit people who were not from the Craft as full members of the
logia during the 1670s, although the reasons are not entirely clear.
For example, Count Cassillis became Deacon of the lodge in 1672 and in the following year
four or five non-Masons were initiated including Sir Alexander Cunningham of Corsehill
by Joseph Cunningham of Carlung.
In 1674, those gentlemen were admitted by the 8th Earl of Eglington, Lord Cochrane and
Robert Fergushill, the latter a local official, who later became one of the lodge.
During the last half of the same century, Kilwinning clearly practiced some kind of
ritual ceremony as recorded specifically in the minutes of 1686, the lodge was only to
to initiate its members in a meeting that was celebrated once a year, and the oldest
manuscripts also mentioned the lodge ten years earlier.
Later, the minutes in 1705 prohibit any of its members from employing 'cowans,' meaning
those who do not have the word for work, unless there was a mason within the
fifteen miles.
The violation of that rule cost the responsible mason a fine of up to forty.
pennies.
When the Grand Lodge of Scotland was finally formed in November 1736, the issue of
the antiquity of Kilwinning rose again.
Just as it happened in the time of William Shaw, and partly because of the Kilwinning minutes.
Those prior to 1642 had been lost, the Edinburgh lodge was referred to as First
Lodge of Scotland and the one in Kilwinning in second place.

However, the brothers were unable to comply with this decree and in 1743, the lodge of
Kilwinning separated from the Grand Lodge of Edinburgh, returning to its previous autonomous status.

For the rest of the eighteenth century, Kilwinning stubbornly persisted in a policy of
Masonic independence and its members (brothers) evidently enjoyed the growing
mythical status associated with his name, until they were finally persuaded in 1806 to
join the Stable Grand Lodge and they accepted that honorary number 0 be granted on the list
of lodges, a number that they still proudly add to the title of 'Kilwinning, Mother Lodge of
Scotland
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Matthew Scanlan, MA, wishes to thank the Master and the Brothers of the 'Mother
Kilwinning Lodge
deals with the former Assistant Curator at the Library and Museum of Freemason's Hall, London and
he is currently the International Editor of Freemasonry Today, this website and of the
transaction of the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, London.

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He is also working on a PhD and at the same time on an upcoming book about origins.
of the Office. He is a member of CEHME, the center for Masonic studies at the University of
Zaragoza, and from the Research Lodge 'Duke of Wharton' No. 18, of the Grand Lodge of
Spain.
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Note from T.
Masons of the Luge or Masons of the Lodge: Luge is an ancient form of Lodge, but
It also refers to the device for transporting or dragging stones, similar to a sled.
According to A. Mackey, in 1178, the Abbey of Lindon was called 'Our Lady'.
And it seems that the lodge of operative masons also, and in an ancient document it is stipulated
that the work would be transported or carried (Luge) to the site.
The Lodge was known at the time as 'Lady Luge'. By 1581, during the Reformation, there was
changed the way of mentioning the lodge in the writings, no longer naming the Virgin and
It's simply found as "The Mason Luge".
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Free Translation, S.A. La Plata, Argentina, 2011.
….......................................................................

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