| LODGE St.JOHN STONEYBURN 1186 | |
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Lodge
St. John Stoneyburn 1186 On the 28th September 1918, a meeting was held in the village school to discuss the possibility of forming a lodge. The meeting was chaired by Bro. John Barr who was later to become a stalward of the lodge, and was attended by 28 interested masons, representing lodges numbering 270, 374, 781, 827, 877,927 and 1096. At a further meeting on the 13th of October, Bro. John Miller, a Past Master of St John Crofthead, Fauldhouse No 374, was elected to be the first master of the new lodge, with Bro. Robert Gilfillan to be his Senior Warden and Bro. John Barr to be his Junior Warden. Tragically Bro. Gilfillan died before the installation and Bro. Barr became Senior Warden with Bro.John Robertson moving up to Junior Warden. All the office bearers stepped up a post and Bro. Henry Burnett was appointed Tyler. The sponsor lodges of 374 and 927 Polkemmet, Whitburn; instituted the proceedings from then on and applied to Grand Lodge for a Charter. The Charter was granted on the 1st May, 1919 and the Ceremony of Consecration was performed on the 7th June by the R.W Provincial Grand Master Bro. Robert Kirk and his office bearers in the school hall and the Technical room, which was to become the Lodge meeting place for the next four years. It did not take long until local interest
in masonry brought applications from no fewer than ten within one week
after the lodge being formed. This interest was sustained throughout
the summer and into the late autumn, requiring a number of
special meetings, by calling on the services of the local lodges on
many occasions, to confer the third degree. Amongst the foremost of
these being Crofthead St John, Hopebridge Castle and Murdostoun Castle. In November , 1920, Bro. John Barr was
elected R.W.M and to those who knew this brother, it was evident that
his forceful personality was to have a great influence on the futureof
the lodge. Despite the large attendance, the collection for the evening
was 17s 4d. Bro Barr was installed by Bro. John Gould, a
Past Master
of 374 who had conducted the previous installation and was to be the
Installing Master for the next nine
years . In early 1923, the lodge moved its meetings to a hall above the local hostelry, Ewings Hall , and the Consecration Ceremony was conducted by the R.W.P.G.M Bro. Henry Robinson. Between 1924 and 1927 , the fortunes of
the lodge took a twist for the worst, due to the onset of a depression
caused by a cessation in the coal mining industry, and the general
unrest in the country due to strikes and the giant wave of
unemployment. Attendances dropped to such an alarming extent that it
was going to be difficult for the lodge to continue to function at all
and steadily degenerated until 1933. There must be few masonic lodges
in Scotland who can quote a situation where they failed to initiate a
candidate for a period of seven years, from 1927 to 1933. Such was the
state of the lodge that during these years, the office bearers opened
and closed the lodge without having the opportunity to carry out their
prime function as office bearers. The provincial grand master of that
day, Bro.Robert Brown, during his visitations, commented on the plight
of the lodge and induced the master and office bearers to consider
closing the lodge for a period of two years, and to give careful
consderation to any re-opening. The office bearers and brethren of the
lodge turned down the suggestion and pledged their continuance of their
function to see if the their fortunes might change. This decision
proved to be right, as the present day members now appreciate. The sponsor lodges rallied to our aid , little did the lodge know that in 1933 that the turning point was near by. A simple and unheralded application from Bro.Alex Boyd of Hopebridge Castle to become affiliated, and in the same year Bro. Alex Boyd was elected to become master for the next four years. Through his determination and drive, the lodge slowly got back on its feet. The war years however again brought sadness and problems for the lodge but two of the masters, Bro. William Abbott and Bro. John Lambie steered it through these trying times. They held many special meetings to accomodate servicemen who were home on leave and in the four years of their being in the chair, they admitted 132 Brethren. Through his zeal, Bro John Lambie became a member of Provincial Grand Lodge and finally reached the high rank of Provincial Grand Senior Warden. During this period a deep friendship was formed with Lodge Solomon No.1209 and two of their masters, Bro. Abie Rabstaff and Bro. Erin Deane , offered financial assistance to 1186 which was gratefully accepted and immediately put to good use. After the war, the Ewing's hall could no
longer accomodate the lodge and negotiations were set up with the
county council who then gave their permission for the lodge to meet in
the, then, redundant A.R.P Hall. Within a year the lodge had
accumulated
enough money to purchase this hall and an added bonus was the gift from
the local Laird, Dr. A. Clark, of the land, 1/3 of an acre on which the
hall stood. The lodge finances had been boosted by the active years to
such an extent that the building fund had accumulated a figure of
£2,000 towards the building of a new temple. The lodge received many visitations from
large parties of sister lodges within the mid-forties. Fine lodges such
as Lodge Solomon and Lodge St Patrick often brought gifts of teak
furniture, and mallets were greatfully received from lodge Old
Kilpatrick, probably made by some of their members during their spare
time whilst working in the Clydeside shipyards. By 1953, the lodge was prosperous enough
to start work on
the building of a new temple on this site at a cost of £3,500. . The lodge furniture was
unceremoniously conveyed in a wheelbarrow through the streets of the
village to the new premises "like a moonlight flitting". Work
commenced on the building of the new temple, where it stands today, on
the 2nd April 1953. During the construction of this building the lodge
continued holding its meetings in temporary huts on the site. For a short period of time after the new
premises were opened, interest was fairly lively and many special
meetings were held to overcome the backlog of candidates still to
receive their third degree. Past Master Robert Gibson could boast of
having been initiated into freemasonry in a wooden hut used by the
builders and the lodge during the building of the new temple. Bro
Gibson purchased this hut and used it as a garage so you could say he
was initiated into freemasonry in his Garage!! In 1955 the lodge was again beset by many
problems, with mounting debts, poor attendances and an apparent loss of
heart by the members. The R.W.P.G.M. called a special meeting to hear
the views of the members and for the second time in the lodges history
stated that if positive answers to the
problems were not forthcoming, the Charter would be withdrawn. Bro
Robert Gibson was installed as R.W.M and for the next year worked
tirelessy to raise finance through sales of work, social evenings etc
and finally cleared the debts within a two year period, thus allowing
the lodge to operate in a proper manner. Neighbouring lodges , led by
Lodge Torphichen Kilwinning No 13, also contributed large sums of money
for our use. The early sixties saw the lodge prospering as new industries came into the area, none more so than British Leyland (BMC), bringing employment and with it, more available money. In 1975, the lodge sold part of its land
to the district council which proved doubly beneficial. Apart from the
financial gain, it also benefited from the unlimited use of the car
park, created to serve the new community centre built on the ground.
Since then the lodge has been renovated, redecorated, refurbished and
extended in many ways and now has a successful Social Club. The
membership of the lodge is steadily growing and the freemasons who can
proudly call Lodge St John Stoneburn 1186 their mother lodge are now
accepting the responsibility like they have never done before. Among
the present office bearers are many past masters who are aware of the
debt they owe to the men responsible for founding the lodge. The lodge has been fortunate to have had a constant supply of willing and able brethren (including the past masters)to carry on the traditions of the lodge and have kept the ritual to a very high standard. Sadly at this time it is difficult to find candidates of the right calibre in large numbers, but even so it would appear that Lodge St John 1186 has a great future and will continue to go from strength to strength heading towards its Centenary. From its foundings , over 85 years ago, 65 masters have now occupied the Masters Chair and 12 brethren have been appointed Provincial Grand Rank. Past Masters Bro. Thomas White and Bro. Bobby Gibson (sadly passed to the Grand lodge above in 2004) have both been honoured to be Substitute Provincial Grand Masters. Bro Bobby Gibson and Bro. John Lambie have brought double honours to the lodge by attaining Grand Rank. In it comparatively short history, the lodge has initiated over 715 brethren and has affiliated 8 others. It has appx 70 Brethren in good standing (at the time of publishing) and has 15 honorary members. Long may the Lodge survive with Faith and Hope for the future and Keep Brotherly Love alive through the Charity of its actions.
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