Lodge St Barchan 156 is
one of the "older" working lodges in the Scottish constitution, it features
prominently in the story of Kilbarchan and is steeped in history.
The building in which the Masonic Lodge meets was once a Unitarian Church and then
the Conservative Hall. As you stand facing out from the door you have a wide view of
The East Church graveyard.
This page is purely to give the readers an indication of the "timeline" this lodge has been in practice, and it's important interactivity within the village's history.
1st Dec. 1784.
The founder members of the Lodge St Barchan No 208 were; James Houston, John Honeyman, James Laird jun, George Davidson, Gavin Herbertson, Robert Speirs, James McKechnie, John Clark and Matthew Stewart meet in the house of James Laird (the Innkeeper)
The Charter was signed by the Earl
Buchan Grand Master Mason of Scotland.
So in the house of an innkeeper, Lodge St
Barchan no 156 (formally No 208) was born.
This was less than 40 years since the '45 rebellion. The government in London still distrusted the Scots, so much that even Grand Lodge was not allowed to issue New Charters, so as soon as a dormant Lodge was available it was taken by Kilbarchan. The origin of 156 prior to this is subject to speculation but it seems it was a military lodge in America and that its members had all been wiped out in the American War of Independence.
William A Brodie, Grand Master Mason of the State of New York.
William Brodie in the year 1841, and spent the first few months of his life in the scenic rural hamlet on the banks of the Black Cart River where cottages echoed to the noisy clack of the weaver's shuttle, the purring of spinners' pirns and the constant clatter of looms. His parents are thought to have been tenant landlords of a public house in the village who gave up the business after numerous disputes about the payment of repairs to the tavern.
In 1843. they and William followed in the footsteps of many other
Scots and emigrated to the United States.
Little is known of William's early life, except he became a
successful businessman in New York State and was active in his local church and
community.
Like many respectable citizens, he became a Freemason, carrying on the traditions of his
Kilbarchan ancestors.
William passed through all the Masonic degrees and was eventually
elected Grand Master Mason of the State of New York where he was head of 70,000
Freemasons.
Brother William Brodie will probably be remembered for time immemorial
as the man who laid the Foundation Stone
of the Statue of Liberty - gifted by France to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence which was drafted in
1776.
The ceremony, with all its speeches, military parades and
banners, was enacted before thousands of guests and civic dignitaries, including
leading congressmen and senators,
but William Brodie never forgot his humble roots in
Kilbarchan.
An intimation of the death of old Matt Houston Right Worshipful Master of
Lodge St Barchan was put in the Paisley Daily Express, this amazingly found it's way to New York.
After reading the article, William wrote a letter conveying his sympathies
to the Lodge and telling him a little about himself, the Lodge secretary
wrote back expressing the Lodge's good wishes and the promise of a very warm
welcome. He looked forward to
visiting the village of his birth.
On 20th July 1888, true to his word, William Brodie returned to Kilbarchan and became an
Affiliate member of Lodge St Barchan.
William Brodie subsequently returned to the United States where, after a lifetime of service to God, his fellow man and his adopted homeland died of apoplexy while leading a prayer meeting at the town of Geneseo in the state of New York in 1917. He was a founder of The Geneseo Normal Training School, now known as the State University of New York at Geneseo, the university dedicated the fine arts centre in his honour.
Today the famous Statue of Liberty still inspires generations of Americans and whose foundation stone was laid by a humble Kilbarchan Mason.
In September 1882, a young man aged 27 years old by the name of Thomas Dunlop, a grain merchant of Glasgow was accepted into 156, The fee for joining was paid in full, that being £2/9/6d.
Because of his involvement in local politics he never took office within, but was recorded as being charitable and donated regularly to the benevolent fund.
The Lodge sent their congratulations, when on 20th November 1914 Thomas became the Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow, a position of enormous importance.
Undoubtedly he had many official duties, one of these was to
open the Langside Library in Glasgow on the 3rd Feb 1915.
This was one of the Carnegie Libraries, which because at the beginning of the century the old fashioned stonemason's skills were still
available throughout Scotland all were constructed in stone.
The library is still standing and in regular use to this day.
Lodge St Barchan 156 Details
Regular Meetings: 1st and 3rd Tuesday's of each month.
Secretary: Alexander Connacher
. Tel: 01505 349293Treasurer: Stuart Hamilton: Tel: 01505 704262
Lodge St Barchan will be
celebrating it's 225 years in 2009, so watch this space for details.
