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 The Lodge of Haughfoot has the distinction of being the first non-operatives lodge in Scotland. The first minute of the Lodge dates from 22 December 1702 and records the names of the founding members:
- John Hoppringle of that ilk (Laird of Torsonce & Lodge Master)
- Andrew Thomson (a local lawyer and Lodge Boxmaster)
- James Pringle (Brother of the Laird of Torsonce)
The first to be entered were:
- Sir James Scott of Gala M.P. (Laird of Galashiels) [Torsonce was married to Gala’s sister].
- Thomas Scott (his brother)
- David Murray (in Philiphaugh)
- James Pringle (in Haughfoot)
- Robert Lourie (in Stowtounhead)
- John Pringle (a wright)
William Pringle in Burnhouse was admitted on 27 December 1706, and James Pringle of Torwoodlee was admitted in 1709.
For more information visit:
Haughfoot.co.uk - Lodge of Haughfoot, No. 1824 - The Pringle’s Lodge
According to the minute dated 2 June 1702, Sir John Pringle of Stitchel was elected as the second Master of the Lodge of Kelso No. 58 (founded 1701). Robert Pringle of Clifton was also Master of this lodge in 1707. However Stitchel’s uncle, Walter Pringle (an Advocate) was initiated on the 24 June 1670, into of the Lodge of Edinburgh, St. Marys Chapel No.1. From the minutes of the Lodge of Melrose No. 1 bis, dated 1675, we see that James an Robert Pringle were members. Andrew Pringle was Master of Melrose Lodge in 1755.
Further Reading:
- Memorials of the Haughfoot Lodge, by Brother Harry Carr.
- The First Freemasons: Scotland’s Early Lodges And Their Members, by Professor David Stevenson
- The Origins Of Freemasonry, by Professor David Stevenson
All three books are avaliable at: GrandLodgeShop.com
- History of Freemasonry in the Province of Roxburgh, Peebles and Selkirkshires, from 1674 to the present. by W. Fred Vernon.
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