Grand Lodge Of Scotland

Scottish Freemasonry

Scottish Freemasonry traces its traditional origins to the builders of twelfth- and thirteenth-century abbeys and cathedrals—including Holyrood, Kelso, Glasgow Cathedral, and Kilwinning—rather than the English tradition of an assembly at York in 926. Early operational structure was defined by the Schaw Statutes of 1598 and 1599, alongside an intimate association with the St Clair family of Roslin. King James II appointed William Saint Clair hereditary Patron and Protector of Scottish Masons in 1441, an office renewed through family charters in the early seventeenth century until William Saint Clair surrendered the hereditary privilege in 1736 to establish an elective Grand Master Mason.

LomasMackey