What is the history of Mother Kilwinning Lodge?

Under the Schaw Statutes of 1599, Kilwinning was designated as the second lodge of Scotland, holding supervisory authority over the lodges across the west of the country, including Glasgow, Ayrshire, and Renfrewshire 23. Early traditions within the Scottish Craft, such as that recorded in the 1657 Perth and Scoon contract, traced the descent of Masonry in Scotland directly from the building of Solomon's Temple to Kilwinning, and from there to other Scottish lodges 3. Though styled as the "Ancient Ludge of Scotland" in its seventeenth-century records, its operational authority remained largely regional 3.

By the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Mother Kilwinning began granting warrants and charters of erection to new lodges across Scotland and overseas 34. Upward of seventy-nine charters are estimated to have been issued under its authority, including warrants to lodges in Virginia, Ireland, and the West Indies 134.

Kilwinning assisted in founding the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736 14. When the new Grand Lodge ranked the Lodge of Edinburgh as No. 1 and placed Kilwinning second, Kilwinning petitioned for premiership based on its ancient claims 12. Upon the rejection of its petition in 1743 because early records had been lost, Kilwinning seceded and resumed acting as an independent charter-granting body 1. This division lasted until 1807, when Kilwinning reunited with the Grand Lodge of Scotland, taking its place at the head of the roll under the title "Mother Kilwinning" and establishing that its Master would serve ipso facto as Provincial Grand Master for Ayrshire 13.