What is the Mother Lodge No 0? Why is it called so?

Mother Lodge No. 0 is Mother Kilwinning Lodge, located in Ayrshire, Scotland, which sits at the head of the roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 213. It acquired the designation "Mother" because it historically constituted and granted charters to numerous "daughter" lodges across Scotland and overseas 12.

Its assignment as "No. 0" resulted from a prolonged dispute over precedence with the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) 12. Kilwinning traditionally claimed to be the oldest lodge in Scotland, tracing its origins to the builders of Kilwinning Abbey 123. However, when the Grand Lodge of Scotland was organized in 1736, Kilwinning could not produce written records to prove its priority, as its early documents had been lost 12. The Grand Lodge awarded the No. 1 position to Mary's Chapel, which possessed continuous written minutes dating back to 1599, leaving Kilwinning ranked second 21.

Refusing to accept a secondary position, Kilwinning seceded from the Grand Lodge in 1743 and resumed operating as an independent body, issuing its own charters 12. Decades later, negotiations were opened to reunite the Scottish Craft, culminating in an agreement in 1807 12. To recognize Kilwinning's antiquity and settle the rank dispute without stripping Mary's Chapel of its historical No. 1 designation, the Grand Lodge agreed to place Mother Kilwinning at the head of the roll, designating it as Mother Lodge No. 0 21.