The Beginning Of Lodge Ben Cleuch 782
Where else can a start be made but, from the very beginning itself, in order to explain this fully, the original first minutes are extracted in their entirety simply because of their relevance.
The first extract reads ” A meeting of Master Masons took place in Mr Rileys , High Street, Tillicoultry, on the 26th December 1891, present Bro D Drysdale presiding , Bros Keith Stalker, Roxburgh, McEwan, Spy, Lambert, Stewart, Moodie, Campbell, Blake and Henderson. The Meeting resolved to erect a Masonic Lodge in Tillicoultry and agreed to name it Ben Cleuch. Colour Light Blue. It was further agreed that the Initiation fee would be £2 Sterling.
Brother Drysdale having obtained a petition from the Grand Secretary, it was laid on the table and signed by the foregoing Brethren viz.
| RWM | Bro. Drysdale | SM | Bro. Hunter |
| WSW | Bro. Keith | WJW | Bro. Roxburgh |
| Secy | Bro. Moodie | Treas | Bro. Stewart |
| SD | Bro. Lambert | JD | Bro. McEwan |
| IG | Bro. Spy | Tyler | Bro. Stalker |
The above Brethren were then proposed for Office. This was all the business.”
The following extract reads ” in Mr Rileys High Street, Tillicoultry on the 13th February 1892, the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Brother Drysdale reported that the Petition praying for a Charter had been approved by the Grand Lodge of Scotland on the 4th February 1892.
The Secretary was instructed to write to the Provincial Grand Secretary fixing the date for the consecration as the 27th February 1892, after having booked the Institute Hall for that day, this was all the business”.
The final minute leading up to the consecration reads . “In Mr Rileys High Street, Tillicoultry, the minutes of the previous meeting having been read and approved, Bro. Drysdale RWM laid on the table the Charter granted from the Grand Lodge of Scotland to Lodge Ben Cleuch 782.
The Secretary intimated that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Stirlingshire had agreed to consecrate the Lodge on the arranged date of the 27th February 1892 , at 3:30 o’clock. Bro. Hunter was appointed to the Office of Depute Master and Bro, Maltman was appointed Substitute Master and Interim Secretary .”
These minutes are included word for word only to let the reader know of the quiet confidence that was already abounding in the very basic step of the founding and formation of Lodge Ben Cleuch.
It is most interesting to note that while the consecration ceremony had been arranged for the afternoon of the 27th February 1892, on that same day at 11 o’clock the Lodge was convened and being opened in the first degree. Bro. Maltman proposed and Bro. Roxburgh seconded that the following Gentlemen be admitted Members of our Lodge viz… Messers Hendry, Rodger, Cargill, Marshall, Senior, Miller, Maltman, McGee, Riley, Campbell, Irving, Wardlaw, Gray, Currie, Smith, Stewart, Taylor, Guild, Rankine, and McArthur which was unanimously agreed to. Thereafter Brother Drysdale conferred the first degree upon them.
This being the first twenty candidates of Lodge Ben Cleuch together with the elected Office Bearers formed the very basis of our early membership, many of these first Initiates went on to serve with great distinction.
Among the Initiates that day were an Inspector of the poor, Cloth Finisher, two Doctors, Hotel Keeper, two Grocers, three Manufacturers, Slater, Colliery Manager, Spirit Merchant, Engineman, Painter, Designer, Engineer, Potato Merchant, Farmer, Woolsorter, Spinner, and Law Clerk .
Well known is the fact that Freemasonry attracts men from all walks of life, their varied occupations only underlines the fact that Tillicoultry must have been a bustling place in 1892, with many Mills operating and all the associated industries contributing to the wealth of the town.
The ages of the candidates at that first Initation meeting ranged from Brother Maltman at 21 years to the aptly named Brother Senior at 77 years.
Later that day at 3:30 o’clock the Provincial Grand Lodge of Stirlingshire convened and the Lodge consecrated under the Chairmanship of the Right Worshipful Provincial Depute Grand Master Brother George Christie ( The Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master Brother M . H. Shaw Stewart M P being unable to attend through illness. )
© LODGE BEN CLEUCH. 2025