HistoryChapter 2                           579St Bryde 

Early meetings of the Lodge were called at the discretion of the Master, usually by circular and the length of time between meetings depended on the urgency of the business in hand.

At the first meeting after the Consecration and Erection of the Lodge, applications were read on behalf of the 24 candidates who had signed their names at the Public Meeting on 9th. December 1875. All the applications being approved , 15 Candidates were Initiated by the R.W.M. Bro. J. Easton. Two days later on 14th. March 1876 another five were Initiated. Therefore in the first week of the Lodge being in existence, there were three meetings at which a total of 20 Candidates were Initiated. An interesting note is that Bro. Alex Steel was the first Initiate to sign the Lodge Roll Book which is still used by the Lodge to this day.

The Lodge met again on 30th. March and at this meeting the Lodge format was established, the bye - laws were approved of in principle and the Annual subscription of 3/- was agreed. It was also remarked by Bro. Shortt that the R.W.M.'s Jewel of Office was too small and insignificant and after some discussion on the subject it was agreed to exchange the Jewel for one of larger dimensions and of greater value in accordance with the dignity of the chair. The Jewel which the Brethren thought added more dignity to the R.W.M.'s Regalia has since been worn by every R.W.M. of the Lodge.

"R.W.M. Bro. J. Easton then proceeded with the Initiation of three Candidates in all due form and solemnity, delivering an oration and charge which may well be equalled but could not be surpassed for ability and perspicuity, of the Brethren present on this auspicious occasion". The Brethren then decided to meet Regularly on the Second and Fourth Tuesdays of each month except May, June and July.

The Lodge was then called from labour to refreshment and a harmony was conducted, after which the Lodge was called from refreshment back to labour again and closed.

In those days applicants would wait in the adjacent while their ballot was conducted and if found clear the candidate would be Initiated that evening, and in exceptional circumstances (ie. the candidate was going abroad or was a member of the forces on leave) with consent of the R.W.M. he could receive all his Degrees on the same night. This system of working although "legal" at the time was obviously open to abuse and an incident occurred which caused the Brethren of the Lodge much distress and prompted the Secretary to write to Grand Lodge for advice. It concerned an applicant who had been blackballed for breaking Civil Laws and had consequently gained admission into another Lodge. He then forced his presence into our Lodge from which he had already been blackballed. If the application form in use today had been available this type of incident may not have occurred. However Grand Lodge Laws concerning Degree working and Applications were revised at the beginning of this century, ie. Candidates had to answer questions on an application form and Lodges were to ensure that fourteen days elapsed between Candidates Degrees. Indeed Grand Lodge Laws have been amended on numerous occasions since the 1870`s to maintain the high standards which the Craft sets itself.

The Lodge in those days, because of the lack of experienced Office Bearers, relied heavily on visiting Brethren to fill Offices for absent Members and in some cases to work Degrees. It is not uncommon to find in the minutes that one of the senior chairs was filled by a visiting Brother and in most cases, our Lodge seems to have been closely associated with Glasgow Lodges more than those from Lanarkshire. Lodge St. John No.3bis, Thistle and Rose No.73, and St. Mark`s no.102, to name but a few. The trend of the time is similar with Candidates, the majority of which came from various parts of Glasgow and in fact some even lived in Waterford and Cork in Ireland and regularly sailed between their home ports and Glasgow. On investigation the reader will find it surprising the actual number of Brethren residing in Uddingston.

Although Lodge attendances at meetings were rather small, this did not deter the Brethren from attending other Lodges and the great public ceremonials which were very much part of the Victorian era. Two of the first attended by the Lodge were intimated in circulars from Grand Lodge, informing the Brethren that the Grand Master, Sir Michael Stewart, would lay the foundation stones at the new poors house and lunatic asylum at Greenock and the new Ayr harbour. Later the Brethren attended the ceremonial laying the foundation stone of the new general Post Office in Glasgow with Masonic honours.

Perhaps these outings inspired the idea which was to become not only a great event in the Lodge calendar but indeed one of the social highlights in the village, The Annual Outing.

The first of these events was to Aberfoyle and the Lodge minute gives a good account of the trip ; "The members accompanied by friends met in MacRae`s Hotel, Bath Street, Glasgow where breakfast was served at 9am. in a sumptous manner. 9.45am. left the Hotel in a four in hand (Gray`s Horses) drag. "Aberfoyle" by way of Killearn where a halt of 15 minutes took place. Arrived at 1.30pm. at the Baillie Nicol Jarvie Inn, Aberfoyle. 2pm. Dinner, 3pm.- 6pm. was occupied in walking and boating to and from Loch Ard. 6.30pm. start on the return journey to Glasgow via Strathblane. Each and all having spent a happy and merry day and none the worse for being brought into closer contact with each other as true Masonic Brothers".

On 23rd. January 1877 a great honour was to befall the Lodge, a deputation of Master Masons, petitioners for a new Lodge at Stonefield, Blantyre, was received into the Lodge Room and their request that the Petition for a new Lodge be recommended by Lodge St. Bryde. This proposal was unanimously agreed to by the Brethren of the Lodge.

The Lodge appears to have gone through a difficult time in the 1880`s. The election of Lodge Office Bearers had to be postponed twice because Brethren were not forthcoming to take Office. The Balance Sheet of 1880 showed only £4 2/6d in the Lodge`s credit and in fact low attendances at meetings forced the Lodge to meet only once a month for the next two years. 1884 saw Bro. James Patrick Installed as R.W.M. , indeed he was the first Lodge Initiate to be Installed in the Chair of his Mother Lodge, St. Bryde, serving as R.W.M. for two years, a trend that was to continue with few exceptions until 1910. Bro. John Baird (R.W.M. 1879-80) and Bro. J. Patrick (R.W.M. 1884-85) were presented with the first Lodge Past Masters Jewels in 1885. A fitting tribute to two Past Masters who had been very active in the Lodge since it`s formation. 

It is interesting to note that Bro. J. Patrick served as W.S.W. in the years 1876 (the year of his Initiation) 1877, 1878, 1881 and 1882 prior to taking the chair in 1884.

Regular meeting nights were changed several times to try and accomodate the majority of the Brethren but to no avail. Towards the end of the year 1887 the Lodge Secretary had the daunting task of writing to Provincial Grand Lodge informing them that owing to serious Lodge financial difficulties they were not in a position to pay Annual dues to Provincial. The Balance Sheet of that year gave an indication of how serious the problem was: a deficit of £9 18/3d, which may not seem much until you consider that the annual rent on the rooms used for meetings amounted to £5 per annum. From this low of 1887 the Lodge went from strength to strength, voluntary contributions by Lodge members to clear outstanding debt amounted to £11 5/- and at the end of the next financial year the Lodge showed a credit of £4 8/6d.

Early Lodge furniture appears to have been rather sparse; except for the essentials the Lodge made few purchases, but the Brethren of the Lodge who were skilled craftsmen, outside the Lodge as well as within, were never slow to put their skills to the benefit of the Lodge. In 1891 Bro. H. Brown presented two handsome pedestals and the R.W.M. Bro. Muir intimated that Bro. Walker had presented two handsome ashlers for the pedestals, which were hewed from the stone walls of Bothwell Castle, and are therefore over 700 years old. Both these items are prominently displayed on either side of the Masters dais even to this day. Bro. H. Brown also presented the Lodge with three tracing boards which were designed by Bro. John Harris, a famous architectural draughtsman and painter of minatures. Made around 1845 they are generally regarded as one of the best examples of Lodge tracing boards ever produced.

In 1889 the Organ Fund was established and soon a purchase was made for £16, the money was indeed well invested since the same organ was played at meetings until 1955 when another was purchased.

The Auditors in those days, were Brethren appointed by the Lodge and they meticulously tabulated every item which the Lodge owned, in fact the inventory of 1889 lists 248 items and their fine work gives a clear picture of the contents of the Lodge Room in those days. 

It appears rather strange that seventeen years should pass before the Mark Degree was worked in the Lodge, but early minutes support this fact ;

Firstly, there is no mention in the minutes of Mark Masonry until an account for £3 5/9d was passed for payment of Mark furniture (consisting of marble keystones, oblong and square, a set of Mark working tools including a wicket) some weeks before Bro. McNaught of Lodge Clyde No.408 conferred the Degree, supported by Brethren from other Glasgow Lodges.

Secondly, at the first Mark degree on 18th. January 1893 four senior Lodge Office Bearers, who had been members in the Lodge for some years, were advanced and at a second Mark Degree in March of the same year a further eight Office Bearers were advanced, again by visiting Brethren.

Thirdly, on the balance sheet of that year appears an entry for Mark Diplomas, the first such entry.

It is true that Mark minutes were kept in a separate minute book from 1893 to 1916 and this could lead to the suggestion that an earlier book may have been lost. However we must remember that Mark Degrees were always intimated in the minutes of the previous Regular Meeting, in fact early Mark minutes were written at the back of the current minute book as well as in the separate Mark minute book.

It is also interesting to note that in those days the Lodge was raised from from the First Degree to the Third and then advanced to the Mark from the Third.

In 1894 Bro. John Watson was Installed as R.W.M. and held the chair for three years from 1894 - 96. This feat has only been repeated on one other occasion in the history of the Lodge, by Bro. George Stronach in the years 1900-02.

The later years of the last century saw a recovery in the Lodge finances, but these were harsh times and some of the applications which came before the Benevolent Committee indicated how much some people depended on the Lodge in those days before the Welfare State.

In the winter of 1895 the Lodge distributed free coal to the poor families of Tannochside and Uddingston. in 1896 Cuba must have been completely alien from native Scotland. Consider then the request to our Lodge from a Brother of 579 residing in Cuba for assistance in order to provide him with a wooden leg. A year later the Lodge gave £3 3/- to a Brother to provide him with a suit of clothes. The Craft knew no boundaries, neither did benevolence; a letter from Lodge Solomon No. 813 Texas informed the Lodge that a Member of 579 had died of typhoid fever and that the Lodge had looked after him in his distress and given him a Masonic funeral.

The Lodge Benevolent Fund was formed on 26th. September 1876, soon after the formation of the Lodge, with the aim of "giving relief to widows, orphans and destitute Brethren". The Lodge has never been, and never will be, slow to grant relief when needed, even though times and circumstances have changed, the basic principal of benevolence never will.

Meetings of the time were advertised in the Uddingston Standard in preference to the Hamilton Advertiser. Earlier meetings had been intimated by circular but increasing costs made the Standard`s rate of 9d. per insertion more attractive. Attendances at meetings were on the increase and even at the Annual Divine Service of the day, an attendance of 200 Brethren was not unheard of.

The R.W.M. Bro. F. Irvine on 13th. November 1907 referred to the fact that it was 31 years since Lodge St. Bryde was constituted and that a Brother of the Lodge had been active and hard working for nearly all of that time. Referring to Bro. J. Patrick P.M. he thought that the time was now ripe when bro. Patrick should be presented with Life Membership as a small token of the esteem in which he was held by the Brethren.

It is interesting to note that the Brethren usually voted on whether harmonies should be conducted on temperance lines (the Rev. Wm. Taylor usually put up a strong case for temperance) or whether they should apply for a special alcohol licence.

In 1913 the Lodge passed that widows of Lodge Brethren be given £1 each as a Christmas gift. The Lodge had progressed well since the bad years of the 1880`s ; average figures for the early years of the century showed that Initiates averaged 25, Meetings 20, and attendances 50. Lodge funds were also progressing well.

A greater trial was to face the Lodge in the coming years - The Great War of 1914 - 1918.