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{ Lord an Lady Gwyder were the resident Nobility at Drummond Castle, he was Peter Robert Drummond Willoughby and his wife Clementina Sarah drummond, they gave their names to the two     main streets in Muthill, Willoughby Street and Drummond Street,                                                                         

 

 

Drummond St , Muthill in the early 1900's, the church at the end of the street is the New Parish Church, where the lodge laid the Cornerstone, with full Masonic ceremony in 1826.

 

 

 

An early 1900 view of Willoughby St, the Lodge is the last building on the left hand side, on the right hand side of the girls playing is a triangular area of Parkland, known as the Highlandsmans Park, after the Important Cattle Trysts at Crieff diminished in favour of Falkirk, Muthill found itself once again on the equivalent of the M1.  For cattle, and their drovers the Park was a conveniant stop for Man and Beast, the original hitching posts and the Water Well known as the Dogs Head Well can still be seen at the Eastern end of the park                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

October 8th 1825

Being convened in the hall , your commitee resolved unaminously, that a deputation consisting of the following members Viz John McIntyre Surgeon Muthill:John Ritchie: Jas Faicney:John Bayne Ochtermuthill: John Brydie, tenet, Mains of Drummond : James Millar,Wright, Balloch; and William Gentle  Sect.; shall wait upon the Right Honorable Lord Gwyder on Monday bring the first instance.

The purpose of which is to give his Lordship an invitation of becoming a member of this Lodge.

The Committee having understood that the Foundation Stone of the new Church of Muthill was soon

expected to be laid with all due Masonic Order, and in Consequence of this hope, they do hereby order that the whole Mentors of the Parish will receive circular cards of invitation to that effect.

and further, that a circular card shall be wrote to the following Lodges Vis; Crieff Auchterarder Comrie and Dunning, requesting a Deputation from each of these Lodges to assist the Brethren of this Lodge in the approaching Masonic Solemnities.   According to the above and foregoing resolutions, the deputation went to Drummond Castle, and by a card sent to his Lordship, by his Servant, thereby intimating the desire of this Lodge and hopes of the Committee, that His Lordship, might have an oppertunity of becoming an effective Member of thi Lodge, either by Entering or Initiation if one before. The which card was very acceptably received , and returned the Deputation his cordial thanks, for the attention they and the Lodge had done him, and that he would settle with these Gentlemen to that effect soon. Likewise all the other Heritors was to be waited on, by giving them the opportunity of becoming Members thereof either by Entering or Initiation if previously Masons Before.

[ with the impending laying of the foundation stone at the new parish church, the lodge appears to be trying to gain some respectability by recruiting Nobility, this they achieved later, as will be seen, suffice it to say; Lord Gwyder declined the invitation, but was a Generous patron to the Lodge via grants and privileges throughout his lifetime. Lord Gwyder died in 1865, exactly one month after his wife the Lady Clementina.

 

 

This is one of the Lodges original hand painted aprons. The material is pure lambskin and dates back to the mid 1700's. The motif on the banner. encircling the two acacia plants ,reads

NOSTER DEUS Et SPES  and  translated reads, OUR GOD AND HOPE.

 

 

This is a similar Apron of the same era, this one is hand painted on fabric and has no motif.

The lodge continued to prosper in numbers, if not financially, as the records from 1833 onwards are mainly concerned with the lack of funds, and ways of rasing them, as at that time the Lodge was still very much working as an Operative Lodge.This began to phase out in the late 1800's with the advent of the Welfare State. The lodge still owned property at the Feus Muthill, as well as the flats below the lodge, and a house at the back of the lodge, but all were sold of to raise funds, over the years, the last being the Flats below the Lodge, which were sold off in the mid1990s. With the arrival of the Twentieth Century, the Lodge became a solely Speculative Society, still Practising today. The only events of note for that period, are the acquisition of the Lodge by the Military, for the duration of the 2nd World War, [1939 - 1945 ]. It was during this period that a great amount of Lodge Data, was lost and never recovered. Before the premises were occupied, all artefacts had to be removed and stored, until the cessation of hostilities.This was effected by each Brother taking something into his own possession for safekeeping. Hence, when the Lodge Resumed, and the lodge was restored to its former Glory, much of the old Minute and Committee Books were never Returned. [ I was told a story about a secretary the Lodge had called John Minto, John worked on Drummond Castle Estate, and lived in tied Housing.When John Retired, circa 1970, new secretaries of the lodge, would go to Johns House for instruction in Lodge Book keeping. One such secretary told me he had a room set aside for that purpose, and that the room contained volumes of books, ledgers etc, mostly with Lodge St John Headings. Sadly, it appeared that on John's death, after his personnal effects had been removed, the estate workers made a bonfire, of what remained in the house, and it was said, that shreds of burnt paper with the lodge heading, were blowing through the streets of Muthill in the Prevailing Winds. ] The Lodge still retains the original correspondence with the Military, regarding the repair of the damage, inflicted on the premises by the troops billeted there. The Other major event of the Twentieth century, was the decision to apply for a license to sell alcohol.This occurred circa 1955, and had a dramatic effect on the lodge membership. Up until that time, the lodge had been abstinate, with the majority of the membership, sober and religious. The war had taking its toll on membership, [ most Scottish Masonic Lodges have Memorials, in some form, to their fallen Brethren. It was a directive from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, circa 1948, ], and nearly all new members at that time had seen some form of active service, or had been involved in the War effort. So it was that, the influx of new members at that time, felt the need of a bar, for social purposes after the meetings. At that time, many members from the surrounding area, ie, Crieff, Braco, Madderty, and rural farms, all travelled to the meetings by public transport, thus, the buses went through Muthill every hour, on the hour. If a meeting, were to finish at 9-15pm, the travelling Brethren would have to wait untill 10-oopm for the next  bus, and so on, and rather than frequent the local hostelries, the majority of the Brethren wished for their own Bar, which, they ultimatley acheived, but at a Great price, as the Brethren, who were opposed to the motion,  relinquished membership, which basically split the lodge in Half. Today, the lodge makes most of its income from the Bar, and Fuctions organised around it.

 

In God is all our Trust

 

 Foundation Stones, see main page

Early Bye Laws, see main Page,