THE
ARCHIVE
- 1765 — Constitution
- 1800s — The Dearth
- 1820 — No. 97 Assigned
- 1844 — Lord Glenlyon Visit
- 1856 — The Grand Ball
1765. The Beginning.
In the year 1765, a number of Master Builders and others connected with the Building Trade—Members of the Lodge Journeymen Masons, No 8—applied to Grand Lodge for a Charter to erect a new Lodge, under the name of St James's Operative Lodge. The application was favourably entertained, and on 19th August of the same year, a Charter of Constitution was granted.
The number of the Lodge on Grand Lodge Roll was originally 124, and the colour red. At the revision of the roll in 1820, the number was fixed at 97, and the colour altered to blue.
“The Lodge is an offshoot or daughter of the Lodge of Journeymen Masons, No 8... No 8 is the mother, and Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No 1 is the Grandmother of No 97.”
The Years of Dearth
At the foundation, a Society for the relief and assistance of sick and the burial of dead was instituted. The chief books of the Lodge up to 1835 have unfortunately gone missing; they are said to have been destroyed between 1800 and 1804, the years of Dearth.
During the Dearth, the Lodge imported grain and supplied the same to its Members at cost price. In these transactions the funds of the Lodge suffered, as can be gathered from the old books.
Artifacts & Premises
The old Lodge-rooms in Writer’s Court—now demolished for the City Chambers—were long the property of the Lodge. An ancient oak chest, found in a recess in the steeple of St Giles Cathedral in 1830, was presented by Bro John Watson, along with a piece of the altar of Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots. From this piece of altar was formed a mallet, last seen in Writer’s Court.
The Oak Chest
Found in St Giles Cathedral, 1830.
Portrait of Bro Peacock
Painted in 1803 by G. Watson, first president of the RSA.
Evolution & Reform
Up until 1840, none but operatives—Masters in connection with the Building Trade—could be elected to the chair. That law was rescinded in 1840, when Bro John Dunn, writer, was elected R.W. Master.
On the 25th January 1844, the Lodge was visited by Lord Glenlyon, afterwards sixth Duke of Athole, M.W.G.M., and the Members of Grand Lodge. The Festival was held in the Waterloo Rooms with 223 members present. The highest number of initiates recorded in a single year was 77, in 1844.
Social Life (1856)
“The brethren and their partners assembled about 9 o'clock, and marched in grand order round the ball-room to the inspiring strains of the band playing the Masonic Anthem... During the evening the company was much enlivened by a selection of very fine songs.”
— Lodge Annual Ball, Feb 29, 1856
1918. The Victoria Cross.
Bro. Adam Archibald VC
Sapper, Royal Engineers | Affiliate Member
On the 4th of November 1918, just days before the Armistice, Bro. Adam Archibald displayed “most conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice” near Ors, France. Under heavy machine-gun fire at close range, he worked to bridge the Sambre-Oise Canal, ensuring the success of the operation despite collapsing from gas poisoning upon completion.
“The heroism of this sapper was beyond all praise. That anyone should have lived through such a close and accurate fire is little short of miraculous.”
— Official Citation
Born in Leith in 1879, Adam Archibald was a plasterer by trade. He was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge Elgin & Bruce No. 1077 in 1912, and later affiliated to Lodge St James's Operative No. 97. His Victoria Cross is currently displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Kent.