1895 Arbroath Old Church

18th April 1895 - Laying of Foundation Stone of Old Parish Church, Arbroath

By Sir Charles Dalrymple, Grand Master Mason of Scotland

Present.
Brother James Berry, R.W.P.G. Master
Bro. Bruce Gardyne, Bro. C.M. Ramsay MP, Bro. Ferguson, Bro. Mackay, Bro. Anderson, Bro. Herald, Bro. Hendry, Bro. Spence, Bro. Cant, Bro. James Crabb, P.G. Jun. Warden, Bro. Beardmore, Bro. Bennet, & other office berares of P.G. Lodge, also a large number of of Brethren of Daughter Lodges.
Brother Berry opened the Lodge, received the Grand Master Mason of Scotland with Masonic Ceremony. The deputation from Grand Lodge accompanying Bro. Sir Charles Dalrymple included, Bro. John Graham of Broadstone, Substitute Grand Master, acting Depute Grand Master; Bro. H.G. Ruston Newall, Dep. Pro. Grand Master of Argyle & The Isles, acting Sub. Grand Master; Bro. D. Murray Lyon, Grand Secretary; Bro. David Reid, Grand Cashier; Bro. James Muir, Grand Director of Ceremonies, acting Grand Sword bearer; Bro. W. Munro Denholm, Grand Marshal; Bro. Robert J. Jamieson, President of Grand Stewards; Bro. O Laud, Officer Grand Lodge.

The Brethren thereafter passed from the Lodge and marched in procession to the church where the Ceremony of the Laying of the Foundation Stone was performed in presence of an immence gathering of Ladies & Gentlemen from Arbroath and District and from adjoining Towns.

From the Local Newspaper Report of the event

 

Laying of the Memorial Stone of the Parish Church

Grand Masonic Ceremony

The Ceremony of laying the memorial stone of the Parish Church took place on Thursday, and was attended with full Masonic ritual.
The Old Church was destroyed by fire early in the morning of Monday 14th November 1892, and the present Church is being erected on its site from plans, formerly described by Mr. J.J. Burnet A.R.S.A., Glasgow.
The Brethren of the various Lodges were marshalled in the Corn Exchange and Market Buildings, and marched by way of Market Place, Brothock Bridge, Commerce Street and High Street to Kirk Square.
The Provincial Grand Lodge had meanwhile been opened in the Sheriff Court House, when Sir Charles Dalrymple, the Most Worshipful Grand Master Mason of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge deputation were received.

The procession was composed of the Parish Church Restoration Committee, members of the Presbytery of Arbroath, in their robes the Magistrates – Provost Keith wearing his robes of office – and Town Council, preceded by the Town’s Officers bearing the halberds. The Arbroath Instrumental Band followed, playing appropriate music, and next in order came the brethren of the various Lodges, bearing all the insignia of the Order, the Provincial and Grand Lodge representatives bringing up the rear. The streets were lined with large crowds of people, and Kirk Square was likewise filled with hundreds of eager sightseers. Capital order was preserved by the Police, under the direction of Chief Constable McNeill.

A large part of the area of the church had been temporarily floored and seats placed for the accommodation of the spectators – mostly ladies – who had been fortunately enough to secure admission. Several temporary galleries had also been erected, and these were largely filled with members of the Masonic Craft and other gentlemen. The memorial stone is placed in one of the pillars, near the west front, and a temporary platform was erected for the accommodation of the Brethren of the Grand and Provincial Lodges and the other gentlemen connected with the ceremonial. Among those present were: - Provost Keith, Bailies Grant, Jarvis, and Sandeman; Mr W.K. Macdonald, Town Clerk; Colonel J. A. Dickson; Mr H.A.F. Lindsay Carnegie, Mr Andrew Lowson, Mr Alexander Gordon; Mr J.J. Burnet, Architect; Mr J.A. Peebles-Chaplin of Colliston; Mr George Miln, Mr. F.F. Macdonald, Mr Norman McBain, Mr D. Littlejohn, Mr Fitzroy C. Fletcher of Letham Grange; Mr. E.J. Leslie: Members of the Presbytery of Arbroath; Rev. J.P. Lilley, Rev. C.E. Little, Rev. T.S. Anderson, Mr William Robertson, Mr S. Fairweather, Mr John Ross, Rector of the High School; Mr R.C. Kinloch, Drs Anderson, Laing, Russell, Kelly, Young, T.F. Dewar, Dean of Guild Alexander, Treasurer Mollison, Councillors Duncan, Melvin, Henderson, Sutherland, Finlayson and Strachan; Mr W.F. Macintosh, F.S.A. Scot.,: Mr D. McNeill, Chief Constable; Mr J.M. McBain, F.S.A. Scot.; Mr William Stewart, Burgh Surveyor; Mr Robert Stuart, Inspector of Poor; Mr Geo. Hay, F.S.A. Scot.; Mr W.J. Rollo, Dr. Adams, The Willows; Mr Robert Carlow, Mr William Cargill, and others.

On arrival at Kirk Square the brethren opened to the right and left, leaving a passage for the high officials passing up the centre. On arriving at the platform the various officials took up their assigned positions, and, by direction of the Provincial Grand Lodge Bard, Brother Beaton, the ceremony was begun with the singing of the Hundredth Psalm under Brother Beardmore, Provincial Grand Director of Music. The singing was joined in by the assembly and the band. Prayer having been offered up by Brother Stevenson, Provincial Grand Chaplain, Brother Berry, P.G. M., requested the Most Worshipful Grand Master to lay the stone, at this juncture, PROVOST KEITH, addressing the Grand Master, then said he had the honour, on behalf of the Magistrates, Town Council, and community of the ancient Royal Burgh of Arbroath, to extend to him a hearty welcome. In the name of the Magistrates, Town Council, Building Committee, and the Masonic Lodges in Arbroath, he thanked the Grand Master, the office bearers of the Grand Lodge who were in attendance that day, the Provincial Grand Master of Forfarshire, and the Office bearers of the Provincial Grand Lodge for coming to Arbroath so readily and on such short notice to place the memorial Stone of the restoration of the Parish Church of Arbroath. He hailed with much pleasure the appearance of the Grand Master in the historic Burgh of Arbroath. He thought it peculiarly appropriate that he Grand Master, as the supreme head of the ancient and honourable Order of Free and Accepted Masons, should attend there to place the memorial stone. Very many interesting associations clustered round their venerable Abbey ruins, and in the far distant ages the auspicious occasion on which the restoration memorial stone was placed would be looked back upon with peculiar interest. He believed there was no instance, so far as the recollection of the oldest inhabitant went, of the foundation stone of any building in Arbroath being placed with Masonic Honours and the present ceremony was therefore unique in the modern history of the Burgh. He had extreme pleasure in now presenting the Most Worshipful Grand Master with a silver trowel as a memento of this interesting and memorable ceremony. (Cheers)

SIR CHARLES DALRYMPLE – I beg to thank you most heartily for the kind welcome to me and my brethren of the Masonic Craft, and I have also to thank you for this most beautiful trowel, which will be always preserved in my family as an heirloom in remembrance of this day. I have been the recipient of other trowels on various occasions, but this is the first trowel I have received as Grand Master Mason of Scotland. Therefore it will be held as a peculiarly precious memento. (Cheers).

The trowel is of sterling silver, with carved ivory handle, and is of elegant design. It bears the following inscription: - ‘Presented to Sir Charles Dalrymple, of Newhailes, Baronet, M.P., Most Worshipful Grand Master Mason of Scotland, on the occasion of his laying the restoration foundation stone of the Old of Parish Church of Arbroath. 18th April 1885.’The article was supplied by Mr Willocks, silversmith, the inscription being engraved by Mr John Robertson.    
The Most Worshipful Grand Master then called upon the P.G. Secretary and P.G. Treasurer to place in the cavity of the stone a glass jar containing coins of the Realm, copies of newspapers and other documents. The following is a detailed statement of the contents of the jar: - Current coins of the Realm; constitution of joint committee entrusted with the restoration of the Church; list of first members of joint committee; printed list of the Magistrates and Town Council and other public boards; newspapers – ‘Arbroath Guide’, ‘Arbroath Herald,’ ‘Dundee Advertiser,’ ‘Dundee Courier,’ ‘Scotsman,’ ‘Glasgow Herald,’ ‘Daily Mail,’ programme of Grand Bazaar in aid of the Church Restoration Fund; Year Book of Church of Scotland; ‘Life and Work,’ with Guild and Parish Supplement applicable to Arbroath; ‘Church of Scotland Missionary  Record;’ ‘Arbroath Year Book;’ papers relating to Masonry, viz. rules and office bearers of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Forfarshire, circular calling meeting for the ceremony, programme of ceremony, ceremony at installation of Hon C. M. Ramsay.

The memorial stone, which is high up in one of the pillars near the west end of the church, and has a tablet for an inscription, weighs exactly one ton.
When the jar had been deposited in its place, and part of a psalm had been sung by the choir, the stone was raised, and two of the builders engaged on the building having prepared the mortar bed, the stone was lowered into position. The Grand Master with the Provincial Grand Master, then approached the stone, and the latter ordered the Wardens to do their duty. The Junior Grand Warden, the Senior Grand Warden, and the substitute Grand Master having applied the respective jewels of their office – The Plumb, the Level and the Square – to the stone, and satisfactorily replied to the interrogatories of the Grand Master in reference thereto, the Grand Master said – ‘Having, my Right Worshipful Brethren, full confidence in your skill in our royal art, it remains with me now to finish this work’ The Grand Master then gave the stone three knocks with the mallet saying – ‘May the Almighty Architect of the Universe look down with benignity upon our present undertaking and crown the edifice , of which we have now laid the memorial stone, with every success.’
The choir again sang several verses, and the Grand Master emptied the contents of the Cornucopia, the wine vase and the oil vase upon the stone, which being done he uttered the closing invocation and the rendering of several verses by the choir completed the ceremony.

THE GRAND MASTER, addressing the assembly, then said – My brethren of the Masonic craft, Provost Keith and ladies and gentlemen, the memorial stone of the Parish Church of Arbroath has been duly laid with Masonic rites, and it remains for me briefly to address you. We have crowned the stone with the emblems of Peace, gladness and fruitfulness – omens I trust, of the successful completion of this building and of its future usefulness to this town and this district, I have, in name of the Masonic Craft, to thank the building committee for inviting our attendance here today. We count this one of the great days of our Masonic year. I have also to congratulate the Minister and Kirk Session of this Church on the prospect of having a beautiful and stately building erected here. It was necessary that a new parish church should be built; but the old one is not merely to be replaced; there is to be a stately pile erected, which will be an ornament to the town and worthy of the Church of Scotland (Applause.) The erection of this new church reminds me of the perennial vitality of the ancient church of this land, the church of your fathers and of mine, and which is deeply identified with the life and history of Scotland. We are proud of the antiquity of the church; but need not remind you that in these days people ask not whether an institution is old, but whether it is living, whether it is rising to the heights of its responsibility, whether it is adapting itself to the needs of the time, whether in short, it is fulfilling the conditions of its existence. I have no doubt whatever that the Church of Scotland can stand these tests at the present time, for I do not remember a time when the Church was more active, more vigilant, more enterprising, more tolerant, more desire to prove itself to be that which she most of all aught to be – the Church of the Poor. (Applause.) And as the church here is reviving herself, as far as the fabric is concerned – a fabric which will hereafter be dedicated to the coming generations of worshippers of the eternal God – so it is the hope of all of us here assembled that it will stimulate fresh life and usefulness to the great spiritual advancement of this ancient Burgh and neighbourhood. (Applause.) We express the hope that this church may be safely erected, without hurt to anyone, and we shall hear with warm interest of the completion of the work at the outset of which we have today taken a small part. (Applause.)

Colonel Dickson said in name and on behalf of the committee appointed by the Magistrates, the heritors, the congregation, and the Kirk-session of this church to superintend the restoration of this building, I beg to tender you, sir, their thanks, and the thanks of this community, for the admirable address which you have now delivered, and also for the tradesman like skill which you have applied the plumb, the level and all the necessary implements on the memorial stone of this ancient and historic Church. I have, moreover, to thank the various Masonic bodies, the Provincial Master of Forfarshire and the Lodges in Arbroath, for the aid they have given on this very auspicious occasion. Although I do not have the privilege and honour of belonging to this  ancient craft, yet I recognise  with great pleasure its usefulness, , not only in the functions they have performed today, but in the many acts of philanthropy, which they discharged at home and abroad. I have said that this church is ancient and historic; it is by far the oldest church in this town. It was completed in 1560, soon after the separation of the parish of Arbroath from the parish of St. Vigean’s. In 1762 a considerable addition was made to the church. The site on which we stand was anciently part of the precinct of the Abbey of Arbroath. At one time there was a small tower, surmounted by a wooden steeple, which stood from the times of the Abbey till 1830, when it was replaced by the present handsome spire, which adorns the town. The only drawback to the present restoration     is that the spire is likely to be somewhat dwarfed by the magnificent proportions of the new church. In conclusion Most Worshipful Grand Master, I have, in name of the Magistrates and other bodies, to thank you for the solemn dedication of this church to the worship of Almighty God, and I sincerely hope it will long be used for such a noble purpose.

MASONIC BANQUET

Subsequent to the foundation stone ceremonial a complementary banquet was given in the White Hart Hall, by the local Lodges to sir Charles Dalrymple and to the members present from the Grand Lodge and the Provincial Grand Lodge. Mr Fitzroy Fletcher of Letham Grange presided, and among others present were – Colonel Dickson of Woodville, Provost Keith, Mr Peebles – chaplain of Colliston, Ex-Provost Anderson, Mr. Andrew Bennet, Dr Adams, Rev Mr Thomson, Mt C.Y. Myles, Captain Ritchie, Bailie Sandeman, Mr. R. S. Carlow, Mr Norman McBain, Mr James Cuthbert, Mr James Jack, Mr. William Stewart, Mr W.F. Anderson, Mr Andrew Naysmith, Mr R. Forbes, Mr John Suttie, Mr David Dundas, Mr David Wilson, Mr James Willocks, Mr G. Harris, Mr James Wallace, Mr Barry Inverness, Mr. J.J. Burnet, A.R.S.A., Glasgow, and Mr. James Hood. A sumptuous dinner having been excellently served by an efficient staff of stewards under the supervision of Mr Clark.
The choir then sang the National Anthem, and the proceedings terminated. The weather throughout the day was beautiful.

Conclusion of written minute

At the conclusion of the ceremony the brethren rejoined and marched in procession to the hall of Lodge Panmure when the Lodge was closed in due and ancient form after the R.W.P.G. Master had thanked the Grand Master and Grand Lodge deputations for their presence this day.

A. C. Anderson, P.G. Secretary

James Berry, P.G. Master

 

©Transcribed by Iain D. McIntosh, 2014