Fox Maule Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie

3rd Provincial Grand Master

Provincial Grand Master 1854 to 1874

Sir Fox Maule, later Maule Ramsay, 2nd Baron Panmure, KT, GCB, PC (1801-1874), became the 11th Earl of Dalhousie after the death of his cousin in 1860. Prior to becoming the Provincial Grand Master of Forfarshire after the death of his father, Fox Maule was Provincial Grand Master of Moray and Nairn, which post he held from 1838-1852 when he took over Forfarshire after the death of his father.
He was our Provincial Grand Master from 1852-1874.
During his term as our Provincial Grand Master, he also held the offices of Depute Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England (1857-61) Grand Master Mason of Scotland (1867-70) and the First Grand Principle of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland (1869-1871). It was whilst serving as Captain in the 79th Cameron Highlanders on the staff of his uncle, the Earl of Dalhousie, that he was initiated at Quebec into the Lodge Merchanes et Freres, No. 77 (under the Grand Lodge of England) in April 1824. Four years afterwards on his return to Scotland he affiliated in the Lodge of St. John, Haddington and shortly afterwards joined Lodge Perth St. Andrew.

On St. John’s day 1834 he had honorary membership conferred in the Lodge of Dunblane – his Brother in Law the Hon. George Abercrombie being R.W.M. He became a joining Member of the Lodge of Friendship No 6 in 1837, of which Lodge he was Master between 1839 and 1841. This Lodge had for a time the privilege of its members wearing their swords during the “working.” He was also a member of Lodge Alpha, London, which incorporated the “Lodge Royal” in which the first P.G. Master of our Province, George Paterson, was a Past Master.

Under the Grand Lodge of England he was appointed Grand Senior Warden in 1837, under HRH the Duke of Sussex, afterwards holding the position of Depute Grand Master for three years, from which he retired in 1860. He also represented the Grand Lodge of England in the Grand Lodge of Scotland. He became a joining Member of the English Chapter of Friendship No 6 (date unknown) and was Grand Z (First Grand Principal) of Scotland 1869-1871. He succeeded as 2nd Baron Panmure on the death of his father, William (Maule), 1st Baron Panmure, on 13th April 1852, and as 11th Earl of Dalhousie on the death of his cousin, James Andrew (Broun-Ramsay), 10th Earl and Marquis of Dalhousie, on 19th December 1860. He was born at Brechin Castle, Brechin, on 22nd April 1801 and was educated at Charterhouse under Dr Russell. He entered the Army in 1820 and served as an officer in the 79th (Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot for twelve years, retiring in 1831-32.

Brief Political History

Whilst in office, he was nicknamed “the Bison” for his brawny physique and resolute temperament; Panmure (as he was still styled) was a forceful administrator. It has been recorded that his good management of the British Army left it in a more efficient state after the Crimean War than it was before it. He instituted the system of competitive examination for commissions and was the prime mover in the abolition of the use of the lash. It was also during his tenure as Secretary of State for War that the ‘Victoria Cross’ was introduced for bravery in the field, Fox-Maule read out the names as Queen Victoria presented the first medals. Nevertheless it seems he attempted to secure preferential treatment for his nephew Capt. Dowbiggin, who was stationed in the Crimea, this mix up happened due to a misinterpretation by a telegraph operator in a signal sent out to the Commander in Chief General Simpson, Lord Panmure had merely wished that if there was a vacancy to consider his nephew if the C. in C. thought he was fit, however the operator sent out a far more direct order which implied a more official ‘hint’. Telegraphy was still a very new technology and people like Panmure were still very unsure of it and it was left to the individual telegraphists to interpret and compress messages.

He also had to deal with Florence Nightingale. After the horrific conditions she had encountered at the hospital in Scutari, and the way wounded soldiers were treated, she tried to instigate reforms in medical treatment, she came up against the ‘Bison’ who like the rest of his contemporaries, had a very conservative and old fashioned view of the life of a soldier, he informed Miss Nightingale that 'the British soldier is not a remitting animal' However, Florence Nightingale had the support of the Queen and other reformers like Sydney Herbert so ‘the Bison was no match for the Lady. It was in vain that he put down his head and planted his feet in the earth; he could not withstand her; the white hand forced him back’ …. ‘the poor Bison groaned inwardly and cast a wistful eye towards the happy pastures of the Free Church of Scotland; then slowly, with infinite reluctance, step by step, he retreated, disputing every inch of the ground.’ He was prominent in ecclesiastical affairs and became one of the distinguished leaders and founder of the Free Church of Scotland during the Disruption in 1843. He was a friend of Dr. Thomas Guthrie who preached regularly at Lochlee Parish Church, which was next to Invermark Lodge, Fox Maule’s Shooting Lodge.

There is also a stained-glass window in the Maule Memorial Church in Glen Esk, which commemorates these two friends. He was also involved with many other local organisations. The Panmure Curling Club was formally founded in Fox Maule’s House at Panmure in 1854. Also, Dalhousie Golf Club was named after him and was the club’s first patron. He served as Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow 1842-44 and as Lord Lieutenant of Forfarshire 1849-74, Keeper of the Privy Seal for Scotland 1853-74, a Commissioner of the Royal Military Asylum and a Governor of the Charterhouse. But the Marquis of Bute and the Duke of Wellington opposed his election in 1842 to the Lord Rector-ship of the University of Glasgow. In addition, he was a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle 28th October 1853 and a Knight Grand Cross (Civil Division) of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath 29th October 1855.

In 1861 he assumed the surnames of Maule Ramsay instead of Maule. He married on 4th April 1831.His wife, The Hon Montague Abercromby, was born 25th May 1807. She died at Pitfour Castle, Perthshire, on 11th November 1853, aged 46, and was buried at Panbride. When in November 1867, he became the 68th Grand Master Mason of Scotland, he determined that the high position should be occupied for only two years and be selected alternately from the different districts in Scotland. It seems that because of his “able, dignified and impartial guidance” he was persuaded to undertake a third year as Grand Master. Among the notable functions he performed as Grand Master were the laying of the foundation stone of the Glasgow Industrial Schools, at Mossbank in August 1868, the Free Library and museum, Paisley, in April 1869 and the Albert Bridge over the Clyde in June of 1870. His last public act as Grand Master was laying the foundation stone of the new lodge room of the Lodge “Journeyman” Edinburgh on 30th November 1870. It is also recorded that he was responsible for introducing King Edward VII to Scottish Freemasonry. Fox Maule died on 6 July 1872, without issue, at Brechin Castle, aged 73, and was buried eight days later at Panbride, when the Barony of Panmure became extinct, but the Scottish dignities devolved on his cousin, Admiral George Ramsay, CB (1806-1880), as 12th Earl of Dalhousie.

©Research by Iain D. McIntosh, 2020