|
District Lodge
District lodge
The District Lodge is currently under the chairmanship of the Worshipful District Master Brother Neil Cook from Loyal Orange Lodge No.270 Son’s of the Reformation (Encampment in Musselburgh)
Loyal Orange Lodge No.94 Martyrs of the Grass Market
Loyal Orange Lodge No.128 Evangelical Christian Crusaders
Loyal Orange Lodge No.188 Cormack’s Protestant Defenders
Loyal Orange Lodge No.234 Forth True Defenders
Loyal Orange Lodge No.270 Son’s of the Reformation (Encampment in Musselburgh)
Ladies Loyal Orange Lodge No.105 Daughters of the Reformation (Encampment in Musselburgh)
Ladies Loyal Orange Lodge No.199 Star of Leith
Juvenile & Junior Loyal Orange Lodge No.144 Young Covenanters (Encampment in Musselburgh)
History Of John Knox Orange and Purple District L.O.L.No5
The origins of Orangeism in Edinburgh are rather obscure although, according to evidence given to the parliamentart Commission of Enquiry in 1835, Orange Lodges were active in Edinburgh before the end of the 18th Century.
The actual date of the formation of the John Knox Orange and Purple District L.O.L. No.5 is unknown but is likely to have been within the first decade of the 19th century and District No.5 was originally chartered by the body bearing the sesquipedalion title - "The Grand Protestant Association of the Loyal Orangemen of Great Britain". In the early part of the 19th century it is clear that many lodges had an uphill strugle to survive on account of the economic distress which occured after the Napoleonic Wars and which was exacerbated by the industrial revolution.
District No.5's territory in the early years included the whole of the counties of Mid and East Lothian. The District's oldest constituent Lodge is the "Pride of Midlothian" L.O.L. 160 which was erected in May 1875 in the Masonic Hall, Dalkeith. Another early unit was a military lodge which operated in Port Seton withinthe Enniskillen Fusiliers and which is commemorated by an East Lothian lodge called "Enniskillen Purple Guards" L.O.L. 252. Again, in Midlothian, in the mid 19th century an Orange Lodge in Rosewell was virtually forced to close because of tensions between the members over a colliery strike, with some members participating in the stoppage, whilst some carried on working. This situation, sadly, showed signs of a reoccurance in the 1984 miners' strike.
In 1876 the two wings of Scottish Orangeism united and the first Grand Master of the United Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland was Bro. Chalmers Izaac Paton, an Edinburgh advocate who was author of a "ProtestantCatechism" which exposed the errors of Romanism. Bro. Paton also wrote a number of pamphlets on freemasonary of which he was a keen student. In the 1880's the District organised a number of public meetings to focus opposition to the Irish Home Rule Bills being proposed by the then Prime Minister, W.E.Gladstone.
In 1902 District No.5 hosted what appears to have been the first major "12th of July" Demonstration in Edinburgh, organised by Grand Lodge. A record number of Orangemen, there were no sisters at this time, travelled to the city by train and marched to Holyrood Park. On district No.5 marching to its H.Q. in the evening an attack was mounted on the parade at Calton Road which, however, was dismissed in a district minute of the time as "a slight disturbance".
The economic crisis which followed the end of the first world war, like those of a century earlier, placed many lodges under severe financial stress but, in the 1920's District No.5 could still include one sheriff and the M.P. for West Edinburgh amongst its membership.
In the 1930's there began a remarkable upsurge in Protestant feeling in the city of Edinburgh, led initially by Alexander Ratcliffe, Secretary of "Leith Protestant Bible Class", and ultimately by John Cormack. The history of this extremely interesting period in the political life of Scotland has recently been recounted by Dr. Steve Bruce of Queen's University, Belfast in his book "No Pope of Rome". Both Ratcliffe and Cormack were members of the Order - Ratcliffe being a member of a Gorgie Lodge, "Saunderson's Purple Guards" L.O.L. 52 - and, Cormack being a member of "Portobello True Blues" L.O.L. 188 which sat in East Edinburgh. Both men had for a spell, difficult relations with the Order which, in Ratcliff's case were never healed, but John Cormack was, in the 1970's made an H.D.G.M. of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
The success of Cormack's political movement "Protestant Action" was undoubtedly brought an influx of new members into the Order and generated the formation of new lodges. The establishment of Midlothian District L.O.L. 52 was due in great part of this upsurge. In the municipal elections of 1936 "Protestant Action" captured an amazing 36% of the toal votes cast, but despite opening a new lodge - "King George V Memorial" L.O.L. 94 in September 1939 - the depletion of numbers caused by brethen being on active service brought a variety of problems to the District. The majority of Lodges however continued to function effectively during the war with younger, older and female members taking a more active role than hitherto.
The difficult years after the cessation of hostilities quickly passed and in July 1951 District No.5 hosted not only the former Amalgamated Districts of Lanarkshire and the East but also the Grand Lodge Districts. During the 1930's Orange Demonstrations had been totally banned by the Edinburgh Magistrates "on account of the high degree of sectarian feeling prevailing in the city" but in 1951 the only problem was caused by a tramcar which decided to break the ranks! At the 1951 demonstration - perhaps the largest gathering of Orangemen ever held on the British mainland - a civic reception was afforded to Grand Lodge in the City Chambers by Sir James Miller, Lord Provost, and a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Scottish National War Memorial.