History, now and beyond

A meeting of the brethren residing in Douglas Water district was held on the 12th October 1900, when the disadvantages of attending the lodges at either Lanark or Douglas was discussed. It was agreed that if a suitable venue could be secured, the Office-bearers of Old St. John No. 21 and St. Brides No. 118 should be approached and, if they approved, a petition should be prepared for presentation to Grand Lodge praying that a charter should be granted to form a new lodge in the district.

A suitable venue was secured at Anstruther Place in Douglas Water, and a petition was prepared and forwarded to Grand Lodge with signatures from the Office-bearers of the aforementioned lodges. The name of the proposed Lodge was given as 'Hozier' Douglas Water.

Within the newly proposed lodge room, at the Co-operative buildings in Douglas Water on the 25th January 1901, fourteen brethren met to discuss the colours of the lodge; it was agreed that they would be blue, red and gold. The following month a charter was granted by Grand Lodge.

This RWM jewel is the original jewel worn by our first Right Worshipful Master Bro. John Loudon in 1901.

Every Hozier RWM has worn this jewel, which is special in its own right but for those who's father, grandfather, uncle, (biological) brother or other family member has worn it before them, it stirs up fond memories and a wee bit of pride.

At the time of the Charter being granted, The Right Worshipful Master was Bro. John Loudon who went on to serve as Master on no fewer than seven occasions.

The chair on which the Master sits was given to the lodge after it was found in a farmhouse. The chair had been used by the Order of Gardeners who held their meetings in Douglas.

The Grand Master Mason who presented the lodge's first charter was the Hon. James Hozier MP, later to become the 2nd Baron Newlands, after whom the lodge was named. The Hon. James Hozier MP served in office from 1900 to 1904, after which he became Lord Newlands of Mauldslie and formed The Lord Newlands’ Trust in the province.

He was the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Lanarkshire Upper-ward for a staggering 33 years, from 1891 to 1924.

In 1910, the industrious brethren began to pull their resources together and built their own lodge, where the meetings are still being held nearly 125 years later. However, it was twenty years before electricity, heating and a toilet were installed in the lodge.

The first mention of World War I was in the minutes of a regular meeting held on 4th April 1914, when there was a letter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lanarkshire Upper-ward, asking for donations to the Prince of Wales War Relief Fund. At the same meeting, a letter of resignation was received from Bro. Robert Dunipace SW as he had signed up for foreign service.

Twenty two Hozier brethren served in the First World War - two of which made the Supreme Sacrifice (Bro. Edward Russell and Bro. Charles McCarter).

For such an important coal mining community, which was not highly populated, twenty two brethren is a significant number - bearing in mind that there would have been numerous other local men who served who weren't Freemasons.

 Another sad loss to the lodge occurred in 1940 when the RWM Bro. John W Brown died during his term of office.

His regalia was presented to the lodge and it still hangs proudly in the hall to this day. 

Pictured is the nearby Powell Street (nearest street to the burn and the Struan).

The houses were very small but the community spirit was fantastic.

The Rows (the Raws), were Powell and Houldsworth Streets - both looked very similar and you would be forgiven for mixing them up.

Our Masonic Temple is at the head of Houldworth Street.

There are several brethren in the province who were born in 'the Raws'.

 The Coltness Iron Company encouraged people in its villages to participate in leisure activities, like the prize winning Douglas Colliery Band (pictured here in 1920/21).

Band music was very popular in mining communities

The Douglas Water community competed successfully in local and national competitions.

Many Hozier brethren played in the band, performed in drama groups and contributed to the many community based groups in the village.

 The 1960s saw the closure of the pits and the demise of the railway, which resulted in a decline in lodge attendances.

Before the closure of the pits, the village of Douglas Water had schools, welfare halls, a whole range of shops, train station, two successful football teams - one of which Ian St. John won the Citizens' Cup in the 1956-57 season with (Douglas Water Thistle), a bowling green, a picture house, pipe band, silver band, drama groups, Boys' Brigade Detachment, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Women's Institute, a pub (the Struan), angling clubs, gala days, pigeon clubs and many more businesses and community groups that were closed down as a result of the pit shutting.

However, the lodge continued in fine spirit with the good work and determination of the brethren. 

  Still thriving, recent times have seen us celebrate proud moments in the history of the lodge, such as; we now have a Past provincial Grand Master in Bro. Archie Galbraith PM, PPGM, who served as RWPGM from 1989 to 1994.
Bro. Alan Gibb PM is now Past Provincial Substitute Grand Master and Honorary Grand Senior Deacon, and Bro. Gordon Duffin is now Past Provincial Depute Grand Master, having both served as Provincial Commissioned Officers from 2019 to 2024 - we also have several other notable PGL Office-bearers proudly representing our wee lodge within and out with the province. 

  The new millennium was introduced and the following year the lodge celebrated its centenary. The then RWM Bro. John Young was joined by the then RWPGM Jim MacLean and a deputation from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, headed by the Grand Master Mason Sir Archibald Donald Orr Ewing, to celebrate the occasion.

The lodge members continue the fine work started by their predecessors by doing their best to support the local community, represent the spirit and ethos of those brethren who have gone before them and working hard to make each other better people.

The George T Paterson bar, that was built in memory of a highly regarded brother, is looking as good as it ever has, however due to licencing laws, it is no longer used as a licenced bar.

The hall is maintained by all but primarily by Bro. John Stark PM who, with a small bunch of talented brethren, has really got the temple looking great.

Visiting and supporting our sister lodges, whether within or out with the Province is really important to us. The rural areas of Scotland don't lend themselves to large member bases, but we support each other very well.

Our visitors have been outstanding for our wee lodge. We are forever indebted to each and every brother who we have the chance to welcome in amongst us.

As long as we can do our best to visit other lodges, and brethren come and see us, the principles of Freemasonry will continue to be followed well into the future.

  We are looking forward to celebrating our 125th anniversary in 2026. planning is already underway.

Look out for information over the next wee while.

  The lodge may be small in numbers but those brethren are committed and are determined to keep 'Hozier' going for another 100 years.