THE GALASHIELS LODGE No 262
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2nd Mondays Sept - April Summer Meeting
- Last Tuesday June |
8 Gala Park, Galashiels, TD1 1EU |
7.00PM (Business) 7.30pm (Visitors) |
Visit The
Galashiels Lodge No 262 Website |
The Galashiels Lodge
(In its present form) has been in existence for nearly 200 years, however,
records show that Freemasons were active in Galashiels as an independent body
before 1794. We do not know exactly how many freemasons there were at or before
that date as no records exist documenting their activities. There is reference,
however,
in The Peebles Kilwinning Lodge No 24 records where in 1794 we have proof
positive that The Galashiels brethren had deputed their Chief Office Bearers to
make a Petition to the Peebles Lodge - praying to be admitted as a branch of
Peebles Kilwinning Lodge. It is therefore clear that masonry was being practised
in Galashiels before 1794. The Haughfoot Minute Book is our next prior reference to "The Galashiels Masons" as
an entity where on 20th January 1742 the Haughfoot Minute book states that "The
Galashiels Masons separat from the Brethren at Stow being met day forsd and rols
made and marked".
So although it cannot be proven with other documents
we have good reason to conjecture that when the Haughfoot Minutes stop in 1763
that the Masons based in Galashiels did not simply stop being Masons or indeed
"Making Masons" within an organised Mason's Society in Galashiels |
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Galashiels is a busy Borders town on the A7 road from Carlisle
to Edinburgh. It lies in the bottom of the steep-sided valley of
the Gala Water - tributary of famous the River Tweed. Galashiels' history has been closely
tied to the fluctuating fortunes of the textile industry in the Scottish
Borders.
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population of Galashiels declined in the late 1890s
following problems with trade to traditional markets in the USA, and stood at
13,600 in 1901. The slow growth over the following decade followed improvements
to Galashiels' environment, and the construction of a secondary school and a
technical college, which given its focus on textiles was perhaps inevitably
known locally as the "Woolly Tech" |
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Today's Galashiels has successfully diversified away from its
old dependence on textiles. Elsewhere in the
town, companies have set up engaged in fields as varied as medical research;
software development; the production of leather clothing; and fish processing. |
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The best known of the local mills
was
Waverley Mill, sadly now demolished, the former home to Lochcarron. All
operations are now moved to Selkirk which with 140 workers is Scotland's largest
producer of tartan clothing. |