Tain, Queen Street, St Duthus Lodge
Masonic Hall (19th Century)
Site Name Tain, Queen Street, St Duthus Lodge
Classification Masonic Hall (19th Century)
Canmore ID 109463
Site Number NH78SE 155
NGR NH 77933 82060
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/109463
- Council Highland
- Parish Tain
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Ross And Cromarty
- Former County Ross And Cromarty
Publication Account (2009)
The first Masonic lodge, St Duthus, was established in 1761, with Lord Ankerville as its first master, and in 1783 the ‘Knight’s House’ on the west side of St Duthus Street (the site is now the uphill part of the Royal Hotel) was rebuilt as their lodge. It was ‘elegant’ and cost £500. The Masonic Hall seems to have been used by others, being described in 1803 as an ‘elegant building for assemblies, and the meetings of free masons’. There was a dancing-master in the town in 1775. There are references to horse racing in 1763, and to playing golf in 1777.
Information from ‘The Scottish Burgh Survey, Historic Tain: Archaeology and Development’, (2009).