In 1583, William Schaw was appointed by King James VI as Master of the Work and Warden General with the Commission of re-organising the Masonic craft. In 1598, he issued the famous first Schaw Statute which set out the duties of all members to the Lodge and to the public. It also imposed penalties for unsatisfactory work and inadequate safety during work.

In the late 16th and early 17th Centuries important persons, who were not Masons to trade, were admitted to Scottish Lodges as they brought with them influence which was important at the time. Many others joined as literacy and education spread throughout the country and as Lodges needed to maintain funds.

From Schaw to the early 18th Century, masonry underwent a change. Schaw legislated for operative masons but by then the Craft was led mainly by the new or Speculative Masons and it was this group which was to develop and expand within the Lodges.

Originally only the degrees of Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft were worked in Scotland. The earliest record of a raising is in 1726 and that of a Mark degree in 1778. The Installed Master is of recent origin being introduced in 1858 and in 1872 revised to the form used today.

In 1717, the Grand Lodge of England was formed and three years later the Grand Lodge of Ireland. In 1735, four Scottish Lodges discussed the possibility of forming a Grand Lodge of Scotland. On the 30th November of the following year representatives from thirty two Lodges met in Edinburgh. Grand Lodge was formed and William St. Clair of Roslin was elected the first Grand Master. The St. Clair family had had long connection with masons having in earlier days been Patrons of the Craft.

From 1736, Grand Lodge chartered a steady stream of Lodges and even in 1745, the year of Rebellion, five charters were issued despite the unsettled conditions. In 1747, Grand Lodge issued the first charter to an overseas Lodge situated in Aleppo in Syria. With a large overseas army, Grand Lodge issued a few (England and Ireland issued many) travelling Charters or Warrants to regiments overseas and these must be given credit for spreading Freemasonry in the countries where the army served. A few persist to this day having been altered from travelling to stationary.

Mother Kilwinning, an old and independent Lodge, along with the Lodges which it had chartered and were still operating, returned to Grand Lodge following the 1807 Agreement. The numbering of Lodges was first made in 1737, it was revised in 1771 and 1816 and finally in 1826 after the admission of the Mother Kilwinning Lodges, and these are the numbers used today. A few independent Lodges joining up since have had a number inserted without altering the basic number of the other Lodges.

Membership and the number of Lodges increased in the 19th and early 20th Centuries often as a result of war or unsettled times although there was decline in the early 1930s. This increase in the number of Lodges placed a heavy supervision load on Grand Lodge. Geographical groupings of Lodges were made and Provincial Grand Lodges formed in Scotland and District Grand Lodges overseas to supervise all the Lodges in their immediate area. Abroad, following upon the granting of independence to Canada, Australia and India, the Lodges in these areas formed Grand Lodges of their own and were joined by Lodges already established there under the English and Irish Constitutions.

In the pre-Grand Lodge era and until 1846, benevolence was the responsibility of a local Lodge but thereafter the Fund of Scottish Masonic Benevolence was established primarily for Scottish Freemasons and their dependents. A heavy run on the Fund, beginning at the period of recession in 1875, led to the establishment of the General Annuity Fund in 1888. This was boosted by proceeds of the Grand Bazaar of 1891 amounting to Pounds14,400, a very large sum in those days. In 1899, Grand Lodge decreed that the collection taken at the Installation Meeting in each Lodge would go to this Fund and this still takes place today.

To celebrate the centenary of the Fund of Scottish Benevolence in 1946, it was decided to have a Home for elderly Freemasons and their wives and Ault Wharrie in Dunblane was purchased in 1950. Since then, further homes have been built with an emphasis on smaller homes in convenient parts of the country to meet the demand from our older brethren and their wives who wish to continue to live near their friends, relatives and their Lodges. While these are homes administered and maintained by Grand Lodge, there are also homes financed by our District Grand Lodges abroad. Grand Master Masons who have visited these homes report very favourably upon the facilities they provide.