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Article MASONIC EXeUESIOET TO BOSLIN GASTLE. ← Page 7 of 14 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Exeuesioet To Boslin Gastle.
date 1622 , with the letters S . W . S . ; that is , Sir William Sinclair . It has a most paltry appearance amid the enormous masses of wall by which it is surrounded . . It is not known by whom or at what time the castle of Boslin was built , but it was no doubt some seven or eight hundred years ago . The noble family of St . Clair , to whom it belonged , are said to have been of Anglo-Norman extraction , and to have come into Scotland about the year 1066 , during the reign of Malcolm Canmore . They obtained a grant of the lands and barony of Boslin from that
monarch , and afterwards acquired extensive possessions in other parts of Mid Lothian , so that they were extremely opulent , and lived in a style of princely splendour . The castle , according to Father Hay , was greatly damaged by fire in 1447 . It suffered severe injury from the English army under the Earl of Hertford , which invaded Scotland in 1544 and it was battered into its present ruinous state by General Monk in 1650 ; while a mob from Edinburgh at the Bevolution in 1688 , destroyed , or carried off such fragments of its internal furnishings as the cannon of Monk had spared .
After inspecting the interesting ruins and listening to the band playing , the charming air of " Boslin Castle , " we form again into procession , pass along the narrow bridge , and wind by an ancient churchyard towards Boslin , which in former days was one of the most populous towns in Mid Lothian , but which is now reduced to a mere hamlet with scarcely five hundred inhabitants .. We encircle its ruined cross , most likely built in 1456 , when James II . erected Boslin into a burgh of barony , with the privilege of holding a weekly market and an annual fair . All the Brethren uncover while the band plays " God Save the
Queen ; " and this being over , we march , attended by a concourse of people , to the chapel of Boslin . At the entrance to the court by which the chapel is enclosed , the Brethren form themselves into two open lines , when the B . W . M ., Bro . Hunter , preceded by the Lecture Master carrying the Bible , and followed by the Wardens and all the Officebearers and Brethren present , walks uncovered into the chapel , while the band play the ' . " Masons' Anthem " in slow time . The scelae on approaching and entering the chapel is most solemn and imposing . The elegance and variety of this sacred edifice are extraordinary . Its brackets , canopies , pinnacles , buttresses , windows , pillars , and arches are differently ornamented , but at the same time
present a most striking and harmonious combination . It would require no small space fully to describe its varied ornaments and symbolical representations . Every architrave and arch , every capital and window moulding is embellished with rich foliage , or allegorical scenes . Above the High Altar is a beautiful pendant representing the Star of Bethlehem , and various circumstances connected with the birth of Christ . Near it is an arch on which are sculptured a number of individuals each attended by a figure of Death , intended , it is supposed , to represent Holbein's " Dance of Death . " In the south aisle are scenes illustrative of the seven cardinal vices and the seven cardinal virtues . In the north aisle are
representations of several passages in the history of Samsonand the prodigal son ; and also of the crucifixion , resurrection , & c . One pillar more elaborately ornamented than the others , is known by the name of the apprentice pillar . The tradition regarding it is , that it was executed by an apprentice while the master builder was absent at Rome inspecting the original pillar of which it was to be an , exact copy . The master at his return was so enraged that his journey had been rendered fruitless , and the fame which he expected to acquire reaped by another , that he struck the apprentice a blow on the forehead with his hammer , which laid him lifeless at his feet . At the west end of the centre aisle are three heads ,
intended to represent the apprentice with a wound on his forehead , his mother weeping at his death , and the master with a most rueful visage indicative of sorrow and repentance for the foul deed which he had committed . The Freemason in this tradition can easily trace a confused reference to one of the most important and impressive points in the Masonic ritual . Indeed throughout the chapel , there are a number of emblems which acquire additional interest when viewed through the light of freemasonry .
Beneath the floor of the chapel almost all the barons of Bosun , are interred . It was the practice at one time , according to Father Hay , to place them in the sepulchral vaults in full armour without a coffin . It is a tradition that , when
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Exeuesioet To Boslin Gastle.
date 1622 , with the letters S . W . S . ; that is , Sir William Sinclair . It has a most paltry appearance amid the enormous masses of wall by which it is surrounded . . It is not known by whom or at what time the castle of Boslin was built , but it was no doubt some seven or eight hundred years ago . The noble family of St . Clair , to whom it belonged , are said to have been of Anglo-Norman extraction , and to have come into Scotland about the year 1066 , during the reign of Malcolm Canmore . They obtained a grant of the lands and barony of Boslin from that
monarch , and afterwards acquired extensive possessions in other parts of Mid Lothian , so that they were extremely opulent , and lived in a style of princely splendour . The castle , according to Father Hay , was greatly damaged by fire in 1447 . It suffered severe injury from the English army under the Earl of Hertford , which invaded Scotland in 1544 and it was battered into its present ruinous state by General Monk in 1650 ; while a mob from Edinburgh at the Bevolution in 1688 , destroyed , or carried off such fragments of its internal furnishings as the cannon of Monk had spared .
After inspecting the interesting ruins and listening to the band playing , the charming air of " Boslin Castle , " we form again into procession , pass along the narrow bridge , and wind by an ancient churchyard towards Boslin , which in former days was one of the most populous towns in Mid Lothian , but which is now reduced to a mere hamlet with scarcely five hundred inhabitants .. We encircle its ruined cross , most likely built in 1456 , when James II . erected Boslin into a burgh of barony , with the privilege of holding a weekly market and an annual fair . All the Brethren uncover while the band plays " God Save the
Queen ; " and this being over , we march , attended by a concourse of people , to the chapel of Boslin . At the entrance to the court by which the chapel is enclosed , the Brethren form themselves into two open lines , when the B . W . M ., Bro . Hunter , preceded by the Lecture Master carrying the Bible , and followed by the Wardens and all the Officebearers and Brethren present , walks uncovered into the chapel , while the band play the ' . " Masons' Anthem " in slow time . The scelae on approaching and entering the chapel is most solemn and imposing . The elegance and variety of this sacred edifice are extraordinary . Its brackets , canopies , pinnacles , buttresses , windows , pillars , and arches are differently ornamented , but at the same time
present a most striking and harmonious combination . It would require no small space fully to describe its varied ornaments and symbolical representations . Every architrave and arch , every capital and window moulding is embellished with rich foliage , or allegorical scenes . Above the High Altar is a beautiful pendant representing the Star of Bethlehem , and various circumstances connected with the birth of Christ . Near it is an arch on which are sculptured a number of individuals each attended by a figure of Death , intended , it is supposed , to represent Holbein's " Dance of Death . " In the south aisle are scenes illustrative of the seven cardinal vices and the seven cardinal virtues . In the north aisle are
representations of several passages in the history of Samsonand the prodigal son ; and also of the crucifixion , resurrection , & c . One pillar more elaborately ornamented than the others , is known by the name of the apprentice pillar . The tradition regarding it is , that it was executed by an apprentice while the master builder was absent at Rome inspecting the original pillar of which it was to be an , exact copy . The master at his return was so enraged that his journey had been rendered fruitless , and the fame which he expected to acquire reaped by another , that he struck the apprentice a blow on the forehead with his hammer , which laid him lifeless at his feet . At the west end of the centre aisle are three heads ,
intended to represent the apprentice with a wound on his forehead , his mother weeping at his death , and the master with a most rueful visage indicative of sorrow and repentance for the foul deed which he had committed . The Freemason in this tradition can easily trace a confused reference to one of the most important and impressive points in the Masonic ritual . Indeed throughout the chapel , there are a number of emblems which acquire additional interest when viewed through the light of freemasonry .
Beneath the floor of the chapel almost all the barons of Bosun , are interred . It was the practice at one time , according to Father Hay , to place them in the sepulchral vaults in full armour without a coffin . It is a tradition that , when