In 2004 a number of Knights from the Torphichen Preceptory in Scotland made the long journey South to Hertfordshire to give a demonstration in the Crossed Swords Preceptory of an installation of a Knight as performed in Scotland .

By way of returning the compliment, on Friday 2nd September 2005 a band of Hertfordshire Knights made the equally arduous journey (well a flight on Easyjet) to Bathgate which is just outside of Edinburgh .

The Party consisted of our Provincial Prior R.E.Kt Brian Blanchard , our Provincial Sub-Prior E.Kt Tony King and E.Kts Andy Golledge (who did all of the organising), Mick Chalkley and Kt John Offord from Temple Chelsin, E.Kt Ian Burnett from Temple Dinsley and E.Kts Colin Hellyer , Keith Stevens, Tony Lapsley , Bob Landragin, Eric Turver, Ollie Wells, and Kts George Laverick and Philip Hoy all from Crossed Swords Preceptory.

The Demonstration Team

Having checked in to our hotel we made our way to the Bathgate Masonic centre where we were to give our demonstration. At this point no one knew what to expect, whether we would be well received and whether our demonstration would be of interest. On our arrival, however, the natives seemed friendly enough and we were given help in setting up the Preceptory in an English manner.

There were many questions on both sides about how this or that is done and the differences in our regalia but the most striking questions were about the centre itself and the fact that this was the home of Torphichen Kilwinning Lodge No.13 with the Roll of Masters going back to 1737 which we all found most impressive.

By now a number of Knights had started to arrive and eventually the Torphichen Preceptory was opened. We were amazed to see about 80 Knights (some very high ranking including the District Grand Prior of the Forth Valley, Rt. Eminent Fratre Paul Bisset, and his District Sub-Prior) that we subsequently found out had travelled from as far away as Inverness. The Venerable Preceptor Scott Sneddon welcomed us warmly and having dealt with some administrative matters called off the Preceptory.

At this point you could have heard a pin drop. Never have I seen such rapt attention. It could have been disconcerting but our various rehearsals paid off as we proceeded to perform the ceremony of installation in what everyone agreed was an excellent manner. Our Preceptor E.Kt Colin Hellyer did a superb job and everyone played their part.

When it was over we were congratulated most warmly and invited to partake of their festive board which was a buffet prepared by the wives of the members, and very good it was too.

After the food and drink, of which there was plenty, and the speeches of congratulations, we departed back to our hotel with Andy Golledge driving and everyone else navigating. Eventually, having followed a very scenic route, we made it back for a well-earned rest.

The next morning we headed for Rosslyn Chapel for a private tour with a Masonic guide

Rosslyn Chapel , or the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew as it was to have been, was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair, third and last St Clair Prince of Orkney. It is in fact only part of the choir of what was intended to be a larger cruciform building with a tower at its centre.

Interior of Rosslyn Chapel	Apprentice Pillar

After Sir William died in 1484, he was buried in the unfinished Chapel and the larger building he had planned was never completed.

On December 11th, 1688, shortly after the protestant William of Orange had landed in England and displaced the Catholic James II, a mob from Edinburgh and some of the villagers from Rosslyn entered and damaged the Chapel. Their object was to destroy the furniture and vestments, which were now regarded as Popish and idolatrous.

The Chapel remained abandoned until 1736, when St James St Clair glazed the windows for the first time, repaired the roof, and re - laid the floor with flagstones. The boundary wall was also built at this time.

In 1880-1, Francis Robert, 4th Earl of Rosslyn, added the apse to serve as a baptistry with an organ loft above. The work is by Andrew Kerr. The Earl also filled the baptistry arch with the handsome oak tracery which you see today, decorated with his crest. Together with the two Chapel doors, this is the only wood used in the construction of the building.

The cost of the work was seven hundred and fifty eight pounds, eight shillings and six pennies, with a further thirty four pounds and eighteen shillings to Andrew Kerr for fees. Kerr told the Earl that a party of visitors 'had remarked that it was wonderful that such young men should be entrusted to execute such carving,' to which the estate factor 'very coolly replied, that it was not wonderful here, as the finest pillar in the Chapel was the work of an apprentice boy.'

The tour was very interesting but with so much there we only had time to see about half of it before we were asked to leave to make way for a wedding.

After lunch, we headed for Torphichen Preceptory but this time I mean the building and not the body of men.

The District Grand Prior of the Forth Valley Rt.Eminent Fratre Paul Bisset had kindly given permission to change the date of their District Malta meeting to enable us to attend. More than this they had arranged with Scottish Heritage to hold the meeting in the Historic Torphichen Preceptory which is located at the north of the West Lothian village of Torphichen , in the lee of the Torphichen Hills

Torphichen Preceptory

The Hospital, or Preceptory, of Torphichen was the Scottish headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem . Founded during the reign of David I (1124-1153), construction of the church - nave, aisle, transepts and central tower - was started around 1200 and completed by the mid 13th century. Located within the village of Torphichen , the preceptory stands in a sheltered valley on the western side of the Torphichen Hills. Torphichen is derived from Gaelic: torr-fithichean , 'the raven's hill'.

The Hospitallers had come to Scotland to recruit and collect funds for the Crusades. There were administration, monastic and domestic buildings. There was also a small hospital or hospice, as there was at all settlements of the Order. Within the Preceptory lived a number of brothers, headed by a Preceptor, who oversaw the estates and collected the rents in cash or goods. The rents for all of the Hospitaller properties in Scotland were collected at Torphichen. Much of the daily work of the brethren would have involved growing food and herbs for medicine

Interior, Looking North	Vaulted Ceiling of the Crossing

During the war between Scotland and England the Hospitallers took the side of the English. For several months between the Battle of Stirling (September 1297) and the Battle of Falkirk (July 1298), William Wallace and his army were said to have camped at Torphichen. It is reasonable to assume that the Hospitallers would have removed themselves to the priory at nearby Kirkliston during this time. In 1298 Edward I sent for Brian deJay, Master of the Knights Templar in England , to fight for England in Scotland. DeJay did go; but once he was in Scotland , he made straight for Torphichen - and did not fight.

The tower and transcepts, substantially heightened in the 15th century, were used after the Reformation as the courthouse of the Regality of Torphichen, granted around 1560 to the last Preceptor, Sir James Sandilands, who was later raised to the peerage as Lord Torphichen. To this day, the Scottish KT retains a position of Preceptor of Torphichen.

Having been given seats at the front of the Priory we took part in the opening, which was different to our own and watched as the District Grand Prior of the Forth Valley , Rt. Eminent Fratre Paul Bisset was escorted in by his entourage and greeted by all present

Taking our seats

There was a report that the Grand Marechal, Rt.Eminent Fratre Michael Hawkes KCT was seeking admission and he announced that the Most Eminent and Reverend Grand Master of the Great Priory of Scotland Kenneth Donald Kennedy GCT demanded admission into the Priory. He was accompanied by the 1st Grand Constable, the Grand Secretary and the Past Grand Treasurer.

We all stood to order as the Grand Master entered and took his place. Having saluted him the Grand Master welcomed all present especially our Provincial Prior Brian Blanchard, our Sub-Prior Tony King and all of the visiting Knights from "South of the Border"

The ceremony was conducted by the Immediate Past Venerable Preceptor Ronnie Gemmell and again was very different to our own but most enjoyable to witness.

We then made our way back to Bathgate Masonic Centre for a splendid meal and once again we were warmly welcomed by the Grand Master, to which our Provincial Prior responded in kind. Our own Eminent Preceptor, E.Kt. Colin Hellyer then presented Torphichen Preceptory with a splendid engraved Tantalus on behalf of the Crossed Sword Preceptory.

The meal went on to very late and eventually Andy Golledge (who again made the sacrifice of abstinence) drove us back to the hotel. This time we agreed there should only be 2 Navigators at most and were it not for a major diversion we would have got back to the Hotel easily but that is, as they say, another story.

Hertfordshire Knights in Malta Regalia

All in all this was a fantastic trip to be on and the welcome we received brought home the meaning of Masonry and Universal Brotherhood.

We have all made friends North of the Border and we hope that next year, they will once again make the journey South to visit us.

Kt. Philip J. Hoy

Crossed Swords Preceptory