Order of Free Gardeners

The Order of Free Gardeners is a fraternal society that was founded in Scotland in the middle of the 17th century and later spread to England and Ireland. Like numerous other friendly societies of the time, its principal aim was the sharing of secret knowledge linked to the profession and mutual aid. In the 19th century, its activities of mutual insurance became predominant. By the end of the 20th century it had become almost entirely extinct.

In 1849, The Ancient Order of Free Gardeners Scotland formed at Penicuik. In 1956, due to falling attendances in Scotland, the Grand Lodge charter was transferred to Cape Town, South Africa and remains there. In September 2005, the Ancient Order returned to Scotland when the Countess of Elgin Lodge no. 105 received its Charter to meet in Dysart, Fife. 2006 sees the return of the Grand Lodge of Free Gardeners Scotland from Cape Town to Scotland.

Although the Free Gardeners have always remained independent of Freemasonry, the history and organisation of the two orders show numerous similarities. Some commentators have pointed to possible mutual influences in the ancient history of the two organisations.

The most ancient evidence of the order is a record of the minutes of the Haddington lodge, opened 16 August 1676, which begins with a compilation of fifteen rules called Interjunctions for ye Fraternity of Gardiners of East Lothian.

Scotland was, in the 17th century, subject to civil unrest and intermittent famines. Rich landowners were interested in Renaissance architecture and the design of formal gardens for their vast estates. The first members of the Haddington lodge were not gardeners by profession, but small landowners and farmers who practised gardening for pleasure. Not practising an urban profession, they could not obtain the status of an incorporation (similar to a guild in England) and modelled their organisation on the masons, who had an organisation, additional to and independent of their incorporation: the lodge.

This organisation set up in Haddington could be viewed as a primitive form of trade union. It organised co-operation between members, provided practical training and ethical development, and supported the poor, widows, and orphans. The lodges of gardeners were also the first to organise floral exhibitions, from 1772.

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