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 knowledge—secrets—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, saw the Ancient Order returned to Scotland when the Countess of Elgin Lodge no. 105 received its Charter to meet in Dysart, Fife.
Although the Free Gardeners always remained independent of Freemasonry, the history and organisation of the two orders show numerous similarities that shed light on the birth of the latter.
Read more about Order Of Free Gardeners: History, Ritual, The First Members, Comparisons With Freemasonry, Miscellaneous, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words order of, order, free and/or gardeners:
“All the sciences are now under an obligation to prepare for the future task of philosopher, which is to solve the problem of value, to determine the rank order of values.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Kicking his mother until she let go of his soul
Has given his a healthy appetite: clearly, her role
In the New Order must be
To supply and deliver his raw materials free;”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)