Scottish Orangeism had a military foundation. The first warrants were granted to regiments serving in Ireland to counter the threats of rebellion. In 1798 the Dumfries Militia was granted warrant 573 and another was given to Captain McFadzen of the Dumbarton Fencibles, in 1799 the nuke of York's own Highlanders got warrant 8411 then 677 went to the North Lowland Fencibles and 915 to the Argyllshire Fencibles.

It is known that other warrants were granted or, as in England, duplicate lodges operated on the one warrant because of the Ayr Militia spawned a civilian lodge in Maybole in 1799 with Captain John Ramsay from that Regiment as its first Master. The Fencible Regiments were formed for emergency only; then they were discharged, and it is understood that is how the first warrant was brought to Scotland in '98.

A Grand Lodge opened in Manchester in 1808, known ;is the Grand Protestant Association of England, and later as the Orange institution of Great Britain. Irish warrants were replaced by the new mainland Grand Lodge over two years. Early warrants from this source held by lodges in Scotland were 29 by the Ayr Militia and 85 in Ayrshire in 1809 and 106 in Glasgow in 1813. This lodge is still in operation in Scotland's 24 Districts.

Glasgow had become the centre of growth drawing new citizens from the lowlands, highlands and Ireland. The first record of a "Walk-' in the land's largest city was on Thursday July 12, 1821 when a procession with three flags flying and a band playing "God Save The King" assembled at the Lyceum in Nelson Street, leaving at noon to parade several of the main streets surrounded by an "immense concourse of spectators." The next year the parade was larger comprising seven lodges including one from Pollokshaws and one from Paisley.

When Grand Lodge moved to London for its meetings to be chaired by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, styled the Grand Master of the Empire, the Duke of Gordon became Deputy Grand Master of Scotland. While other Scots were named as Grand Lodge officers the only other ever to attend one of these Grand Lodge meetings was Samuel Thompson, District Master for Ayr.

The magistrates tried to avert trouble and eventually posted special constables on the direct road into the town to divert the procession round the back and into the demonstration field at the far end. As the parade from Maybole was passing the barrier of special constables it was stoned. The brethren retaliated, chasing the constables and locals. They then paraded the main street, taking no prisoners. In those turbulent days this might have blown over but an Orangeman called Waugh, an ex-soldier, shot dead a special constable called Mclntyre. This is the only occasion that there h;is been violence between Scottish Protestants and Orangemen.  It set the Order back considerably.

When the London Grand Lodge sent an officer in 1833 to visit Scotland he was royally received. When he visited Airdrie, his open carriage dressed in Orange ribbon, he was met outside the town and paraded through its main streets, and he was treated in the same manner when he visited Stranraer. During this visit the Royal Gordon Lodge was formed in Glasgow. Its members belonged to some of the most influential families in the city.

It had a Dennistoun from the banking family that the Dennistoun area of the city is named after. a Stirling of Kenmure, also Archibald McLellan who was not only a very wealthy individual but gave the city its first art collection, and the gallery on which it has built its internationally famous collection, and William Motherwell, the poet who also took on the role of District Master of Glasgow.

There is evidence that the London Grand Lodge was out of touch with the rank and file for requiring Grand Lodge dues of two shillings per year per member when an average weekly wage for six days was 12 shillings.

When the enemies of the Order and its Imperial Grand Master, the Duke of Cumberland, headed a parliamentary select committee into the Orange institution which, in 183h reported unfavourably on the Institution Cumberland took steps to dissolve the Order in Great Britain.

Royal Prince he may have been, but Orangemen don't disappear so easily.

The headquarters of the new Grand Lodge was the King William Tavern at the Gallowgate in Glasgow. There is evidence that indicates that lodges had been operating in Scotland without the authority of the London Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Ireland which seems to be underlined by the fact that of the first 10 warrants issued by the new Grand Lodge, five went to Airdrie District Number 1 and four of these went to places where there was no  previous  lodge  returned,  namely  Moodiesburn, Chryston, Gartsherrie, and Shotts.

In the 38 years since Scots were first initiated into the Order, control had gone from Ireland to Manchester, to the establishment in London, and it was now firmly in their own hands.

The Order's ranks in Scotland increased dramatically with the migration of Ulster shipyard and engineering workers to Clydeside at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Today in Scotland Orangeism is a large vibrant movement with a combined membership of around 50.000 spread over more than 911 lodger.

Two-thirds of these lodges are seniors -- the rest women's and juniors, operating over four regions: Glasgow; Ayrshire  (including  Renfrewshire.   Argyllshire  and Wigtownshire): Central Belt (Lanarkshire), and Eastern Scotland (including Edinburgh. Fife, Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, and Invernesshire).

The Orange family in Scotland is complimented by 150 bands (two-thirds flute and one-third accordion), many of whom travel across to Northern Ireland for the Twelfth celebrations. Every year the Scottish brethren hold four separate major demonstrations on the two Saturdays before the Twelfth.

The politics of the average Scottish Orangeman is all-embracing with Labour, Tory, Scottish Nationalist and Liberal Democrat members in the ranks. Indeed, because of the working class roots of the Scottish Order, Labour has a broad appeal to many brethren.