Early in the month of December 1901, Freemasons in and around the Whitburn area felt it might be possible to form a Lodge in the village for the benefit of the local brethren. With this in mind, Bro. George Gillon of Lodge Hope Bridge Castle No. 827 arranged for a meeting to be held in the home of Bro. Watt P.M. of Lodge Kirkliston Maitland No. 482. As several brethren failed to appear as arranged, it was decided to postpone the meeting until the 8th January 1902.

On the of 8th January 1902 at a meeting held in the Town Hall, the following brethren were in attendance:

After a lengthy discussion it was unanimously agreed to petition for a Charter. A committee consisting of Bros. Watt, Gillon, Lamb and Cowan were appointed to carry out the arrangements. The Sponsor Lodges were Torphichen Kilwinning No. 13 and Crofthead St. John No. 374. It was agreed that the Lodge be named Polkemmet. The committee was also given the remit to secure suitable premises for meetings.

At the meeting the following brethren were unanimously nominated for office:

The next meeting of the Brethren was held on the 7th February 1902 when the R.W.M. produced the Petition for signature of proposed office bearers.

It was sometime before the next meeting of the Brethren took place, which was in the Free Gardeners Hall on the 7th of May, 1902. A letter from the Provincial Grand Secretary was read out stating that a Charter had been granted to Lodge Polkemmet No. 927. The R.W.M. was then appointed to lead a small committee to set up the Byelaws of the Lodge.
During this meeting the members were informed that Lodge Star of Addiewell No. 635 now dormant, had some articles of clothing and working tools available for purchase. At a later date these articles were purchased and the Gavel is still used during the 1st Degree. At this meeting six candidates were proposed and seconded as being fit and proper for membership of the Lodge.

The next meeting of the Lodge on the 23rd May1902 the six candidates proposed at the last meeting^ were balloted and found clear in each case. The candidates were then initiated into the secrets of the 1st Degree, Bro. Charles Henry Jones being No. 1.

On the 9th December 1902 the Lodge met when the Consecration of the Lodge by Bros. Thomas Hope, Provincial Grand Master of Linlithgowshire took place. After the ceremony, the Lodge adjourned to the Public School where refreshments were served. The assembled Brethren then enjoyed an evening of harmony. At the close of the meeting, thanks were extended to Bro. W. Wood, R.W.M. Crofthead St. Johns for lending Jewels and Sashes for the investment of Office Bearers


PREMISES

The first meeting of the Lodge took place in the Town Hall and continued to be held there until the 23rd May 1902. During the meeting of that date it was announced that an agreement had been reached to share the Gardeners Hall for a period of five years, paying our share of rent, which amounted to a total of £5. The first meeting of the sharing scheme was on 7th May 1902.

Later on in 1902 the Lodge moved from the Town Hall into the premises, which is now the Social Club and continued to meet there until 1924 when they purchased the property for the princely sum of £350. In 1929 plans were passed to enlarge the premises by building a second floor, the present Temple, by using the existing roof. The cost of purchasing the ground floor building and extension work was in the region of £3000. The Consecration of the new Temple was by Bro. Robert A. Brown M.A., the P.G.M. and his Office Bearers. The Right Worshipful Master of 927 on this occasion was Sir Adrian Baillie.

In 1971, when Bro. Norman Hyam was R.W.M., members of the Lodge, ably supported by members of daughter Lodges, set about altering the downstairs as a social club. It was very hard work as the premises had many uses especially during the war years. A new entrance was established at the front but before being completed in 1972, a glass scroll containing the signatures of all who had worked on the renovations was built into the arch of the new entrance. The then reigning Master, Bro. A. McNish built into the bar area, a Three Nuns tobacco tin containing a Mark Token and coins of the Realm. The hard work paid off and the renovated premises were used for the first time for the Annual Burns Supper on the 15th of January 1972 and almost to the day was the 2002 Burns Supper.

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