On 2 May 1817 the foundation stone of the Custom House in
Greenock was laid by Sir Michael Shaw Stewart. A large procession of members of the different
masonic lodges, magistrates, and important people of the town as well as “a
very numerous assemblage of the inhabitants” met in the Mid Kirk. After a “most excellent and appropriate”
sermon by the Reverend Robert Steele, Grand Chaplain, the procession moved to the site of the
building where there were bands playing “the King’s Anthem”.
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Greenock Custom House |
After a prayer, the Grand Secretary read the
following inscription from a plate which was also to be placed in the
foundations:-
By the favour of Almighty God
The Foundation of this Building erected by Government
For a Custom House and Excise Office
Was laid upon the 2nd day of May In the year of our Lord 1817
Of the Era of Masonry 5817
And in the 57th year of the reign of our Most
Gracious Sovereign George III
By Sir Michael Shaw Stewart Bart Provincial Grand Master of Renfrew and Dumbarton Shires
In presence of Quintin Leitch and Robert Ewing, Esquires Magistrates
And the other Members of the Town Council of Greenock
William Burn, Architect. William Spottiswoode, Superintendent
D Mathieson, A McFarlane and G Dempster, Contractors
Which undertaking may the Supreme God prosper.
Also placed in the foundations was a bottle containing a
current “coin of the realm” and a copy of the Greenock Advertiser and Greenock
Herald. After the ceremony the crowd
gave three cheers and the band then played the Mason’s Anthem. Sir Michael Shaw Stewart then gave a speech followed by another
from Robert Ewing, Greenock Magistrate.
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From Caledonian Mercury 1817 |
It must have been a wonderful occasion and it is a credit to the architect and builders that Greenock’s
Custom House is still standing and is one of the most striking structures in
the town.