Historical Origins of the Mark Degree

The Mark is a ceremony or degree [sometimes called the ‘friendly’ degree], conferrable today only to Master Masons and forms part of a hierarchical organization. In Craft Masonry it was quite a late innovation making its appearance during the mid-1700s.  However we do know that Operative Masons, without any kind of ceremony, were taking marks 150 years before the Mark came into use as part of that particular ceremony.

Worcestershire Installed Mark Masters Lodge.

Senior Warden W Bro Mel Broadhurst, WM Ron Kindon and the installing Master W Bro Bill Patey Installation meetings are special days in any lodge, even more so when the lodge happens to be one of the most prestigious lodges in the Mark Province of Worcestershire. A most enjoyable ceremony saw W Bro Ron Kindon … Read more

Masons’ Marks of Lodge “Operative” No. 140

MASON’s MARKS.—In some of the, earlier numbers of A.Q.C. and in those recently issued, contributions on “Masons’ marks” have been printed. On looking over the minute book of Lodge “Operative,” No. 140 S.C. (the history of which I wrote some months ago), there is a list of “The Mark Masters and their Marks,” dated 1776 et seq