Mark Masonry is a separate Masonic order, open to Master Masons, which builds on the lessons of the three Craft degrees. In England and Wales, and in its Districts and lodges overseas, it is governed by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons from Mark Masons’ Hall, 86 St James’s Street, London.

The Mark degree

The ceremony of advancement is set during the building of King Solomon’s Temple. It centres on the marks that operative masons cut into their work so that it could be identified, inspected and paid for. The candidate takes the part of a Fellow Craft in the quarries. He learns about the honest work of the craftsman, about fair reward for labour, and about the stone that the builders rejected, which became the head of the corner. The motto of Grand Lodge, Lapis Reprobatus Caput Anguli, means just that.

There were once two separate degrees, the Mark Man for Fellow Crafts and the Mark Master for Master Masons. Today’s ceremony combines them, and many Brethren see it as a natural continuation of their Craft journey that fills in the story of the Fellow Craft. It is often called “the friendly degree” because of its warmth and its emphasis on fellowship. The ceremony is colourful and dramatic, and new members usually remember it fondly.

A short history

Mark Masonry is very old. The earliest records of the Mark degree being conferred come from Portsmouth and date from 1 September 1769, and Masons’ marks appear in old Scottish lodge minute books long before that. At the Union of 1813, however, the United Grand Lodge of England recognised only the three Craft degrees and the Royal Arch, so the Mark degree had no English home.

In 1856 United Grand Lodge first approved the Mark and then, in June, rejected it. Within weeks the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons was formed in London, on 23 June 1856, with Lord Leigh as its first Grand Master. In the same month the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland warranted St. Mark’s Lodge of Mark Masters No. 1 in London. Read more in our Lodge History.

Today Grand Mark Lodge is a thriving body with lodges across the world. Its charity, the Mark Benevolent Fund, was founded in 1868 under the motto Bis dat qui cito dat, “he gives twice who gives promptly”.

Royal Ark Mariner

Mark Master Masons may go on to be elevated into the Royal Ark Mariner degree, which is administered by Grand Mark Lodge. Its ceremony is short and has nothing to do with the Mark story. It tells of Noah and the building of the Ark. Royal Ark Mariner lodges are “moored” to a Mark lodge and carry its number. Ours is the Mother Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners No. 1.

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