The Auckland Chapter of Research No 93
Vol 1, No.2, 10 June 1955

THE MARK DEGREE

By R. Ex. Comp. N. B. Spencer, 1st Principal

Brethren,-

The subject on which I am going to speak this evening is “The History of the Mark Degree.” I will first, however, say a few words regarding the position of the Mark Degree under the various constitutions. This will make clearer what I have to say later.

Under the English Constitution the Mark Degree is worked in Mark Lodges holding under the Grand Lodge of Mark Masons for England, Wales, etc., and is not in any way recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England of Craft Masons. The United Grand Lodge recognises only the first three Degrees, including the Order of the Holy Royal Arch, as forming part of pure and Ancient Free Masonry. The English Chapters work only the Royal Arch Degree and are fully recognised by the United Grand Lodge.

In Ireland the Mark Degree is worked in the Chapters as a preliminary to the Royal Arch and is fully recognised by the Craft Grand Lodge. The same applies in New Zealand and in America.

In Scotland the position is different again. Of the Degrees worked by the Chapter the Grand Lodge of Craft Masons recognises only the Mark. The Mark is worked in the Chapters as a preliminary to the Royal Arch, but it is also worked in the Craft Lodges. Thus in Scotland the Degree is under the jurisdiction of both the Grand Lodge and the Grand Chapter. A Scottish Freemason can take his Mark Degree in his Craft Lodge or he can wait until he joins the Chapter and take it as a preliminary to the Royal Arch Degree.

The Mark Degree has had a very checkered career and has at various times come under many different authorities, including at one time in America a Council of Princes of Jerusalem of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

From time to time when working our Mark Degree many of us must have wondered when and where it had its origin. How old it is, and what are the earliest records of its workings?

The custom of a Craftsman marking his work with his own particular mark is one which goes back among operatives for many hundreds of years, one might almost say into antiquity. For example, the Cathedral Church at Aberdeen, which was founded in 1357, has Masons’ Marks on it from the foundations upwards.

Among the Steinmetzen of Germany when a Mason attained the rank of Fellow Craft he took a solemn vow that he would not alter or change his distinctive mark. This was known as “pledging his Mark.” He was required to engrave his mark on all his work upon completion.

We find the Mark very prominent among Scotch Operative Masons from an early age. In the Regulations signed by Wm. Schaw, “Master of the Work to the King’s Majesty,” and agreed upon at a conference of Operative Masons held at Holyrood Palace on December 28th, 1598, we find that “No Master or Fellow Craft is to be received or admitted except in the presence of six Masters and two E.A. The Warden of the Lodge being one of the six, the date thereof being orderly booked and his name and mark inserted in the said book.”

Many of the Scotch Lodges have their Mark Books running back to a period of many years before the formation of any Grand Lodges. Examination of these records show that Speculative Members joining these Operative Lodges also had their mark allotted to them. For example, the Mark Book of the Lodge of Aberdeen No.1 Tris goes back to the year 1670, when it was signed by 42 members, all of whom except two have their marks opposite their names. Among this number only one-fourth were Operative Masons, the remainder being Gentlemen, Ministers, Doctors and professional men, including such names as the Earl of Findlater, the Earl of Dumfermline, Lord Pitsligo, etc.

The choosing of a mark by each member of a Lodge does not mean, however, that they worked a Mark Degree in any way like we know it now, and it will be interesting to look at the earliest records we have of the actual working of a Degree similar to our Mark Degree of the present day.

The first actual record we have of the working of the Mark Degree is a Minute of the Chapter of Friendship, No. 257, at Portsmouth, dated the 1st September, 1769.

The Degree is said to have been worked many years earlier in other parts of England, but this is the earliest actually existing record which we have of the working of the Mark Degree.

Now, before we go any further, let us learn something of the circumstances of this Chapter, whose Minutes mean so much to Mark Masonry. In England, as you know, between the years 1751 and 1813, there were two Grand Lodges at work, the oldest one founded in 1717 known as “The Modern Grand Lodge” and the other one founded in 1751 calling itself the “Ancient Grand Lodge.” There was very bitter rivalry between these two Grand Lodges until the Union in 1813.

One of the differences between them was that the Ancients encouraged the working of the Royal Arch and other Degrees in the Craft Lodges and under the Craft warrants, while the Moderns discouraged it if not absolutely forbidding it.

The higher Degrees became very popular, and in order to get over the difficulty a number of adherents of the Modern Grand Lodge in 1766 formed a Grand Chapter for the purpose of warranting private chapters in which these Degrees might be worked.

Among the first Charters granted by this Grand Chapter was that tor the Chapter of Friendship, No.3, dated the 11th August, 1769, to be held at Portsmouth Common, now known as Portsea. The other Chapters warranted at the same time are long ago extinct, so that the Chapter of Friendship is the oldest existing Chapter. It is now numbered 257, as after the Union it was attached to a Craft Lodge as all Chapters had to be, and took its number. The Craft Lodge it was attached to is the Phoenix Lodge, No. 257, which was constituted in 1786.

Down to 1894, when Bro. Howell wrote the history of the Phoenix Lodge and Chapter of Friendship, it was always thought that the Chapter did not begin to work until June, 1787, as its first Minute Book began on that date. After writing his history he discovered quite by accident that the first page of the Minute Book had been pasted down so as to form part of the front fly leaf. On separating the leaves he found nineteen lines in cypher on the other side of the front leaf. He then recollected that some years before one of the Brethren who took a great interest in the Chapter had given him a book written entirely in cypher. The Brother did not know what it was about as he had never been able to read it. He had picked it up among a lot of rubbish when the Phoenix Lodge rooms had been done up some years before.

Upon comparing the two manuscripts he found that the cypher used in both was identical. For a long time no clue to the cypher could be found. Finally it was suggested that certain characters at the bottom of the page might be the names of the three principals of the Chapter. The names of the Principals were known and fitted in, and so led to the discovery of the key to the cypher and the reading of the page. The book turned out to be the first Minute Book of the Chapter, commencing with a Minute dated 1st September, 1769. It was this Minute which had been copied into the first page of the later Minute Book and then pasted down to the fly leaf. It looked as though someone had started to copy out the original Minute Book into the new one and then thought better of it after transcribing one page. Several pages have been torn out of the book before the commencement of the new Minutes, which are in plain English, so that it is possible that the first Minute Book was copied into the beginning of the second and then the pages torn out all except the first one, which was pasted down against the fly leaf.

This Minute is the earliest known reference to the actual working of a Mark Degree. The translation of it is as follows:-

“At a Royal Arch Chapter held at the George Tavern in Portsmouth on 1st Sept., 1769—present Thomas, Dunkerley Esq., William Cook “Z”, Samuel Palmer “H”, Thomas Scanville “J”, Henry Dian, Philip Joyes and Thomas Webb—the Prov. Grand Master Thomas Dunkerley brought the Warrant of the Chapter and having lately received the ”Mark“ he made the Brothers ”Mark Masons“ and ”Mark Masters” and each chuse their mark, viz., W. Cook Z, S. Palmer H, T. Scanville I, H. Dean, Philip Joyes, T. Webb. He also told us of this manner of writing which is to be used in the Degree which we may give to others so they be Fellowcraft for Mark Masons and Master Masons for Mark Masters.”

This is the earliest known reference to the Degree having been actually worked, and it is interesting to note that the Degree is in two parts—Mark Mason, for which the qualification is the Fellow Craft Degree; and Mark Master, for which the qualification is the Master Mason Degree.

There are many other references to the Mark Degree in the Minutes of the Chapter of Friendship, and Bro. Howell the historian is of the opinion that every Companion of the Chapter up to 1844 received his Mark Degree before receiving his Royal Arch.

The Mark Degree at that time probably consisted merely in the choosing of a mark and the communication of various signs and secrets.

The Thomas Dunckerley mentioned in the Minute as the Prov. Grand Master of Hampshire who brought the Charter of the Chapter to the first meeting and showed them the Mark Degree was a very prominent and interesting character in Freemasonry in the 18th Century. Thomas Dunckerley was a natural son of George II of England. He went to sea at the age of 10 and spent 26 years in the Navy without knowing anything about his parentage. His parentage did not come to light until after the death of George II. George III, however, acknowledged him and gave him a pension of £800 per annum and a suite at Hampton Court. It was at this time that he devoted himself so much to Freemasonry. He was at one time Prov. Grand Master of nine provinces. He took a great interest in Royal Arch Masonry and was in charge of 11 different provinces at one time. He seems to have spent the whole of his time for many years in the service of Masonry. He founded many Lodges and Chapters, a number of which are still in existence. He also did much in the organisation of Freemasonry. He was born in 1724 and died in 1795.

The Mark Degree was obviously being worked in other parts of the country prior to its introduction to the Chapter of Friendship by Dunckerley in 1769. It probably had its rise about the same time as the Royal Arch Degree, that is, about the year 1740.

As time goes on fresh records may come to light earlier than those of the Chapter of Friendship which will give us a nearer date for the beginning of the Degree, as it is obvious that it must have been in existence for some time for Dunckerley to have taken it and to have introduced the cypher to the Chapter of Friendship. The Companions evidently mistook Bro. Dunckerley and used the cypher for all the Chapter Minutes, whether Mark or Royal Arch, until the year 1787.

Until this Minute carne to light the earliest known Minute referring to the Mark Degree was that of the Marquis of Grandby Lodge, No. 124, Durham, and is dated 1773 as follows:-

“Bro. Barwick was also made a Mark’d Mason and Bro. Jas MacKinlay raised to the Degree of Master Mason and also made a Mark Mason and paid accordingly.”

Then we have a reference in the Minutes of the St. Thomas Lodge; No. 142, London, on August 9th, 1777:-

“The Worshipful Master with the following Brethren of this Lodge were mare(sic) Mark Masons and Mark Masters.”

The Mark Degree quickly gained in popularity and was worked in Lodges holding under the Ancient Grand Lodge under their Craft Warrants and also in the Chapters holding under the Grand Chapter of the Moderns.

In the year 1813 the two Grand Lodges were united and through the influence of the Duke of Sussex, who disliked the higher Degrees, one of the Articles of Union provided that “Pure and ancient Freemasonry consisted only of the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, including the Order of the Holy Royal Arch.” This meant that the Craft Lodges were only allowed to work the three Degrees and no more, and the Chapters under the Sup. Grand Chapter formed in 1817 were only allowed to work the Royal Arch.

Many Craft Lodges, however, continued to work the Mark Degree in spite of the Grand Lodge Regulation. There were also a number of independent Mark Lodges working on their own.

In 1851 six Brethren living in London who had taken the Degree in Bon Accord Chapter, Aberdeen, applied to that Chapter for a commission to work in London. This was granted, but the Chapter was afterwards punished by the Grand Chapter of Scotland for ignoring its authority. The Grand Chapter then issued Warrants for Lodges to work the ceremony in England.

The Bon Accord Lodge made rapid progress and led to the formation of other Mark Lodges. Interest in the Degree was so keen that an attempt was made in 1855 to obtain the recognition of the Craft Grand Lodge. The resolution was passed by the Craft Grand Lodge, but at the next meeting the portion of the Minutes containing the resolution was not confirmed.

As they were finally turned down by the Craft Grand Lodge, the Mark Masons set about forming a Grand Lodge of their own as they did not wish to have to hold Charters from a foreign jurisdiction. This led to a meeting of four Mark Lodges, “The Bon Accord,” “The Northumberland and Berwick,” “The Royal Cumberland” and “The Old Kent.” A meeting was then held in 1857 of representatives of all Mark Lodges and Constitutions were adopted and a Grand Lodge formed, Lord Leigh, the Master of “Bon Accord”, being elected the first Grand Master.

All of the Lodges holding under the Grand Chapter of Scotland gave in their allegiance and gradually all the others came in, the last one in the year 1899. The Grand Lodge has grown rapidly and the Degree has become very popular. There are now over 1100 Lodges on the Register and when the Union Lodge was formed in Auckland there were only 154

In Scotland the Grand Chapter which was formed in 1817 assumed control of the Mark Degree. Some of the Lodges, however, continued to work it and in 1860 a Glasgow Lodge was suspended by the Provincial Grand Master for working the Mark Degree. It appealed to Grand Lodge on the ground that the Mark Degree was part of pure and ancient Freemasonry. The appeal was allowed and ever since then Scottish Lodges are allowed to work the Mark Degree under their Craft Warrants. A Brother joining the Chapter, if he has already taken his Mark Degree in his Craft Lodge, does not need to take it again.

In Ireland the Mark degree as we know it was not worked until 1825, when it was brought over from America at the time as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite by Bro. Fowler, Grand Inspector 33º.

The Degree was not officially recognised in Ireland until some time in the eighteen-forties. It was subsequently transferred to the Grand Chapter which had been formed in 1829. The Irish Grand Chapter had a very checkered career for many years, many of the Lodges refusing to give up their ancient privileges of working any Degrees they pleased.

In New Zealand, of course, the Mark Excellent and Royal Arch Degrees are recognised by the Grand Lodge as being part of pure and ancient Freemasonry. The Mark Degree is not known outside of the English speaking countries. It is unknown in Continental Masonry.

SGRACNZ
royalarch.org.nz