History

A little of the history of Mark Masonry


Records show that the Mark degree was worked in both, Craft Lodges and Royal Arch Chapters, as early as 1770, however, following the act of union between the Antients and the Moderns Grand Lodges in 1813 and after much debate, the United Grand Lodge of England decided that the Mark degree was not an essential part of Craft Freemasonry. This lead to, in 1856, the creation of the Grand Lodge Of Mark Master Masons but, in many jurisdictions outwith the United Grand Lodge and the Supreme Grand Chapter of England and Wales, the Mark degree is still considered to be part of mainstream Freemasonry and is worked in Craft lodges or Royal Arch chapters. In such jurisdictions the Mark degree is often a prerequisite for Exaltation into Royal Arch Masonry.

As mentioned above, in England and Wales, Mark Masonry is administered by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons operating from Mark Masons Hall in St James Street, London, it is also the governing body of the Royal Ark Mariners Degree. Beneath the Grand Lodge there are 40 or so, Provincial Grand MMM Lodges, Abbey Lodge No. 225 is in the Province of Oxfordshire along with 12 other Mark lodges around the county.