The Degree of Mark Master Mason is open to all Master Masons. The ceremony, in which a brother is ‘advanced’, can be said to comprise of two degrees; the first part in which he is acknowledged as a Mark Man and the second where he becomes a Mark Master Mason.

The Mark referred to in its title takes its name from the mark or symbol with which the stonemason identified his work and can still be found in many cathedrals and important buildings. This mark not only acted as a trademark but probably also as a form of advertising.

Much use is made of Holly Writ to instruct the candidate and brethren in the story which serves to teach that the real message is one of contemplation of human strengths and weakness. In chronological terms the degree follows that of the Second Degree in Craft masonry.

There is reputedly some evidence that the degree is 400 years old but the earliest English records stem from 1769 when it was first worked in Friendship Royal Arch Chapter No. 257 in Plymouth. However, a minute book dated 1599 of the lodge of Edinburgh states that several speculative brethren had appended their marks after their names.

The ordinary members’ regalia comprises an apron and breast jewel. The apron is of white kid with a triangular flap bordered with two-inch ribbon of light blue with crimson edges. It has rosettes of a similar colouring whilst Masters and Past Masters have the rosettes replaced with silver levels. The jewel of the order is a key stone appended to a ribbon which matches the apron and bears a mallet & chisel which are the tools of the order. The key stone, which bears certain characters, forms an integral part of the ceremony.

The order of which HRH Prince Michael of Kent is Grand Master, is administered from Mark Masons’ Hall in St James’s, London.