OPERATIVE FREEMASONS AND

OPERATIVE FREEMASONRY. PART I

By
THOMAS CARR, M.D., P.M.,
Master (VII) in the Guild of Operative Freemasons.

I. INTRODUCTION.
II. EXISTING LODGES OF OPERATIVE FREEMASONS, AND THE WORSHIPFUL
SOCIETY OF FREE-MASONS, ROUGH MASONS, WALLERS, SLATERS, PAVIORS,
PLAISTERERS, AND BRICKLAYERS.
III. A FEW NOTES ON THE SOCIETY'S RITUAL.
IV. THE THREE RODS OF THE THREE MASTERS.
V. SOME SPECULATIVE PROBLEMS SOLVED BY OPERATIVE PROCEDURE.
VI. THE OPERATIVE RITUAL MORE ARCHAIC THAN THE SPECULATIVE.
VII. CONCLUSION.

I. INTRODUCTION.
The study of the History of our Masonic Art, of its origin, and of its esoteric meaning and symbolism,
is a vast subject. To-day I am concerned to make two points, and two points only in contribution. First,
that our Speculative Freemasonry, being derived from Operative Freemasonry, the remaining Guilds of
Operatives have still many customs and ceremonies that help us in understanding our Speculative Rites.
Second, that the Hebrew influence which is so marked in the Speculative ceremonies is even more
obvious in the Operative ceremonies, from which I believe them to have been originally derived.

How and when and where the Operative Freemasons obtained their Hebrew teaching is a difficult
problem, and beside our lecture this evening.
In former days, when gentlemen who were entitled alone bore " arms" and " crest," these proved a
reliable and facile method of enquiry as to a man's origin and family. May I direct your attention to the
" arms " of the United Grand Lodge of England, from whom we derive our warrant and authority to
meet this evening? On the Dexter side are the arms of the old Masons' Company, of London-which
arms seem to have been freely adopted by masons all over the country, and came to us from " the
Moderns." The Masons' Company of London was incorporated in the second year of Henry IV. ('4"),
and was granted these arms in the twelfth year of Edward IV. ('473). The arms on the Sinister side are
those formerly used by " the Ancients," and are similar to those of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. They
are the lion, the ox, the eagle, and the man, the emblems of the four divisions into which the twelve
tribes of Israel were assembled. The crest, which is also from the Ancients," consists of the Jewish Ark
with kneeling Cherubim, and the Hebrew letters :-

So that our "arms" as Speculative Freemasons proclaim equally our Operative and our Hebrew origin.

II. EXISTING LODGES OF OPERATIVE FREEMASONS.

Most Speculative Freemasons are aware of the fact that a Guild of Operative Freemasons still exists,
and it is the ritual and practice of some of these Operative Freemasons that we are to consider tonight.
I am myself a member and officer of two of their lodges, both lodges belonging to the York Division of
the Worshipful Society of Freemasons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors, Plaisterers, and
Bricklayers.

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At first sight this somewhat comprehensive title is a little difficult to understand, but it is no new or
anomalous state of affairs. During the earlier Christian centuries the Masons' Guild in Italy included
the correlated arts of painting, of sculpture, of wood and metal work, and of inlaying. The great
primitive Comacine Guild of the sixth and seventh centuries included all these crafts as integral
branches, and the training in a Comacine laborieum was many sided. There were Magistri
iusigneriorium, or Master Architects ; Magistri lapidum, or Master Sculptors; and Magistri lignorum,
or Master Carpenters (who were the designers of scaffolding and makers of beams for the roof). There
were also ironworkers and masters in metal, and fresco painters, who also attained to the rank of
Masters. This combination lasted for some ten centuries, until the separation, which commenced at
Siena in 1355, and was complete by 1450, when the supremacy of the Masonic Guild was broken. You
will find all this set forth in I Maestri Comacini, by Professor Guiseppe Merzario, published at Milan
in 1893.

As regards England, it must be remembered that after the Reformation and the consequent stoppage of
building in many towns and districts, there would not be a sufficient number of freemasons to form an
independent society, so that it was customary for the few to associate themselves, and form a society,
with other kindred craftsmen; although their own particular art or craft was reserved as to its training
and practice to their own apprentices and craftsmen.

This association of other trades with masons was not at all an uncommon state of affairs in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. (In Linco1n, in 1564, a charter was given to the Tilers, Masons, Bricklayers,
Plaisterers, Paviors, Tilemakers, Glaziers, Limemakers, Milners and Thakners.)

In Oxford, in 1604, a Company was incorporated; entitled "The Company of Freemasons, Carpenters,
Joiners and Slaters of the City of Oxford." In Kendal, in 1667, the twelfth Trade Company comprised
Freemasons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Plaisterers, Slaters, and Carpenters. In Gateshead, in 1671,
incorporation was granted to "The Company of Freemasons, Carvers, Stone Cutters, Sculpturers,
Brickmakers, Tilers, Bricklayers, Glaziers, Penterstainers, Founders, Neilers, Pewterers, Plumbers,
Millwrights, Sadlers, Bridlers, Trunckmakers, and Distillers."

In 1594 Bishop Hutton, of Durham, incorporated the Rough Masons, Wallers and Slaters." In 1609
Bishop James confirmed their By-Laws and Ordinances, in which they are designated " Rough Masons,
Wallers, Slaters, Tylers, and Plaisterers"; and on April 16th, 1638, Bishop Morton gave a new charter
to "The Company, Societee and Felowshipp of Freemasons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slayters, Paviors,
Plaisterers, and Bricklayers," which is the same society in name at all events as that which exists now,
although owing to strikes and to trades' unions in recent times, the other trades associate less with the
freemasons than formerly: the society, however, still retains its old title.

The Operative Lodges to which I have the honour to belong are Nos. 91 and 110. No.91 was founded
as a separate lodge in 1761, and meets at Leicester, but still remains under York, whence it came.
No.110 is the Mount Bardon Lodge, and meets at the Quarries at Bardon Hill, near Leicester, and that
also belongs to the York Division because of its origin. There are three Speculative Masons who hold
office in these lodges, and over thirty who are Corresponding Members, besides W. Bro. Stretton, who
was apprenticed to the society as a lad, and has passed through every grade up to that of the VII.

The advantage that is mine is that as Surgeon to one of these lodges and Third Master of the Other, I
have the right to be present at all and the duty to attend some of the ceremonies, and have a part to play
in one of their annual dramas.

My thanks are due to these Operative Lodges, Leicester and Mount Bardon, for the information which
is about to be submitted to you to-day, the Masters of which have done me the further honour of
selecting me as their medium of communicating some of their ritual, their marks and their technical
secrets to my Speculative Brethren.

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The Operative Freemasons divide all who follow their art into two classes
I. Arch, or Round Masons, who do curved work, and whose symbol is the compass, and whose
colour is red.
II. Square, or Straight Masons, who do square work, and whose symbol is the right angle or square,
and whose colour is blue.
Each class comprises seven degrees
I. The Apprentice to the Craft of Freemason.
II. The Fellow of the Craft of Freemason.
III. The Super-Fellow who has his Mark.
IV. The Super-Fellow who is an Erector.
V. The Intendent and Superintendent.
VI. The Certified Master or Passed Master.
VII. The Grand Master, First, Second and Third.

Operative Freemasonry flourished in England during the Middle Ages, and was most prosperous at the
time of the erection of those magnificent cathedrals and churches which still excite our wonder and
admiration. As a Trade Guild it held its own, though with lessened glory and great abatement of
influence during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth century it steadily
declined, and may now be regarded as a mere survival. Since 1870 it has rapidly decayed, owing to
altered conditions and to the influence of Trade Unionism. In 1867 there were over 2,300 Operative
Freemasons in Leicestershire alone ; in 1910 this number was reduced to between 500 and 600; while
this number was further reduced owing to the effects of the coal and railway strikes of the year 1911.

III. A FEW NOTES ON THE SOCIETY'S RITUAL.

It is obvious that in one short paper it is not possible to say much about the ritual, but a few salient
points that have special bearing on Speculative matters have been selected to bring before you.

I The Apprentice.
Not a member of the Craft.
His oath.
His Cord, Apron and Tools.
His double Indenture.
II The Fellow.
Has first to be made free of his bond.
Then admitted a Fellow. Tools.
Three Ashlars. Perfect Ashlar-Square.
When able to make a perfect Ashlar becomes a perfect Fellow, and is given Giblim word and
sign.
Apron - four cubes at four corners.
To prove himself a Fellow.
Q. Are you a Fellow of the Craft of Freemason?
A. I am, try me and prove me.
Q. By what instrument will you be proved?
A. A square.
Q. What is a square?
A. A figure having four sides of equal length joined at the corners by angles of 90 - or a total of
360.
Q. Being yourself well acquainted with the method, you will demonstrate that proof to me.
A. Steps inside the Perfect Ashlar-Square, with feet at right angles, and stands erect.
Q. The Ashlar-Square raised level up candidate's body and held erect over his head.
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III Becomes a Super-Fellow and gets his Mark
IV Super Fellow Erector.
V Superintendents - Are roughly equal to officers in a lodge.
Wardens usually chosen from this class, and one of them often appointed a Master over a lodge of
workmen belonging to the Lower Degrees.
Appointments made by the Deputy Master.

VI Harodim.
Rulers or " Passed Masters."
Cf. Many stokers on our railways are "Passed Engine Drivers" and waiting for promotion.
Head of this Degree. The Deputy-Master, who represents Adoniram.
Tracing Boards.
Angle Diagrams. Combinations of Diamonds and Triangles based on the 3, 4, 5 Triangle. Ten Points of
the Diagram represent the Ten Sephiroth of the Kabalah.

VII Master Masons.

Three Masters.
Three to rule a lodge.
I., II., III. Chair Words.
Great Secret. 3, 4, 5 Triangle. Contents 6
The Masters sit in the west.
In Lower Degrees under one Master he also sits in the west and then
S.W. in the E. to mark the Setting Sun.
J.W. in the N. to mark the Sun at its meridian.
There are only three Masters of a lodge known as the Master Masons, but a Lodge of Apprentices, or of
II or III Fellows may have a V or VI man put over them as Master, and for the time being he is their
Master, but he is not a Master Mason.
Each Master Mason wears a Square Angle, which is really the 3 and 4 sides of the 3, 4, 5 Triangle.
When the Three Master Masons of an Operative Lodge meet together, each wears such a "Square."
There is also a fourth "Square" on the V. of the S.L. When they open a VII Lodge these four squares
are placed together so as to form a Swastika, and you will observe a true and well formed Swastika
consists of four squares," or of four 3, 4, 5 triangles.

El Shaddai, the Most High, is first saluted, and then the Pole Star.

When the Operative Freemason is made a VII, or Master Mason, the Swastika and its symbolism is
explained to him, and it is revealed to him that the mighty God, the hidden sun in the centre, round
which the celestial world is arranged, is not the Solar Orb, but the Pole Star. The new Third Master
Mason has to go down below into the centre chamber under the lodge floor: he is told to raise his eyes
to heaven, and look up the plumb-line which descends into the chamber in which he is placed. At the
top of the plumb-line he sees "the Star of Heaven," the Pole Star, the " I am," the " G" in the roof, and
he is ordered to worship.

He is further told that the plumb-line comes down from the Pole Star, that the Swastika is its symbol
and represents El Shaddai, or the Most High Himself. The Operative Freemasons tell me that in the old
days they had a blue lamp always burning at the G, in the roof, for Square Masons; and a red lamp
always burning for Arch Masons. The lights are still used, but are not now always kept burning.
The Swastika, as a symbol, is older than the Sanscrit language or the Buddhist religion: it originally
meant axial rotation with reference to the Polar Star, and was the symbol of God Himself.
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I do not think we need wonder at the ancient world being so impressed with the stability of the Pole
Star, and the stately procession of the Ursa Major around it. They saw the sun journeying across the
heavens every day in a slightly different track, then standing still, as it were, at the solstice, and then
returning on its way back again. They saw the moon changing not only its orbit, but in its size, and
shape, and time of appearance. And they saw the whole canopy of the stars wheeling round the
heavens in a stately procession.

The Pole Star alone appeared stable-the Pole Star alone was fixed and at rest.

No wonder they venerated it as the very footstool of the Most High, of El Shaddai Himself. Most of
the more enlightened writers of recent years consider that the first and second degrees of Speculative
Freemasonry were derived from the corresponding degrees of the Operative Freemasons. They all,
however, seem to share the opinion that the Third Speculative Degree did not have its inception in the
Operative system. If by this they mean that it did not originate in any ceremony connected with a
degree giving in the Operative system, I agree; but if time allows I shall hope to show later that there is
an Annual Drama enacted by the Operatives from which it was undoubtedly derived.

Another point of objection raised is that if the Operatives have had seven degrees since before the
inception of Speculative Freemasonry in 1717, how is it that nothing is known generally about it? Now
there are only three classes or groups of workers in the Operative system, although they have Seven
Degrees. (N.B. This claim for Seven Degrees has met with a good deal of opposition as being too
elaborate. Seven degrees too elaborate for the Builders of our Churches and Cathedrals! Why, in the
Middle Ages everything ran in Sevens! There were Seven Ecclesiastical Orders or Degrees, Seven
Deadly Sins, and Seven Cardinal Virtues, Seven Sacraments of the Church, Seven Ages of Man, to say
nothing of the Seven Sciences of the Antient Charges.)

The First Group are the Apprentices of the I.

The Second Group are all Fellows.
II Fellows.
III Super-Fellows.
IV Super-Fellow Erectors.
V Superintendents.
The Third Group are the Rulers of the Craft, the Harodim, that mysterious body of which there are as
many notices and to which there are so many elusive references in the eighteenth century, especially in
the North of England.

The Harodim are the VI, known as Harodim among the Operatives to this day, and the Three VII
Masters. So that although the Operatives have VII, they have three groups or classes:
1st. Apprentices.
2nd. Fellows.
3rd. Harodim or Masters.

IV. THE THREE RODS OF THE THREE MASTERS.

From the preceding chapter of my lecture you will probably have guessed, if you did not already know,
that the Three Rods of the Three Masters are the three, four and five sides of the Three, Four and Five
Triangle. The fact that if you had a triangle, the sides of which measure respectively 3, 4 and 5, you
have a right angle contained by the 3 and 4 sides, was one of the most jealously guarded secrets of the
Ancient Masters, and was regarded as an important trade secret in the youth of many men only yet
middle aged. Plutarch says that in Egypt these three rods were dedicated to Osiris, Isis and Horus, and
each had a special colour, black, red and blue. The Operatives have their own dedication for each of
these three rods.

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I find this fact, that a triangle formed of three sides of 3, 4 and 5 gives you a right angle, is not only
known to engineers and land surveyors to-day, but is constantly used by them when they want to set out
a right angle accurately on the ground. And not only is it known to modern engineers, but Vitruvius, a
Roman architect who lived shortly before the Christian era, in his celebrated treatise on Architecture,
which was dedicated to Augustus Caesar and published about 25 B.C., described accurately how it is to
be done in Chapter II of his ninth book. He says, Pythagoras demonstrated the method of forming a
right angle without the aid of the instruments of artificers; and that which they scarcely, even with great
trouble, exactly obtain, may be performed by his rules with great facility. Let three rods be procured,
one three feet, one four feet and the other five feet long, and let them be so joined as to touch each other
at their extremities; they will then form a triangle, one of whose angles will be a right angle." He then
goes on to show, to use the words of Euclid, who flourished some two hundred centuries later than
Pythagoras, that "the square which is described upon the side subtending the right angle, is equal to the
sum of the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle." To conclude in the words
of Vitruvius, "When Pythagoras discovered this property, convinced that the Muses had assisted him in
the discovery, he evinced his gratitude to them by sacrifice."

I think there is evidence that this property of the 3, 4, 5 triangle was known to the Turanian race, and
used by them before the time of Pythagoras, and notably in the building of the Egyptian Temples; but
Pythagoras was probably the first of the Aryan race to discover and understand its value and principles.

But this is not all the secret of the 3, 4, 5 triangle. When you have once got this right-angled triangle
you can erect a square building exactly and accurately of any given size, also an oblong building of 2 to
I of any size, also an oblong building of 3 to 1 of any size. In ancient days the size was measured from
the centre of the building to its four corners. This method of setting out a Rectangular Building is
known to the Operatives as setting out a Building on the Five Point System.

In the case o/ a Square Building the centre was marked, two Masters' Triangles were placed 90angle to
90 with their corresponding sides in a continuing straight line, and then the required distance along
these extended lines was measured off. This being done, the four corners - each to subsequently have
its corner stone in position - were determined. Thus you had five points, and when these were
determined, all else fell into due place.

In the case o/ an oblong building 2 1, the centre was similarly marked, the two triangles were placed
with the angles intermediate in size (53 8') opposite one another, with their corresponding sides in a
continuing straight line, and then the required distance along these extended lines was measured off;
and again you got your five points, and the rest all fell into due place.

In the case o/ an oblong building 3 1, the centre was similarly marked, two triangles were placed
with the angles smallest in size (36 52') opposite one another, with their corresponding sides in a
continuing straight line, and then the required distance along these extended lines was measured off;
and again you got your five points, and the rest all fell into due place.

As will have been seen already, when treating of the square building, and of the oblongs 2 1 and 3
1, in each case you get five points, the centre and the four corners. At each of these points a plumb-line
was suspended, and thus an additional means was given of ensuring the four squareness of the building.
I suggest that the centre point and these four corner points making five, were the origin of the five
points of fellowship.

The Operatives demonstrate these five points of fellowship in two ways.

Demonstration of five points of Fellowship.

The original land lines were the lines or cords which were laid from the centre point to the four corner
points, and were carried along each side of the square and beyond the corners of the intended structure,
6
and marked by landmarks, so that if the corner point were at all displaced it might immediately be seen
and rectified. These land-marks were of course of the greatest importance, and every mason of
whatever rank was bound to scrupulously observe them.
The foregoing sketch of the fixing of the centre, and the demonstration how it is the point from which
all angles are measured, lines drawn, and all calculations are made, shows how a centre is that point
from which a Master Mason cannot err. The check lines are the lines between the landmarks that
enable the Masters to check the work.

V. SOME SPECULATIVE PROBLEMS SOLVED BY THE

OPERATIVE PROCEDURE.
The meaning of the obn. in the I

All Operative Ceremonies are conducted at high XII.

The Pavement should represent the Temple of Solomon, and should be 60 20 squares. In the IV the
men are assembled in a 3 1 oblong in a similar proportion, and each thus represents a cubit of the
Temple and is a living stone. The " G." is in the centre, and the plumb-line comes down from the Pole
Star, and is that centre to which all should be adjusted. The centre is technically that point in a building
to which all parts must be true, and is symbolically the plumb-line from El Shaddai Himself.

"And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, a plumb-line. Then said the Lord,
Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel: I will not again pass by them any
more" (Amos. vii. 8). Hence the Blazing Star in the centre is a Star and not the Sun, and represents the
Pole Star from which that plumb-line comes.

The size and shape of a Master Mason's Apron is dependent on the combination of eight 3, 4, 5
triangles and the flap of two. The three Rosettes on an Operative Master's Apron represent the Three
Sacred Mountains - Moriah, Tabor and Sinai, and the three lights on the three pillars in an Operative
Lodge, which are situated west before the Three Masters, N.E. before Boaz and S.E. before Jachin,
represent the fires our ancient brethren kept alight so Operative tradition says - on those three
mountains.

In this connection one should consider the opening of G.L. and Pr. G.L. The G.P. says the position of
the J.G.W. is in the south, but the J.G.W. says his position is on Mt. Tabor, which is north. The J.G.W.
says the S.G.W. is in the W., but he says his position is on Sinai, which is south.

If the Master were in the west, then these positions would approximately correspond to the
geographical relation of the mountains named. Added to which, in the Speculative ceremony, there is
no mention of Mt. Moriah, the most sacred of all. It seems the ceremony of the Speculatives is an
altered and mutilated echo of the Operative one.

The Speculative Past Master's Jewel is evidently derived from the knowledge of the Three Rods and of
their uses; and as far back as the time of Pythagoras, that connoted the knowledge of the fact that the
square on the side which subtends the right angle is equal to the squares on the other two sides. The
oblong round the Proposition is obviously the Master's oblong made by the union of the four squares.

It is now also clear what our Master H.A. meant when he said that without the consent and co-operation
of the other two he neither could nor would disclose the secret entrusted to him. This is literally true.
The Master with one Rod could not make the Triangle; he required the presence of the other two.

Perhaps this is the most convenient place to consider the question of Masonic Colours. A great deal of
rubbish has been written about this subject, and W. Bro. Crowe has suggested they are derived from the
colours of the Orders of the Garter and of the Bath! Considering how largely Jewish influence obtained
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in other matters, it is much more likely that it was also acting in this. Indeed, in the Royal Arch. the
Companions are told that the colours used in that degree are derived from those of the Veils of the
Temple and Tabernacle. Operative Freemasons teach that their colours are those of the Sacred
Buildings and Vestments of the Hebrews. They are Blue, Red and Purple. Square Masons wear Blue ;
Arch Masons wear Red; and the Elected Masters of the Divisions wear Purple.

Exodus xxvi. prescribes these colours for the Tabernacle ; Exodus xxviii. for the Priests' Robes; and II
Chron. ii. 14 describes the Vail of the Temple as being of the same; and the border of the Hebrew's
garment, now represented by the Talish, or Praying Shawl, was to have a ribband of blue.

VI. THE OPERATIVE RITUAL MORE ARCHAIC THAN THE

SPECULATIVE.
The ritual of the Operatives is more archaic in form and is much fuller than is that of the Speculatives,
and contains practical instruction of which only the echoes are found in the Speculative ritual.

Nearly all the Speculative teaching can be traced to the Operative ceremonies, but there is much of the
Operative teaching which has no correspondence in the Speculative ceremonies. Then the reason for
much of the Speculative ceremonies can be seen in the Operative rituals, while the Operative
ceremonies get no elucidation from the Speculative ritual.

That the origin of the Operative ritual reaches very far back is substantiated by its own internal
evidence, which is to me the greatest of all proofs. It has reference to Star Worship in its reference to
the Pole Star, to Sun Worship in its Salutation of the Rising Sun, and to Fire Worship on high places by
the lights on the three pillars which represent Moriah, Tabor and Sinai.

One is told that is only tradition: one must not forget that tradition existed long before written history,
and this would be peculiarly so in the case of secrets which it was not lawful to write. The oldest and
some of the best books in the world were handed down to us by tradition, long before they were
written; and our English Common Law is still a matter of tradition. In this connection it is interesting
to remember that there were students of repute who seriously maintained that there never was such a
city as Troy, and that Homer's poems dealt with a myth and described what had never happened.

When Dr. Schliemann discovered Troy, and found it to be at Hissarlik, where tradition had always said
it was, Homer's account was largely vindicated, and as Mr. Gladstone said in an essay on Homer,
"Grote condemns as pure myth or fable much that is now gradually taking historic form."

VII. CONCLUSION.
There is no time left to go into the many other arguments that might be adduced to prove the contention
that Speculative Freemasonry is derived from Operative Freemasonry. Surely there are few indeed who
doubt the accuracy of this opinion.
As regards the still existing lodges - dwindling and decaying as unfortunately they are, one cannot be
associated with them for years without sharing their fervid belief and profound conviction that they are
the direct descendants of the Operative Freemasons of long ago. If I have not succeeded in that I set
out to do, it is from lack of ability on my own part and not from want of power in the story.
To conclude in the words of an author of long ago - the writer of the Books of the Maccabees-II. Book,
xv. chapter, 38 verse;
And if I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is that which I desired: but if slenderly and
meanly, it is that which I could attain unto.
Lecture delivered 18th December 1912 Extract from Transactions, Vol I, of Authors Lodge No.3456,
published 1915
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 OPERATIVE FREE MASONS AND
OPERATIVE FREE MASONRY. PART II
By
THOMAS CARR, M.D., P.M.,
Master (VII) in the Guild of Operative Free Masons.

I. REFERENCE TO PREVIOUS LECTURE.

II. THE GREAT MASONIC GUILD OF ITALY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

III. THE GUILD OF OPERATIVE FREE MASONS. ITS PRESENT POSITION AND MODERN
OFFSHOOTS.

IV. KINDRED SOCIETIES.

V. ANGLE DIAGRAMS.

VI THE ANNUAL CEREMONIES OF THE SOCIETY, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

THOSE OF OCTOBER 2ND, COMMEMORATING THE DEATH OF H. A.

VII. THE MASTER'S DEGREE AND THE SWASTIKA.

I. REFERENCE TO PREVIOUS LECTURE.

This is the second time I have had the honour of lecturing before the Authors' Lodge. The previous
occasion was on December 18th, 1912. As many of you here tonight were not present then, and as those
of you who were present have probably forgotten all about it, I may perhaps be allowed to refer to one or
two matters which may be regarded as pertinent and introductory to the subject of my lecture proper this
evening. On that occasion I endeavoured to make two points

(1) That our Speculative Freemasonry is derived from Operative Free Masonry.
(2) That the present customs and ceremonies of the existing Guilds of Operative Free Masons help us
in understanding our Speculative rites.

The first point I so thoroughly dealt with then, that I do not propose to refer to it further tonight beyond
remarking I seemed to have proved my thesis to the satisfaction of my audience. The second point I
believe was also made, but I have this evening to add other examples to those then submitted.
A third point I mentioned, but which time did not allow me to pursue, was the curious fact that the
Hebrew influence which is so marked in our speculative ceremonies, is even more obvious in the
operative ceremonies - these same operative ceremonies, may I incidentally remark, being, in my opinion,
those from which our speculative ceremonies were originally derived.

I also had the satisfaction of pointing out that the arms of our United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted
Masons support all these three arguments. On the dexter side are the arms of the old Masons' Company
of London - which was incorporated in the second year of Henry IV (1411), and was granted these arms
in the twelfth year of Edward IV (1473). These came from the "Moderns." On the sinister side you have
the arms formerly used by "the Antients," consisting quarterly of the lion, the eagle, the ox, and the man,
which are the four emblems of the four divisions into which the tribes of Israel were assembled. The crest
is an Ark with kneeling cherubim with Hebrew letters over it; the supporters of the shield being also
cherubim. Surely our very arms indicate our Operative and our Hebrew origin!

1
 II. THE GREAT MASONIC GUILD OF ITALY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

It does not concern us this evening to go into the question of the existence of Trade Guilds in ancient
times at any length, but it is perhaps advisable to mention that they have existed in ancient times, so that
we may look at them in their proper perspective and not mistakenly regard them as of medieval origin.

Trade Guilds have existed in the Chinese Empire from time immemorial, and go back to the earliest dawn
of its history. They still flourish, and their organisation is carried by the Chinaman wherever he goes, and
they are to be found alike in San Francisco among the laundry-men and in Australia among the cabinet-
makers. In India the trade castes are really also trade guilds, and their origin goes back to the origin of
caste in the earliest days of Indian history and to its most primitive civilisation. Trade Guilds were an
essential feature of the Byzantine Empire; and Mohammedan tradition traces them beyond the days of the
Prophet, who was a member of the Guild of Merchants, to the time of Noah, who is the patron of
carpenters and shipbuilders, and of Adam, who is the patron of bakers, Eve presides over washerwomen,
Cain over butchers and gravediggers, Elijah over furriers, and Jonah over sailors.

In Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia to-day most trades are controlled by Esnafs, who claim a continuance
from the Byzantine Guilds. These Esnafs are to all intents and purposes trade guilds, and in nearly every
particular resemble those of England of the time of Chaucer. But the ancient Trade Guilds that most
interest us are those of the Roman Empire, as the Trade Guilds of Western Europe were not only
modelled upon them, but were even in some instances their direct successors. The Roman Trade Guilds
were Roman Collegia, which in their origin and formation go back to a period anterior to the Christian
era. They were in existence at a very early period of Roman history, but it was in the reign of Numa
Pompilius, circa 700 B.C., that they are traditionally reputed to have been organised. These Roman
Collegia were associations either for trade purposes or for religious or political purposes, and required the
sanction of the Senate or of the Emperor for legal recognition.

A Roman Collegium was also a corpus, and in Roman law had a legal personality and existence, and
hence became the prototype of all modern corporations. It was an old legal maxim among the Romans
that a College must consist of at least three, hence the old adage of three to make a college."

Under Severus (A.D. 192) the Collegia were extended and more closely organised as trade or industrial
bodies, and they were still flourishing institutions in the time of Constantine (A.D. 323) and Theodosius
(A.D. 392). When Rome was destroyed by Genseric and his successors, in about A.D. 460, these
Colleges were ruined and their members dispersed; the remnants of one great College, however, fled to
Como and preserved their technical knowledge and craftsmanship. This was the College of Architects,
Builders and Sculptors. From this College grew the great building fraternity or Guild of the Comacine
Masters, which became powerful under the Longobardic kings; and two centuries after their flight from
Rome we find them an organised Guild recognised by the Lombards. Indeed, the Edict of Rotharis, King
of the Lombards, dated Nov. 22, A.D. 643, has two clauses (Nos. '43 and 144) which deal with the rights
and duties of the Magistri Comacini. It is from these Magistri Comacini that the Guilds of Liberi
Muratori (or Free Masons) of the Middle Ages were derived, whence are descended the Operative Free
Masons of to-day, and from whom the Speculative Freemasons originated in A.D. 1717.

From the foregoing you will have seen how the Italian Guild of Builders, the Comacine Masters, was
derived from the Old Roman Collegium Fabrorum. Save in England, Roman Law and consequently the
Guilds or Collegia never became quite extinct wherever the Romans had once had a footing in Western
Europe.

We have seen that the destruction of Rome under Genseric took place about 460 A.D. Alaric II. of the
Visigoths (482-507 A.D.) commissioned Roman jurists to compile a Code on the basis of the Lex
Theodosii, which was adopted by all Gaul. Theodoric the Ostrogoth promulgated a similar Code of Law
A.D. 500; Sigmund promulgated the Lex Romana in Burgundy A.D. 520; while Germany proper
acquired Roman Law after the sack of Rome by the Goths.
2
As regards the Italian Guilds we will specially consider Florence, which of all the Italian cities had the
Guild system most thoroughly developed; whose history has had such loving care bestowed upon it by
Mrs. Lucy Baxter (Leader Scott) and Mr. Edgcumbe Staley; and whose citizens were so brave in battle, so
refined in culture, and withal "enterprising merchants, skilful artisans and diligent operatives."

Their first Collegium was established in 825, under the Emperor Lothair. Florence shared this privilege
with seven other Italian cities. By the year 1211 there were in existence some fifty Guilds. In 1236 these
were rearranged as seven Greater Guilds and fourteen Lesser Guilds; and the Florentines had Consuls at
all the important foreign trading centres.

The Masons' Guild known as the Guild of Masters of Stone and Wood (L'Arte de Maestri di Pietra e di
Legname) was probably the first of the Florentine Guilds to be organised. It was already in 590 a vast
organisation scattered all over Italy, but with no central College or Residence. According to their motto
their "Temple was made without hands." It consisted of Masters and workmen, and the latter were of two
grades, murani, builders, and operani, labourers. The Masters were of at least seven kinds: Masters of
Stone, Masters of Sculpture, Masters of Wood, Masters of Intaglio-Carving, Masters of Design, Masters
of Painting, and Masters of Metal-working. Its power over the building trade was complete until in Siena
in 1355 and in Florence in 1386 the Painters seceded, followed by other branches, so that in 1450 its
supremacy was broken and the Guild of ten centuries lost its place and power.

That these members of the Great Masonic Guild of Italy had mystical teaching is quite clear. I have
already given one instance in that they claimed their "Temple was made without hands." They also
adopted as distinguishing badges the endless knot and the Lion of Judah. This intricate knotwork, usually
without beginning or end, is known to this day in Italy as King Solomon's Knot. Ravenscroft in his
excellent little book "The Comacines" says that on a house in Assisi bearing the date 1405 and shown as a
Comacine house the open compasses and a rose are carved on the keystone to its entrance. This badge
together with a masonic square is also on the Castle at Assisi. But we must not stay to discuss the
Comacine knot and the mystic Rose, or we shall get no further to-night. I refer to the Solomon's knot as
this may be some clue to the origin of the Hebrew influence, which we shall deal with later.
The earliest reference to the Four Cardinal Virtues is at Cremona, near the altar of S. Caterina. It is given
in Professor Giuseppe Merzario's" I Maestri Comacini," and is an inscription dated 1357. See Vol.1,
p.253:

"HOC SEPULCRUM EST NOBILIS ET

EGREGI MILITIS ET JURIS PERITI
D. FOLCHINI DE SCHICIIS QUI
OBIIT ANNO D. MCCCLVII
DIE X JULIE ET HEREDUM EJUS
JUSTITIA TEMPERANTIA FORTITUDO FRUDENTIA
MAGIS. BONINO DE CAMPILIONE ME FEC."

III. THE GUILD OF OPERATIVE FREE MASONS.

ITS PRESENT POSITION AND MODERN OFFSHOOTS.

Most Speculative Freemasons are aware of the fact that a Guild of Operative Free Masons still exists; and
that Masons' Companies are still to be found in London, Newcastle, Durham, and a few other towns.
Operative Lodges also survive in London, Norfolk, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Holyhead, York,
Durham, Berwick, Leicestershire, and probably elsewhere.

The full title of the Operative Guild to which I belong is "The Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough
Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors, Plaisterers, and Brick-layers."

You will have seen from my remarks on the Italian Masonic Guild that it is no new or anomalous state of
affairs for the various trades associated with building to be united in a common Society. In my previous
3
Lecture here I instanced many English examples of a similar combination, ranging from Lincoln in 1564
to Gateshead in 1671. It seems to have been a usual custom during the centuries immediately after the
decline of Gothic Architecture which followed the suppression of the monasteries and the Reformation.
Both the Lodges of which I am a member meet in Leicestershire and belong to the York Division.
Operative Free Masonry flourished in England during the Middle Ages, and was most prosperous at the
time of the erection of those magnificent cathedrals and churches which still excite our wonder and
admiration, and of which one of the most beautiful examples on the Continent - I refer to Rheims - has
alas! been destroyed by a visitation of the modern Huns.

Operative Free Masonry held its own, though with lessened glory and great abatement of influence,
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth century it steadily declined, and may
now be regarded as a mere survival. Since 1870 it has rapidly decayed owing to altered conditions and to
the influence of Trade Unionism.

No doubt the Charge administered to all Fellows of the Craft of Free Mason and which contains the
following clause accounts for the loss of many members of our Society in these days of Trade Unionism:
"You shall truly attend your work and truly end the same, whether it be Task or Journey work, if you may
have the Payment and Wages according to your agreement made with the Master or Owner thereof."

In 1867 there were over 2,300 Operative Free Masons Members of our Society in Leicestershire alone; in
1910 this number was reduced to between 500 and 600, while this number was further reduced owing to
the effects of the coal and railway strikes of the year 1911. Most of the men who formerly belonged to
our Society now belong to the Operative Stone Masons' Society. This is an Approved Society, No.328,
under the National Insurance Acts. Their members are grouped in lodges, address one another formally
as "Worthy Brother," and use many masonic symbols.

The Stone Masons' Friendly Society was instituted in 1831. Their membership Certificate, which they
call their Emblem, bears as a Coat of Arms the old Arms of the Masons' Company of London, a chevron
with open compasses between three towers. They use the same crest, a tower; and have as their motto
that of the old Operative Society, "In the Lord is all our trust." On this " Emblem " there is a
representation of the building of King Solomon's Temple and the picture of a Church being built by
Masons. There are also figures representing Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence, as well as
Truth and Industry, Industry being signified by the Bee Hive so familiar in old Speculative engravings.

They work modernised, altered and abridged versions of our older and archaic operative ritual. The
workmen alone belong to this Society, not the Masters, and they correspond to the first five Degrees of
the old Operative Society. They comprise four Districts, and in June 1914 consisted of 267 Lodges.
There are 16 Lodges in London. Apprentices are received at sixteen and bound for five years. In many
Lodges, as in the Basingstoke one, there is a difference in pay between "banker" hands, corresponding to
our Fellows of the Craft, and "fixers," corresponding to our Super Fellow Erectors. Their rules fix wages,
hours of labour, overtime and other matters. In some Lodges one apprentice is allowed for every six
masons, in some one for every four. In most Lodges there is a rule that masons' sons and stepsons are
allowed in addition to these fixed proportions as a customary privilege. In some cases the brother who
was formerly the Secretary for our Lodge belonging to the old Society is now the Secretary for this
modern and distinctly trade-union Society. They are associated for trade purposes with other branches of
the Building trades - viz., Carpenters, Bricklayers, Plasterers, and even Labourers,

The Ritual that the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors,
Plaisterers and Bricklayers practises is an old one. How old is a difficult matter and open to controversy.
Old men assure me that when they were boys they were told by old men that when they were young the
Ritual was the same. This is as far as anything can be proved by tradition, and carries us a little over a
hundred years. An interesting illustration of this occurred after my former lecture here.

4
W. Bro. Shepton, an old Past Master who had heard my Lecture, which detailed the ceremonies of
binding an apprentice and making a Fellow of the Craft, told us afterwards that he had had an old man of
eighty years in his employment who was an old Operative Mason, and who had many years ago described
to him, as having seen as a young man the same ceremonies as those I described. The Operative Free
Masons claim that the Ritual they practise is the Ritual laid down for them in 1663 and amended in 1686.

The Operative Free Masons divide all who follow their art into two classes :-
I. Arch or Round Masons - who do curved work, whose symbol is the Compasses and whose colour
is Red.
II. Square or Straight Masons - who do square work, whose symbol is the right-angle or "Square,"
and whose colour is Blue.

Each class comprises seven Degrees :-

I. The Apprentice to the Craft of Free Mason.

II. The Fellow of the Craft of Free Mason.
III. The Super Fellow who has his Mark.
IV. The Super Fellow who is an Erector.
V. The Intendent and Super-Intendent.
VI. The Certified Master or Passed Master.
VII. The Grand Master, First, Second and Third.

Of these Seven Degrees it will be observed that they fall into three groups:
1. The Apprentices who are not members of the Craft, C. F. Apprentices of other trades, Medical
Students and articled clerks.
2. The Fellows of the Craft:
II. Fellows.
III. Super Fellows.
IV. Erectors.
V. Intendents.
3. The Rulers of the Craft:
VI. Harodim, or Passed Masters (cf. Passed Engine Drivers).
VII. Masters.

Some objectors to this statement of the Operative Free Masons that their workers have always been
divided into Seven Degrees, say that this is too elaborate a division and connoted too elaborate a ritual for
it to be possible for the Ancient Masons to have invented such a system. Such an argument is almost too
futile for words. Just consider who these ancient Masons were and what buildings they erected. These
were the men who built our cathedrals and churches, hundreds of which still stand to testify to their skill
and ability, to their zeal and piety. Such buildings as St. Albans, Durham, and Christchurch of the
Norman Period, Lincoln, Tintern, Furness, and Salisbury of the Early English Period, the innumerable
churches of the Decorated Period, King's College, Cambridge, of the Perpendicular Period, to instance a
few out of scores that crowd on one's memory, Gloucester, Lichfield, Hereford - but one cannot
enumerate them.

Then the bishops, abbots and priests who were associated with these Masons were often the architects
themselves. Such were Gundulph of Rochester, Hugh of Lincoln, William of Wykeham, and Joscelyne of
Wells, all Bishops; Alan of Walsingham, the sub-prior of Ely, and many others.
That anyone should dare to suggest that such men as these could not invent, or, as I consider more likely,
perpetuate and influence a system and ritual such as the present-day Operative Free Masons practise, is
incredible to any one who knows the work these men did and the manner of men they were. Why,
everything these men were most nearly connected with ran in sevens: what more likely than that they
5
should grade their workers into seven also? There were Seven ecclesiastical Orders or Degrees - Bishop,
Priest, Deacon, Doorkeeper, Reader, Exorcist, Acolyte. There were Seven Deadly Sins and Seven
Cardinal Virtues. There were also the Seven Sacraments of the Church, to say nothing of the Seven Ages
of Man and the Seven Sciences of the Ancient Charges.

It is of course perfectly competent for anyone to doubt that these Operative Free Masons, with whose
Ritual and Practices I am here concerned, have a continuous history dating back to long before the
Speculative First Grand Lodge was formed in 1717; but to give as a reason for coming to such a
conclusion that it was not possible for the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages to have either formulated
or worked such a System of Seven Degrees shows a lack of historical knowledge and just appreciation of
the skill and merits of these Operative Free Masons that leaves me dumb with wonder and astonishment at
the lengths to which prejudice and ignorance will lead otherwise reasonable men.

Added to all this, one must remember that these same Middle Ages were characterised by the Mysteries,
Miracle Plays and Moralities) which were dramas enacted representing biblical, legendary and allegorical
subjects respectively, and were most popular during the very time these cathedrals and churches were
building, and indeed lingered on until long after the Reformation. Like the Dramas of the present-day
Operatives, these Mysteries or Miracle Plays were an annual event, and often certain Guilds were
designated to play certain dramas year after year.

IV. KINDRED SOCIETIES.

It must not be forgotten how widespread were the Guilds, and how great was their influence during the
Middle Ages. The Free Masons were not the only Guild of workers who had their own secrets and their
own initiation ceremony. Two of the trades that have always been closely associated with the Free
Masons - the Carpenters and the Blacksmiths - have an initiation ceremony which is still practised in a
few parts of the country. The Masons regarded their initiate as a rough piece of stone to be squared and
polished and marked so that he should be fitted to take his place in the intended structure. The Carpenters
regarded their initiate as a rough tree to be felled and barked and made into a shapely piece of timber.
The Blacksmiths regarded their initiate as a rough pig of iron to be forged and tempered.

The Masons' Ceremony was less rough and more complete than the other two: It had a deeper symbolism
and possibly a more ancient origin; so it has naturally appealed more to cultivated men and would more
readily lend itself as a basis for the formation of a speculative rite.

As the Guilds of the Blacksmiths and Carpenters are rapidly decaying, and their rough ceremonies are but
rarely practised now, a brief account of them is given here.

THE BLACKSMITHS' GUILD.

The Candidate has his clothes taken off in a dark room; and is then carried into the forge room, flat, feet
first, as a rough pig of iron. The Blacksmiths blow up the forge, two men "sledge" away on an anvil. The
feet of the candidate are then brought up towards the fire, and he is turned over a few times like a bar of
iron in the fire. Then he is washed over with a red wash from the feet to the centre of the body, and when
he is thus figuratively brought to a nice red heat he is taken away from the fire to the anvil. The two
Blacksmith Strikers are still striking a piece of thin iron with their 14lb. hammers -" Hammer & Tongs."
The Master Blacksmith tells them to strike wherever he taps with his Master's hammer. Then the Master
taps the candidate's body all over from head to heel, first one side and then the other. Next the candidate
is placed in a large tub of water, which reaches up to his middle. Thus the Candidate has been
figuratively forged from the rough iron, and has been properly tempered. The Candidate then takes his
obligation on the anvil. He is presented with the Blacksmith's apron, hammer, tongs, and a piece of hot
iron. He is told the penalty of breaking his obligation is to be run through the centre of the body with a
bar of red-hot iron and to be branded as a traitor. He is given the word "Tubal-Cain," and is taught " By
hammer and hand all arts do stand." He stands to order with his hammer raised in his hand in the same
6
position as the Crest of the Bricklayers & Tilers' Company of London. The Candidate then dresses, and
on his return to the smithy a lecture is given, which declares that the Blacksmith's Trade is the most
important of all, as they make the tools for all the others. Then the legend of King Solomon and the
Blacksmith is recited to him. This legend describes how King Solomon decreed that the most
indispensable of all the craftsmen employed in building the Temple at Jerusalem should be honoured by a
seat at his right hand, and how the Master Blacksmith claimed and obtained this distinction.

THE CARPENTERS' GUILD.

The Candidate arrives, and is kept in conversation by the assembled workmen. A knock is heard at the
door, and a letter is brought in, which is said to be from King Solomon to Hiram King of Tyre, and which
is read aloud.

Know thou, that my Father having a Will to build a Temple unto El Shaddai, hath been withdrawn from
the performance thereof by the continual Wars and Troubles he hath had, for he never took Rest before he
either defeated his enemies or made them Tributaries unto him. For mine own Part, I thank El Shaddai
for the Peace which I possess, and for that by the means thereof, I have opportunity (according to mine
own Desire) to build a Temple unto El Shaddai. For He it was that foretold my Father that His Temple
should be builded during my Reign. For this cause I pray thee send me one of thy skilfullest men with my
Servants to the Wood Libanus, to hew down trees in that Place, for thou knowest that there is not among
us any that can skill to hew and prepare Timber like the Sidonians, and I will pay the Cleavers of Wood
according to thy Direction. The reply is I Kings v. 7, 8, 9 and 10:

And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed
be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; and I will
do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in floats
unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt
receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.
So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
So they select the trees and mark those to be hewn, and of course they mark the Candidate, a living tree.
He goes into another room, and there are the axe, saw and rope." As they are just going to start work
there is distant thunder, and darkness comes on. (Shut the shutters and turn the light down gradually until
it is quite dark.) Then a flash of lightning strikes the tree and rips off the bark. (That means that the
Candidate's clothes are removed.) Then there is still more thunder and a storm of rain. (Empty a garden
water-can on Candidate's head.) Then they begin to saw and cut at "the stump of a tree" (box or barrel)
that the Candidate stands on. A rope is then placed around the Candidate - it is close up under his left arm
and over his right shoulder. The rope is next pulled; and saying, "Long pull and strong pull and pull all
together," they pull three times, saymg, "all-together one," "all-together two," "all-together three," and at
the word " three" pull the candidate over on to a great bed of wood shavings. Thus they "fall" him as they
would fall a tree. Then the Candidate is picked up, and it is planned to carry him round to the saw-pit; but
it is decided to make him a Carpenter's apprentice, and he has to take an obligation to keep the secrets of
the trade under the penalty of being placed between two planks and sawn asunder. The Candidate is now
given his tools, comprising a proper wood saw, a mallet, a wood chisel, and a Carpenter's apron. He is
also given some wood and set to work in the N.E. corner of the Carpenter's shop.

THE PAINTER-STAINERS

On May 19th, 1913 the Author was giving a Lecture on the Ritual of the Operative Free Masons before
some of his Speculative Brethren at Hanley, Staffordshire. Some of his remarks led a Brother present to
7
acquaint him with the following interesting particulars. The Brother who furnished the account, and who
has been good enough to read this description to ensure its absolute accuracy, is an esteemed Brother in
good standing (now the W.M. of his Lodge), and a highly respected and well known tradesman in the
district. When he, as a boy, some thirty-seven years ago, was made an apprentice to the trade of Painter-
Stainer, he was subjected to the following ceremony.

The Candidate is led into the workshop, blindfolded; his arms are extended, a man holding each arm, one
on each side. He is led to the northeast corner of the room, and is then asked if he is willing to take the
trouble and to give the time to learn the secrets of the art and craft of Painter-Stainer. On giving his
assent he is placed alongside a Paste Board which has been laid on the floor and marked with a triangle at
the head, apex upwards, and another at the feet, also apex upwards. There is a vertical line down the
centre of the board and two parallel transverse lines where his arms will lie and two shorter ones, also
transverse and parallel, at the level of his feet. The Candidate is laid on the board. Then a Tripod (known
in the trade as a three-legs) is placed over him, with a dependent plumb-bob which is suspended over his
navel. His arms are still held by the two attendants; his clothes are unfastened - his shirt turned up over
his face and a cord of worsted tied to his pudenda, being held by the principal actor, who is called the
High Priest. One of the attendants holds an open clasp knife across the Candidate's throat. In this
position the Candidate takes an obligation to keep the secrets of mixing paints and stains, under the
penalty of having his throat cut if he reveals them. A mock Circumcision Ceremony then takes place. The
foreskin is scratched with an iron nail until it bleeds. The operator dips his finger in the blood and traces
a circle round the Candidate's navel. The large scissors are half opened so as to form a double triangle and
are placed on the abdomen. The scraped parts are then anointed with knotting fluid (a solution of gum
shellac in wood naphtha). The Candidate is then raised and his eyes unbandaged. He is now a properly
initiated member of the trade; and in former times workmen held that a man was only a "half-inch man"
unless he had gone through this ceremony.

The last time this ceremony was performed in the district was thirty-two years ago, when my informant
himself acted as High Priest. Unfortunately the boy who was operated upon contracted blood-
poisoning, for which he was treated by the late Dr. Folker of Hanley. This, together with the general
alteration of public feeling and the weakening of the apprenticeship system, has led to the abandonment of
the custom, at all events in the Hanley district.

We have described the initiation ceremonies of these three trades in some detail because in another
generation they will not only have passed away, but the memory of them even will have perished.

We now come to:

The Angle Diagrams.
The Annual Ceremonies, and
The Masters' Degree of the Operative Free Masons.

It is in these remaining sections of my Lecture that you will see how strong the Hebrew influence is in
their teaching.

To the Speculative Freemason it is at once obvious, even in the Craft, that Hebrew tradition must have
had considerable influence in shaping Speculative Freemasonry. The reference to King Solomon's
Temple, the traditional history of the Third Degree, the references to H. A. as our Master, and the general
ascription of King Solomon as the founder of our Royal Art, are all evidence on this point.

The same Hebrew influence is seen in Mark Masonry, where the whole ceremony is based on the building
of the Holy Temple by King Solomon, and the obverse of the Jewel bears Hebrew characters. In the
Allied and Cryptic Degrees other periods of Hebrew history form the basis of the Rituals.

In the Royal Arch these signs and tokens of Hebrew influences are, if possible, even more insistently in
evidence. Zerubbabel the Prince, Haggai the Prophet and Joshua the Priest in the three Chairs, the Scribes
8
Ezra and Nehemiah, the Banners of the Four Divisions, the Banners of the Twelve Tribes, the whole
Drama of the Degree, and the reverence observed and inculcated for the Sacred Name itself, are all
intensely Hebrew, both historically and in sentiment.

How the old Operative Masons obtained their Hebrew tradition, or when, or where, is the great puzzle.
Were the original Etruscans from whom the earliest Romans learned their arts of building conversant with
Hebrew tradition; or was it obtained in the later flourishing days of the Roman Collegia; or in the times of
the Comacine Masters; or in Medieval times; or later still in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries?

It is a most difficult question, however you attempt to answer it, and so far there seems no clear indication
of what the correct answer is. Each period presents opportunities of possible answers, and each period
has very great difficulties. To increase the difficulty of the whole question, one must remember that the
Jews were never a nation of builders. They were originally, like all their kindred Semites, tent dwellers
and a pastoral people. When Solomon built his great Temple, he called to his aid Hiram, King of Tyre,
who gave him much help and sent him Hiram Abiff to act as his principal architect and adviser. It
appears to have been the custom of the period for great potentates who were in friendly alliance to lend
one another able craftsmen; and there is evidence that the same body of builders were employed in
various parts of Syria, as at Tyre and at Palmyra, as need for their services arose, much as obtained later
in the case of the medieval masons of Western Europe. Be this as it may, there is no doubt about the fact
that the Jews sought and obtained the help of the King of Tyre when the first Temple was built. Whether
Zerubbabel obtained any outside help when the second Temple was built does not appear, but when
Herod built the third Temple it was largely by the aid of Greek Architects. The question of how did these
Hebrews leave their impress so completely and consistently on the Masonic Guilds is still an open one.

The two great principles that run through the teaching of the Operatives of today are:
I. The Five Points.
II. The 3, 4, 5 Triangle, with its contents 6.
Surely this needs no emphasis in a Lodge bearing the mystic No.3456.

Neither of these principles is fully explained save to the Masters of the VII Degree, but Masons much
lower in rank get hints as to the importance of them.

The Five Points primarily refer to the five important points in all square or oblong structures. They are
the Centre and the Four Corners. The Centre is the important point to which all else has to be true.
Whether the structure be square, a 2 1 oblong or a 3 1 oblong, the five points are essential. The Five
Points are first used when a lad is made an apprentice. He is the Centre, the Inner Guard and the Three
Deacons are the four corners. The Fellow of the Craft is taught how to fix his four corners when his
centre has been given to him. Operative Fellows of the Craft also prove themselves by the five points, in
two ways.

(This was Demonstrated; and a confirmatory incident which occurred at Rochester was described.)

Finally, as we shall see later, the slain Master is carried out on the Five Points. The 3, 4, 5 Triangle gives
a right angle it measures the contents 6, it proves all stones as well as all landmarks, and the Rods of the
Three Masters measure 5, 4 and 3 respectively.

V. ANGLE DIAGRAMS.

In the Operative Free Masons' V1 or Harodim instruction is given in what they call Angle-Diagrams.
They are curious and very beautiful figures drawn by the Three Masters on the Tracing Board which
stands in the Lodge Room on trestles. They are all based on the 3, 4, 5 Triangle, and form different sized
and shaped diamonds and triangles. They are used for calculating angles and areas, and with a little study

9
one can see how exceedingly useful they were before Arabic numerals and modern mathematics were
introduced.

By means of the 3, 4, 5 Triangle, with its area of 6 and its use in various combinations to form other
triangles and diamonds, it is quite possible to ascertain the area of a plan without modern arithmetical
calculations. This was another of the great secrets of the Master Masons in the Middle Ages.

Try and calculate areas with the use of Roman numerals, and you will soon find how tedious, difficult and
unsatisfactory such calculations were. And in this connection it is important to remember how
comparatively recent our modern figures and mathematics are.

Arabic numerals were not familiar in Europe until the twelfth century, and modem arithmetic did not
reach England until about the middle of the sixteenth century, and even then was confined to the
Universities for a long time. So we can understand the use and necessity of these Angle-Diagrams.

The simplest form is the unfolding of the Diamond (see Illustration No. 1). You will note each Diamond
consists of four 3, 4, 5 triangles. Other forms are also given, including a more complete and elaborate

NO. 1.- THE DIAMOND UNFOLDED.

one (see Illustrations Nos. 2 and 3). Now the chief points of these diagrams are always 10 in number, and
I find that the First Master Mason knows these ten points under the following names: Chochmah, Da-ath,
Binah, Gedulah, Geburah, Netzach, Hod, Jachin, Boaz, Malchuth. Then there are two internal points
named Tiphareth and Jesod. This gives you twelve names. Take away the two familiar Biblical ones,
Boaz and Jachin, and what have you left? The ten names of the ten Sephiroth of the Kabalah (see
Illustration No.4).
10
 NO. 2.- ANGLE DIAGRAM.

Each of the three Master Masons has a word belonging to his Chair, and the three names of the first three
Sephiroth are used. The First Master Mason's word is Chochmah, the Second Master Mason's Da-ath,
and the Third Master Mason's Binah. Surely all this proves Hebrew influence of the most marked
character.

1. CHOCHMAH

2. DA-ATH

3. BINAH

4. GEDULAH

5. GEBURAH

6. NETZACH

7. HOD

8. JACHIN

9. BOAZ

10. MALCHUTH

11. TIPHARETH

12. JESOD

No. 3
11
 1
COCHMAR
Wisdom to Design
THE KING
2 3
DA-ATH BINAH
Knowledge to Carry Out A Cunning Man Understanding
HIRAM KING OF TYRE HIRAM ABIFF

4 5
GEDULAH GEBURAH
Mercy Joy Strength or Power
11
TIPHARETH
Beauty Glory
THE SUN
6 7
NETZACH HOD
Victory Splendour Majesty

12
JESOD
Foundation
8 9
JACHIN BOAZ
Stability Strength
THE CHURCH THE STATE

10
MALCHUTH
THE KINGDOM

No. 4

These 12 Points may also be regarded as Three Pillars. That on the Right Hand or South, Jachin, on
Mount Sinai. That on the Left Hand or North, Boaz, on Mount Tabor. That in the Centre, the Royal
Pillar or the Pillar of the Sun, on Mount Moriah, laid down at the Foundation of the Temple.

VI. THE ANNUAL CEREMONIES OF THE SOCIETY.

The Operative Free Masons have three Annual Dramas in which three historical events are presented:
(1) The Foundation of the Temple of Solomon.
(2) The Commemoration of the Death of H. A.
(3) The Dedication of the Temple.

Each of these Dramas is intensely Hebrew, not only in origin but also in the actual performance. In each
of them the VII and VI men first meet and open the SANHEDRIM or assembly of Masters and
Harodim.

In this Sanhedrim there are three pillars, each of which bears a light. One pillar is in the West, in front of
the Royal Solomon, who with the Second Master representing Hiram King of Tyre on his right hand, and
with the Third Master representing Hiram Abiff on his left hand, is regarded as being on Mount Moriah.
12
The Second Pillar is in the North-East in front of the representative of Boaz, who is regarded as being on
Mount Tabor ; while the Third Pillar is in the South-East, in front of the Chaplain, who represents Jachin,
and is regarded as being on Mount Sinai. At one part of the Ceremony these three Pillars are connected
with a blue cord, which indicates the mystic union of the Crown with State and Church. It is further
explained that these three lights represent the fires which our ancient brethren always kept burning on
those three Holy Mountains.

(1) The Foundation of the Temple of Solomon.- This should be celebrated in the month Zif, and it is
done in the IV. The men keep their hats on and take off their shoes, for this is Holy Ground. First the
Sun Line is drawn at Sunrise from East to West, and subsequently the four foundation stones N.E., S.E.,
S.W., and N.W. are laid. These are marked before the ceremony of laying them commences, and only
wooden mauls are allowed to be used on the ground. This is in accordance with the statement I Kings vi.
7, "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither;
so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

(2) The Commemoration of the Death o/ Hiram Abiff.- According to the Operative tradition Hiram
Abiff was slain one month before the Dedication of the Temple. In England this event is commemorated
on October 2nd or on the Saturday nearest to that date. The Operatives say that the actual murder took
place on a Friday - the last working day of the Jewish week, just after high twelve; but as it is impossible
for them to be away from work on Friday afternoon, they usually commemorate it on the following day,
Saturday, which is a half-holiday.

As already mentioned, in the Operative system of Freemasonry there are Three Masters, the First
representing Solomon, the Second Hiram King of Tyre, and the Third Hiram Abiff. Each year :this Third
Master is symbolically slain at 12.20, and at 3 o'clock his successor is enthroned, so that the Third Master
only occupies his Throne for one year. But it is the manner of his slaying that here most concerns us.

At high twelve he repairs to the Lodge or Quarry where the supposed temple is set out. He is clothed,
wears a hat, and his feet have boots or shoes on, but no stockings; round his neck he wears his Master's
Square Angle (the 3 and 4 sides of the 3, 4, 5 triangle), a real Square like an Oxford frame of 4 inches
internal measurement, and seven golden keys, and he carries his Third Master Mason's Rod, which is the
3 Rod, the First Master holding the 5 Rod and the Second Master the 4. When he reaches the ground
where the Temple is represented he takes off his shoes, keeps on his hat, and puts across his shoulders a
Jewish Praying Shawl or Talith. The Talith or Hebrew Praying Shawl is the representative of the Eastern
Robe or Dress which the Jews, like the Arabs of to-day, formerly wore. The Talith has a fringe, as
prescribed in Numbers xv. 37, 38, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments, and that they put upon
the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue. " It also has four corners in accordance with Deut. xxii. 12,
"Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself."
Each of these corners has a special Ritual Cord tied with 5, 7, 9 and 13 knots. When the Third Master is
attacked by the Three Craftsmen armed respectively with the Square, Level and Plumb Rule, he throws
down his Talith and Coat, takes off his Jewel, and prepares to defend himself with his Rod. (Described.)
He is slain and left alone in the Temple. After he has been found with his Square and Seven Keys all
safe, his body is covered with his Talith and fastened on a Cross Saltire made of wood, which is formed
on the basis of the 3, 4, 5 triangle. He is then carried feet foremost seven times round the Temple against
the Sun, on the heads of five men who represent the five points of fellowship, which correspond to the
five points on which all rectangular buildings are set out - namely the centre and the four corners. His
body is then carried outside and placed under a hollow wooden box covered with white cloth to represent
a tomb, and he is no more seen that day. The whole proceeding is obviously as Hebrew as can be.

(3) The Dedication of the Temple.- This ceremony is performed one month later: either on October
30th or the Saturday nearest to that date four weeks after the Commemoration of the Death of Hiram
Abiff. The First Master Mason names the Pillars, Jachin on his right hand, and Boaz on his left hand, as
he faces the East. I Kings vii. 21: "And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple; and he set up the
13
right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof
Boaz. " Hats are worn during this ceremony, and the Temple is dedicated to the worship of El Shaddai.

VII. THE MASTER'S DEGREE AND THE SWASTIKA.

The Master's Degree is the culmination of the knowledge of the 3, 4, 5 Triangle, and includes the
knowledge of the Square of its sides as enunciated Prop. 47, Euclid I. So we can see why a man who has
been Master should wear the diagram of this Proposition on his Jewel.
(The Lecturer then described the opening of a Masters' Lodge, viz:
The Invocation.
The Formation of the Swastika.
The Masters' Square.
The Masters' Oblong.
The Formation of the Triangle: Vertically. Horizontally.
and showed how finally El Shaddai is saluted.)

Now it is by this very name of El Shaddai that the Operative Free Masons know God. Their apprentices
are sworn to secrecy in this name, and the Swastika, the great symbol of the Operative Free Masons is
held to be his symbol, and the Polar Star his dwelling-place. The Plumb Line which occupies the centre
of every Operative Free Masons' Lodge figuratively comes down from the Pole Star, from El Shaddai
himself. "And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the
Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any
more" (Amos vii. 8). It is this Plumb Line which comes from the Pole Star, from El Shaddai, which fixes
the centre, and it is to this centre decreed by the Most High God Himself that every Freemason, Operative
or Speculative, is bound to adjust his work.

When the Operative Free Mason reaches the VI he has explained to him the construction and value of the
Hexagram or Double Triangle from the purely technical or operative standpoint. He is taught how to
construct it, and he is shown how it forms the landmarks and land-lines of a Hexagon and has six points.
But when he reaches the VII and becomes a Master Mason he is shown that there is a secret or seventh
point - the centre and that this figure with its six open or revealed points also recalls the Almighty by
another of His names - that of Elohim (see Illustration No.5).

NO. 5,- THE HEXAGRAM OF THE OPERATIVE FREE MASONS.

This Hexagram, which is the special symbol of the Speculative Royal Arch Mason and recalls the Sacred
Name to the Operative Master Mason, is known to us as the Shield of David. To the Jews it is also
14
known as Mogen David or the Shield of David. The ordinary Operative Free Mason knows that the
Swastika is the sign of a Master Mason, and the symbol of the Great Master Mason who made this
universe and all that therein is, but when he becomes a VII Master Mason he learns that the Swastika is
also the symbol of another name of the Blessed One - that each limb of the Swastika represents a Hebrew
letter, and that the Swastika stands not only as a symbol of El Shaddai, but also represents the Holy Name
(see Illustration No.6).

NO, 6.- THE SWASTIKA OF THE OPERATIVE FREE MASONS.

One other of the Hebrew Sacred Names is also used by the Operatives: Jah. This is, however, only used
once, and that is at the conclusion of the Ceremony of the Dedication of the Temple. At the conclusion of
this ceremony the Grand Salute is given to El Shaddai twenty-one times. Then the special sign of the
Triangle is given, the Sacred Word Jah is uttered in a whisper, and then the sign of dispersal is given. You
can go-the work is finished.

One matter in which the Operative Free Masons do not follow Hebrew tradition is that the Sacred Names
are uttered, whereas the Jews take scrupulous care not to pronounce them. When in service and worship
they come upon them they do not say them. El Shaddai, Elohim, Yahweh are not read as such, but as
Adonai. And in secular talk or discussion about these names they do not even use the sacred substitute
Adonai, but an altered form, and say Adoshem.

This is at all events a reminder to those of us who are Masons of another faith, never to pronounce the
name of God lightly or carelessly, but ever with that reverence due from the creature to the Creator.

Lecture delivered 14th October 1914

Extract from Transactions, Vol II, of Authors Lodge No.3456, published 1917

15
 OPERATIVE FREE MASONS AND
OPERATIVE FREE MASONRY. PART III
By
THOMAS CARR, M.D., P.M.,
Master (VII) in the Guild of Operative Free Masons.

I. Reference to previous Lectures.

II. Some associations of the Operative Free Masons with the early Speculative Lodges.
III. The Operative Apprentice's Bond and its Redemption.
IV. Relics of Sun Worship and the Operative method of the Orientation of Buildings.
V. The Broached Thurnel.
VI. The Master's Triangular Agreement and Triangular Lodges.
VII. More concerning the Masters' Degree.

I. Reference to Previous Lectures.

This is the third time I have had the honour of lecturing before the Authors' Lodge. The previous
occasions were on December 18th, 1912, and on October 14th, 1914. If to-night I apparently take some
points for granted it is only to avoid repetition, and if any of you who are present to-night for the first time
consider I am not sufficiently explicit in some of my premises, I want to point out this is only so as to
avoid making myself wearisome to those brethren who have heard me twice before and yet have the
hardihood to come to hear me again. I think that it will be generally conceded that in my first lecture I
succeeded in proving my contention that our Speculative Masonry is derived from Operative Masonry,
and also in showing that many things which were obscure in our Speculative ritual became quite clear and
reasonable when the Operative ritual was studied.

In my second lecture we studied the rise of the Great Masonic Guild in Italy during the Middle Ages from
the Comacine Masters, and saw that they had very definite mystical teaching. We also considered the
present condition of the Operative Free Masons, pointed out where they still lingered, and how the Trade
Union of Operative Stone Masons of today followed some of their customs and practices.

Finally, we gave many instances showing that the influence of Hebrew tradition was even stronger with
the Operatives than it is with the Speculatives, great as this is. Tonight I hope to touch on fresh ground,
but item 4. in the syllabus is really an amplification by request of one of the questions I dealt with briefly
in my first lecture.

II. Some associations of the Operative Free Masons with the Early Speculative Lodges.

The origin of Speculative Free Masonry, as we know it, was in 1717, when the celebrated four original
old Lodges met at the Goose and Gridiron in St. Paul's Church Yard. The four Lodges were:
1. The Goose and Gridiron.
2. The Crown.
3. The Apple Tree.
4. The Rummer and Grapes.
This fact is, of course, well known to you all; it duly appears in Anderson's Constitutions of 1738; but
what is not equally well known is that a large number, probably the majority, of those constituting these
Lodges were Operative Masons. In support of this let me quote from an article by the late W. Bro.
Speth, which appears in Vol. ii. of the "Transactions of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati," p.88.
A careful collection of members' names further reveals the fact that No. 4 may be considered the
Speculative or gentlemen's Lodge par excellence: and the other three as Operative Lodges. Of course,
this definition is not absolutely correct, because Antony Sayer, gentleman, the first Grand Master, was a
member of No. 3, and it is scarcely possible that all the members of the first three Lodges were working
1
masons, but the probability is that the majority was, and the rest of the artisan class."
"We may also presume that No.4 contained some Operative Masons." W.. Bro. John T. Thorp also says in
one of his papers on The Change from Operative to Speculative Free Masonry in the Transactions of
the Leicester Lodge of Research, 1912-1913, that:
Lodge 1 was both Operative and Speculative.
Lodge 2 was both Operative and Speculative.
Lodge 3 was principally Operative.
Lodge 4 was Speculative.
He further says the first Grand Master, Anthony Sayer, was an Operative, and of his Wardens one was an
Operative and the other a Speculative.

It is quite evident that for many years this association of Operative Masons with Speculative Lodges
persisted, particularly in Scotland. That this was so in the later years of the 18th century may be easily
gathered from Preston's Illustrations of Masonry." I quote from the 9th edition, which was published in
1796 - the first edition having appeared in 1772.

At the laying of the foundation stone of the South Bridge, Edinburgh, August 1st, 1785, the square, the
plumb, the level, and the mallet, were successively delivered by an Operative Mason to the Substitute,
and by him to the Grand Master. Also in November, 1789, when the foundation stone of the New College
of the University of Edinburgh was laid, the order of procession is set forth, including (8) a large drawing
of the East Front of the New College, carried by two Operative Masons.

In Oliver's " Illustrations of Masonry," a book of somewhat later date - the 12th edition was published in
1812 - an account is given of the laying of the foundation stone of the New Exchange at Edinburgh, Sept.
13th, 1753. Here the order of procession includes:-
1. Operative Masons not belonging to any Lodge present.
3. Lodges arranged including, Lodge of Journeymen Masons.
6. The Golden Compasses, carried by an Operative Mason.
10. The Golden Square, Level, and Plumb, carried by three Operative Masons.
14. The Cornucopia and Golden Mallet, carried by an officer of the Grand Lodge and an Operative
Mason."
And finally, "The procession was closed with a body of Operative Masons."

At the ceremony the implements seem to have been delivered by the Operative Masons to the Substitute,
and by him presented to the Grand Master. This connection of Operatives with Speculatives seems to
have died out by the end of the 18th century.

III. The Operative Apprentice's Bond and its Redemption.

The days of apprentices to the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters,
Paviours, Plaisterers, and Bricklayers are over. I know many men who have been apprenticed to the
Society, but lads will no longer be bound apprentice for seven years. Added to which, it is no longer
necessary for a lad to be bound to the old Operative Society to be able to work at his trade. Its place has
been taken by the Operative Stone Masons' Society, which is a Trade Union, and an Approved Society,
No. 328, under the National Insurance Acts. Their members are grouped in Lodges, address one another
formally as" Worthy Brother," and use many Masonic symbols. They only demand five years
apprenticeship, and will accept four, or even less. In the Operative Society of Free Masons the apprentice
remains an apprentice for seven years. His Bond was as follows:

2
THE WORSHIPFUL SOCIETY OF FREE MASONS, ROUGH MASONS, WALLERS, SLATERS,
PAVIORS, PLAISTERERS, AND BRICKLAYERS.

THIS INDENTURE witnesseth that . . . . . of . . . . in the County

of . . . doth put himself apprentice to the . . . Lodge of the
above said Worshipful Society of Free Masons situated at . . . in the County of
. . . . to learn the Art and Craft, after the manner of an Apprentice, to serve from the
day of the date hereof until the full end and term of seven years, from thence next ensuing and fully to be
completed and ended; during which term the said apprentice shall the Three Masters of the above said
Lodge, or either of them, faithfully serve, their secrets keep, their lawful commandments every where
gladly and truly do. He shall do no damage to his said Masters nor see it to be done by others: but to his
power shall let, or forthwith give notice to his above said Masters of the same. The goods of his said
Masters he shall not waste, nor lend them unlawfully to any; hurt to his said Masters he shall not do,
cause or procure to be done. He shall neither buy nor sell without his said Masters' leave. Taverns, Inns,
or Alehouses he shall not haunt, or so much as go into any of them, except it be with their or the one of
their consents, or the consent of a Warden.
At Cards, Dice, Tables, or any other unlawful game he shall not play, nor from the service of his said
Masters day or night shall absent himself, but in all things, as an honest and faithful apprentice, shall and
will demean and behave himself towards his said Masters and all Freemasons during all the above said
term of Seven years.
And on their part the Three Master Masons of the Lodge . . . . abovesaid, or their regular
successors to the Rule of the said Lodge, shall well and truly teach and instruct or cause to be well and
truly taught and instructed in the best way and manner the said . . . . Apprentice to the
Worshipful Society of Free Masons, which they now useth, finding and allowing unto the said apprentice
sufficient meat, drink, washing, lodging, and all other necessaries during the said term, and the approved
tools and apron of an Indentured Apprentice.
And the true performance of all and every the covenants and agreements abovesaid, either of the said
parties bindeth himself unto the other firmly by these presents. In witness whereof the parties abovesaid
in these Indentures interchangeably have set their hands and seals.
And the said Masters of Lodge . . . . will shew, or cause to be shewn, these
Indentures to be recorded in the Register book within three months after the date thereof.
Given under our hands and Seal of the Lodge this . . . day of . . . A.D. 1 . . .
Witness
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st Master Mason
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd Master Mason
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Master Mason

Seal of Lodge. Seal.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indentured Apprentice
In due course the Registrar will certify that the Indentures have been recorded.
The Lecturer then showed a photograph of one of these Bonds, dated January 12th, 1878, being that of
Harry Smith, subsequently First Master of the Lodge when the Lecturer became Third Master, on October
2nd, 1912.
The Three Masters signing the Bond of 1878 were:
R.F. Bland 1st Master Mason VII
Ed. Beck 2nd Master Mason VII
George Brown 3rd Master Mason VII
and William Clark, Clerk to the Lodge; and Wm. Lord, Registrar.
3
For seven years he remains an apprentice. During this time he wears his blue neck-cord as a sign that he
is still bound as an apprentice.
This wearing of a Collar as a sign of bondage is a very old custom. In Anglo-Saxon and Norman days in
this country serfs and bondsmen were accustomed to wear collars of metal securely riveted round their
necks.
At the end of seven years the apprentice applies to be made free of his Bond. The following application
has to be posted up at the entrance of the Stone Yard, Quarry, or Works:

FORM B.
Application to the Super-Intendent of the Works of the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough
Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Plaisterers, and Bricklayers.

I . . . having well and truly served as an Indentured Apprentice to the Craft of Free Mason for
seven years, and being of the full age of twenty-one years, humbly crave to be made free of that Bond, to
enable me to be passed to the Honourable Degree of Fellow of the Craft of Free Mason. I firther promise
and swear that if once admitted to the Fellowship I will for ever conform to the ancient charges, usuages,
and established customs of the Fraternity, as Fellows have done in all ages.

Witness my hand this ...... day of .

Signed

Witness .

Certificate of Character ..

Signed Superintendent of Works.

Approved .Signed
Grand Master Mason VII

Enrolled Signed
Registrar.

The applicant is conducted by two deacons and has to kneel on the same Rough Ashlar on which he was
bound seven years before. The Bond is torn up, the blue cord of an apprentice is removed from his neck
to show he is released. " Rise, Free Brother, you are now superior to an Indentured Apprentice, but
inferior to a Fellow of the Craft of Free Mason."

He is then given the Pass Grip and Pass Word leading from the First to the Second Degree. Here again
the Grip must be " Covered." He then takes a formal farewell of the Apprentices, and for the future he
must associate with the Fellows.

Before the Candidate can be accepted as suitable to be passed in the Second Degree he has to prepare a
rough-dressed ashlar stone as a specimen of his work. A rough-dressed ashlar stone is the ashlar as it is
prepared in the First Degree or Apprentice Yard for the more expert workman. It is dressed 1/16th of an
inch too large all over; and this stone has to be prepared by the candidate and passed by the Inspector of
Material before the Free Brother can be passed as a Fellow of the Craft.

When the candidate goes into the Second Degree Lodge to be made a Fellow of the Craft he must have
this specimen of his work with him. He must swear it is all his own work. No man hath used a tool
upon it.
4
At the appointed time, again at XII noon on a Friday, he goes to the door of the Second Degree Yard and
knocks. On giving the Pass Grip and Pass Word he is admitted, on the Square, which is a real Square,
like an Oxford frame four inches in size, and is conducted to the S.E. corner.

The Master gives notice, " The Fellows in the S., W., N. and E. will take notice that Brother .
is about to pass in view before them to show that he is a candidate properly prepared to be passed to the
honourable Degree of Fellow of the Craft of Free Mason."
He is then led round the Candidate's Track twice. This time his right foot is put transversely across the
axis of the Lodge, and then his left foot parallel to the axis of the Lodge. This is " Header and Stretcher "
work, or one and one, the Operatives call it. He is then led to the Altar, where, kneeling on a rough-
dressed ashlar stone on both knees bare he takes the obligation, bowing twice as he approaches the Altar.

IV. Relics of Sun Worship and the Operative Method of the Orientation of Buildings.
Probably all circumambulation as practised by the Aryan races is a relic of Sun worship. The only race
with whose religious circumambulation I am acquainted that goes in the reverse way to the course of the
sun is the Jews, whose ceremonial circumambulation is in the opposite direction to that of the Sun.

In Operative Lodges the circumambulation is made in the direction of the Sun in every case save one.
The number of circumambulations corresponds with the degree in which the Lodge is open - one for the
I, and so on, being seven times for the Masters' Degree VII. Once only is the circumambulation made
"widdershins," or against the Sun, and that is when the Slain Master is carried seven times round the
Lodge after his dead body has been found at the Annual Drama. In the same way the Swastika is
normally supposed to circulate in the way of the Sun and is an emblem of life, but when reversed it
becomes an emblem of death.

The Operatives have three great Annual Dramas:

(1) The Laying of the Foundation Stones of the Temple, which occurs in April or May.
(2) The Commemoration of the Death of H.A., which occurs on October 2nd or the Saturday nearest
to that date.
(3) The Dedication of the Temple, which takes place four weeks later.
El Shaddai is saluted on each of these occasions.

On the first when the Sun has risen, facing East; and at High Twelve facing South. On the second, when
the Sun is at High Twelve, facing South. On the third, when the Sun has risen, facing East; and at High
Twelve, facing South.

The Orientation of the Temple is fixed at the Commemoration Drama of its

Foundation in the Spring. First the centre is fixed; this is always the preliminary.
Every measurement and every calculation is made " to the centre." Then, when
half the Sun's disc is above the horizon, the Sun line is drawn. This line
completes the seven points; with the five points referred to in an earlier lecture,
we now get an additional two, east and west, which makes the complete seven.

PLAN OF MODEL SHOWING 5 AND 7 POINTS

5
I have never seen a Compass used in an Operative Lodge. The Operatives say, What do you want with a
Compass when you have the Sun? They further claim that all churches ought to be orientated on their
Saint's day. Consequently, the East and West line for churches properly orientated will vary with the
place of Sun rise on the date of the Dedication. Operatives further say you can always get your true
South even on the shortest day of Winter if the Sun be shining. From the true South you can always get
true East by the 3, 4, 5 Triangle.

The Finding of the True South by the Shadow cast by the Sun.
Erect a stick at B.
In the early morning note the end of the shadow at C.
Draw the semi-circle B/ C B//.
Note when the shadow again cuts this semi-circle at D.
Bisect the arc C D at Y.
The line Y B gives the true South.
The path of the end of the shadow will be something like C X D.
At X the shadow will be shortest, and X B will also denote the true South.
But as the shadow curve is very flat at X, the better plan is to bisect C D and get the line Y B.

DIAGRAM TO ILLUSTRATE FINDING THE TRUE SOUTH.

Those of you who heard the former lectures will remember it has been described how the Operative
Masters always sit in the West and face the East. I was very interested to learn that this custom still
obtains in some American Lodges. The following communications are worthy of permanent record

MASTER'S CHAIR IN THE WEST.

I am informed that at Providence Lodge, No.1, Rhode Island Grand Lodge, the Master's Chair is placed in
the West, so that the S.W. is in the East, and the J.W. in the North.

London Op. Section (91 and 110) Meeting 21/5/13.

Informant Bro. F. H. Buckmaster,
The Briars, West Hill,
Putney, S.W.
'Communicated by
Bro. Stanton E. Smith,
St. John's Lodge, 1
Providence, R.I.,
U.S.A.
COPY OF LETTER.
The Briars,
West Hill Road, S.W.
May 27th, 1913.
Dear Sir and Bro.,
I have the pleasure to return your slip duly corrected and annotated. I am told by Bro. Smith that it is the
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usual custom in the N. E. (New England) Lodges to have the Master's Chair in the West, and the Altar in
the centre of the Lodge.
The late Bro. Frk. Reeves, of the Marble Craft Lodge, London, informed me that the same practice was
observed in the St. John's Lodge, Newfoundland, where he was a visitor shortly before his death. Bro.
Reeves was an ardent Mason, and was always on the alert to notice any deviation from the established
English Custom. My opinion is, that in the two instances cited the arrangement was that of the
established English or Scottish custom, which was taken over by the first settlers prior to the year 1717;
the innovation in English Lodges is, I should imagine, due to Dr. Anderson and his party early in the 18th
century. I am looking forward to many discussions with you in the future on matters of Ritual.
Yours faithfully and fraternally,

FRED H. BUCKMASTER, 18
359.19. Chap. 19. M.M. 454.
After the Lecture, Professor Bernard Freeman, 51, Wood-bury Grove, Finshury Park, informed the
Lecturer that when he was a member of Williametto Lodge, No. 2 Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., the Master's
Chair was in the West.

V. The Broached Thurnel.

The Broached Thurnel is first mentioned in the " Lectures" arranged by Dr. Anderson and Desaguliers in
the early part of the 18th century. In the first lecture, the Immovable Jewels of the Lodge are given as
"the Tarsal Board, Rough Ashlar, and Broached Thurnel." The lecture goes on to say, the Rough Ashlar
is for the Fellow Crafts to try their jewels on, and the Broached Thurnel for the Entered Apprentices to
learn to work upon."
The Broached Thurnel is still mentioned in the Royal Order of Scotland as one of the ornaments of the
Pavement of the Lodge. It is depicted as a cubical stone with a pyramidal apex, and the following will
show how the description, while not strictly accurate, was approximate, and may easily have arisen.

THE BROACHED THURNEL.

The Broached Thurnel, or Thurmel, was a piece of furniture which was placed in some of the Lodges of
the Speculative Free Masons before the Union of 1813. Possibly it was to be found chiefly, if not solely,
in the Lodges of "the Antients." It has been a source of controversy, as to what it was, among at least the
last two generations of Masonic historians. Like many other questions as to the meaning or origin of
much of our ritual and many of our customs, an answer is readily obtained by reference to the teaching of
the Operative Free Masons of to-day.

The first Operative Master Mason (VI) of the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons,
Wallers, Slaters, Paviours, Plaisterers, and Bricklayers, to whom I applied for information, before I was a
Master myself, was able to tell me all about it and to supply me with ground plan and elevation, which I
here reproduce.

The Broached Thurnel is the stone cap or terminal put on a square tower when a broach spire is to be
placed upon the same; and besides transferring the weight of the spire equally to the four walls of the
tower, it serves as a medium between the square tower and the polygonal spire, which was usually an
octagon.

The word Broach is still in use in the English language, and means a spire which springs from a tower
flush with its walls without any intermediate parapet. The term, "to broche," is also used in old building
accounts, perhaps for cutting the stones in the form of voussoirs and rough hewing. "There is coming
home stone to the broach ten score foot and five." - Acts relating to the Building of the South Steeple
1500-18. Archaeolog. yol. X. pp. 70-71, Cassell's Encyclopdic Dictionary.
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The word Thurnel, or Thurnal, or Thurmel, I cannot trace at all, but suggest it is an old form of
"terminal." The late Bro. Speth has a note on this subject in A.Q.C., xii., p. 205, in which he suggests
turnel is possibly a form of the French word " tourelle," a small tower, but I submit my suggestion is the
more likely one, as terminal has the sound of both m and n, which you find in the two forms respectively
of thurmel and thurnel.

Terminal is also a very old word, and the Romans celebrated the Terminalia in honour of Terminus, the
god of boundaries. The figure of Terminus is always represented as a head and bust without arms or feet,
terminating in a downward tapering block; hence, similar figures are called terminal figures.

Further, my Operative brethren inform me that Thurnel, or Thurnal, means a stone top or cap. The plain
Thurnel is square with upright sides. Even a plain square flagstone used to close or cap the top of a well
might be called a plain Thurnel. Also the plain flat stone on top of a tower would be called a Thurnel.
The Operative Free Masons teach certain of their craftsmen this special branch of the Masons' trade
required for "broaching." This work is known amongst them as slant work and facets, or " slant and
broaching." Special templates are required, and special slant plumb-rules, of which I give figures. The
cutting of the four corner facets, or broaching, requires great care and a perfect knowledge of the grain
and basis of the stone, or spaulching of corners and edges will be the result, and ruin the work. To
work the corners is known as "to slive" them. " Slive it down to a facet " would be the technical
instruction.

I. THE SQUARE II. THE DOUBLE SQUARE

III. PLAN OF TOP OF THURNEL IV. PLAN OF BROACHED THURNEL

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 V. ELEVATION OF BROACHED THURNEL VI. ELEVATION OF BROACHED THURNEL
WITH SQUARE BASE

VII. ELEVATION OF TOWER, BROACHED VIII. SLANT PLUMB RULE, ALSO CALLED
THURNEL AND SPIRE A BATTER PLUMB RULE, OR BATTER RULE

IX. TEMPLATE FOR A BROACHED THURNEL

It was considered better practice to make the broached Thurnel square at the bottom surface (as shown in
fig.V.) for some 10 or 12 inches before you began your slant facets, as this would avoid spaulching at the
lower edges.
A broached thurnel is sometimes spoken of by Operatives as a converting piece, " because it converts a
square into an octagon or other polygon in a proper technical way. Bro. Speth, in the article A.Q.C., loc.
cit., describes the Broached Thurnel as being represented by a cubic ashlar surmounted by a pyramid. No
doubt the cubic ashlar represents the top portion of the square tower, and the pyramid represents the
broached thurnel and the spire by which it was surmounted, which spire in some instances is replaced by a
dwarfed structure, which looks very like a pyramid.

The Broached Thurnel model in a Lodge is not for apprentices to learn upon, but is to teach Fellows. The
same Operative Master Free Mason who gave me the foregoing information, tells me that he has seen
several models of this broached thurnel in Operative Lodges, and it is used in one of the two Operative
Lodges to which I belong. He further says that in actual buildings in ancient times the broached thurnel
was made of one block of stone; though he does not think that is ever done now. When a model of a
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broached thurnel is used in a Lodge it has to be placed with its accompanying spire under " the G.," so
that the plumb-line suspended from the roof comes down just over the spire, because the Operatives teach
that all spires point to God and to the North Star, and should direct our attention to the Ruler of the
Univers -El Shaddai - Himself.

In the plans notice how the 3, 4, 5 triangle is brought into use in planning the elevation. (Fig. IV.). The
Octagon is formed by the use of the double square, which, like the 3, 4, 5 triangle, was part of the secrets
of a Master Mason. The Broached Thurnel is a true development of the best Gothic spirit in England, as
it served to keep distinct the load and the support, the spire and the tower, and to transfer the weight of the
octagonal spire equally to the four walls of the square tower. In constructing a dome or groined ceiling, a
similar difficulty was met by the use of pendentives.

Parker, in his " Glossary," says the term Broach, or Broche, is an old English term for a spit, applied to a
spire, still in use in some parts of the country, as in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, etc.; but in neither
that work nor in his "Introduction to Gothic Architecture," does he mention a broached thurnel.

Francis Bond, in "Gothic Architecture in England," has a section on Broach Spires (p.620), and says this
form of spire was common in the 13th and still more in the 14th century, while in its native district, near
Northants, it lingered until the 15th century; and he gives illustrations of many examples, but they none of
them have a broached thurnel.

Green, in his " Towers and Spires," gives some illustrations of excellent Broach Spires, but although he
points out the difficulty in making the transition from the square tower to the octagonal spire, he does not
refer to, and gives no example of, the Broached Thurnel. Examples of a Broached Thurnel may be seen
in St.John's, Leicester, at Kirby and Hoby, in the same county, and at Oakham and Langham, in
Rutlandshire.

VI. The Masters' Triangular Agreement and Triangular Lodges.

When the new Master of an Operative Lodge takes his obligation, he takes it conjointly with the other
two, and the obligation is known as the Masters' Triangular Agreement. It is as follows

THE THREE MASTERS' TRIANGULAR AGREEMENT.

I promise and swear that I will never reveal the Secrets entrusted to me save with the consent and aid of
other two Master Masons, and then only to enthroned Master Masons to whom the same properly belong:
that I will for ever conform to all the antient charges, usuages, and established customs of the Fraternity
as Enthroned Master Masons have done in all ages: and that all the charges and all other that belong unto
Master Masons I will well and truly observe perform and keep to the best of my power and knowledge.
So help me El Shaddai and my Halidome.

TRIANGULAR LODGES.
There are numerous allusions among the older accounts of Speculative Lodges of the 18th century to
Lodges which were triangular in shape; and some old engravings represent the Lodge members
assembling in Triangular form, although the Lodge room is square or oblong.

Among Operative Masons, it is held that a Lodge of Master Masons solely should be held in Triangular
form, and that they used to have buildings which were erected in this shape to accommodate assemblies
of Masters. The only building of this description I have seen is the one in Rushton Hall Park,
Northamptonshire. This is a handsome stone erection of two storeys, and measuring 33ft. 4ins. on each
side. It was erected in 1593, and its outer walls are ornamented with Triangles, Hexagons, Circles, and
other Masonic and geometrical figures. It is not far from Weldon Stone Quarries, where Operative
Masons have met up to quite recently.

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The Operative Masons inform me that in 1590 Sir Thomas Tresham was a Free Mason, and allowed this
Lodge to be built for the other Master Masons during the erection of Rushton Hall. I should be grateful if
any brother who comes across a similar triangular building will inform me of it.

The Lecturer here showed a photograph of the Triangular Lodge at Rushton Park.

VII. More Concerning the Master's Degree.

As the time had gone, the Lecturer contented himself with showing the Operative Masons' Salute, which
consists of seven movements, and is given 21 times to El Shaddai and seven times to the North Star and
seven times to the Three Masters.

Extract from Transactions, Vol III, of Authors Lodge No.3456, published 1919

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