arena


(not sceptres) which are 5, 4 and 3 units of measurement in length and are coloured blue, red and black. The Antient


Drama is a ceremony


The minimum qualification for the sixth degree is to be an Installed Master in good standing in both the Craft and Mark degrees of Speculative Freemasonry. The candidate also has to have attended at least 70% of his Assemblage meetings. The Senior Passed Master of a Region confers this degree in a Lodge of Passed Masters, usually held once per year. In his capacity as head of a region the "SPM" is known as a Deputy Grand Master Mason. The first four degrees are conferred in an Assemblage of Lodges IV° to I°, each degree beyond the first being conferred when the Assemblage is appropriately opened as a Lodge of that degree. The fifth, sixth and seventh degrees are conferred in separate Lodges of those degrees. The Society is governed by three


Grand Master Masons who traditionally hold their offices for life, but in practice, waive that right. The First Grand Master Mason retires after five years and the Second Grand Master Mason after three years (although both are eligible for reappointment), whilst the office of Third Grand Master Mason terminates annually with the enactment of the Antient Drama one year after his appointment. The three Grand Masters each carry a rod


WINTER 2014


performed at Grand Assemblage each year, designed to commemorate the heroic death of Hiram Abiff, who was slain after the completion of King Solomon’s Temple because of his refusal to disclose the secrets of a Master Mason. It is a ceremony of great importance to Operative Masons. It requires a cast of twenty- two, a substantial amount of equipment, and a large room. The 3rd Grand Master Mason plays the part of Hiram Abiff, and thus the Antient Drama is the device used by Operatives to replace their 3rd Grand Master Mason at the end of his one- year term of office.


Structure The working unit is called an


Assemblage as opposed to a Lodge and many of them incorporate the word quarry into their name to preserve the connection to operative masonry. Assemblages are organised into Regions which are similar in structure to the Provincial/ District structure in other Orders. In order to raise funds to acquire a headquarters building, the Footing Corner Fund was set up by Derek Stuckey and Bill Box, both of whom were Grand Clerks of the Order. Honorifics were awarded to contributors as illustrated on the inset picture of the VII degree


jewel with the honorific jewel appended. In 2009, the society was able to set up and refurbish a Headquarters building in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire. On 1 October 2014 the Order signed a mutual recognition concordat with the: The Grand Sanhedrin of Scotland of Masons, Paviours, Tylers, Plaisterers, Joyners, Glayziors, Plombiers and Wrights.


Regalia Apart from the Grand Master


Masons and the Grand Clerk, regalia is minimal and consists simply of a blue collarette or cord from which is suspended the badge of one's grade. Badges are exchanged as progression is made. The inset photographs show the Jewel for the grades and also a larger picture of the VII degree Jewel. Whilst individual regalia is fairly simple, each Assemblage has considerable furniture and equipment which has its basis in antiquity and is related to the craft of stonemasonry.


London In London there are two regions


Westminster and London, these include the following Assemblages: Channel Row, Abbey, Guildhall, Mansion House and St Paul’s. Channel Row Assemblage was constituted on 21 May 1913 and the Operatives successfully celebrated its Centenary in 2013 with a celebratory meeting held in the Grand Temple of Freemasons' Hall.


Brethren wishing to learn more about the Order may refer to its website www.operatives.org.uk.


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