A brief History of the Royal Arch:
Back ‘in the day’, the operative stone masons only recognised two levels, the Apprentice (Entered Apprentice) and the Craftsman (Fellow of the Craft). When the Moderns re-organised Speculative Craft Freemasonry in 1717 they didn’t intend to depart in any way from the landmarks and traditions of the Operatives . They also stated that they would never recognise any other degree.
So…why do our Constitutions now include the (Holy) Royal Arch? An Order that was never practised by working Masons?
True to their word, neither the Royal Arch nor any other degree was accepted by the Modern Grand Lodge right up to unification in 1813, so how is it that it’s now an intrinsic part of the Craft?
The main reason is because of two highly dedicated and enthusiastic 18th-century Freemasons, Charles Ramsay and Laurence Dermott.
As lodges became all-speculative in the early years of the 18th Century, many influential members wanted a status befitting their rank in life so lodges quietly created the grade of ‘Master Mason’ pretty much exclusively to appease them. It was a title given in passing and without any ceremony but it pacified them. Modern Grand Lodge, true to its traditions, wouldn’t have any of it and continued to recognise only ‘Apprentice’ and ‘Fellowcraft’.
Meanwhile, by the mid 1730s, a large community of Scottish aristocrats, supporters of the exiled King James II had fled to Paris and become enthusiastic Speculative Freemasons. As noblemen though they found the aims of operative masonry too limiting and wanted their Masonry to be focussed on higher ideals like; honour, courage, duty and chivalry. One of their number, Charles Ramsay, a Knight of the Order of St Lazarus and also Grand Orator, drafted a paper in 1737 proposing nine degrees leading to an Order of Knighthood which “defended Jerusalem with sword and trowel in hand”. His third degree was in fact that of a Master Mason which became an essential step towards the Holy Royal Arch as the next rung up the ladder.’
Modern Grand Lodge took the hint and in 1738 also organised a degree of Master Mason by extracting the material from the existing two degrees and re-working it into three parts.
The western English Provinces offered some resistance to the Modern’s efforts to impose these new ideas, appalled that they should remove the Christian references in the ceremonies. By 1754 this reaction had become so strong an Irish emigree Laurence Dermott encouraged the formation of an ‘Antient’ Grand Lodge, in competition with the Moderns, to restore all the old traditions. They simply wanted to restore their Christian heritage.
‘The Antients’ third degree tackled the question of authority behind Masonic morality by revealing its spiritual source within the VSL. This was neatly done within an extension to the degree later called the Holy Royal Arch. For Dermott it was ‘the root, heart and marrow of Masonry’ so several lodges today still work both elements sequentially. Records of the award of the Royal Arch degree occur from 1740 onwards.’
However, ‘Modern Grand Lodge still wouldn’t accept it. Modern lodges working the Royal Arch therefore had to look to an independent Grand Chapter created in 1767 to administer their affairs.
Somewhat surprisingly, in 1771, the Antients also formed their own Grand Chapter, surprising because the Royal Arch was already an intrinsic part of their third craft degree.
‘While by the late 1790s amalgamation of the Modern and Antients Grand Lodges made perfectly good sense, the ‘old-guard’ still resisted. The two Grand Masters, both Royal cousins, then banged a few heads together and by 1813 the two Grand Lodges had at last become one. There was one delay though; the Grand Chapters took until 1817 to complete their union.’
This was because the Moderns insisted that Freemasonry had to be universal and not tied to any one religion. The Antients insisted as strongly that Masonic morality required not only the idea of a Supreme Being but also clear guidance towards his revealed will and word.’
To resolve this impasse, they employed a clever word-smith who devised a sentence that allowed the former modern lodges to complete their Third Degree without any religious affinity and the former antient lodges to conclude their Third Degree acting out the who and the where.’
This now stated that; “Pure and Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more…including the Holy Royal Arch.”
The Holy Royal Arch was therefore not an additional degree (which pleased the Moderns) but its use was recognised and permitted within a Craft Lodge (which delighted the Antients). It was, the workable win-win that both organisations needed!
Images:
I. THE ROYAL ARCH AS DEPICTED BY LAURENCE DERMOTT frontispiece
II. SWORD‑AND‑TROWEL EMBLEM, FROM GEOFFREY WHITNEY’S “CHOICE OF EMBLEMES,” AND TRIPLE ARCHES FROM ROYAL ARCH CERTIFICATES 32
III. FRONTISPIECE OF SAMUEL LEE’S “ORBIS MIRACULUM,” OR “THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON” (1659) AND FRONTISPIECE TO “AHIMAN REZON” (1764), INCLUDING IN ITS UPPER PART THE ARMS OF THE ANCIENT’ MASONS 33
IV. THE CHARTER OF COMPACT 48
V. CADWALLADER, NINTH LORD BLAYNEY (1720‑75) 49
VI. TWO DECORATIVE APRONS OF THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 64
VII. THE KIRKWALL SCROLLGS
VIII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROYAL ARCH EMBLEM AND JEWEL 80
IX. ANCIENT METAL PLATE AND THE ALL‑SEEING EYE IN WROUGHT‑IRON ORNAMENT 81
X. THE CRYPT OF YORK MINSTER AND TWO TYPICAL SUMMONSES, LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 96
XI. SOME EARLY VARIATIONS OF THE ROYAL ARCH JEWEL 97
XII. TRACING‑BOARD OF CHURCHILL LODGE, NO. 478, OXFORD, AND CEREMONIAL SWORD USED IN ANTIENTS’ GRAND LODGE AND NOW BORNE IN SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER 112
XIII. TWO PAINTED APRONS WORKED IN APPLIQUE 113
XIV. BANNER PAINTED IN COLOURS LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 128
XV. COMBINED P.M. AND P.Z. JEWELS, LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 129
XVI. CHARTER OF THE CANA CHAPTERS COLNE, NO. 116 AND BANNER OF AN OLD LODGE) NO. 2o8, AT WIGTON, CUMBERLAND 144
XVIL TWO HANDSOME CHAIRS COMBINED CRAFT AND ROYAL ARCH 145
XVIII. APRONS OF THE 1790 PERIOD 160
XIX. TODDY RUMMER, EARLY 1820’S 161
XX. PLATE JEWELS AND HEAVY CAST JEWELS, LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 176
XXI. OLD PRINTS EMBLEMATIC OF TRADITIONAL HISTORY 177
XXIL FIVE SMALL JEWELS, 1780‑1825 PERIOD 192
XXIII. A SET OF PRINCIPALS’ ROBES) APRONS, AND HEAD DRESSES 193
XXIV. THE UNIQUE JEWELS OF UNANIMITY CHAPTER, WAKEFIELD 208
XXV. HEAD‑DRESSES ANCIENT AND TRADITIONAL 209
XXVI. RICHLY ORNAMENTED APRONS OF THE 1800 PERIOD 224
XXVIL JUGS DECORATED WITH MASONIC TRANSFERS 225
XXVIII. THE BELZONI AND OTHER RARE JEWELS ALL SET IN BRILLIANTS 240
XXIX. A MINIATURE PEDESTAL AND THE NEWCASTLE WATERCLOCK 241
XXX. FOUR APRONS PAST AND PRESENT 256
XXXI. FIVE NOTEWORTHY AND CONTRASTING JEWELS 257