TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE MARK DEGREE, Neville Barker Cryer Lewis Masonic, Hersham, 2007. Paperback, 104 pp, £9.99. ISBN (10) 0 85318 266 3

Anything issuing from pen of the Reverend Neville Barker Cryer, Past Grand Chaplain UGLE, Prestonian Lecturer (1974) and Batham Lecturer (1996-1998), is guaranteed to be both informative and entertaining to Freemasons. This book is a collection of ten short lectures, all of which have been ‘road tested’ in Mark Lodges and honed to perfection over many years.
     The ‘Talks’ are entitled: 1) Mark Man and Mark Master. 2) The Use of the Mark. 3) The Keystone (or plug). 4) The Cornerstone. 5) The Tracing Board. 6) The Heave-over of the Keystone. 7) The Search for the Stone. 8) The Overseers. 9) The Senior Warden’s Wicket. 10) The Mark Master’s Apron. Scanning that list alone is, I am quite sure, more than sufficient to whet a Mark Mason’s appetite, but the Talks are accompanied by an examination of current variations in Mark Degree working, an essay on Lord Leigh (1824-1905), and reconstructions of the Old Mark Degree ceremonies of Mark Man and Mark Master.
     Whilst not wishing to limit sales – or enjoyment - of this book, I think that it’s only fair to point out that the Degree ceremony is described in some detail. There is always the danger of foreknowledge ‘spoiling the fun’ for a candidate and this is especially true in the case of the Mark. Having said that, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that every Mark Lodge should equip itself with a copy and that the Master should make himself familiar with its contents. In the event of a meeting without a ceremony, the delivery of one of these talks should stimulate lively debate. Cryer’s writing style has the fluency that only comes with complete confidence. One feels at all times that one is in safe hands – which, in the context of the Mark Master’s Degree – is profoundly reassuring!
     I found the ‘setting’ of the Mark Master’s Degree in the overall Masonic scheme particularly interesting. There are details of the Third Degree here unknown to most Master Masons, I am sure, just as there are elements common to the Royal Arch that I daresay are as yet undiscovered by most Royal Arch Masons. This slender but well filled volume is fair work – and I shall say no more.

Andrew Montgomery