Rockcliffe Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners No. 362
Meeting Dates:
We meet on the third Friday; March, May, September, November. Installation in March.
Consecrated: 30th January 1924 (102 years ago)
Date of Warrant: 17th December 1923
Annual Subscription: £
Dining Fee: £12
Joining Fee: £
Contact: Jim Gollagly, Secretary; Regstlaw275@gmail.com
Links:
Moored to: Wouldhave Tyne Dock Lodge of Mark Master Masons No. 362
Who are we?
The 'Mariners', as they are popularly known, is mentioned here as it occupies an important place within the Order of Mark Masonry. Royal Ark Mariner Lodges are attached to a Mark Lodge and bear the number of that Lodge.
Rockcliffe Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners No. 362, is a significant early Mariner Lodge in the Province of Durham, consecrated after the Durham/Northumberland split around 1920, named after a house owned by prominent Mason John Readhead, and linked to the Tyne's shipbuilding era, emphasizing Noah's flood story, faith, and obedience with distinctive rainbow/dove regalia, requiring Mark Master Mason membership.
What we do
The ritual of the ceremony of elevation makes use of illustrations from the Old Testament and the building of the ark by Noah for the preservation of mankind, to expound the virtues of morality and the properties of wisdom, strength and beauty.
A candidate must be a Mark Master Mason to be proposed, seconded, balloted for and elevated into a Royal Ark Mariner Lodge. He can then progress through the various offices and become the Worshipful Commander of the Lodge.
What is it all about?
As with other Degrees and Orders in Freemasonry, the early history of Royal Ark Mariner Degree is unknown, although accepted as being a very ancient Order.
The Degree is administered by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons and a candidate must be a Mark Master Mason. There the similarity ends. In chronological terms it precedes the Mark by hundreds of years because it relates to the building and voyage of Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood and has none of the other characters we meet in Freemasonry.
It is thought that it was a degree for carpenters and woodworkers as in the past those trades were more closely associated with stonemasons than is the case today.
The ceremony of Elevation is based on the events leading up to the Great Flood and the actions of Noah in building the Ark, by which mankind was preserved from perishing in the Universal Deluge.
The legend of Noah and his family were regularly enacted throughout England in the Mystery Plays of the seventeenth century and by the middle of that century there was reputedly a Masonic Degree of "Noachites". However, the first authentic record of the Degree of Royal Ark Mariner appears in the minutes of a meeting held in Bath in 1790.
Why join us?
Joining the Royal Ark Mariner (RAM) offers unique Masonic fellowship, beautiful ritual based on Noah's Ark, a focus on family/community strength, and a progression of leadership, building on your existing Mark Master Mason degree with distinctive regalia (rainbow colors) and a deeper appreciation for themes of cleansing, rebirth, and virtue. It's seen as a natural, complementary step for Mark Masons, providing exclusivity, rich symbolism, and a strong bond of brotherhood.
