Prospective Candidates must be a Master Mason, a Mark Master Mason and a Royal Arch Mason. The Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of England and Wales and its Districts and Councils Overseas was formally constituted on 29 July 1873 by four Councils chartered just two years earlier by the Grand Council of New York. They had organised themselves into a Sovereign body under the Patronage of the Rev. Canon G.R. Portal, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, who was duly Installed as the Grand Master of the new Order. By the turn of the nineteenth century, there were twenty seven Councils and a similar number had been additionally Consecrated by the end of the Second World War. The Order then grew rapidly with the number on the Roll at the end of 2024 being over 250 Councils. The Order in England now comprises four basic degrees: Select Master; Royal Master; Most Excellent Master; and Super-Excellent Master. These cover the period from 969 BCE until 586 BCE and provide an important link between the degrees of Mark Master and the Royal Arch. Since some of these ceremonies take place in a vault beneath the Holy Temple, they are sometimes collectively referred to as the Cryptic Degrees. There are two further degrees into which senior members of the Order may be invited: Thrice Illustrious Master (or Silver Trowel) and Excellent Master (or Passing the Veils). These take place in 970 and 534 BC respectively, further completing the Solomonic story.

Comp. Steve Farmer, a member of Westune Council in the district of Cheshire and the Marches, has developed a striking new concept in order to attract potential new members to the order. He has used his creativity in the production of a jigsaw motif to show how the order of Royal and Select Masters can be seen to link the three prerequisites for our order and therefore to “complete” the members view of the relationships between Craft, Royal Arch and Mark Masonry. Small business sized cards have been created (shown below) linking to a video explaining the journey of a new member, the video being hosted on a new district website he also designed for attracting new members. You can scan the QR Code below with a smart phone, or click on the video icon above to view the video. already further versions of the video have been created for other Districts who have expressed a wish to use this idea in their own marketing.

Experience last Grand Council Meeting

On Tuesday, 15 April 2025, over 600 Companions of the Royal and Select Masters gathered at the Grand Temple, Freemasons’ Hall in London for the annual meeting of Grand Council. The event was presided over by the Grand Master, M.Ill.Comp. Kessick John Jones, IX, whose re-election was proposed by Deputy Grand Master R.Ill.Comp. Paul Norman, IX, and seconded by R.Ill.Comp. Norman Milburn, G.P.C.W., receiving unanimous support. Following his re-election, the Grand Master re-appointed R.Ill.Comp. Paul Norman as Deputy Grand Master and R.Ill.Comp. Norman Milburn as Grand Principal Conductor of the Work. He also conferred appointments or promotions in Grand Rank upon 144 Companions. The meeting included an update on the Sesqui-Centenary appeal, the Grand Master’s address, and the welcome of international representatives and leaders of other Masonic Orders. The event was marked by camaraderie, celebration, and recognition of distinguished service.