Mason's mark
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A mason's mark is a symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures. It is also found in some forms of freemasonry as a type of unique signature or identifying mark: Mark Masonry is a separate degree in freemasonry, and Scottish rules issued in 1598 stated that on admission to a fraternity, every mason had to enter his name and his mark in a register.
There are two types of marks used by stonemasons. (1) laying out marks which allowed the position of a piece of stone in the overall design to be clearly seen. Since stone was usually worked at the quarry or in the masons' yard, not in situ, such marks were necessary for efficient operations. (2) 'signature' marks pertaining to a particular mason or workshop. This is what is generally meant by the term 'mason's mark'. (It should be pointed out that merchants also had their marks, and that medieval carpenters used similar laying out marks.)
The exact purpose of mason's marks is unclear, although it is generally assumed that they mark the working of a piece of masonry by a particular mason, in order to claim payment. Others are assumed to indicate the position in which a stone should be laid. It has also been suggested that marks indicate the origin of the stone, or the location in which it was worked.
[edit] References
- Robert Ingham Clegg, Masons’ and Freemasons’ Marks, Mackey's History of Freemasonry, 1921
- Examples of Mason's marks[1]
