District Grand Lodge of the Transvaal
(Double Quota Keystone District)
RW Bro D A Gurney
District Grand Master
W Bro D R Hammond, RAMGR
Deputy District Grand Master
W Bro D A McNally RAMGR - W Bro J H Spiller DGR
Assistant District Grand Masters
District Grand Secretary:
W. Bro. N A Griffin
P O Box 10138
Fourways East 2055
Phone: 082 827 7575
Email: Mark.DGL.Transvaal@gmail.comLink to the Mark Website
RAM History and Origin
While the statutes of a self-styled Grand Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners produced in 1871 mention that '. . . in the year 1772 a Grand Lodge was reconstituted', this evidence is not generally accepted as reliable.
The first authentic record of the degree appears in the minutes of a meeting held in Bath in 1790, while numerous records exist throughout the country of 'elevations' since that date. This degree however was to experience great difficulties and it was many years before a serious revival of Ark Masonry took place, but in 1816 a Brother John F. Dorrington awakened a renewed interest in the degree when he became Grand Commander. It was this revival that eventually stimulated the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons to take decisive action by placing the degree under its protection.
A Grand Master's Royal Ark Council was formed to regulate the degree and the first original working under the new constitutions was effected in Mother Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners No 1 in 1872. Since then the fraternity has grown apace and lodges of this degree have spread throughout the world; today there are over 570 lodges working under the English Constitution.
Reference: 'Beyond the Craft' by Keith B Jackson. Published by: Ian Allan Publishing
Also see Freemasonry Today - RAM
| RAM Lodge | Meeting Place |
|---|---|
| Ashlar No. 424 | Park Lane |
| Austral No. 1302 | Mafikeng |
| Benoni No. 720 | Springs |
| Boksburg-Cinderella No. 621 | Boksburg |
| Cornerstone No. 217 | Kimberley |
| Friendship No. 900 | Phoenix, Mauritius |
| Golden Harvest Hillbrow-Prosperity No. 741 | Park Lane |
| Jeppestown No. 863 | Kensington |
| Kosmos No. 848 | Johannesburg, Morningside Country Club |
| Northern Transvaal No. 966 | Polokwane |
| Orkney No. 1335 | Gaborone |
| Rising Star No. 885 | Bloemfontein |
| Swaziland No. 1298 | Manzini |
| Transvaal Installed Commanders No. 1570 | Park Lane |
| Transvaal Keystone No. 1186 | Park Lane |
| United Service No. 588 | Pretoria |