Masonic Notes And Queries.

reliable evidence of any wooden church being constructed in England . And though it may he said that during the Saxon times , Avooden churches were occasionally erected , yet the evidence in favour of the Saxons building very largely , in stone is so great , that Ave may fairly say , stone was the rule—wood the exception . Much stress has been sometimes laid on

an expression in a charter of King Edgar * to the abbey of Malrnesbury , of date 974 , where he talks of " worm eaten and rotten timber and boards , " but it is now generally understood that his words refer merely to the roofs . "We have no doubt in other writers allusion to wooden churches , and even those of lighter

materials .- ) " Bede mentions that Finan , Bishop of Lindisfarne , or Holy Island , "built a church composed wholly of sawn oak , and covered with reeds , according to the fashion of the Scots % "We also know that in 627 , when Paulinus baptised Edwin , King of Northumbria , on Easter Day , at York , a wooden oratory was erected for the occasion , but that immediately afterwards the king himself laid , on the same spot ,

the foundation of a stately and magnificent fabric of stone . " § And the same writer also tells us , that after Paulimis had converted Blaecea , prefect or governor of the city of York , he built a stone church there , in memorial , of excellent workmanship . We haA r e accounts , also , of the building operations of the famous Benedict Bishop Abbot of AVearmouthwho built his

, church and monastery " more Eomano" in stone . Eddius tells us how Wilfrid , in 669 , repaired the stone church in York , and erected many religious structures in stone by the aid of foreign workmen . j | The evidence is very great as regards pre-Conquest buildings , but the post-Conquest buildings were all of stone .

William Malmesbury tells us how the Normans introduced their new style universally , ^ and from that time forward , I repeat , there is no reliable evidence of any wooden building in England for religious purposes . What may have been the " fashion of the Scots" in this respect I cannot say ; but I very much

doubt , if Mr . Ferguson would deliberately adhere to or support Bro . Buchau ' s idea , that in the llth century any Avooden churches wore anywhere begun and constructed . —A MASONIC STUDENT .

THE JEWS . A Brother will find that in the course of the proceedings arising , a few years ago , on the well-known occasion of English Jews with Masonry certificates being refused admission into the Grand Lodge of Prussia , lord Zetland announced it as his opinion that

Freemasonry " being a pure system of morality , ought to embrace within its illimitable range the rich and the poor , the Christian , the Jew , and all who acknowledge the Great Creator . " His lordship ' s expression of opinion was followed hy the recall of the Chevalier Esser , the Grand Lodge of England's representative at the Grand Lodge of Prussia . —CHARLES PUETON COOPEE .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

WOODEN OHTJECHES IN THE 14 < TH CENTURY ( p . 152 ) . In an article upon Scottish abbeys and cathedrals , by the late Joseph Robertson , in vol . 85 of the Quarterly Review , page 146 , I find the following : — " "We have a fervid description of the beauty of the chancel of Dollar in Clackmannanshire , in 1366 , but the chronicle does not conceal that the building was only of hewn oak . ' ' ' '— "W . P . B .

BRO . ONE All HAYE . I have no memorandum of any such letter of Bro . Oneal Haye to the Editor of the Freemason' ' s Magazine as that which a Correspondent describes . There are three contributions hy Bro . Oneal Haye to our periodical—April 10 thMay llthand May 18 th 1867 ,

, , , entitled "Ereemasonry Considered . " My correspondent will not , in those contributions , easily find support of the theory that there Avas not Speculative Masonry before 1717 . —CHAEEES PUETON COOPEE .

ANCIENT MABKS ( page 166 ) . The list of marks given by my brother Mark Master , " Antiquarian , " is both useful and interesting . It serves to show that an odd number of points was in as much favour as an even number with the old Masonsor vice versa . These marks were simply the

, mark or initial of the different masons which they put upon their tools , and upon the stones which they wrought , just as at present—e . g ., every mason puts his mark upon his chisels , so that when they come hack from the smith , after being sharpened ( a barrow load all mixed together ) , each man is at once able to

p ick out his own tools . Upon this custom our Mark degree or ceremony is founded , only the said ceremony is no older than the last century ; before that , however , I can readily believe that when an Apprentice Mason got his apron " washed , " and stood treat , he was allowed to put his mark upon his tools , & c . —W . P . BUCHAN .

MARKS AND " ANTIQTJABIAN . ' Those brethren who are interested in the study of Mark Masonry , and also of " Marks" should procure copies of either the Builder for March 27 th , 1869 , 1 , York-street , Covent Garden , or No . 9 Sessional PapersEoyal Institute of British Architects 1868-9

, , , 9 , Conduit-street , Hanover-square , W ., price Is ., as they contain "Something about Masons' Marks in various Countries , " by George Godwin , P . R . S ., P . S . A ., & c , and also tAvo or three sheets of well engraved marks from various buildings in different parts of the worldfrom early days to modern times . I am told

, there has been a later communication , by tbe same gifted author in the Builder , hit do not know the dale , but should be glad to . If " Antiquarian" has not a copy of either of these excellent publications , he will thank me for drawing his attention to them . —W . J . HUGHAN .

ROGUE CEOIX . At the Queen ' s Levee on Monday last was presented ' ¦ ' John de Havillaad , Esq ., Rouge Croix , Pursuivant , by the Earl Marshall . " 'W hat connection is there betAveen the gentleman in question and the 18 ° of the Supreme Grand Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , or the Rose Croix degree , worked in this country and elsewhere . Will Capt . Philips—Avho , beside being a member of the Supreme Council , 33 ° ,