The Masons Livery Company, one of the oldest of the City of London’s Livery Companies with records dating back to 1356, is taking the first steps towards creating a register of masons’ marks at the Natural Stone Show (ExCeL London 30 April-2 May).

Working in co-operation with Stone Federation Great Britain, it is inviting masons who use a mark to fill in a postcard (pictured right) on the Stone Federation stand (D26), so that the mark can be associated with the mason.

Masons marks date back at least 2,000 years. Throughout history they have been a practical way for masons to identify which pieces of masonry they have produced. In the past, the marks were used both as a way for masons to ensure they were paid for their work and as a quality control.

While the tradition of masons’ marks has become lost to modern, thin cladding, a lot of masons still maintain it, creating their own mark and taking it with them throughout their career. They use it on traditional masonry sections they are called upon to produce. It is particularly prevalent in conservation and ecclesiastical workshops.

When old masonry is removed for repair and restoration work, masons’ marks cut into the stone perhaps hundreds of years ago are exposed. But there is seldom any way of relating the mark to the mason who created it.

By starting to collect masons’ marks with details of the individual using them, the Worshipful Company of Masons, as the livery company is known, intends to make it possible for future generations to identify the mason who carried out earlier work.

It is in the nature of traditional stonemasonry that it tends to survive for centuries and the Masons Company Register of Masons’ Marks will build into a useful resource in the decades and centuries ahead.

It also hopes to formalise the adoption of masons’ marks by encouraging colleges to ask their students to create a mark on the successful completion of their studies and then submit that mark to the Masons Company for inclusion on the Register. The mark will then become the individual mason’s property, protected by copyright.

The Livery Companies are an integral part of the City of London. The two developed together in medieval times and have grown and adapted over the centuries to help sustain London’s pre-eminence as a financial and business centre. They share many goals and objectives and work closely together on issues of City importance. The election of Sheriffs and other officers is the prerogative of the Livery alone and the election of the Lord Mayor of London is a shared responsibility between the Livery and the Aldermen of the City of London.

Livery Companies are the source of, and take a prominent part in, many of the great ceremonial occasions, including the Lord Mayor’s Show, adding colour and richness to the City’s heritage.

Many of the Livery Companies are related to the construction industry – Architects, Carpenters, Glaziers, Plumbers and Surveyors, to name just a few – and the involvement of such a diverse group of trades, crafts and professions in all aspects of the work of the City is part of its inherent success and vibrancy.

The important role still held by Livery Companies in maintaining standards and supporting education and welfare, means that they will continue to have a central position in the life of the City of London and the nation. The Masons Company, for excample, actively supports vocational training for the stone industry and general education in deprived areas of the UK.

It supports the craft of stonemasonry through providing financial assistance to students and apprentices for their courses, working closely with the Building Crafts College and with the City & Guilds of London Art School, where the emphasis in both cases is on vocation training. The Company is represented on the Council of City and Guilds, which is the largest awarding body for vocational training in the UK and also many markets overseas.

In education in general, the Masons Company, along with 43 other Livery Companies, supports the work of the Livery Schools Link, which assists in raising aspirations of pupils from areas of deprivation across the UK (see www.guildofeducators.com).

The Company actively supports the Cathedrals Workshop Fellowship, established to promote exchange of apprentices between cathedrals (and others) to enhance their knowledge.

And, through The Masons Company Craft Fund and The Masons Company Charitable Trust, the Masons Livery supports the craft of stonemasonry and carving and the use of stone in the environment, offering bursaries and other support to apprentices and trainees in the craft of stonemasonry and the wider community. You can support the charities with a text to 70070 with the message WMCT30 followed by either £5 or £10