John Yarker
John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an English Masonic writer and organiser. He is associated particularly with the British Antient and Primitive Rite and with the international history of Memphis-Misraïm.[1]
Masonic career
Yarker was initiated in the Lodge of Integrity, Manchester, in 1854. He joined Fidelity Lodge at Dukinfield in 1855 and became its Master in 1857. His later interests extended across several systems of additional degrees.[1]
In 1872 he became Grand Master General of a British and Irish Sovereign Sanctuary operating under an American charter. His own published statement describes the body’s organisation and its links with other rites. It also records a benevolent fund established in 1885 and an Order of Merit recognising lifesaving, literary work and other service.[2]
Ellic Howe distinguishes this organisation from earlier Memphis lodges in Britain: Yarker’s body did not confer the Craft degrees and therefore did not operate as a competing Craft Grand Lodge. Holding one of its offices was nevertheless different from receiving recognition for the rite from the United Grand Lodge of England.[3]
Writing and historical interpretation
Yarker published The Kneph, the rite’s journal, from 1881 to 1900. His books included The Arcane Schools (1909), and he contributed 26 short papers to the transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge.[1]
His public statement presented the rite as a school of Masonic learning and moral philosophy, open to Master Masons of different religions. It also repeated stories linking modern Masonry to ancient Egypt. The statement is useful evidence for Yarker’s aims and beliefs; its ancient lineage claims require separate historical examination.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, “John Yarker”, biographical record, citing John M. Hamill, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 109 (1996), pp. 191–214.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Yarker, “Antient & Primitive Rite of Masonry”, The Kneph, vol. VIII, no. 1, September 1888; historical statement reproduced by the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon.
- ↑ Ellic Howe, “Fringe Masonry in England, 1870–85”, paper dated 14 September 1972, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum; transcription hosted by the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon.
Memphis-Misraïm: Overview · Misraïm · Memphis · History · Degrees and organisation · Egyptian symbolism · Organisations and recognition · Regalia and imagery · Sources and further reading
People: Bédarride brothers · Marconis de Nègre · John Yarker · Giuseppe Garibaldi · Papus · Jean Bricaud · Constant Chevillon · Robert Ambelain
Background: Hermeticism · Martinism · Masonic glossary · Comparison with related traditions