The Trowel
The working tool of the Master Mason, used to spread the cement that binds a building together: brotherly love and affection.
What it means
Operative masons used it to spread the cement that unites a building into one common mass. The Master Mason uses it to spread brotherly love and affection, the cement that unites the members of a Lodge into one society of friends and brothers.
A single tool for the highest degree of Freemasonry, which is itself the point. Silver presentation trowels are traditionally used at cornerstone ceremonies.
In context: The Working Tools of Freemasonry, Explained
Related Lodge offices: Almoner (English practice)
Frequently asked questions
What does the Trowel mean in Freemasonry?
The working tool of the Master Mason, used to spread the cement that binds a building together: brotherly love and affection.
Who can wear the Trowel?
This is a lesson rather than a badge. It turns up on Lodge charts, prints and gifts, and owning or displaying one says nothing about rank. On a lapel most people will read it as Masonic.
Sources
Drawn from the published monitors and from what the bodies concerned publish about themselves. Nothing here comes from, or goes beyond, any obligated material.
- Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry (1797)
- William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry (1772)