Department of the Masters' Degree

 
This form of freemasonry (in Dutch: Afdeling van de Meestergraad) was founded in 1819. The local chapters are called Bouwhut (Building cabin), the national board the Kamer van Administratie (Chamber of Administration). It is open to Master Masons.

The order thanks its existence to a particular episode in the history of Dutch 19th century freemasonry, under the Grand Master Prince Frederik of Orange. After the ‘discovery’ of the so-called Charter of Cologne, the prince supported strongly the founding of new Bouwhutten, in order to form a counterweight to the Higher Degrees, to which the prince had fundamental objections.
The existence of these Bouwhutten within freemasonry is not without discussion. In a number of lodges these Bouwhutten are described as site offices, in which a large number of decisions concerning the government of the lodge are taken, without any saying of that lodge.

This is again a typical Dutch form of freemasonry, nowhere in the rest of the world is anything like it. The ritual in this order is considered important as a tool to stimulate the friendship between brethren. The ethical value of this order is mainly expressed in the rule ‘do unto others as you would they should do unto you’. The brethren address each other as Friend; it is not a custom to visitate other Bouwhutten.

The order has a very simple initiation ritual. 

Bouwhutten usually meet once a month. In 2002 there were 56 of them, with 848 members:

L’Union Royale 1, Den Haag
De Waare Broedertrouw 2, Gouda
Vicit Vim Virtus 3, Haarlem
De Gooische Broederschap 4, Hilversum
De Vriendschap 5, Den Haag
Amsterdam 6, Amsterdam
Het Vreedendall 7, Den Haag
De IJssel 8, Zutphen
Prins Frederik 9, Den Haag
Van Tongeren 10, Amsterdam
Ultrajectina 11, Utrecht
Het Noordererf 12, Groningen
De Cirkel 13, Arnhem
Age 14, Den Haag
Orde en Vlijt 15, Gorinchem
Trouw 16, Den Haag
De Troffel 17, Bilthoven
Gooi- en Eemland 18, Hilversum
L’Amitié 19, Zaandam
Calluna 20, Groningen
De Twee Punten 21, Den Haag
Vriendenkring 22, Groningen
Mozaiek 23, Groningen
Setia 24, Amstelveen
De Kei 25, Amersfoort
L’Inséparable 26, Bergen op Zoom
Ongescheiden 27, Rotterdam
De Bouwsteen 28, Alkmaar
Aengwirden 29, Heerenveen
Corona Frisia 30, Leeuwarden
De Peperbus 31, Zwolle
De Rechte Lijn 32, Rotterdam
Verantwoordelijkheid 33, Den Haag
De Stralenkrans 35, Wageningen
De Gulden Regel 36, Nijmegen
Arbor Aurea 37, Rijswijk
De Noabers 38, Hengelo
Panta Rhei 39, Bussum
Eenvoud 40, Velsen
De Koggeboet 41, Schagen
De Rei 42, Doorn
Linea Recta 43, Utrecht
Oost Gelre 44, Winterswijk
De Maese 45, Rotterdam
De Baronie 46, Breda
Corona Mosae 47, Maastricht
Oldehove 48, Leeuwarden
Gericht op het Westen 49, Deventer
L’Unanimité 50, Brielle
Fides 51, Naarden
De Hondsrug 52, Emmen
Unio Mystica 53, Heerenveen
In Vriendschap Bloeiende 54, Doesburg
Lugdunum Batavorum 55, Leiden
De Brug 56, Kampen
Nehalennia 57, Middelburg

General rules for the Afdeling van de Meestergraad (in Dutch)
Regulations of the Afdeling voor de Meestergraad (in Dutch)

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