Tyler (or Tiler) is the name of the office of outer guard of a Masonic Lodge. Early speculative Masonic lodges met in rooms in taverns and other public meeting places, and all Lodges appoint a Tyler to guard the door from unqualified, malicious or simply curious people. Although an Officer of the Lodge and often a highly experienced Past Master, he may be considered akin to a sergeant: the Tyler may be an employee rather than a member of the Lodge, in which case he will often prepare the room, supply regalia or refreshments, and act as permanent steward of the furniture and premises. William Hogarth's famous print of Night shows a drunken Mason being helped home by the Tyler, from one of the four original Lodges in 1717 at the Rummer & Grapes tavern.

The origins of the term are unclear and a number of hypotheses have been presented over time. The name may simply come from the occupation of tyler -- a person who lays roof and floor tiles, perhaps because he had failed to qualify for more skilled work as a mason. More fanciful suggestions include:

• Derived from the name of Wat Tyler, the ringleader of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
• Possibly a revision of the word tether, used to tie the door closed.
• Possibly that the tyler once sat on the roof of the lodge on the 'tiles' to stop people looking in through the roof.

The Tyler is appointed by the Worshipful Master or elected by the members of the Lodge. He is charged with examining the Masonic credentials of anyone wishing to enter the Lodge and keeping unqualified persons from infiltrating Masonic meetings, and admitting only those qualified.

The Tyler is required to be outside the Lodge door for large portions of the meeting, although often in a position to overhear the proceedings. There are proper rituals for admission to the Lodge, and for maintaining security; and at the end of the proceedings a Tyler's Toast, immortalised in Rudyard Kipling's poetry, in which the Tyler represents poor and distressed freemasons. The position has often been given to a deserving Mason who has fallen on hard times, such as the original Grand Master Anthony Sayer, or to a senior Lodge member who can help and advise those kept waiting outside.

See also

Masonic Lodge Officers

References