Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick,stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone, cast stone, concrete block,glass block, stucco, tile, and cob. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can significantly affect the durability of the overall masonry construction.

The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins,

evolution and defining events of the fraternal

organisation known as Freemasonry. It covers three phases.

Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative

masons during the Middle Ages, then the admission of lay

members as "accepted" or speculative masons, and finally the

evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of

Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process

is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge

in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are

the paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century,

and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons

alike from the earliest years.

A complete history of Freemasonry is beyond the scope of a single article. This article traces the early development of Freemasonry from organised bodies of operative stonemasons to the modern system of speculative lodges organised round regional or national "Grand Lodges". Notable events and developments of the modern period are also briefly described. The history of specific subjects, rites and jurisdictions within the general heading of Freemasonry are dealt with in detail elsewhere, in their own articles.

Masonry was first brought to the country can not be ascertained on account of strict prohibitions against Masonry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was said that the British established a lodge here during their brief occupation from 1762 to 1764 but, records could not be found except for a letter in the Archives of the Indies in Seville, Spain, written by the Archbishop of Manila complaining about the desecration of the cathedral in Manila by the occupying British forces who used the church as a meeting place.

During the early nineteenth century, Spain was

ruled by King Ferdinand VII, whose hatred of

Masonry was in view of the liberalism that the

Fraternity espoused. In Mexico and in Latin

America, revolts were being led by Masons like

Miguel Hidalgo (Mexico, 1810) and Simon

Bolivar (liberator of South America).

The first official prohibition of Masonry that

reached the Philippines was embodied in the

Royal Letter Patent of January 19, 1812, issued

in Cadiz by the Council of the Regency of Spain

and the Indies, in behalf of the absent Ferdinand

VII who was then a prisoner of the French.

In August 1824, in another Royal Letter Patent,

Masonry was again peremptorily prohibited for

the reason that – so said Ferdinand VII- “it was

one of the main causes of revolution in Spain and

in (Latin) America”(

Advantages

The use of material such as bricks and stones can increase the thermal mass of a building and can protect the building from fire.

Most types of masonry typically will not require painting and so can provide a structure with reduced life-cycle costs.

Masonry is non-combustible product.

Masonry walls are more resistant to projectiles, such as debris from hurricanes or tornadoes.

Masonry structures built in compression preferably with lime mortar can have a useful life of more than 500 years as compared to 30 to 100 for structures of steel or reinforced concrete

Disadvantages

Extreme weather -combined with the right circumstances- can cause degradation of masonry wall surfaces due to frost damage.

Masonry tends to be heavy and must be built upon a strong foundation, such as reinforced concrete, to avoid settling and cracking.

Save for concrete, masonry construction does not lend itself well to mechanization, and requires more skilled labor than stick-framing.

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much ^_^