when did the grand chapter of all England at York work the royal arch

The earliest surviving minute of the Royal Arch worked under the Grand Lodge of All England at York dates to February 7, 1762, when a Royal Arch Lodge was opened at the Punch Bowl in Stonegate, York 1. Dr. Dassigny's 1744 Inquiry makes reference to Royal Arch Masons in York prior to this date, but no earlier meeting records survive 1.

The York body originally held these gatherings under the denomination of Lodges until April 29, 1768, after which meetings were described as Chapters 1. The surviving minute books of the Grand Chapter document workings across two main volumes: the first covering 1762 to 1776, and the second running from February 8, 1778, until the final recorded meeting on September 10, 1781 1. Throughout most of this period, the degree was worked and certified as the fourth degree of Masonry 1, before a 1780 resolution formally listed it within a five-degree system 1.

York worked the Royal Arch during the same general era as London, though formal records in London slightly precede the earliest surviving York minutes 12. London's Antients Grand Lodge recorded discussions regarding the Royal Arch as early as March 1752, with English records of the degree being conferred dating to 1758 2. In York, written records of active workings begin on February 7, 1762, when a Royal Arch Lodge was opened at the Punch Bowl in Stonegate 1.

The brethren who established that 1762 York gathering were officers and members of Lodge No. 259, a lodge originally warranted by the regular "Moderns" Grand Lodge in London 1. The York body subsequently became the sole property of the Grand Lodge of All England at York, providing an early instance of Grand Lodge recognition shortly after the Antients had acknowledged the degree in London 1.

York formally designated the Royal Arch as its fourth degree in 1762, later adopting a system in 1780 that placed it within a five-degree arrangement alongside Craft Masonry and Knight Templary 1. Both centers were actively working the degree throughout the 1760s and 1770s, operating concurrently until the Grand Lodge at York ceased activity in the 1790s 12.

The surviving historical records of the Grand Chapter of All England at York consist primarily of two minute books, both of which were previously misplaced or held elsewhere before being restored to York.

The first minute book, covering the period from 1762 to 1776, lay unrecognized in a dark corner of the York archives until 1879 1. Prior to its discovery, scholars possessed records dating back only as far as a treasurer's book from April 1768 1.

The second minute book, running from February 8, 1778, to September 10, 1781, was identified in the archives of the Grand Lodge of England in London 1. Following a petition by the York Lodge to the Grand Master, this second volume—along with a folio minute book of the Grand Lodge of All England dating from 1774—was returned to York 1.

The websites I drew on here are not among those a Masonic researcher would ordinarily rely upon. Please weigh what they say accordingly.