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TheGentleman orLady Usher of the Black Rod,[not verified in body] often shortened toBlack Rod, is a seniorparliamentary officer similar to aserjeant-at-arms, responsible for ceremonialprotocol and maintaining order within alegislative chamber. The role originated in theHouse of Lords of theParliament of England during the 14th century,[not verified in body] and was exported to theupper houses of otherWestminster system legislatures. Besides the British House of Lords, the office now exists in Australia's federal and state upper houses, in Canada's federal upper house and some unicameral provincial houses, and for ceremonial purposes in New Zealand and the Cook Islands.[not verified in body] The position is named after thestaff of office carried by the official, a black rod. The Gentleman/Lady Usher often has adeputy called theYeoman Usher of the Black Rod.
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The office was created in 1350 by royalletters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they adopted the BritishWestminster system. The title is derived from thestaff of office, anebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office's authority.
A ceremonial rod or staff is a common symbol indicating the authority of the office holder. Depictions of ancient authority figures in many cultures include such a rod (alternatively called asceptre). Another early example is thefasces (a bound bundle of rods) carried by guards ("lictors") who accompanied high-level officials in theRoman Republic and laterEmpire.
Ushers of the Black Rod are typically responsible for arresting any senator or intruder who disrupts the proceedings.
| Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | |
| Reports to | Clerk of the Parliaments |
| Appointer | The Crown(de jure) Clerk of the Parliaments(de facto) |
| Formation | 1350 |
| First holder | Walter Whitehorse (known) |
| Deputy | Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod |
| Website | Parliamentary information page |
Black Rod is formally appointed by the Crown based on a recruitment search performed by theClerk of the Parliaments (who is the employer of all House of Lords officials).[citation needed] As well as being an officer of the House of Lords, Black Rod is an officer of theOrder of the Garter; they are appointed byletters patent under the Garter Seal.[1] Black Rod also acts as Secretary to theLord Great Chamberlain by virtue of which they oversee certain ceremonial arrangements and day-to-day management of the Royal parts of the Palace of Westminster. Black Rod also holds the office of Serjeant-at-Arms, to which they are separately appointed by letters patent under theGreat Seal; it is in this capacity that Black Rod attends upon theLord Speaker.[1] Black Rod's deputy is theYeoman Usher of the Black Rod and Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms.[2]
Since 8 July 2025, the post of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod has been held byLieutenant GeneralEdward Davis;[3] he is the first Royal Marine to hold the post.
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Black Rod is principally responsible for controlling access to and maintaining order within the House of Lords and its precincts,[4] as well as for ceremonial events within those precincts. Previous responsibilities for security, and the buildings and services of thePalace of Westminster, have been passed, respectively, to the Parliamentary Security Director (as of the post's creation in January 2016) and Lords Director of Facilities (as of that post's creation and the retirement of the then-Black Rod in May 2009).[5]
Black Rod's official duties also include responsibility as the usher and doorkeeper at meetings of theMost Noble Order of the Garter; the personal attendant of the Sovereign in the Lords; as secretary to theLord Great Chamberlain and as the Serjeant-at-Arms and Keeper of the Doors of the House, in charge of the admission of strangers to the House of Lords. Either Black Rod or their deputy, the Yeoman Usher, is required to be present when the House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament, is in session, and plays a role in theintroduction of all newLords Temporal in the House (but not of bishops as newLords Spiritual). Black Rod also arrests any Lord guilty of breach ofprivilege or other Parliamentary offence, such as contempt or disorder, or the disturbance of the House's proceedings. Their equivalent in theHouse of Commons is theSerjeant at Arms.
Former Black RodDavid Leakey said that 30% of his work as Black Rod was within or for the House of Commons.[6]
Black Rod, along with their deputy, is responsible for organising ceremonial events within the Palace of Westminster, providing leadership in guiding the significant logistics of running such events.
Black Rod is in theory responsible for carrying theMace into and out of the chamber for the Speaker of the House of Lords (formerly theLord Chancellor, now theLord Speaker), though this role is delegated to theYeoman Usher and Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms, or on judicial occasions, to the Lord Speaker's deputy, the Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms.[citation needed]
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Black Rod is best known for their part in the ceremonies surrounding theState Opening of Parliament and theSpeech from the throne. Black Rod summons the Commons to attend the speech and leads them to the Lords. As part of the ritual, the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons are slammed in the approaching Black Rod's face. This is to symbolise the Commons' independence of the Sovereign. Black Rod then strikes the door three times with their staff, and is then admitted and issues the summons of the monarch to attend.[7]
This ritual also happens whenever the Lords have a commission to be read and Black Rod summons MPs to hear it. For example, on Tuesday 17 December 2019 this ritual happened twice.[8]
This ritual is derived from the attempt byCharles I to arrestFive Members in 1642, in what was seen as a breach of the constitution. This and prior actions of the King led to theCivil War. After that incident, the House of Commons has maintained its right to question the right of the monarch's representatives to enter their chamber, although they cannot bar them from entering with lawful authority[citation needed].
This list is derived from one published by theParliamentary Archives in 2011, with alterations from later research.[9]
Technically the serjeant-at-arms was an officer of theLord Chancellor (the former presiding officer of the House of Lords), rather than of the House of Lords.[20] He was appointed by the Sovereign "to be Serjeant-at-Arms in Ordinary to Her [or His] Majesty" and "to attend the Right Honourable the Lord Chancellor, Lord Keeper or Lord Commissioner for the Great Seal of the Realm for the time being".[21] He was appointed for life until 1713 and during good behaviour thereafter, originally receiving a daily remuneration and from 1806 an annual salary. The post was merged with that of Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod in 1962,[20] and with that of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in 1971.
The following is a list of Serjeants-at-Arms to the Lord Chancellor since 1660:
Since 1971 the office of Serjeant at Arms has been held by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.
TheParliament of Northern Ireland was createdin 1921, suspendedin 1972, and abolishedin 1973. TheSenate of Northern Ireland, its upper house, had a Black Rod throughout its existence,[32][33] who carried messages from the Senate tothe House of Commons, and at the annual opening of Parliament summoned MPs and Senators to the foot of the "Imperial Staircase" inParliament Buildings from where theGovernor of Northern Ireland made the speech.[34] The "Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in attendance on the Senate of Northern Ireland" was also appointed "Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms in attendance on theHouse of Commons of Northern Ireland", and likewise the Commons Sergeant-at-Arms was Deputy Black Rod. Black Rod's wand, uniform, and sword are now part of the collection of theNorthern Ireland Assembly Commission.[35] The wand is an ebony staff, 37 inches (940 mm) long, with silver gilt mounts dated London 1923. It was in storage in 2007,[36] and on display in theFirst Ministers office in 2012.[37] The first Black Rod was Sir Frederick Moneypenny,[38] the Belfast CityChamberlain and Private Secretary tothe Lord Mayor,[39] who served on a provisional basis and took no salary.[40] Later holders of the office were Major Thomas Dalby Hutcheson Hackett (1921–1954),[41][42] Brigadier John Young Calwell (1954–1968),[42][43][44] and Captain (RN) J. C. Cartwright (1969–1972).[45]
Thewhite paper leading to the1973 Northern Ireland Assembly said it "should be modern in character and the pomp of English historical features such as Black Rod, Sergeants at Arms, etc., should be abandoned".[46] Subsequentdevolved legislatures (the 1998Northern Ireland Assembly,Scottish Parliament, and WelshSenedd) have beenunicameral and none has a Black Rod.[citation needed]
TheAustralian Senate and the upper houses in fiveAustralian states and territories have their own Usher of the Black Rod.[citation needed] (Queensland abolished its upper house, and the assemblies of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have always been unicameral.[citation needed])
The current Usher of the Black Rod for theAustralian Senate is John Begley.[47] In the Australian Senate, the Usher of the Black Rod assists with the administration and security of the Senate and has the power to take anyone into custody who causes a disturbance in or near the Senate chamber.[48]
The Usher of the Black Rod for theSenate of Canada is the equivalent to the Black Rod office for the House of Lords. The position was also known as the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod until 1997, when the appointment of the first female Black Rod prompted the wordgentleman to be dropped from the title.
The provincial legislatures ofSaskatchewan,British Columbia,Alberta,New Brunswick, andPrince Edward Island have also incorporated the position of the Black Rods into their respective parliamentary systems.[49]
In theCook Islands the Usher of the Black Rod is the messenger of theKing's Representative at the ceremonial opening ofparliament.
In 2023, the Cook Islands adopted a black rod (Cook Islands Māori:Te Mato Mana) carved frommato wood salvaged from the gallery of theZiona Tapu Church inAvarua. The black rod was designed by Tangata Vainerere, theclerk of the Cook Islands parliament, and carved by Wireless Tomokino. The piece of wood it was carved from is thought to be over 160 years old.[50] It was first used at the ceremonial opening of the 18th parliament on 22 March 2023.[51]
In theKingdom of Ireland, theParliament of Ireland was modelled on the English Parliament. In theIrish House of Lords, "the gentleman ussher to thelord chauncellor" is mentioned in 1586,[52] the "Gentleman-Usher" and "Yeoman-Usher" in 1634,[32][53] and the "Gentleman-Usher of the Black-Rod" in 1646, when Black Rod disputed with theKeeper of the King's Robes as to which had the right to appoint the Yeoman Usher, and the Lords ruled that it should be Black Rod, because that was the case in England.[54]Andrew Fountaine received £200 for attending the whole of the 1707 session, £50 more than "the last Gentleman-Usher attending but a Part of a Session".[55] The post was in the gift of theLord Lieutenant of Ireland,[56] and generally given at the start of aparliamentary session; these lasted several months and were initially held irregularly, later every two years, and finally every year. In 1765, theMarquess of Hertford moved fromminister in France to viceroy in Dublin, and offered his secretaryDavid Hume the post of Black Rod, suggesting that from the annual fees of £800–£900, he could employ a deputy for £300; Hume declined the offer.[56] The Irish Black Rod became Usher of theOrder of St Patrick upon its establishment in 1783. TheActs of Union 1800, in uniting Ireland with theKingdom of Great Britain to form theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, abolished the Irish Parliament and its House of Lords, but the Order of St Patrick continued, and so did the office of Black Rod/Usher. The holder in 1800,Thomas Lindsay, received £845 8s 11d compensation for the loss of income from Lords fees.[57] With the creation of theIrish Free State in 1922, the Order of St Patrick fall into disuse and no Black Rod was appointed thereafter.
InNew Zealand, where theLegislative Council was abolished in 1951, the Usher of the Black Rod continues to summon MPs to the chamber for the Throne Speech.[111] It is not a full-time position.
Arthur Bothamley was the first person to hold the role;[112] he was usher of the black rod for 45 years from 1892 until August 1937. In September 1937, he was succeeded by Captain Douglas Bryan, who retired in June 1957.[112][113] John Everitt Seal took over from Bryan in June 1957[114] and held the role until his death on 1 November 1964.[115] Alexander John Mackay Manson was appointed in May 1965 to succeed Seal in time for the opening of the second term of the34th New Zealand Parliament later that month.[116] Manson retired in June 1971.[117] In May 1972, Melville Harvey Scott Innes-Jones was appointed to succeed Manson.[118] Innes-Jones retired in 1991.[119]
William Nathan, appointed in 1993,[120] was the firstMāori Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.[121] Colonel Nathan retired in 2005,[122] and was followed by David Baguley.[123] David Williams was appointed as theacting Usher of the Black Rod in 2017 for theopening of the52nd New Zealand Parliament.[124] Sandra McKie was appointed to act in the role in 2020 for the opening of the53rd Parliament, the first woman to hold the position.[125][126][127] McKie was permanently appointed to the role effective from 17 October 2022, following the formal retirement of Baguley.[128][129][130]
The ceremonial black rod was presented to Parliament byGovernor-GeneralCharles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe in January, 1931. Made of polished black ebony, it is topped by a golden lion rampant holding a shield bearing theroyal cypher of KingGeorge V and has a1931 gold sovereign set in its base. Due to the fragility of the original 1931 black rod, a regular black baton acting as a black rod is now used during the official openings of Parliament.[131]
TheSenate of South Africa had a Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod from its inception in 1910 to abolition in 1980. When the Senate was restored in 1994 the renamed position of Usher of the Black Rod returned with it, continuing in the newNational Council of Provinces.[132]
Before theActs of Union 1707 united theEnglish andScottish parliaments, there was aHeritable Usher of the White Rod who had a similar role in the Estates of Parliament inScotland.[133] This office is currently held byJohn Armes,Bishop of Edinburgh, but the role carries no duties.
Gentleman ushers exist for all the British orders of chivalry, and are coloured as follows:
