Ushers of the Black Rod are typically responsible for arresting any senator or intruder who disrupts the proceedings.
United Kingdom Appointment Black Rod is formally appointed by the Crown based on a recruitment search performed by the
Clerk of the Parliaments (who is the employer of all House of Lords officials). As well as being an officer of the House of Lords, Black Rod is an officer of the
Order of the Garter; they are appointed by
letters patent under the Garter Seal. Black Rod also acts as Secretary to the
Lord 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 the
Great Seal; it is in this capacity that Black Rod attends upon the
Lord Speaker. Since 8 July 2025, the post of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod has been held by
Lieutenant General Edward Davis; he is the first Royal Marine to hold the post.
Official duties Black Rod is principally responsible for controlling access to and maintaining order within the House of Lords and its precincts, as well as for ceremonial events within those precincts. Previous responsibilities for security, and the buildings and services of the
Palace 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). Black Rod's official duties also include responsibility as the usher and doorkeeper at meetings of the
Most Noble Order of the Garter; the personal attendant of the Sovereign in the Lords; as secretary to the
Lord 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 the
introduction of all new
Lords Temporal in the House (but not of bishops as new
Lords Spiritual). Black Rod also arrests any Lord guilty of breach of
privilege or other Parliamentary offence, such as contempt or disorder, or the disturbance of the House's proceedings. Their equivalent in the
House of Commons is the
Serjeant at Arms. Former Black Rod
David Leakey said that 30% of his work as Black Rod was within or for the House of Commons. 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.
Ceremonial duties Mace Black Rod is in theory responsible for carrying the
Mace into and out of the chamber for the Speaker of the House of Lords (formerly the
Lord Chancellor, now the
Lord Speaker), though this role is delegated to the
Yeoman Usher and Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms, or on judicial occasions, to the Lord Speaker's deputy, the Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms.
State Opening of Parliament Black Rod is best known for their part in the ceremonies surrounding the
State Opening of Parliament and the
Speech 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. Black Rod then strikes the door three times with their staff, and is then admitted and issues the summons of the monarch to attend. This is widely believed to symbolise the Commons' independence of the Sovereign, however,
Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice states that this is to allow the Commons to ascertain Black Rod's identity. 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. This ritual is derived from the attempt by
Charles I to arrest
Five Members in 1642, in what was seen as a breach of the constitution. This and prior actions of the King led to the
Civil 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.
List of Black Rods in England, Great Britain and the UK from 1361 This list is derived from one published by the
Parliamentary Archives in 2011, with alterations from later research. • c.1361–1387: Walter Whitehorse • 1387–1399: John Cray • 1399–1410: Thomas Sy • 1410–1413: John Sheffield • 1413–1415: John Athelbrigg • 1415–1418: William Hargroave • 1418–1423: John Clifford • 1423–1428: John Carsons • 1428–1459: William Pope • 1438–1459: Robert Manfield (joint) • 1459–1461: John Penycok • 1461–1471:
Vacant ? • 1471–1485: William Evington • 1483–1485: Edward Hardgill (joint) • 1485–1489: Robert Marleton • 1489–1513: Ralph Assheton • 1495–30 December 1511: Hugh Denys (jointly with Assheton until Denys's death) • 1513–1526: Sir
William Compton • 1526–1536:
Henry Norreys • 1536–1543:
Anthony Knyvett • 1543–1554: Sir
Philip Hoby • 1554–1565: John Norreys • 1554–1591: Sir William Norreys (joint) • 1591–1593:
Anthony Wingfield (d. 1593) • 1593–1598: Simon Bowyer • 1598–1620: Richard Coningsby • 1605–1620: George Pollard (joint) • 1620–1642:
James Maxwell • 1642–1649: Alexander Thayne (as recognised by Parliament); jointly with James Maxwell until c. 1646. The Lords was abolished in 1649 and Thayne made a claim to the title at the Restoration in 1661, but was denied. • 1671–1683: Sir Edward Carteret – 23 July 1901:
General Sir Michael Biddulph • August 1904 – 16 December 1919: Admiral Sir
Henry Stephenson • January 1920 – 14 May 1941:
Lieutenant-General Sir
William Pulteney • October 1941 – 15 August 1944:
Air Chief Marshal Sir
William Mitchell • January 1945 – 18 January 1949: Sir
Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Blake • 18 January 1949 – 18 June 1963: Lieutenant-General Sir
Brian Horrocks • 18 June 1963 – October 1970: Air Chief Marshal Sir
George Mills • October 1970 – 18 January 1978: Admiral Sir
Frank Twiss • 10 January 1978 – January 1985: Lieutenant-General Sir
David House • January 1985 – January 1992: Air Chief Marshal Sir
John Gingell • January 1992 – 8 May 1995: Admiral Sir
Richard Thomas • 9 May 1995 – 8 May 2001:
General Sir
Edward Jones • 9 May 2001 – 30 April 2009: Lieutenant-General Sir
Michael Willcocks • 30 April 2009 – 28 October 2010: Lieutenant-General Sir
Frederick Viggers • 21 December 2010 – 21 December 2017: Lieutenant-General
David Leakey • 12 February 2018 – 8 July 2025:
Dame Sarah Clarke • 8 July 2025 – present: Lieutenant-General
Edward Davis List of Serjeants-at-Arms of the House of Lords Technically the serjeant-at-arms was an officer of the
Lord Chancellor (the former presiding officer of the House of Lords), rather than of the House of Lords. 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". • 1697: Peter Persehouse • 1789:
William Watson • 1841:
Alexander Perceval • 1 February 1936: Major-General Sir
Charles Edward Corkran • 17 March 1939: Admiral Sir
Herbert Meade-Fetherstonhaugh • 2 December 1946: Air Vice-Marshal Sir
Paul Copeland Maltby • 17 March 1962: Captain Sir
Kenneth Lachlan Mackintosh • 1 January 1971: Admiral Sir
Frank Twiss Since 1971 the office of Serjeant at Arms has been held by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. Devolved assemblies The
Parliament of Northern Ireland was created
in 1921, suspended
in 1972, and abolished
in 1973. The
Senate of Northern Ireland, its upper house, had a Black Rod throughout its existence, who carried messages from the Senate to
the House of Commons, and at the annual opening of Parliament summoned MPs and Senators to the foot of the "Imperial Staircase" in
Parliament Buildings from where the
Governor of Northern Ireland made the speech. 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 the
House 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 the
Northern Ireland Assembly Commission. The wand is an ebony staff, long, with silver gilt mounts dated London 1923. It was in storage in 2007, and on display in the
First Ministers office in 2012. The first Black Rod was Sir Frederick Moneypenny, the Belfast City
Chamberlain and Private Secretary to
the Lord Mayor, who served on a provisional basis and took no salary. Later holders of the office were Major Thomas Dalby Hutcheson Hackett (1921–1954), Brigadier John Young Calwell (1954–1968), and Captain (RN) J. C. Cartwright (1969–1972). The
white paper leading to the
1973 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". Subsequent
devolved legislatures (the 1998
Northern Ireland Assembly,
Scottish Parliament, and Welsh
Senedd) have been
unicameral and none has a Black Rod.
Australia The
Australian Senate and the upper houses in five
Australian states and territories have their own Usher of the Black Rod. (Queensland abolished its upper house, and the assemblies of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have always been unicameral.) The current Usher of the Black Rod for the
Australian Senate is John Begley. 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.
Canada , the former
Canadian Usher of the Black Rod, stands in front of the
1878 Senate thrones The Usher of the Black Rod for the
Senate 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 word
gentleman to be dropped from the title. The provincial legislatures of
Saskatchewan,
British Columbia,
Alberta,
New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island have also incorporated the position of the Black Rods into their respective parliamentary systems. In Quebec, the dissolution of the
Legislative Council in 1968 resulted in the abolition of the post in that province.
Cook Islands In the
Cook Islands the Usher of the Black Rod is the messenger of the
King's Representative at the ceremonial opening of
parliament. In 2023, the Cook Islands adopted a black rod () carved from wood salvaged from the gallery of the
Ziona Tapu Church in
Avarua. The black rod was designed by Tangata Vainerere, the
clerk 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. It was first used at the ceremonial opening of the 18th parliament on 22 March 2023.
Ireland In the
Kingdom of Ireland, the
Parliament of Ireland was modelled on the English Parliament. In the
Irish House of Lords, "the gentleman ussher to the
lord chauncellor" is mentioned in 1586, the "Gentleman-Usher" and "Yeoman-Usher" in 1634, and the "Gentleman-Usher of the Black-Rod" in 1646, when Black Rod disputed with the
Keeper 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. The Irish Black Rod became Usher of the
Order of St Patrick upon its establishment in 1783. The
Acts of Union 1800, in uniting Ireland with the
Kingdom of Great Britain to form the
United 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. • 1646: Stephen Smith, Esq. • 1662, 1666: Robert Hall, Esq. • 1692:
Thomas Carter, Esq. • 1695: Ralph Bucknall, Esq. • 1696: William Berrow, Esq. • March 1697: Bartholemew Mahan, Esq. • June 1697: Andrew Loyd, Esq. • 1703: Humphry Gore • February 1704: Maurice Birchfield • 1707: Sir
Andrew Fountaine • 5 May 1709:
Thomas Ellys • 20 May 1709: Thomas Paget • 1711:
Brinsley Butler (Baron Newtown-Butler from 1724, Viscount Lanesborough from 1728) • 1715, 1717: John Tichborne • 1719: Robert Parsons • September 1721: William Fisher, Esq. • November 1721, 1723: Captain Francis Boggust, Esq. • 1725, 1727, 1729: Michael Broughton • 1725, 1729: Colonel Edward Richbell (during absences of Michael Broughton) • 1731, 1733: Sir Multon Lambart • 1735: William Champneis, Esq. • 1737, 1739, 1741: Henry Cavendish, Esq. • 1743:
Robert Langrishe • 1745:
Solomon Dayrolles • 1747, 1749: The Hon.
William FitzWilliam • 1751, 1753: William James, Esq. of
Ightham, Kent • September 1757:
James Gisborne • September 1757: Hon.
Edward Stopford • October 1757: James Moore • 1763:
Archibald Edmonstone • 1765 Edward Colman • 1773, 1774: Robert Weston • 1776: Francis James Buchanan • October 1780:
John Lees (later 1st Baronet) • October 1781: Andrew Corbett • October 1783: Sir Willoughby Ashton • February 1784: Colonel Andrew Barnard • 1787, 1788, 1789:
Scrope Bernard, Esq. (later Scrope Bernard-Morland) • 1790, 1793: Hon.
Henry Fane • January 1795: Thomas Hussey • 1798–1806:
Thomas Lindsay • 1806–1835: Sir Charles Hawley Vernon • 1838–1841: Sir William Edward Leeson It is not a full-time position. Arthur Bothamley was the first person to hold the role; 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. John Everitt Seal took over from Bryan in June 1957 and held the role until his death on 1 November 1964. Alexander John Mackay Manson was appointed in May 1965 to succeed Seal in time for the opening of the second term of the
34th New Zealand Parliament later that month. Manson retired in June 1971. In May 1972, Melville Harvey Scott Innes-Jones was appointed to succeed Manson. Innes-Jones retired in 1991. William Nathan, appointed in 1993, was the first
Māori Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. Colonel Nathan retired in 2005, and was followed by David Baguley. David Williams was appointed as the
acting Usher of the Black Rod in 2017 for the
opening of the
52nd New Zealand Parliament. Sandra McKie was appointed to act in the role in 2020 for the opening of the
53rd Parliament, the first woman to hold the position. McKie was permanently appointed to the role effective from 17 October 2022, following the formal retirement of Baguley. The ceremonial black rod was presented to Parliament by
Governor-General Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe in January, 1931. Made of polished black ebony, it is topped by a golden lion rampant holding a shield bearing the
royal cypher of King
George V and has a
1931 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. File:NZ-Black-rod-3.jpg| The ceremonial black rod of New Zealand in a case File:NZ-black-rod-2.jpg| Detail of the top of the ceremonial black rod File:NZ-black-rod-1.jpg| Inscription on the base of the ceremonial black rod
South Africa The
Senate 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 new
National Council of Provinces. ==Related ushers==