Black Rod

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United Kingdom
Gentleman Usher of the
Black Rod
House of Lords.svg
Lt Gen David Leakey.jpg
Incumbent
Lt Gen David Leakey CMG CBE

since 1 February 2011
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
Caricature from Vanity Fair of Admiral Sir Augustus W.J. Clifford, 1st Bt, as Black Rod.

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to Black Rod, is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, Black Rod is responsible for maintaining the buildings, services, and security of the Palace of Westminster.

Origin[edit]

The office was created in 1350 by royal letters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they adopted the British Westminster system. The title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office's authority.

United Kingdom[edit]

Appointment[edit]

Black Rod is formally appointed by the Crown based on a recruitment search performed by the Clerk of the Parliaments, to whom he reports. Prior to 2002 the office rotated among retired senior officers from the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It is now advertised openly. Black Rod is an officer of the English Order of the Garter, and is usually appointed Knight Bachelor if not already knighted. His deputy is the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod.[citation needed]

Official duties[edit]

He is responsible, as the representative of the Administration and Works Committee, for maintaining the buildings, services, and security of the Palace of Westminster. 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 Sergeant-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 his 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. His equivalent for security in the House of Commons is the Serjeant at Arms.

Black Rod, along with his deputy, is responsible for organizing ceremonial events within the Palace of Westminster, providing leadership in guiding the significant logistics of running such events.

Ceremonial duties[edit]

Mace[edit]

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. The mace was created in 1876.

State Opening of Parliament[edit]

Black Rod is best known for his part in the ceremonies surrounding the State Opening of Parliament and the Throne speech. He summons the Commons to attend the speech and leads them to the Lords. As part of the ritual, as Black Rod approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make his summons, they are slammed in his face. This is to symbolize the Commons' independence of the Sovereign. Black Rod then strikes the door three times with his staff, and is then admitted and issues the summons of the monarch to attend.[1]

This ritual is derived from the attempt by King Charles I to arrest the 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 representative to enter their chamber, although they cannot bar him from entering with lawful authority. In recent years, Black Rod has received jibes on this annual occasion from the outspoken republican Labour MP Dennis Skinner.[2]

List of Black Rods in England, Great Britain and the UK from 1361[edit]

List of Serjeants at Arms of the House of Lords[edit]

incomplete before 1660

Since 1971 the office of Serjeant at Arms has been held by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.

Gentlemen Ushers of the Black Rod in Ireland[edit]

Before the Act of Union of 1800, which united the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, there was also a Black Rod in the Irish House of Lords. (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in December 1922 upon the separation of the Irish Free State.)

  • 1707 Andrew Fountaine
  • c.1708–1709 Thomas Ellys [14]
  • 1711–17?? Brinsley Butler, 1st Viscount Lanesborough (died 1735) [15]
  • 1745–17?? Robert Langrishe [16]
  • 1745–1747 Solomon Dayrolles
  • 1747–17?? William FitzWilliam [17]
  • 1761–1763 George Montagu[18]
  • 1763–1765 Sir Archibald Edmonstone [19]
  • 1787–1789 Scrope Morland[20]
  • 1780–17?? Sir John Lees
  • 1783 Sir John Freemantle [21]
  • 1783–1784 Sir Willoughby Ashton [21][22]
  • 1784-1790 Colonel Andrew Barnard [23]
  • 1790-1796 The Honourable Henry Fane [21]
  • 1796-1799 Nicholas Price [21]
  • 1799-1806 Thomas Linsay [21]
  • 1806-1835 Sir Charles Hawley Vernon [21]
  • 1835-1838 Major The Honourable Sir Francis Charles Stanhope [21]
  • 1838-1841 Sir William Edward Leeson [21]
  • 1841-1858 Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Morris [21]
  • 1858-1878 Sir George Burdett L'Estrange [21]
  • 1879-1913 Colonel James Alfred Caulfeild 7th Viscount Charlemont [21]
  • 1915-1917 Sir John Olphert [21]
  • 1918-1933 Sir Samuel Murray Power [21]

The Senate of Northern Ireland also had a Black Rod throughout its existence.[24]

Gentlemen Ushers of the Black Rod in Jamaica[edit]

  • 1820 - 1836 Anthony Davis

Other UK ushers[edit]

Before the Acts of Union 1707 united the English and Scottish parliaments, there was a Heritable Usher of the White Rod who had a similar role in the Estates of Parliament in Scotland.[25] This office is currently held by The Rt Rev. Dr John Armes, Lord Bishop of Edinburgh, but the role carries no duties.

Gentleman ushers exist for all the British orders of chivalry, and are coloured as follows:

Black Rod in other Commonwealth countries[edit]

As in the United Kingdom, Black Rod is responsible for arresting any senator or intruder who disrupts the proceedings.

Canada[edit]

The Black Rod for the Senate of Canada is well-known in the Canadian public. The Legislatures of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have also incorporated Black Rods into their respective parliamentary systems.[26]

Australia[edit]

The current Usher of the Black Rod for the Australian Senate is Rachel Callinan.[27] Each bicameral Australian state (that is, all but Queensland) also has its own Black Rod.

New Zealand[edit]

In New Zealand, where the Legislative Council was abolished in 1951, the Usher of the Black Rod continues to summon MPs to the chamber for the Throne Speech. It is not a full-time position. Colonel William "Bill" Nathan, OBE, ED was Usher of the Black Rod 1993 to 2005. The position is currently held by David Baguley.[28]

References[edit]

  1. ^  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Black Rod". Encyclopædia Britannica 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
  2. ^ "Black Rod - 'I shall miss you, Dennis'", BBC.co.uk, 3 December 2008.
  3. ^ The London Gazette: no. 47433. p. 321. 10 January 1978.
  4. ^ "New appointment as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod". royal.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2013. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1688–1760 (1988) p. 97.
  6. ^ a b c d Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1760–1830 (1980) p. 50.
  7. ^ a b c d e Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900 (1975) p. 104.
  8. ^ The London Gazette: no. 28437. p. 8163. 15 November 1910.
  9. ^ The London Gazette: no. 34252. p. 729. 4 February 1936.
  10. ^ The London Gazette: no. 34608. p. 1844. 17 March 1939.
  11. ^ The London Gazette: no. 37806. p. 5913. 3 December 1946.
  12. ^ The London Gazette: no. 42627. p. 2327. 20 March 1962.
  13. ^ The London Gazette: no. 45274. p. 137. 5 January 1971.
  14. ^ "ELLYS, Thomas (1685-1709), of Mitre Court, Inner Temple". History of Parliament online. Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  15. ^ Peerage and Baronetage of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  16. ^ "The Peerage". Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  17. ^ Lodge, John. The Peerage Of Ireland: Or,A Genealogical History Of The Present ..., Volume 4. 
  18. ^ "MONTAGU, George (c. 1713-1780), of Windsor, Berks.". History of Parliament online. Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  19. ^ "EDMONSTONE, Archibald (1717-1807), of Duntreath, Stirling". History of Parliament online. Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  20. ^ "BERNARD (afterwards BERNARD MORLAND), Scrope (1758-1830), of Nether Winchendon, Bucks". History of Parliament online. Retrieved 23 October 2014. 
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Most Illustrious Order by Peter Galloway; ISBN 0-906290-23-6
  22. ^ Dodsley. The Annual Register 1783. 
  23. ^ The Most Illustrious Order Peter Galloway; ISBN 0-906290-23-6
  24. ^ Morton, Grenfell (January 1980). Home rule and the Irish question. Longman. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-582-35215-5. Retrieved 27 March 2011. 
  25. ^ Facts about Edinburgh. The Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Family Tree
  26. ^ "2nd Session, 41st Parliament, Volume 149, Issue 19 (Senate of Canada)". Parliament of Canada. Queen's Printer for Canada. 27 November 2013. 
  27. ^ http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Senate_Briefs/Brief16
  28. ^ "State opening of Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. 9 Dec 2008. 

External links[edit]