Black Rod

Origin

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.

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 a sceptre). Another early example is the fasces (a bound bundle of rods) carried by guards ("lictors") who accompanied high-level officials in the Roman Republic and later Empire.

Originally The Office of the Black Rod had no direct connection with Parliament and was associated with the Order of the Garter. By the early 16th century, an usher of the Parliament Chamber was holding the office of Black Rod as well, and the two positions became increasingly connected. By the 17th century, the parliamentary functions of Black Rod had become firmly established, contributing to the office's development into a senior official of the House of Lords.

By country

Ushers of the Black Rod are typically responsible for arresting any senator or intruder who disrupts the proceedings.

United Kingdom

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. Black Rod's deputy is the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod and Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms.

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.

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.

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 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 (Cook Islands Māori: Te Mato Mana) carved from mato 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. 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". The post was in the gift of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and generally given at the start of a parliamentary session; these lasted several months and were initially held irregularly, later every two years, and finally every year. In 1765, the Marquess of Hertford moved from minister in France to viceroy in Dublin, and offered his secretary David 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. 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. With the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Order of St Patrick fall into disuse and no Black Rod was appointed thereafter.

New Zealand

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.

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.

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

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. This office is currently held by John 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:

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod – Most Noble Order of the Garter

The Gentleman Usher of the Green Rod – Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle

The Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod – Most Honourable Order of the Bath

The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod – Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George

The Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod – Most Excellent Order of the British Empire