Black Rod

Black Rod, an office of the British House of Lords (the upper house in Parliament), instituted in 1350. Its holder is appointed by royal letters patent, and the title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony stick surmounted with a gold lion.

Black Rod is a personal attendant of the sovereign in the upper house and there functions as a sergeant at arms. The most prominent duty of the office is the summoning of the members of the House of Commons (the lower house) to the upper house to hear a speech from the throne or the royal assent given to bills. On such occasions the House of Commons closes its doors at Black Rod’s approach, whereupon he or she must knock three times before being admitted. The origin of this curious ceremony dates from the indignation of the lower house at the famous attempt of Charles I to arrest John Hampden, John Pym, and three other members of the House of Commons in 1642. Black Rod is ex officio an officer of the Order of the Garter. In 2017 Sarah Clarke was named Lady Usher of the Black Rod; she was the first woman to be appointed to the office in its more than 650-year history.