The Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons is an official of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, whose office dates back to 1415. The Serjeant at Arms is responsible for keeping order within the Commons (and associated parts of the parliamentary estate); there are also ceremonial aspects to the role, and other attached duties. The current office-holder, as of October2022[update], is Ugbana Oyet.[1]
The appointment of one Nicholas Maudit to serve as a Serjeant at Arms for the Commons is recorded in 1415 in the Close Rolls of Henry V: "at the special petition of the Commons [...] the King granted that the said Nicholas Maudit should during his life attend upon all his Parliaments [...] as Serjeant at Arms for the Commons coming thereto".[2] The sergeants-at-arms were a body of men, armed with maces, who served as the king's bodyguard; Maudit was one of their number. Their function was both practical and ceremonial. The king's serjeants-at-arms had significant powers of arrest (requiring no writ, the mace alone serving as their warrant). These powers were also available to the Serjeant at Arms of the Commons, to be used as and when directed by the House (as was first demonstrated in the case of George Ferrers in 1545). Later, the 'Speaker's warrant' came to be employed as a means to validate the Serjeant's powers of arrest, enabling the mace to remain in the chamber.[2][a]
In 1549 the Serjeant at Arms was described as de facto 'Housekeeper of the Commons' and for centuries the offices of Serjeant and Housekeeper were held conjointly.[3] By the seventeenth century the Serjeant was managing a small department, consisting of two doorkeepers, four messengers, the Deputy Housekeeper and assorted other staff.[4] Prior to 1835 it also included the Vote Office.[5] Up until the great fire of 1834, the Deputy Housekeeper held responsibility, under the Serjeant at Arms, for catering in the Palace.[2]
In recent centuries, the Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons was usually (though not invariably) a retired military officer, but in 2008 a civil servant, Jill Pay, was selected (and was the first woman to hold the appointment).[6] At the same time the job was split, with many of the Serjeant's former duties (including those of the Parliamentary Works Directorate, which oversaw the repair and maintenance of buildings) transferred to a new 'Department of Facilities'.[2]
Jill Pay (far right), Serjeant at Arms 2008-2012, attending an address to both Houses by Barack Obama in Westminster Hall, 2011
Traditionally, the Serjeant at Arms ranked second in precedence (after the Clerk of the House of Commons) amongst the permanent offices of the House.[7] A further restructuring, however, led to the appointment in 2015 of a 'Director General of the House of Commons', and as of 2025 the Clerk and the (renamed) 'Director General (Operations)' are listed as the principal permanent staff,[8] while the Serjeant at Arms is part of the 'Chamber and Participation Team' (which is headed by the Clerk Assistant).[9]
House of Lords
The House of Lords also had a Serjeant-at-Arms[b] (technically he was Serjeant-at-Arms to the Lord Chancellor). This office also dated from the 15th century; his duties were merged in 1971 with those of Black Rod.[10]
Duties
The Serjeant at Arms (left, with mace), alongside the Speaker at the State Opening of Parliament, 2024.
The duties of the Serjeant at Arms are partly ceremonial. The Serjeant at Arms carries the mace before the Speaker at the beginning and end of each day's sitting. The Serjeant (or a deputy) is always present in the chamber when the House is sitting, during which time he controls access to the chamber (including the public galleries).[11] He is responsible for maintaining order in the House of Commons, and will escort members out of the chamber if ordered to do so by the Speaker.[2] His authority extends beyond the chamber itself to the committee rooms and to the areas of the Parliamentary Estate which pertain to the House of Commons.[11] At the State Opening of Parliament, the Serjeant at Arms first bars the entry of Black Rod to the chamber, before admitting him and allowing him forward to speak; the summons having been issued, he collects the mace and carries it, ahead of the Speaker and Black Rod, as the Commons then make their way to the Upper House to attend the Speech from the throne.[2]
In rare cases, the Serjeant at Arms may be called upon to enforce the warrants of the Speaker in summoning a witness to testify before a select committee of the house. While serving the warrant and encouraging a witness to attend parliament "the Serjeant or his appointee may call on the full assistance of the civil authorities, including the police."[12] In January 1992, the Serjeant at Arms was employed to summon Ian and Kevin Maxwell, the sons of the disgraced business tycoon Robert Maxwell, to attend an inquiry held by the Social Security Select Committee into the operation of the Mirror GroupPension fund.[12] In 2011, Rupert and James Murdoch were served with a summons by the Assistant Serjeant at Arms, to appear before the Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport in connection with the phone hacking scandal (having initially indicated that they would not be available); they subsequently attended the hearing.[13] In November 2018, the Serjeant at Arms was called upon to escort an American businessman, who was staying in London, to the Houses of Parliament because he had documents pertaining to the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. After being told he could face arrest, fines and imprisonment for failing to comply with a parliamentary order to hand over the documents, the man eventually complied with the request.[14]
Dress
When on duty, attending the Speaker and in the chamber, the Serjeant at Arms wears court dress and carries a sword,[15] as do his deputies. On state occasions (such as the State Opening of Parliament) they wear, in addition, a lace frill and ruffles (at the collar and cuffs) and (in the case of the Serjeant) a distinctive collar of esses. The Serjeant (or his deputy) is by tradition the only person allowed to be armed (with sword or mace) within the chamber of the House of Commons.[16]
↑ Twickenham Museum: The history centre for Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington and the Hamptons, states: Edward Birkhead (d.1662), Quaker Magistrate and a principal landowner in the parish of Twickenham, the fourth of 11 children was appointed Serjeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons in 1648, under Cromwell's Protectorate. he was replaced, in 1660 by James Norfolk, on the accession of Charles II.
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