Gentleman Usher

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Gentleman Usher ( English 'Honorable Courtier') is a title of several higher services in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom .

history

The Gentlemen Usher were originally a group of servants in the royal household with minor duties. In the reign of the Tudor nobles worked under this name at the court. Richard Brathwaite described in his work Some Rules and Orders for the Government of the House of an Earle the gentleman usher as "officers and servants an earl's court must have".

The service of the gentlemen usher is laid out between that of the steward and the ordinary house servant, in that they are responsible for the supervision of the work of the servants "above stairs" , especially those responsible for the kitchen, the waiting of the noblemen at meals and the cleanliness of the Chambers were responsible. He was also responsible for the supervision of various other servants, such as those entrusted with the care of the nobleman's chapel and its bedchamber. Traditionally he swore the new servants of the nobles and assigned them their place in the household. The duties of a gentleman usher were comparable to today's butler , which made him indispensable in a Tudor and Stuart household. George Chapman's work The Gentleman Usher (1602–1604) has the pompous but easily deceptive Bassiolo, the gentleman Usher Lord Lassos , as the title figure .

The gentlemen ushers of the royal household originally had a certain ranking: the four gentlemen ushers of the privy chamber , who waited for the king in the private chambers, the four gentlemen ushers daily waiters and the eight gentlemen ushers quarter (ly) waiters . The last two groups originally served a wide variety of everyday tasks, but over time their role became increasingly ceremonial and without any further supervisory activity. In 1901 Edward VII abolished the three classes and began to appoint only gentlemen Usher to ordinary .

Usage today

Gentlemen Ushers to The Queen are usually retired military personnel of all branches of service (occasionally also civilians) who are called to the irregular royal events. They act as ushers at garden parties and investments . These unpaid services end at the age of 70. However, an appointment as an Extra Gentlemen Usher can follow.

Special gentlemen ushers

Some gentleman ushers perform their duties outside the royal household, usually either as officers of an order of knights or in the administrative service of a parliament. In order of their first mention, these are:

Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is first mentioned around 1361 as an officer of the Order of the Garter . He is Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain and Caretaker of the House of Lords and since 1971 Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords. During the Tudor period he was one of the senior members (like the Groom of the Stool ) of the royal household, from the Stuart Restoration until 1765 Black Rod was the senior of the Gentleman Usher Daily Waiter . When a new Daily Waiter was appointed, the next senior followed the previous Black Rod. In November 2017, Sarah Clarke was named the first Lady Usher of the Black Rod in office. She competed on February 13, 2018.

Gentlemen Ushers of the Black Rod also exist in New Zealand , Australia and its states, and Canada .

Yeoman Usher

He is the Deputy Black Rod in the House of Lords. One of his most important tasks is to wear the official emblem of the house (ceremonial mace), which represents the royal authority, in front of the lord speaker and to place it on the back of the woolsack .

The Gentleman Usher of the White Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the White Rod has been a hereditary office in the Scottish Parliament since 1373 until its abolition in 1707. This office was declared as existing in 1758, despite its no longer used activity, and since then it has been bought and sold several times. It was most recently bought by the Edinburgh lawyer William Walker for his second son Sir Patrick Walker as a source of income for £ 7,600. He introduced the office on his own initiative at the coronation of George IV and appeared when this king visited Edinburgh in 1822 in his specially designed trousers and uniform. The rights have been with the Walker Trust since 1877 , a foundation of the heirs to which the right to this and other offices was granted in a separate law of the Walker Trust Act of 1877 . The official officer is the chairman of the trust, Very Rev. Dr. John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh.

The Gentleman Usher of the Green Rod

A usher of the Scottish Order of the Thistle was already mentioned under Queen Anna in 1703 , but it was not until George I took office in 1714 that an official patent was granted for the first time.

Usher of the Green Rod since 1714

  • 1714–1761: Sir Thomas Brand
  • 1762–1787: Robert Quarme
  • 1787-1800: Matthew Robert Arnott
  • 1800–1842: Robert Quarme the Younger
  • 1842-1884: Frederic Peel Round
  • 1884–1895: Sir Duncan Campbell, 3rd Baronet (1856–1926)
  • 1895–1917: Alan Murray, 6th Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield (1864–1935)
  • 1917-1939: Brig.-Gen. Sir Robert Gordon Gilmour, 1st Baronet (1857–1939)
  • 1939–1953: Colonel Sir North Dalrymple-Hamilton (1883–1953)
  • 1953-1958: Lieut.-Col. Sir Edward Stevenson KCVO MC (1895-1958)
  • 1959-1979: Lieut.-Col. Reginald Graham, 3rd Baronet VC OBE (1892–1980)
  • 1979–1997: Rear Admiral David Dunbar-Nasmith CB DSC (1921–1997)
  • 1997 – today: Rear Admiral Christopher Layman CB DSO LVO (* 1938)

The Irish Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

The Irish Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod was established in 1783 and was comparable to the servant of the Irish Order of St. Patrick and the English Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. The office has not been awarded since 1933.

The Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod was established in 1725 as a servant to the British Order of the Bath . Until the separation of English from the Hanoverian throne, he was also a member of the College of Arms as the Braunschweig Herald .

Gentlemen Ushers of the Scarlet Rod since 1725

  • 1725 -?: Edmund Sawyer
  • before 1763 - after 1789: Henry Hill
  • before 1806 - July 2, 1814: Sir Isaac Heard
  • July 2, 1814 - 1841: Georg Friedrich Beltz
  • December 2, 1841 - 1857 ?: Albert William Woods
  • 1857? - May 18, 1863: Hon. Frederick Arthur Henry Chichester
  • 1863–1911 ?: Charles George Barrington
  • vacant ?
  • March 7, 1913 - March 30, 1928: Col. Sir Charles Wyndham Murray
  • March 30, 1928 - November 15, 1932: Admiral Richard Grenville Arthur Wellington Stapleton-Cotton (1873–1953)
  • November 15, 1932 - May 14, 1948: Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft (1883–1958)
  • May 14, 1948 - March 12, 1954: Major General Douglas Neil Wimberley
  • March 12, 1954 - July 17, 1964: Rear Adm. Robert St. Vincent Sherbrooke (1901–1972)
  • Sept. 25, 1964 - August 3, 1979: Air Marshal Sir Anthony Dunkerton Selway
  • Feb. 09, 1968 - August 3, 1979: Rear Adm. Colin Duncan Madden
  • Aug. 3, 1979 - 1985: Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling
  • 1985 - July 18, 1990: Rear Adm. David Edward Macey
  • July 18, 1990 - March 15, 2002: Air Vice-Marshal Sir Richard Charles Fairfax Peirse
  • March 15, 2002 - June 13, 2006: Rear Adm. Iain Henderson
  • Jun 13, 2006 - Present: Major General Charles Vyvyan

The Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State

The Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State , established around 1842, held the Sword of State in front of the monarch on official occasions. Since 1998, this service has been performed by a peer during the solemn procession of the opening of Parliament .

Gentlemen Ushers to the Sword of State

  • January 10, 1837 - 1874 ?: Sir William Martins
  • vacant
  • July 23, 1901 - December 1, 1915: Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane (1824–1915)
  • June 27, 1919 - May 20, 1924: Sir William Edward Goschen, 1st Baronet
  • November 3, 1924-1933: Sir Reginald Brade (1964-1933)
  • March 10, 1933 - March 22, 1946: Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Stratford Tollemache Halliday (1870–1966)
  • March 22, 1946 - November 4, 1966: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Sheridan Barratt (1991–1966)
  • February 3, 1967 - 1973: Sir William Gurdon Stirling (1907–1973)
  • October 26, 1973 - April 7, 1980: Sir Desmond Parry Dreyer (1910–2003)
  • April 7, 1980 - May 2, 1988: Air Chief Marshal Sir John Barraclough (1918–2008)
  • May 2, 1988 - 1997: General Sir Edward Burgess (* 1927)
  • 1997 - December 1, 2005: Admiral Sir Michael Layard (* 1936)
  • December 1, 2005 - present: Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison (* 1943)

The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod

The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod was established around 1882 as an "Officer of Arms". In 1911 the office was converted into that of a Usher in order to provide his office comparable to the other High Order of Knights in the Order of St. Michael and St. George .

Officers of Arms of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1882-1911)

  • 1882-1901: Frederick Obadiah Adrian, CMG (1837-1909)
  • 1901–1911: Sir William Alexander Baillie-Hamilton, KCMG , CB (1844–1920)

Gentlemen Ushers of the Blue Rod (since 1911)

  • 1911-1920: Sir William Alexander Baillie Hamilton, KCMG, CB
  • 1920–1934: Sir Reginald Laurence Antrobus, KCMG, CB (1853–1942)
  • 1934–1959: Admiral Sir Alan Geoffrey Hotham, CB, CMG (1876–1965)
  • 1959–1972: Sir George Beresford-Stooke, KCMG (1897–1983)
  • 1972–1979: Sir Anthony Foster Abell, KCMG (1906–1994)
  • 1979–1992: Sir John Oscar Moreton, KCMG, KCVO , MC (1917–2012)
  • 1992–2002: Sir John William Denys Margetson, KCMG (* 1927)
  • since 2002: Sir Anthony Figgis, KCVO, CMG (* 1940)

The Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod

The youngest usher was established in 1917 and appointed in 1918 and is an Office of the Order of the British Empire currently held by the first woman in office, Lady Amelia Fawcett .

Gentlemen Ushers of the Purple Rod since 1918

  • 1918–1952: Sir Frederic Kenyon
  • 1952–1960: Sir Ernest Arthur Gowers (1880–1966)
  • 1960–1969: Arthur Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baron Silsoe (1894–1976)
  • 1969–1985: Sir Robert Bellinger (1910–2002)
  • 1985–2000: Sir Robin Gillett Bt. (1925–2009)
  • 2000–2013: Sir Alexander Michael Graham (* 1938)
  • 2013 to date: Dame Amelia Chilcott Fawcett, DBE (* 1956) (first Lady Usher)

literature

  • Maurice Francis Bond; David Beamish; House of Lords: The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod . (London HMSO, 1976)
  • Galloway, Peter The Order of St Michael and St George (London, Third Millennium Publishing, 2000) pg 365.
  • Arthur Washington Cornelius Hallen, John Horne Stevenson: The Usher of the Green Rod . In: The Scottish Antiquary, Or, Northern Notes & Queries . tape XI , no. 44 , April 1897, p. 170 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed July 1, 2007]).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Brathwaite: Some rules and orders for the government of the house of an earle . R. Triphook, 1821 ( digitized in the Google book search).
  2. ^ Paul VB Jones: The Household of a Tudor Nobleman . University of Illinois, 1918 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed August 4, 2007]).
  3. ^ Sarah Clarke appointed to the role of Black Rod. parliament.uk, November 17, 2017, accessed November 27, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Yeoman Usher represents Black Rod at the opening of parliament in 2010 on YouTube
  5. ^ Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor
  6. ↑ www.oscr.org.uk
  7. ↑ news.google.com
  8. ↑ limited preview in the Google book search
  9. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, March 15, 1895
  10. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, April 24, 1917
  11. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, September 12, 1939
  12. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, March 31, 1953
  13. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, February 24, 1959
  14. ^ The Edinburgh Gazette, November 2, 1979
  15. ↑ LAYMAN, Rear Adm. Christopher Hope , Who's Who 2012, A&C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011, accessed 25 Aug 2012
  16. ^ Court Circular , June 13, 2006
  17. ↑ London Gazette . No. 58010, HMSO, London, June 13, 2006, p. 8073 ( PDF , accessed October 14, 2008, English).
  18. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ Britia-still-following-the-uncool-rules-1186812.html www.independent.co.uk
  19. ↑ London Gazette , issue no.19547, 13 January 1837
  20. ↑ London Gazette . No. 27336, HMSO, London, July 23, 1901, p. 4838 ( PDF , English).
  21. ↑ London Gazette . No. 25111, HMSO, London, May 24, 1882, p. 2461 ( PDF , English).
  22. ↑ London Gazette . No. 27376, HMSO, London, November 12, 1901, p. 7291 ( PDF , English).
  23. ↑ London Gazette . No. 28491, HMSO, London, May 5, 1911, p. 3439 ( PDF , English).
  24. ↑ London Gazette . No. 32074, HMSO, London, October 5, 1920, p. 9683 ( PDF , English).
  25. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34103, HMSO, London, November 9, 1934, p. 7154 ( PDF , English).
  26. ↑ London Gazette . No. 41611, HMSO, London, January 20, 1950, p. 491 ( PDF , English).
  27. ↑ London Gazette . No. 45565, HMSO, London, January 4, 1972, p. 99 ( PDF , English).
  28. ↑ London Gazette . No. 47992, HMSO, London, October 30, 1979, p. 13581 ( PDF , English).
  29. ↑ London Gazette . No. 52999, HMSO, London, July 27, 1992, p. 12509 ( PDF , English).
  30. ↑ London Gazette . No. 30250, HMSO, London, August 24, 1917, p. 8794 ( PDF , English).
  31. ↑ London Gazette . No. 30633, HMSO, London, April 16, 1918, p. 4567 ( PDF , English).
  32. ↑ London Gazette . No. 39657, HMSO, London, September 30, 1952, p. 5147 ( PDF , English).
  33. ↑ London Gazette . No. 42209, HMSO, London, December 2, 1960, p. 8221 ( PDF , English).
  34. ↑ London Gazette . No. 44823, HMSO, London, April 8, 1969, p. 3695 ( PDF , English).
  35. ↑ London Gazette . No. 50064, HMSO, London, March 15, 1985, p. 3717 ( PDF , English).
  36. ↑ London Gazette . No. 56052, HMSO, London, December 8, 2000, p. 56052 ( PDF , English).
  37. ↑ London Gazette . No. 60577, HMSO, London, 23 July 2013, p. 60577 ( PDF , English).