Houses of Parliament

In the Houses of Parliament, two ceremonial maces represent the monarch's authority. The monarch is referred to as the "third part of Parliament" and signs Bills into law.^[14] Parliament cannot lawfully sit, debate, or pass any legislation without a royal mace being present in the chambers. They are carried into and out of the two chambers in procession at the beginning and end of each day.^[15]

On the rare occasion that a monarch addresses both houses in Westminster Hall, for example in 2012 for Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee,^[16] the Lords and Commons maces are both present, and are covered with a red and a green cloth respectively when he or she enters the hall.^[17]

The House of Lords has two maces, one of which is carried by the Usher of the Black Rod and placed behind the Lord Speaker on the Woolsack before the House sits.^[18] All members are required to bow their heads to the mace upon entering the chamber.^[19] It is absent when the monarch delivers his or her speech from the throne at State Openings of Parliament. The other mace accompanies the Lord Chancellor on official duties outside the House of Lords.^[20] Mace A was made in the reign of Charles II c. 1672, is 1.56 m (5.1 ft) long and weighs 11.21 kg (24.7 lb).^[21] Mace B was made in the reign of William III and Mary II in 1695, is 1.58 m (5.2 ft) long and weighs 11.82 kg (26.1 lb).^[22]

The House of Commons mace, carried by the Serjeant-at-Arms,^[23] is placed on brackets on top of the Table of the House in front of the Speaker. When the Commons sits as a Committee of the Whole House, or when Finance Bills are discussed, the Mace sits under the table.^[15] It is 1.48 m (4.9 ft) long and weighs 7.96 kg (17.5 lb).^[24] It was made in 1660, was refurbished in 1767, and is one of five that have used in the Commons at various periods since the Restoration: from 1660 to 1670, 1678 to 1690, and 1825 to the present day.^[25]

Mace of the City of London

The Lord Mayor of London is preceded by both a Mace Bearer and a Serjeant-at-Arms. This is only for his status as head of the City of London Corporation: as an alderman he is also accompanied, as are the other 25 aldermen, by his ward beadle, carrying the ward mace. All are displayed and used on the city's eight grand ceremonial occasions of each year. There are many more maces in store than the current number in use, because each division of the wards and their parishes also had its own mace. The city also has a Crystal Sceptre, not strictly a mace, made of crystal and gold set with pearls; the head dates from the 15th century, while the mounts of the shaft are older, dating from the early Middle Ages. These various maces take many forms and are from different periods, but most are no earlier than the Restoration of Charles II. A mace of a most unusual form from that period is that of the Tower Ward of London, whose head resembles the White Tower in the Tower of London, complete with tiny cannons.

In 2017, the City of London mace travelled with the Lord Mayor to Dublin, Ireland, as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.^[35]

Other civic maces

Mayoral and aldermanic maces are carried in ceremonial processions in other boroughs and cities throughout England as symbols of the authority of the mayor or lord mayor and council, although the office of alderman has largely been abolished. A mace is commonly of silver gilt, the largest examples being the great maces of the cities of Oxford,^[36] Winchester,^[37] and Newcastle upon Tyne.^[38] The Great Mace of Stafford Borough Council is by tradition placed in the upright position when used at council meetings and on ceremonial occasions after James I visiting Stafford in 1617 was so impressed with the Mace that he ordered 'it should never be allowed to rest'.^[39] Most livery companies have their own mace, as do county councils throughout England.

Academic maces

At the University of Oxford there are three dating from the second half of the 16th century and six from 1723 and 1724, while at the University of Cambridge there are three from 1626 and one from 1628. The latter was altered during the Cromwellian Commonwealth and again at the Stuart Restoration. Durham University has a mace carried by one of the two University Bedels, used at special ceremonies, as does the University of Bristol,^[40] where it is carried by one of the corps of Bedells. The mace of the Open University reflects its modernist outlook, being made from titanium.^[41]

In 1663, Charles II presented a silver-gilt mace to the Royal Society, which he founded in 1660. It is very similar to the maces used in the Houses of Parliament and has the royal cypher "C.R.".^[42]

Scottish Parliament

The present Scottish Parliament has a silver mace, which was designed in 1999 and incorporates a gold wedding ring.^[43] The Scottish Parliament was presented with this mace by Elizabeth II at the opening ceremony on 1 July 1999. It was designed and crafted by Michael Lloyd, a renowned silversmith who has a studio in south-west Scotland. The mace is constructed of Scottish silver with an inlaid band of gold panned from Scottish rivers. The gold band is intended to symbolise the marriage of the Parliament, the land, and the people. The words "Wisdom, Justice, Compassion, Integrity" are woven into thistles at the head of the mace to represent the aspirations of the Scottish people for the Members of their Parliament. The head of the mace bears the words: "There shall be a Scottish Parliament – Scotland Act 1998".

Judicial maces

The Lord President's Mace (sometimes known as the Old Exchequer Mace) dates from 1667. It is made of gilt solid silver, measures 4 ft 8 inches and weighs 17 lb 5oz. In 1856, on the merging of the courts, it was transferred from the Court of Exchequer to the First Division of the Court of Session to be used by the Lord President. The mace remains in daily use in the court. The mace, and lesser ones used in the other courts, are borne by Macers, officers of the court who act as assistants to the judges. The Lord President's Mace is borne by the Falkland Macer. A new mace was presented to the Court in 2006.^[44]

The silver mace with crystal globe of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, at Holyrood Palace, was made about 1690 by Francis Garthorne.

Academic maces

The University of St Andrews in Scotland has three maces dating from the 15th century.^[45] The university also has four other maces of a more recent origin. These are on permanent display at the Museum of the University of St Andrews. The University of Glasgow has one from the same period, which may be seen in its arms.

The mace of the general council of the University of Edinburgh has a three-sided head: one with the seal of the University, one with the university's coat of arms, and the third with the coat of arms of the City of Edinburgh. The wood for the shaft of the mace is from Malabar and was presented by the Secretary of State for India (R. A. Cross) at the First International Forestry Exhibition (1884).^[46]

Senedd

Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Parliament, simply the Senedd (known as the National Assembly for Wales prior to May 2020), has had two ceremonial maces since its inception in 1999. A glass sculpture known as the "Tlws" was used between 1999 and 2006, when the current mace came into use.

Northern Ireland Assembly and predecessor bodies

The current Northern Ireland Assembly does not use a ceremonial mace.

The former House of Commons of Northern Ireland and Senate of Northern Ireland each had a silver mace bearing the Red Hand of Ulster motif.^[52][53] Following the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, these maces were held storage.^[54][55]

Maces were also used by the former assemblies established in 1973^[56] and 1982.^[57]

In March 2022, the maces of the former Parliament of Northern Ireland were put on public display at Parliament Buildings, Stormont as part of a permeant exhibition known as "Parliament Buildings – a Journey of People, Politics and Peacebuilding".^[58][59][60]

Civic maces

Some district councils in Northern Ireland meet with maces present. These include Belfast City Council,^[61] Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council^[62] and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.^[63]