Why does the House of Delegates have a mace?
The mace of authority is a symbol that traces back to the British Monarchy. So, why does Virginia use a symbol for monarchic power? Mark Greenough is the Tour Supervisor and Historian for the Virginia state Capitol. He explains the history behind the mace and why Virginia even has one in the first place. Who tried to steal it? How heavy is it? Has the Sargent at-Arms ever used it? Find out on this episode of Transition Virginia.
Michael Pope
Welcome to Transition Virginia, the podcast examines the ongoing transition of power in Virginia. I'm Michael Pope.
Thomas Bowman
And I'm Thomas Bowman. Today on the podcast, something a little different. We're going to take a look at that medieval weapon that the House Sergeant at Arms parades down the center aisle at the beginning of every House Session.
Michael Pope
Yes, that's right. This episode of Transition Virginia is about the Mace and we have the expert here to explain the history and significance of this tradition. We're joined by a historian of the Virginia State Capitol, Mark Greenough. Thanks for joining us.
Mark Greenough
Thank you for having me.
Michael Pope
Now, if you've ever watched the Session that the House of Delegates, you've seen it start with the Sergeant at Arms parading this mace down the center aisle, at which time he says this.
Sergeant at Arms
The House is now in session. All persons not entitled to privileges of the floor, please retire to the gallery.
Michael Pope
That's how Sergeant at Arms, Jay Pearson, who begins every House Session this way, at least he did before the pandemic. During the pandemic he had the change that to strike the bit about the gallery, because nobody was in the gallery. But when he parades this mace down the center aisle, it always grabs people's attention and they wonder, "What the heck is this thing? And what is this crazy tradition that we've got in the House of Delegates?" Now we've got the best person here to explain that. Mark Greenough, tell us a little bit about yourself. What does the historian of the Capitol do? I understand you also give tours. So tell us a little bit about yourself and your job.
Mark Greenough
Well, my job title is Tour Supervisor and Historian here at the Virginia State Capitol. And I work for the General Assembly of Virginia, which dates back more than 400 years as a representative of legal and lawmaking body. And what I do is, as an historian, I have the professional excuse to be curious about everything. And our Capitol is a cafeteria of talking points on Virginia and American history. So, as a tour supervisor, I organize the tour service that is operating seven days a week, including most holidays, and we give free guided tours through the building, when we're not closed for construction. And I help to discover more information about our living landmark as a seat of government, and as a civics classroom, and as a Fine Arts Museum, and occasionally as a film set. And we show this public resource to the general public. And I am one of several people with an historical background that is developing information for the Virginia State Capitol and Capitol Square and many interesting colleagues.
Thomas Bowman
So Mark, as a historian, where does this mace concept originate?
Mark Greenough
Well, it's not an American invention. This is definitely an old world custom going back to centuries and centuries of European history. And if you go back far enough, maces were originally sort of utilitarian, ugly, bulky, battlefield weapons, with which to vanquish your foe in a very straightforward manner. And it was only as time went on, and other weapons became more preferable for use, that the mace was becoming a kinder, gentler symbol of authority and power, and most maces are large enough to be carried with both hands. And maces, now, symbolize a very broadly defined power. Towns might have maces such as Williamsburg and Norfolk. Colleges, like William and Mary, might have maces. And of course, legislative assemblies, notably the House of Commons in Great Britain, and our own Virginia General Assembly. And it does have early associations with royal power, it's not unusual to see a crown like device as part of the mace.
Michael Pope
So the mace is a weapon, you might use it to vanquish your foe. If you're parading down the center aisle, you might actually use it as a weapon to move somebody out of the way. Or maybe if there's like an animal running around, you can make sure that it's not blocking the path. That's the sort of centuries old tradition. What about Virginia? Where do we first see the mace in Virginia?
Mark Greenough
Well, that story takes us back to potentially the 17th century where we have some mysterious records, suggesting we might have had a mace while the government was still meeting at Jamestown, but we're not sure. We do know there was some paperwork that said back in 1679, that there was an intention to send both a mace and a sword to Virginia. We don't know if that was actually carried out. They may or may not have been sent at all, or if they had been sent, they could have been destroyed in the Jamestown Statehouse fire of 1698. But what we do know with more certainty is that by December of 1700, Governor Francis Nicholson sent a messenger to our House of Burgesses, that was meeting for the first time in the new capital town of Williamsburg. The messenger reported, and I'm quoting here, "That the respect and kindness which is excellently bears to this House, is such that he presents the House with a gown to be worn by Mr. Speaker. He also presents you with the staff, or mace, to be born before Mr. Speaker as an ensign and token of honor and power." And the House was only too happy to receive this symbol of authority.
Thomas Bowman
Okay, so at one point, we know that mace got replaced.
Mark Greenough
Apparently, so. And we're not exactly sure why. But we have from the House journal, an entry on the fifth of June, 1722. And it indicates that a new mace was ordered for the House. And this mace was evidently in constant use at Williamsburg, after it arrived in the 1720s. And it was actually brought during the American Revolution, from Williamsburg here to Richmond, when the government relocated in 1780.
Michael Pope
Now, at some point in the 1790s, the House decided they no longer wanted to use a mace. What do we know about this decision in this time period and the 1790s?
Mark Greenough
Well, that's a very interesting story. And there are not too many people who are aware of some of the more obscure details. So I hope you'll give me a chance to share those with you.
Michael Pope
That's why you're on the podcast.
Mark Greenough
All right. Well, just to provide some context, in December of 1791, the Virginia General Assembly ratified the proposed Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. And it was that vote here, at the Capitol in Richmond, that caused the Bill of Rights to become the fundamental law of our land. That was the three fourths of margin that was required for the Bill of Rights to take effect. And so, you know, against that political backdrop, about a year later, in December of 1792, the House determined that, and I'm quoting, "It was inconsistent with the principles of a Republican government that any badge or appendage of Kingsley pomp should remain." And so what should we do about you know, this existing mace? Well, apparently they didn't have any objections to the idea of having a mace. But the mace that they were staring at, was the one they had been using, you know, at the Colonial Capitol in Williamsburg, before the American Revolution. And it had associations of our status as a colony under the crown. So their first impulse was to order two new maces, one for the House and one for the Senate. And they thought, "Why don't we make the two new maces out of the materials of the one that is presently used?" And this was good old English sterling silver, that was available. And then later on, they made amendments to the order that allowed for the sale of the old mace, with the proceeds to be applied towards making the two new maces. And they even got as far as creating a committee. I mean, that's what you do. You have to create committees in July of 1793 to engage Mr. William Richardson to make two maces. But this is where things got a little complicated. If you're going to make two new new maces, probably we shouldn't put any crowns on them. What should these designs look like? And that's where everybody started looking at everybody else and scratching their heads as to what should we come up with? And not at all sure, here in Richmond, what the solution might be, they reached out to Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, and said, "You have any thoughts on this?" And so Thomas Jefferson, in turn, reached out to a William Thornton, who was a physician, trained in medicine from Edinburgh, who somehow became the winner of an architectural design contest for the United States Capitol up in Washington D.C. So Jefferson goes to William Thornton, and says, "What are your thoughts on, you know, creating a new mace for Virginia, or for the House and the Senate?" And Thornton replied to Jefferson, that he thought what we should do is have a nice, enameled rattlesnake, wrapped around an old fashioned Roman fosques, bundle of rods, and he went into great detail about how the American rattlesnake would be unique to this country. And that it would be quote, "A striking emblem," unquote.
Michael Pope
So Mark, instead of a crown that you would see on a more sort of royal oriented mace, this would have American seals like a rattlesnake and that sort of thing?
Mark Greenough
Right. And, you know, and he even went so far, Mr. Thornton, to do a really nice sketch of his proposal and provided that to Mr. Jefferson.
Michael Pope
Do we have those sketches?
Mark Greenough
Yeah, we do. And it's, it's interesting, he got carried away. And he said, "Well, you know, Virginia's mace could have a rattlesnake wrapped around one rod, you know, for the Commonwealth of Virginia. And then, you know, we could make a national mace for the United States, that would be a rattlesnake wrapped around however many rods are in the country at that point in time." And so Jefferson, you know, very politely received all this information. And he wrote back to Governor Light Horse, Harry Lee, who had reached out to Jefferson in the first place. And he says, you know, Jefferson says, Jefferson doesn't like thorns idea, let's be clear. And Jefferson writes, "There is in man, as well as brutes, and antipathy to the snake, which renders it a disgusting object, wherever it is presented. I would myself rather adopt the Roman stave, and ax, trite as it is, or perhaps a sword sheathed in a roll of parchment, that is to say, an imitation in metal of a roll of parchment, written over in the raised Gothic letters of the law, with that part of the Constitution, which establishes the House of Representatives for that House, or the Senate for the Senate. However, if you have that same disgust for the snake, I'm sure you will, yourself imagine some better substitute." So Jefferson says, you know, "Do what you want, I got nothing here."
Michael Pope
So the there was discussion about getting rid of the large mace, because it sort of had these association with royalty and kingly pomp, and that's a bad idea. And so let's instead get smaller maces, plural of mace, one for the House and one for the Senate, but they couldn't agree on what it should look like. And then so, essentially, the deadlock here leads to them just not having a mace at all?
Mark Greenough
Well, if you have gotten to the end of a story, which I've simplified, believe it or not. And in the 15th of August 1793, it was ordered that quote, "Farther proceedings there in be postponed," Since no decision had been reached on the designs. And then the following year, on the 17th of November 1794, the House resolved that the quote, "Executive be requested to sell the mace now used by this House, and that the proceeds of the sale be deposited in the public Treasury," close quote. So on the third of December 1794, the colonial sterling silver mace that had been used in Virginia for decades, weighing just over 100 ounces, was sold for about $100 to William and George Richardson. And William was a Richmond silversmith by trade. And we don't know anything more about the mace after that. But you and I can probably come to the same conclusions about what may have happened to it. You know, a silversmith gets really high grade English, sterling silver, and then a form that nobody wants anymore. What would you do?
Michael Pope
So he probably made other stuff out of it. We don't happen- Do we know what became of the things that he made? I mean, are they still in circulation?
Mark Greenough
There are objects pertaining to William Richardson with his hallmark on it that survived today. Some of them are in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, just one point. There's a large ladel in there that was made and dated shortly after he had received the English mace. I always wondered to myself when I look at that ladel, "Did you used to be part of a mace?" And who can say, but we do know that William and George Richardson would regularly advertise in the local newspapers, and to give you an example, if you like, of one of their advertisements, "With gratitude, acknowledging the many favors they have received from their countrymen and others in the line of their business, and they beg leave to inform them that they have now on hand, a great variety of elegant rock, gold, silver and plated ware," And there's a long list of things that you can obtain from William and George Richardson Goldsmith and Jewelers in the town of Richmond.
Thomas Bowman
This is all fascinating. And at some point 180 years later, in the 1970s, the House of Delegates decides it wants to revive this tradition that they hadn't used pretty much in the modern era of the United States. So what's going on here?
Mark Greenough
Well, fortunately, we didn't go back to rattlesnakes or, you know, swords wrapped in parchment. We basically circled back to almost where we had started. And I should specify that the idea to bring a mace back into the Virginia tradition of things did not originate with the House of Delegates. It was actually an idea that came out of the Jamestown Foundation in the early 1970s. And today, we know the Jamestown Foundation as the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, and they manage two state operated museums for the public, one at Jamestown and one at Yorktown. Back in the early 70s, it was the Jamestown Foundation. And one of the movers and shakers in the foundation, thought to himself, and then to his board for discussion at their meetings, that 1974 would mark an anniversary, admittedly, an obscure one, of the 350th anniversary of Virginia ceasing to be a private for profit, you know, development with blessings from the crown, that Virginia would start its journey into becoming a royal crown colony, with the crown and council exercising direct control and authority over how Virginia would grow and prosper. So with that in mind, the foundation went mace hunting, I suppose, over in the mother country, in Great Britain. And what to their wandering eyes should appear, but a good old fashioned English sterling silver mace, with a gold wash coating, dating from the late 1930s, which had been previously owned by at least two different entities, but it was up for sale from an art dealer. And guess what they did?
Thomas Bowman
What?
Michael Pope
They bought it.
Mark Greenough
They bought it, yeah. It was apparently available for approximately $4,625. And the proposal was accepted at the Jamestown Foundation, Inc. Make a sum not to exceed $6,000 available to buy and re engrave this mace for presentation. And the proposal was promptly adopted. So that's what happened.
Michael Pope
Okay, well, let's take a break. When we come back, we'll talk about how the mace was stolen and recovered by Scotland Yard. We'll also talk about how much the mace is worth and speculate about what would happen if a lawmaker were to remove the mace from the chamber during a debate. We'll be right back.
And we're back on Transition Virginia. We're talking about the mace that's paraded down the center aisle at the start of every House Session. So Mark Greenough, before we went to commercial, we learned that the mace was actually purchased from a former owner. So we're talking about a second hand item, right?
Mark Greenough
Perhaps third hand, I think there were two prior owners. But it is an authentic English made sterling silver mace. And it even has a very definitive crown emblem on the business end, so.
Michael Pope
So that goes back to that kingly pomp. So, do we know who owned it previously?
Mark Greenough
I am not aware of who the previous owners were. And apparently, they have no objection to our using the mace in a very traditional way, in, you know, the oldest of the English speaking colonies in North America.
Thomas Bowman
So you said it sold for just under five grand in the 1970s. So $5,000 in 1970, is $34,690 in 2021. So how about that?
Mark Greenough
Wow. So it was a good investment. It's appreciating markedly in its value.
Thomas Bowman
About 600%. That's right. So that's not going to fill a very big hole, though, in the next budget crisis.
Mark Greenough
Don't forget the value added engraving. Yes. Because after all, being a third hand mace, with English usage prior to our acquiring it, we wanted to do something to the mace that would allow it to seem more specific to Virginia. So once the mace was obtained, there were new words engraved upon it, and I can give you what it says. "A mace was presented by Colonel Francis Nicholson, His Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of His Majesty's colony in Dominion of Virginia to the House of Burgesses, in 1700." So that's one space. And it's saying, you know, "We've done this before, we're not inventing something new here." And then in another space, it says, "Governor Nicholson was the last Governor of Jamestown, and the first of Middle Plantation now Williamsburg, and presented by the Jamestown Foundation, 31, July 1974." And that is actually an interesting date, because 31 July harkens back to the very first meeting of the Virginia General Assembly, in 1619, which met in late July, early August.
Michael Pope
So you walked us through the Foundation, sort of going through the motions to track this thing down, and revive this tradition. Why did they want to revive this tradition?
Mark Greenough
Well, we're coming up on the Bicentennial. And we're, you know, remembering connections from the mother country and the colonies. And I guess you could say, with over 180 years to think about it, you know, all's well that ends well, and maybe circle back and reassert the pedigree of Virginia having the oldest elected representative lawmaking body still meeting in the mainland Western Hemisphere today. And, in truth, we're not the only American state in modern times, to have a mace. So you know, let's not be left out.
Michael Pope
What are the other ones?
Mark Greenough
Maryland has a mace that they use in their state capitol building. Pennsylvania has two maces, one for their House and one for their Senate. Arkansas has a mace, and then sort of interesting bragging rights go to South Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, because South Carolina still has, to this day, their 18th century mace that they had received before the American Revolution.
Thomas Bowman
So who has the best mace and why is it Virginia?
Mark Greenough
Well, you know, I'm partial to ours, because I got to hold at once to find out how much it weighed. And there's kind of an interesting story there. Most people assumed in looking at the mace, and you would think so now looking at the mace, that it weighs more than it actually does. It is not solid. It's a series of pieces that are fixed together with a wooden rod serving as a spinal column of sorts for the mace. And it weighs between 10 and 11 pounds, just under 11 pounds. And I wanted to know this because everybody kept saying it weighs 20 pounds. And at one point, for about two years, one of the Sergeant at Arms was an elderly lady by the name of Fran Detig. And people were so impressed to see her taking the mace into the House of Delegates, you know, with seeming effortless ease, you know being an elderly, grandmotherly looking figure. And she said, "I don't think it weighs 20 pounds. I doubt it weighs 10." And she was right.
Thomas Bowman
So you're saying that when Mr. Pearson, the Sergeant at Arms asked everybody to get off the floor who doesn't have privileges, and wields this big old hunkin' weapon, that they're empty words, because it's not that useful?
Mark Greenough
Well, it's it's not that useful as a weapon, let's be clear. And which is fortunate because none of our Sergeant at Arms, in my recollection, of ever needed to use the mace as a weapon but I can tell a quick story. One of our previous Sergeant at Arms was Mr. Bud Roderick. And he served in that capacity for about nine years or so. And one day, we had a group of schoolchildren inside the Capitol, which is a common sight. And the guide had just finished talking about the mace being, once upon a time, you know, a weapon on medieval battlefields before it devolved into a kinder and gentler symbol of authority and power. And about that time, here comes Sergeant at Arms Roderick, holding the mace and bringing it in the direction of the House Chamber. And one of the children innocently asked him, "Sir, have you ever had to hit anybody on the head with that?" And Mr. Roderick paused, dramatically, looked down and said, "Not yet."
Michael Pope
Did he hit the kid?
Mark Greenough
No.
Thomas Bowman
Gosh, I imagine there's plenty of people that various Sergeant at Arms wishes they could hit over the years.
Michael Pope
Totally. There's a long list of that. So Mark, apparently, there was a really bizarre story that we don't really have a lot of information about, about the mace. This particular mace, the current mace, at one point being stolen and then recovered by Scotland Yard. Tell us what we know about this story.
Mark Greenough
Well, that won't take long. I have seen an old type card with Cliff note information that must have been produced when the mace first became seen in the general public's eye. And of course, that takes us back to the summer of 1974. And it indicates in a very terse way that after the Jamestown Foundation had purchased the mace, and before it could be shipped across the ocean, somebody stole it. And it was the responsibility of Scotland Yard to track down the mace and this story is simply said that the mace was recovered shortly before it was to be melted down.
Thomas Bowman
That's curious.
Michael Pope
Is this an apocryphal story? Do we believe this? I mean, what do we make of this Scotland Yard thing?
Mark Greenough
I not having further information, I can neither confirm nor deny the story but simply report it for people to enjoy it on whatever level they want to receive it. One thing's for sure, we have it.
Michael Pope
We have lots of listeners in Denmark, so maybe our European listeners can let us know.
Thomas Bowman
Michael, we're off the charts already.
Michael Pope
Already? That didn't take long.
Thomas Bowman
No, it didn't.
Mark Greenough
Now, I do have something to add. Going back to one of the earlier comments. I think Thomas mentioned it, that, you know, why were we circling back to the mother country? And just to give you a sense of how clearly the Jamestown Foundation wanted to reconnect with Great Britain in the 1970s, when the mace was ready after being suitably re-engraved, there was a special ceremony held at Jamestown Island on the 31st of July 1974. Marking the 355th Anniversary of the General Assembly, among other anniversaries, and guess who was invited to be the keynote speaker for the presentation of the mace to the House of Delegates, and who accepted the invitation? British Ambassador, Sir Peter Ramsbotham. He made a keynote address in the presence of Virginia's Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Speaker of the House and many other dignitaries. And that was the occasion where the mace was presented to Speaker John Warrencook back in those days. And our Sergeant at Arms at the time was William Lewis Smith. And apparently the Sergeant at Arms was also present. And it was, initially the mace was, I think, for many years initially, displayed in the office of the Speaker of the House. And I can also say that about 21 years after we received the mace, the original gold wash was wearing thin, even though Sergeant at Arms will wear white gloves when handling the mace. And so we did put on an electromagnetically applied 24 karat gold coating to freshen up the mace back in 1995.
Thomas Bowman
All right, so you kind of answered this already, Mark. But occasionally, the House of Delegates has a Session outside of the Chamber. Right. So does the mace always live at the Capitol Building? Or does it travel with the House of Delegates?
Mark Greenough
I'll answer. Have mace, will travel. And sometimes the House and Senate will meet as the General Assembly in joint Session at Williamsburg, every few years, just to reconnect to our colonial beginnings. And there are occasions, as recently as 2019, when the General Assembly has held a Session at Jamestown itself. So let's put it this way. Wherever the House of Delegates is in Session, the mace will be displayed as part of the daily routine. And you know, usually that means Jamestown or Williamsburg. Also, there have been times when the mace has left Richmond for a general physical and checkup. I know back in the day, there was a mace expert somewhere up in Maryland. Remember, Maryland has a mace of its own. And more than once our mace has gone up for sort of a general physical.
Thomas Bowman
So where does the mace live when the House is not in Session?
Mark Greenough
It lives right here in the Capitol Building. And Jay Pearson, our current Sergeant at Arms, who has been exercising those responsibilities since 2014, literally has the key, and can bring out the mace when official circumstances require.
Michael Pope
So one last question here. I really appreciate your time. In England, there's a long tradition of lawmakers removing the mace from the Chamber to stop a debate. So they're debating something in Parliament, and some of the members don't want the debate to go on, or they want to stop the proceedings, they will grab the mace, and pull it out of the Chamber, and then the debate will stop. Has this ever happened in Virginia?
Mark Greenough
To my knowledge, I don't recall that sort of event happening here on this side of the ocean. And there's, I guess that is something that makes Virginia a little bit different from Great Britain.
Thomas Bowman
This is a curious question. And Michael, this is a dangerous thing to bring up because you're giving Marcus Simon ideas. Would debate actually stop, if somebody ran off with the mace? I can actually also see Matt Fariss trying it. Like what would happen if somebody's trying to presumably quell debate, runs off with the mace? You know, of course, besides the spectacle, would it actually forced the General Assembly to stop or is this purely ceremonial?
Mark Greenough
Well, maybe that brings us back, logically, to the duties and responsibilities of the Sergeant at Arms. And I have in front of me the rules for the government of the House of Delegates of the state of Virginia, published back in 1874, just to get a historical reference. "And among other things, a Sergeant at Arms shall be elected by the House, and shall continue in office during its pleasure. He shall have as his assistants three doorkeepers." And by the way, there still typically are three doorkeepers that work with the Sergeant at Arms during Session for not only the gallery, but the doors that meet that lead you into the floor itself of the House. And it goes on to say, "That the Sergeant at Arms will with his assistance attend upon the House during its sittings, shall execute its commands together with all such processes issued by its authority, as shall be directed to him by the Speaker." And now here we go. "He shall, under the direction of the Speaker have charged of the police of the hall, and shall prevent any interruption of the business of the House by disorder within or without. He shall distribute among the members all papers printed for the use and shall give such attendance upon them during the sittings of the House as will promote their comfort and facilitate the business of the House and so on and so forth." So you know, just don't get on the wrong side of the Sergeant of the House.
Michael Pope
So yeah, Thomas, the in the hypothetical that you lay out there, so if Marcus Simon or Matt Fariss decided they wanted to grab the mace and run out of the Chamber, specifically to stop debate, they would be stopped by the Sergeant at Arms, who would try to wrestle the mace out of his hands. And I mean, the reason that we know how this hypothetical scenario would play out, is because this actually does happen in England from time to time. There was a, in fact, very recently, I want to say maybe two years ago, there was an incident in the in Parliament, where one of the MPs decided that he wanted to stop a debate on Brexit and grab the mace and started walking out of the Chamber, where he was confronted by the Sergeant at Arms, who grabbed it out of his hands and returned it. And so debate actually never did stop. But this actually is a you know, like I said, a long and very storied tradition in England. I don't think it's ever happened in Virginia, but it would be kind of fun to see, it would would be kind of fun to see it transpire here.
Mark Greenough
Well, you know, some traditions, such as not needing to rescue the mace from unwanted activity, are traditions we might want to preserve and keep.
Thomas Bowman
That's right. And Jay has been a model Sergeant at Arms. And while we're on the subject of the Sergeant at Arms, and not necessarily about the mace, the Sergeant at Arms has some pretty interesting responsibilities. Basically, the top cop of the General Assembly members too, right?
Mark Greenough
Right and he is elected by the membership of the House of Delegates every two years. And it's interesting, the things that he does, in addition to the very obvious and public, bringing in of the mace, and retiring the mace at the end of each day's adjournment. But as Jay himself will tell you, every day is different. And there are calendars to be distributed, there's members mail that needs to be delivered, there are sometimes requirements, or requests for hard copies and information that is also available digitally that might be needed in hardcopy for some reason. Legislative assistants who might want to bring materials into the Chamber to be placed on the members desks, that material would be under the purview of the Sergeant at Arms to make sure that it was pertinent and germane to the business of the House. And there's the doorkeepers that report to the Sergeant at Arms for the public galleries, and the entrance to the floor of the House, as I mentioned earlier. And it's, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. The Sergeant at Arms is obviously the one who would officially announce dignitaries entering the Chamber. For instance, for the State of the Commonwealth Address, you know, announcing the Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, and Justices of the Virginia Supreme Court, and state corporation commission, and so on and so forth. When messages arrive to the House, from the Senate, it is the responsibility of the Sergeant at Arms to bring those messages to the attention of the Speaker.
Michael Pope
So you mentioned earlier that the Virginia Capitol itself is kind of like a cafeteria of interesting things. We've been talking about one of those things, which is perhaps the chocolate bar wrapped in gold leaf, right? Mark, tell us about our listeners, if they want to know more about the history of the Capitol, how can they take a tour? Tell us a little bit about taking a tour of the Capitol and learning about the rest of this buffet?
Mark Greenough
Sure. As we speak literally, here towards the end of June 2021, the Capitol is still closed to the public because of ongoing construction projects. There are as many as 10 different projects under way during the summer. But after the first of July, the Capitol will reopen partially for the general public, and they can call our basic information number which is 804-698-1788 to get more information about what's available as we reopen the Capitol Building. The tours easily run around 45 minutes or so and they are free to the public. If you have more than 10 people you would want to call ahead and make an appointment. And since the construction is ongoing, there might be changes to exactly what we can see and do from one week to the next. I know there'll be different opportunities to use different entrances for the public at certain times, but just to call in and get the latest update on the circumstances in the Capitol.
Thomas Bowman
So that's all for this episode.
Michael Pope
Support us on Patreon, or send us an email to TransitionVApodcast@gmail.com.
Thomas Bowman
Like and follow @TransitionVA on Twitter and anywhere pods are cast.
Michael Pope
Read the transcripts at TransitionVirginia.com and special thanks to Emily Cottrell for figuring out what the heck we're saying.
Thomas Bowman
Thanks for being on the Transition Team. We're your hosts, Thomas Bowman.
Michael Pope
And I'm Michael Pope.
