The Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is entirely ceremonial and sustained to boost tourism due to the legendary connection with the fictional Sheriff of Nottingham in the tales of Robin Hood. However, the historical position goes back to Anglo-Saxon times. The office is sometimes confused with that of the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire (that office had previously existed, from 1068 until 1568, as Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests).
Responsibility for enforcing the law and keeping the peace in Anglo-Saxon England fell to the sheriff or shire-reeve (which is a contraction of the Old English word for county and reeve or greave). Different types of reeves attested before the Conquest include the high-reeve, town-reeve, port-reeve, shire-reeve (predecessor to the sheriff), reeve of the hundred and the reeve in charge of a manor, its post-conquest meaning. England in the early 11th century employed the services of shire reeves to assist in the detection and prevention of crimes. Groups of 10 families or "tithings" under a hundredman (later constable) could call upon them. The reeve of an entire shire was a shire-reeve, predecessor to the sheriff. [1]
After the Norman Conquest, specific counties appointed sheriffs to enforce the law (such as Yorkshire for example), although sometimes the duties of these sheriffs would cross the border of their respective counties. [2] Nottingham would have come under the "High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire" after the Norman Conquest.
The Sheriff during the reign of King John was Philip Marc. Marc was so unpopular that he was specifically mentioned in the Magna Carta, which demanded his removal.
In 1449, the city of Nottingham itself appointed its own sheriff for the first time. [3] However, the post was held simultaneously between two men, William Sadler and Thomas Lyng. The sheriffs at that time may have been responsible for "the delivery of prisoners to the courts, the collection of rents and taxes and generally keeping the 'King's Peace'".
The position of Sheriff of Nottingham began to become a key feature in the tales and legends of Robin Hood from the 14th century onwards. [4] [5] While the position in the tales was seen as fictional and as a caricature, it was indicative of the potential for power to abused and corrupted in the medieval period. [6]
From 1450 until 1835, the office was shared between two people, one of whom may have been chosen by the Mayor, the other by the town council. The reversion to a single sheriff was explained by the mayor and aldermen of Lincoln as "Local Government changes" (possibly the Municipal Corporations Act 1835).
The office is considered largely ceremonial, expected to attend local events when the monarch is present and promoting the city in tourism and business. There are interviews with Joan Casson, John Hartshorne and Leon Unczur all recent sheriffs, describing the role of the present-day Sheriff of Nottingham. The first female sheriff was appointed in 1931.
Source [7]
Liaqat Ali was elected Sheriff on May 20, 2024. [8]
This is a list of civic sheriffs and high sheriffs of the County of the City of Bristol, England.
The Sheriff of Canterbury is a shrievalty in the city of Canterbury, England. The office was first held in 1461 by Richard Carpenter, when a charter of king Edward IV granted the city the perpetual status of a county independent of Kent itself. The role was at that time involved in police and legal functions, but is now honorific. The role survived the local government reorganisation of 1974, when a large number of other areas lost County Borough status and thus had their Sheriffs' posts abolished, and the Sheriff is still elected at the Annual Council Meeting in May. Canterbury City Council in 2002 merged the role of deputy Chairman of the Council into that of Sheriff, to create a Civic Team of only the Sheriff and the Lord Mayor.
The High Sheriff of Clare was a High Sheriff title. Records show that the title was in existence from at least the late 16th century, though it is not used today in the modern Republic of Ireland. The title existed within County Clare in the west of Ireland during the time of the Kingdom of Ireland and then as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
The High Sheriff of Westmeath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Westmeath, Ireland from its creation under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Westmeath County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. The following is an incomplete list: all addresses are in County Westmeath unless stated otherwise.
The High Sheriff of Londonderry City, or High Sheriff of Derry, is the sovereign's judicial representative in the city of Derry. High Sheriff of Londonderry is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir John Barre Johnson the first holder. Like other high sheriff positions, it is largely a ceremonial post today. The appointment is officially made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on behalf of the King. The outgoing high sheriff nominates his or her successor, except in Belfast where councillors nominate a serving member of the city council. Prior to 1900 sheriffs, initially two per year, but later only one, were elected by the city council.
The High Sheriff of Louth was the Crown's representative for County Louth, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he held his office for the duration of a year. He had judicial, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs.
The High Sheriff of Sligo was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Sligo, Ireland, from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Sligo County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Sligo unless stated otherwise.
The High Sheriff of Kerry was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kerry, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kerry County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Kerry unless stated otherwise.
The High Sheriff of Limerick was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Limerick, Ireland from the 13th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Limerick County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Limerick unless stated otherwise.
The High Sheriff of County Cork was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Cork. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became an annual appointment following the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, the sheriff had ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs.
Additional information needed
The sheriff of the City of Cork is the court officer responsible for the enforcement of civil judgments in Cork county borough. The current sheriff is a solicitor, Martin A Harvey. Sheriffs earn their fees from poundage (commission). Before 1842 two sheriffs were voted into office annually by the freemen of the city. After that time, the power of appointment of a single sheriff per year was vested in the crown.
The Worshipful Company of Brewers is a livery company of the City of London, ranked 14th in the companies' order of precedence. Its origins can be traced back with certainty to 1292, although it probably existed in some form up to a century earlier as the Guild of Our Lady and St Thomas Becket. Its successor, the Mistery of Free Brewers, were granted the right by the Mayor and Aldermen of London to appoint Masters and Wardens in 1406. Henry VI granted the first of a series of Royal Charters to the company in 1437–38. Until the last century, the company admitted non-brewers so that they could be represented by a livery company. From the mid-16th century, masters were elected annually; all of those whose names are known are listed below.
The office of Sheriff of Newcastle upon Tyne existed from 1400 until local government reorganisation in 1974, and was reintroduced in 1996 as a title held additionally by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne. The city has a sheriff because it was historically a county corporate.