High Sheriff of Down explained
The High Sheriff of Down is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Down. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258.[1] Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.[2]
History
The first (High) Shrivalties were established before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and date back to Saxon times.[3] 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.[4] Despite however that the office retains his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county.[2]
While the office of High Sheriff ceased to exist in those Irish counties, which had formed the Irish Free State in 1922, it is still present in the counties of Northern Ireland.
High Sheriffs
- 1326: John Mandeville
- 1610: Richard West
- 1620: Nicholas Ward
- 1624: Nicholas Ward
- 1634: Henry Savage
- 1641: Peter Hill
- 1655: James Trail
- 1656: Bernard Ward (son of Nicholas HS 1620)
- 1657: Roger West (son of Richard HS 1610)
- 1661: Robert Ward (son of Bernard HS 1656)
- 1662: Nicholas Ward (son of Bernard HS 1656)
- 1663: John Savage
- 1667: Robert Ward
- 1669: William Waring of Waringstown
- 1670: William Montgomery
- 1675: John Hawkins of Rathfriland
- 1690: Bernard Ward (killed in duel, 1690)
- 1699: John Haltridge
21st century
References
- News: High Sheriffs of County Down 1714–1857. Newry and Louth Advertiser, 10/08/1857.
Notes and References
- Book: John David Griffith Davies . Frederick Robert Worts . England in the Middle Ages: Its Problems and Legacies . A. A. Knopf . 1928 . 119 .
- Book: Alexander, George Glover . The Administration of Justice in Criminal Matters (in England and Wales) . 1915 . The University Press . 89 .
- Book: Morris, William Alfred . The Medieval English Sheriff to 1300 . registration . Manchester University Press . Manchester . 1968 . 0-7190-0342-3 . 73 .
- Book: Millward, Paul . Civic Ceremonial: A Handbook, History and Guide for Mayors, Councillors and Officers . 2007 . Shaw . 978-0-7219-0164-0 . 163 .
