Sheriff of Renfrew and Argyll explained

The Sheriff of Renfrew and Argyll was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Renfrew and Argyll, Scotland.

Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.

The sheriffdom of Renfrew was combined with the sheriffdom of Bute in 1871, creating the new position of Sheriff of Bute and Renfrew^[1] It was merged in 1946 with the sheriffdom of Argyll instead, creating the position of Sheriff of Renfrew and Argyll. That sheriffdom was in turn dissolved in 1975 to be replaced by the current sheriffdom of North Strathclyde.

Sheriffs of Renfrew

• Sir William Semple, 1471– ^[2]
• Thomas Sempill (killed 1488) ^[2]
• John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill (1489) (killed 1513) ^[2]
• William Sempill, 2nd Lord Sempill (1515) (died 1552) ^[2]
• Robert Sempill, 3rd Lord Sempill (died 1576) ^[2]
• John Sempill, 1st of Beltrees (died 1579) ^[3]
• James Sempill, 2nd of Beltrees (died 1626)^[2]
• Alexander, Earl of Eglinton, 1636- (died 1661) ^[2]
• Francis Sempill
• Earls of Eglinton, –1748^[2]

Sheriffs-Depute

• Charles Macdonald of Crichen, 1748- ^[2]
• Charles McDowall, c.1786 ^[4]
• Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank of Kirknewton, 1788–1796 ^[5]
• John Connel, 1796–c.1814 ^[6]
• John Colin Dunlop, 1816–1842 ^[7]
• Hercules Robertson, 1842–1853
• Robert MacFarlane, 1853–1862 ^[8]
• Patrick Fraser, 1864–1871

Sheriffs of Renfrew and Bute (1871)

• Henry James Moncrieff, 1881-1888 ^[9]
• Sir Charles Pearson, 1888–1889^[10] (Sheriff of Perth, 1889–90)
• Sir John Cheyne, 1889–1907^[10]
• Neil John Downie Kennedy, 1907–1912
• John Wilson, 1912–1917^[11]
• Alastair Oswald Morison Mackenzie, January–July 1917 (Sheriff of Lanark, 1917)^[12]
• David Anderson, 1917–1918
• Charles Murray, 1918–1918^[13]
• James Mercer Irvine, 1918–1945^[14]

Sheriffs of Renfrew and Argyll (1946)

• Thomas Murray-Taylor, 1946–1948
• James Randall Philip, QC, 1948–1955
• William Ross McLean, QC, 1955–1960 (Sheriff of the Lothians and Peebles, 1960)
• Ian Shearer, Lord Avonside, QC, 1960–1962
• Alexander Thomson, 1962–1964
• William Robertson Grieve, Lord Grieve, QC, 1964–1972 ^[15]
• James Mackay, 1972–1974
• The sheriffdom was abolished in 1975 and replaced by the current Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde.

See also

• Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms

Notes and References

1. News: Epitome of the News. Leicester Mercury. 30 December 1871. 2.
2. Book: Chalmers, George. Caledonia, Or an Account, Historical and Topographic, of North Britain..., Volume 3. 776.
3. "Commissariot Record of Edinburgh, Register of Testaments, Part I. Volumes 1 to 35 1514-1600", Edinburgh: James Skinner & Co., 1897, Part I, p. 249
4. Web site: Lord Justice Clerk Miller to Charles [McDowall], Sheriff of Renfrew. Directing him to...]. 29 January 1781. National Archive of the UK.
5. Web site: Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1783–2002. Royal Society of Edinburgh. 6 April 2018.
6. Book: Parliament, Great Britain. The Parliamentary Register. 539.
7. Web site: Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002. Royal Society of Edinburgh. 26 October 2017.
8. Web site: Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002. Royal Society of Edinburgh. 26 October 2017.
9. Book: Venn, John. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students ..., Volume 2. 438.
10. Book: Sheriff Courts. The Scottish law review and Sheriff Court reports, Volume 22. 13.
11. Who Was Who 1929–1940, p. 40.
12. Who Was Who 1941–1950, p. 732.
13. Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees eds, Who's Who of British Members of Parliament 1919–1945 (1979), p. 257.
14. Who Was Who 1941–1950, p. 590.
15. Web site: Hon. Lord Grieve, VRD (1917-2005). 2 November 2017.