High Sheriff of Down
Encyclopedia
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. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
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
.
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford
Provisions of Oxford
The Provisions of Oxford are often regarded as England's first written constitution ....
in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
History
The first (High) Shrivalties were established before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and date back to Saxon times. 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. Despite however that the office retains his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county.While the office of High Sheriff ceased to exist in those Irish counties, which had formed the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
in 1922, it is still present in the counties of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
High Sheriffs
- 1641: Peter Hill
- 1655: James Trail
- 1717: Sir William Johnston, Kt
- 1730: Edward Bayly
- 1735: Richard Johnston
- 1736: Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount DungannonArthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount DungannonArthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon , was an Irish politician.Born Arthur Hill, he adopted the surname Hill-Trevor in 1759. He was the second son of Robert Hill of Hillsborough, M.P. and Privy Councillor, and Anne Trevor. His maternal grandfather was the leading seventeenth-century...
- 1744: Chichester Fortescue
- 1750: William Annesley, 1st Viscount GlerawlyWilliam Annesley, 1st Viscount GlerawlyWilliam Annesley, 1st Viscount Glerawly was an Irish politician and noble.Lord Glerawly was the sixth son of Francis Annesley and Elizabeth Martin. Through his father, Lord Glerawly was the grandson of Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia and thus his descendants are in the remainder to the...
- 1765: Sir Richard Johnston, 1st Baronet
- 1773: Gawen Hamilton
- 1783: Richard Annesley, 2nd Earl AnnesleyRichard Annesley, 2nd Earl AnnesleyRichard Annesley, 2nd Earl Annesley PC , styled The Honourable from 1758 to 1802, was an Irish politician and noble.Lord Annesley was the second son of William Annesley, 1st Viscount Glerawly and Lady Anne Beresford...
- 1788: Sir William Johnston, 2nd Baronet
- 1798: Charles FitzGerald, 1st Baron LecaleCharles FitzGerald, 1st Baron LecaleRear-Admiral Charles James FitzGerald, 1st Baron Lecale PC , styled Lord Charles FitzGerald between 1761 and 1800, was an Irish naval commander and politician.-Background:...
- 1804: James Stevenson Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye
- 1811: William Sharman CrawfordWilliam Sharman CrawfordWilliam Sharman Crawford was an Irish politician with liberal and radical views; he supported Catholic Emancipation and the rights of tenants. He was a Member of the British parliament for Dundalk in 1835–1837 and for Rochdale in 1841–1852. He was High Sheriff of Down for 1811.He died at...
- 1820: Mathew Forde
- 1822: William Richard Annesley, 3rd Earl Annesley
- 1824: William Montgomery, of Grey Abbey
- 1825: John M'Cance of Bromlough.
- 1827: John Echin, of Echin Ville, Kircubbin
- 1828: Francis Needham, 2nd Earl of KilmoreyFrancis Needham, 2nd Earl of KilmoreyFrancis Jack Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey , known as Viscount Newry from 1822 to 1832, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Member of Parliament....
- 1841: Sir William Johnston, 2nd Baronet
- 1849: William Keon, of Ballydergan House
- 1850: Archibald Rowan Hamilton of Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh.
- 1860: John Blakiston-HoustonJohn Blakiston-HoustonJohn Blakiston-Houston DL JP was an Irish Member of parliament.Blakiston-Houston was the son of Richard Bayly Blakiston-Houston , of Orangefield, Co. Down, and his wife Mary Isabella Houston. He was a grandson of Sir Matthew Blakiston, 2nd Baronet. He married Marian Gertrude Streatfield, of...
- 1862: John Joseph Whyte, Colneeran, Loughbricklad
- 1868: John Mulholland, 1st Baron DunleathJohn Mulholland, 1st Baron DunleathJohn Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath was an Irish businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament.Dunleath was the son of Andrew Mulholland of Ballywalter Park in County Down. He was involved in the Mulholland family cotton and linen industry and also represented Downpatrick in the British House...
- 1871: Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey
- 1875: Gawin William Rowan-Hamilton
- 1884: Henry Lyle Mulholland, 2nd Baron Dunleath
- 1886: Robert Grimshaw Dunville
- 1899: William James Pirrie
- 1907: John Milne Barbour
- 1913: Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey
- 1922: Richard Blakiston-Houston
- 1928: Alexander Robert Gisborne Gordon
- 1929: John Miller Andrews
- 1931: Charles Henry George Mulholland, 3rd Baron Dunleath
- 1941: George Ernest Clark
- 1944: John Matthew Blakiston-Houston
- 1945: Guy James Brownlow
- 1949: Derek William Charles Keppel, Viscount Bury
- 1953: Edward James Augustus Howard Brush
- 1959: William Brownlow
- 1971: James Christy Brownlow
- 1975: Denys Archibald Rowan-Hamilton
- 1981: John David Maxwell
- 1989: Richard Patrick Blakiston-Houston
- 2008: Alan Raymond Gillespie
- 2009: Augusta Nicholson
- 2010: David Corbett