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...

 of West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

is annually appointed as the sovereign's representative in West Sussex county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.

History of the office high sheriff

The oldest office under the crown, the office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

 when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative. The High Sheriff remains the sovereign's representative in the county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. Prior to 1974, there was one High Sheriff

High Sheriff of Sussex

-History:The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the...

 for the whole of Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

. The High Sheriff is appointed annually in March.

Roles and responsibilities

High Sheriffs are responsible in the Counties of England and Wales for duties conferred by the Crown through Warrant from the Privy Council

Privy council

A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

, including:

• Attendance at Royal visits to the County
• The wellbeing and protection of Her Majesty's High Court Judges when on Circuit in the County and attending them in Court during the legal terms.
• The execution of High Court Writs and Orders (which is mainly achieved through the Under Sheriff)
• Acting as the Returning Officer for Parliamentary Elections in County constituencies
• Responsibility for the proclamation of the accession of a new Sovereign
• The maintenance of the loyalty of subjects to the Crown

High Sheriffs of West Sussex

• 1974-1975: Wing Commander Geoffrey Harry Briggs, DFC, DL
• 1975-1976: D D Scott
• 1976-1977: D S W Blacker, DL
• 1977-1978: G M Cresswell-Wall
• 1978-1979: P M Luttman-Johnson
• 1979-1980: The Hon Henry Edward Boscawen
• 1980-1981: L Langmead
• 1981-1982: D I Bosanquet
• 1982-1983: Peter Langmead, OBE
• 1983-1984: Edward John Frederick Green
• 1984-1985: Major General John Cowley, CB, DL
• 1985-1986: Major General Sir Philip Ward, KCVO
  Royal Victorian Order
  The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
  
  , CBE
  Order of the British Empire
  The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
  
  , DL
• 1986-1987: James Frederick Godman-Dorington
• 1987-1988: David Hopkinson, DL
• 1988-1989: Ronald C Langmead
• 1989-1990: John Richard Bine Morgan-Grenville, DL, of Upperton, Petworth
• 1990-1991: David W Bowerman, JP, DL
• 1991-1992: Michael Desmond Sugden, JP
• 1992-1993: Jeremy Fox Eric Smith, DL
• 1993-1994: Richard Harry Goring, DL
• 1994-1995: P Longley, OBE, DL
• 1995-1996: Hugh Wyatt
  Hugh Wyatt
  Hugh Rowland Wyatt, CVO was the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex from 1999 to 2008. He succeeded the late Major General Sir Philip Ward....
  
  , DL
• 1996-1997: John Knight, DL
• 1997-1998: Col Sir Brian Walter de Stopham Barttelot, Bt., OBE, DL
• 1998-1999: B Trafford, DL
• 1999-2000: Judith Buckland, MBE, DL
• 2000-2001: Robin R Loder
• 2001-2002: Graham G Ferguson, DL
• 2002-2003: Mark W Burrell
• 2003-2004: Major Mark F H Scrase-Dickins CMG
• 2004-2005: Roger Reed
• 2005-2006: Gordon Tregear
• 2006-2007: Charles Torquil de Montalt Fraser
  Charles Torquil de Montalt Fraser
  Charles Torquil de Montalt Fraser was High Sheriff of West Sussex in 2006-07.Fraser, the son of Major Michael Quintin Fraser, was educated at Temple Grove School, Rugby School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On graduation from Sandhurst in 1980 he was commissioned into the Life Guards as...
  
  
• 2007–2008: Colin Peter John Field
• 2009-2010: Simon Fairfax Knight
• 2010–2011: Elizabeth Bennett