The office of Sheriff derives from the shire-reeve of Anglo Saxon England and, although the exact date of its origins is unknown, the office was certainly in existence by about A.D.950. when shires were first formed. According to Mather, on Sheriff, "the office of Sheriff, is except for Kingship, the oldest office in the country and the only secular office remaining from Anglo Saxon times". A record, in the Domesday survey shows that "Hugh filius Baldrici, Sheriff, who replaced the Danish Earl held the office before the Norman Conquest" and further evidence shows that he was still living in 1086, when he witnessed a Charter for Duke Robert; Early Yorkshire Charters IX, xii.

We find that the word sheriff is an abbreviation of the Anglo Saxon "scira-gerifa" meaning "shire-reeve"; the governor of the shire or county. In Latin and French the usual term was vice-comts, viscounte which had applied to similar functionaries in Normandy. It is possible that the office has its derivation from the "Kings Reeve" also known as the "High Reeve" prominent in the reign of Edgar. In the laws the "Gerifa" (reeves) recorded duties were to supervise trading and administer justice. He witnessed the exchange of livestock and purchase of goods and collected toll on transactions. He checked that there was no Sunday trading and that people paid their Church tithes. He kept his eye on moneyers, and could be held responsible if there was any counterfeiting. He was expected to ensure justice and to act without fear or favour and presided at the peoples meeting, initiated court proceedings, gave judgements, collected fines and took over property forfeited by criminals; he arranged executions and trailed stolen cattle.

A reeve who disregarded royal ordinances was fined for disobedience and, if caught, was dismissed from office for accepting a bribe. The reeves judgements were witnessed by the bishop who encouraged him to mercy in appropriate cases. In return for his services the reeve held lands and was entitled to such privileges as fines for fighting in his presence and took a proportion of the fines his court exacted. The rest went to the King and, together with tolls, forfeitures, inheritances and claims from estates of foreigners, money taken in return for privileges granted, profit from dies issued to moneyers, and so-on made up his cash income. When William the Conqueror visited Nottingham, in 1086, on his way to quell a Saxon uprising at York, he ordered that a castle be built on the hill north west of the Anglican Burgh. At first, this would probably be no more that a wooden fort but, the general activity which took place during the building, and the attitude of the Normans, resulted in the office of the Sheriff becoming more powerful and with increased rewards.

The Normans established themselves in the lowlands, between the Castle Rock and the Anglican burgh, and, in this way, Nottingham became a town of two burghs, one English and the other French, with each having its own way of life, its own governors and its own markets and customs which, later, was to result in the appointment of two Sheriffs. Such was the importance of the Norman Sheriff that, for some years after the Conquest, the persons appointed were the Kings commanders-in-arms including great household officials and important tenants-in-chief; they had to be strong and powerful agents and the office had to be linked to men of local or central power and position. The holders of the office of Sheriff were appointed during the Kings pleasure to hold such office in one, or more counties and on an hereditary basis. This first pairing of Sheriffs began under Henry II and continued in most cases, into the sixteenth century; it was usual, due to the large areas involved, to appoint a deputy.

The system of "pairing" of shires in this area came about by the amalgamation of Nottinghamshire and part of Derbyshire and followed those of Bedford and Buckingham (1155), Norfolk and Suffolk (1156), with others following later; the earliest Pipe Roll (1129-30) refers to Osbert Silvanus, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. In the "Borough Records" (Vol. 1. 1155-1399) there is reference to Ranulph Fitz Ingelram, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire about 1182 (from a "bull" of Pope Lucius III). Ranulph was one of the witnesses to the Charter of Henry II, in 1155; probably granted early in that year when Henry visited Nottingham and York.

Arrival of the Normans had brought industrial and trading classes and, of course churchmen soon established themselves in the new areas; all these were supported by the varying types of servants thus, it was that Nottingham became a trading "port" and, as such, received royal acknowledgement and protection for which they paid taxes.

The Sheriff became the principle representative and agent of the crown, within the shire, with extended responsibilities and considerable power, for example he judged cases in court (jointly with the Bishop), had police powers and could raise the "hue and cry" in pursuit of robbers within his shire and summon and command the "posse - comitatus"; the full powers of the shire. On behalf of the King, the Sheriff collected taxes, levies and all dues in respect of land, fines, amerciaments, forfeitures or otherwise, as well as casual revenues which accrued to the King in several ways such as treasure trove, waifs, wrecks, chattels of felons as well as fugitives, outlaws, usurers, recreants and persons executed etc.

It is clear that the farming of the Kings lands and local pleas resulted in considerable profit personally to the Sheriff. Every Michaelmas and Easter the Sheriff submitted his account for his district to the Exchequer where it was rendered on the Pipe Rolls with the other debtors of the crown. Deductions were allowed for fixed alms and disbursements uncured in the execution of the Sheriffs legal duties. One Pipe Roll has survived for 1129-30 and from 1155-56 with the exception of two years. The Norman Sheriff continued to preside over the shire-moot, or hundred court, and, as the meeting place might be some distance away from a town, it soon became usual for a borough to have its own court, but the Sheriff still collected the profits of the borough court, and all the other payments due to the King from the town, as was the case in other parts of the country.

In his judicial capacity, therefore, the Sheriff had two courts, the tourn and the county courts; the former a criminal one and the latter a civil court. The tourn court was attended by the freeholders of the county who enquired into various offences which took place in the county and into nuisances, weights and measures and so forth. The power of the Sheriff to try presentiments made by the tourn was taken away by the Magna Carta and, subsequently by Edward I. The Sheriff presided over the county court and all freeholders, of the county had the right to attend either as judges or suitors. In this court were decided various suits of a civil nature, whether for trespass or debt, were the amounts were small. In the county courts were elected the knights of the shire, the coroner and the verderers, proclamations, whether from the crown or from the courts (e.g. outlawry), and any other business of the county was transacted. A sheriff derived considerable profit from his office arising partly from the sums received by him through his courts which, in this, as other cases, yield other profit to those who had a right to them and, partly, from what would now be termed "percentages" on the moneys he collected from the crown; extortion was paramount, one example being the holding of a court at an inconvenient time and place then fining all those who did not attend; with the fines being, of course, paid into the Sheriffs coffers.

When municipal government grew stronger, the interference of the Kings Officer, whose primary concern was the shire, was felt to be irksome and this antagonism to the royal tax collector is reflected in the Robin Hood ballads where the Sheriff, perhaps through wishful thinking, was invariably worsted by the outlaw. The burgesses, accordingly, began to buy their freedom from his control, they particularly wished to pay their dues directly to the Exchequer instead of through the Sheriff who, as indicated earlier, waxed rich on the profits made despite the action of Henry II increasingly strict control of the exchequer and, after the "Inquest of Sheriffs", in 1170, the curbing of the Shrieval powers and administration. Over succeeding centuries, with the changes in monarchy, powers of the Sheriff were steadily eroded. The first step, in this direction, for Nottingham, came in 1189 when John, not yet King but Earl of Montain, granted the burgesses the right to choose their own reeves from among themselves, and transferred from the County Sheriff to the town reeves the responsibility for paying into the Exchequer the ferm, or tax, of the borough. As, however, John`s Charter contained a proviso allowing him to remove a reeve of whom he disproved, their freedom in this direction was limited and, in 1230, they succeeded in obtaining another Charter (from Henry III) which gave them the right (among other things) to pay the ferm directly into the Exchequer instead of through the reeve; the Sheriff began to lose his supremacy.

The County Sheriff was still the officer responsible for legal proceedings, and the first concession, in this respect, was the grant by Henry III`s second Charter (1255), of the return of writs or summons of the exchequer, the Sheriff being forbidden to "intermeddle" with such summonses unless the bailiff defaulted; Nottingham was also given coroners of its own by this Charter. From the reaffirmations of the concession in subsequent charters, it is clear that the county Sheriff must have continued to interfere for, although he had less powers, than his predecessors, his jurisdictional powers were often a great inconvenience within the borough which had extensive powers and jurisdiction of its own.

The two jurisdictions might often conflict and it was for this reason that the town sought, as the last instalment in the widening of its powers, to become a miniature county on its own with their own Sheriffs (preferably elected by the burgesses) wholly excluding the county Sheriffs and other local and royal officials. Albeit the powers of the bailiffs were extended in 1339 to the return of all writs and summonses this requisite was based on a general movement in town government, a recognition that many towns had outgrown the level of borough; they were no longer feudal settlements depended upon the patronage of others for their preservation.

Such towns as Nottingham had been recognised as being part of the national framework with a voice, through members of parliament and others, in determining national laws; this well conceived plan was to result in a number of towns, including Nottingham, proving themselves of such importance to warrant "county" status. It was Bristol (1373) who led the way followed by York, with two Sheriffs (1396), Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1404), Norwich, with two Sheriffs (1404) and Lincoln (1409). Then, after a long gap, Kingston-upon-Hull (1440) began a new batch of those granted county status, followed by Southampton (1447) Nottingham, with two Sheriffs (1449), Coventry (1451) and Canterbury (1461). The only other boroughs which seem to have acquired county status and Sheriffs in the fifteenth century were Gloucester (1483) and Scarborough (1485) to be followed by Chester, with two Sheriffs (1506), Lichfield (1553) and Poole (1568). These would seem to be the only towns that ever received the privilege of county status and Sheriffs up to the time of the Civil War and, very probably, up to the Municipal Corporation (Reform ) Act of 1835. King Edward I, by his Charter of 1284, granted that in the town of Nottingham, there should be a mayor elected for the two boroughs, and a bailiff for each of them.

The office of mayor of Nottingham, therefore, dates from the 12th. February, 1284 or, to be more accurate, the following Michaelmas, when the first election could take place. The office of bailiff, was not a new name but it is necessary to note that the Charter did set out that "one" bailiff of one borough and another for the other borough on account of the diversity of custom existing in the same boroughs. It was during the reign of Henry VI that the most important changes, in the office and role of the Sheriff, took place, one of the first steps being to renew the laws of Edward III and Richard II. On 28th. June, 1449, Henry approved a new Charter which established Nottingham "the town of Nottingham and the county of the same town to be separated, distinct and divided, and in everything utterly exempt, as well by land as by water, from the same County from the fifteenth day of the month of September next to come with responsibility to the central government directly through its own Sheriffs"; which were now established to replace the two bailiffs. Two exceptions from the towns new powers were "Our Castle" and the "Kings Hall"; the former became part of the town in 1877 but the latter, as the Shire Hall (containing the County gaol) remained in the County until recently sold and is now in private ownership.

The Charter gave the burgesses power to choose, out of their own body, seven Aldermen one of which was to be chosen as Mayor of the town and that such Aldermen should also be Justices of the Peace and wear Scarlet Gowns of the same fashion as the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London. The Sheriffs were to "have and occupy the office of Shrievalty until the day of St. Michael the Archangel, the next to come, and throughout the same day until on the same day two other burgesses of the same town (Nottingham) shall be chosen by the Mayor and Burgesses as Sheriffs for the following year. And, hereafter, the Sheriffs of that town and of the precincts of the same town shall be yearly for ever chosen and made at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel". Following the election, the Sheriffs were obliged to take the oath, before the Mayor, and, within twelve days, after the said election, the names had to be sent, under the seal of the Mayoralty, into the Chancery.

There has been some question as to the actual date the first two Nottingham Sheriffs were appointed, it has to be noted that, the 28th. June of the twenty seventh year of Henry VI`s reign was in the year 1449 and not 1448, as some writers have previously indicated; we can be satisfied, therefore, that the first two Sheriffs of the "new" Nottingham, were Thomas Lyng and William Sadler. The sort of duties the Sheriff had to carry out, after the implementation of the 1449 Charter were those, of course, formally vested in Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, plus the additions to the powers of the town court and the granting of a new one. His financial duties were not as extensive as a Sheriffs had been in earlier centuries, but he still received Crown debts such as fines and forfeited recognizances until the coming into force of the Criminal Justice Act, 1967.

Until that date the majority of fines imposed in the Quarter Sessions, in Nottingham, were received by the Town and not by the Exchequer. The duty of collecting these fines was carried out by Under Sheriffs with the actual work of collecting being done by the Sheriffs Sergeants, or officers. He had control of the town jail and was responsible for prisoners therein. It was also his duty, on the rare occasions when it was necessary to supervise executions which were usually carried out at the town gallows. He was the Returning Officer at Parliamentary Elections. All Royal Proclamations which the Lord President thought fit were directed to him and it was his duty to proclaim them in the customary manner, as he would as he would also arrange for fairs and Court Sessions to be "Cried" round the town. He summoned the jurors for the Quarter Sessions, the Clerk making out the list and the Sergeant at Mace served the summonses. On the occasion when the Judge of Assize came to Nottingham on circuit, it was the Sheriffs duty, as the Kings representative, to receive, attend and guard him. By way of custom, rather than by legal obligation, the Sheriffs received the Recorder at Quarter Sessions (until they were abolished in 1972, under the Court Act of 1971) and sat on the right hand during the time he was in Session, entertaining him and the principle Court officials and Barristers to lunch on the opening day of each Session.

The office retained a curiously "mixed bag" of duties through the process of history - scattered fragments of a once vast power. Some difficulties were experienced, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly with getting people to take on the office of Sheriff, men avoided it, but they could be compelled to serve, and there were other instances of "kicking against the traces", the Council had trouble with two Sheriffs who, (1613-14) Over the question of giving a dinner which would appear to have been one of their duties, and they were summarily brought before the Council to give reasons. The Borough Records show that "Maister Jowett and Maister Alvey refuse to make theyr Sheriffs) dynner this yeare accordinge to custom, they both answered ytt peremptorily that they will neyther make dynner nor give a penny fine or composition". For this it was agreed to fine them £10 with failure to pay in disenfranchisement; they would be made "foreigners" and their burgess parts (property) would be taken from them. Eventually, Jowett paid and was allowed a rebate of half his fine if £5 but Alvey only paid after a long argument and, so, only received a rebate of £1. In 1616 Robert Burton and John Galton also refused to provide a dinner and were replaced by Samuel Burrows and William James; the Council overcame this difficulty by making sure that future Sheriffs could afford to pay for the dinner and nothing more is heard of this problem.

There is evidence of personal weakness, also, in that Sheriff John Blackwell was declared a bankrupt and disqualified from holding any further office by the Attorney General; he was replaced. A major part of the seventeenth century was taken up with the "Battle of the Charters" which came to a head, in 1682. King Charles II had long considered that the powers of the towns were too great, and wished to curtail them. At the Council meeting on 25th. July 1682 Gervas Wylde, Mayor and strong royalist, proposed the surrender of the towns Charter, the voting was fourteen for and fourteen against and, to resolve the deadlock, the Mayor used his casting vote and declared the motion carried. The Charter was surrendered and Charles II sent a new Charter which curbed, considerably the powers of the Corporation; a state of chaos in town government resulted.

Two separate parties attempted to govern, one by the terms Of the old Charter, led by William Greaves, and the other by the new Charter, led by the royalist Mayor Gervas Wylde, both parties electing their own Mayor, two Sheriffs and other officials. Disturbance and riot broke out which was ultimately resolved by the intervention of the Privy Council who called the old Charter party to London, to answer for their conduct; they were heavily fined and warned to discontinue their activities, leaving the new Charter Party in control of the towns affairs. Representations were made to William and Mary, by the people, which resulted in the restoration, under a new Charter, of all the privileges of the Charter of Henry VI.

The oligarchic system of local government, created out of the Charter of Henry VI, came to an end with the passing of the Municipal Corporation Act of 1835 (more commonly called the Municipal Reform Act) which brought "a new deal" for local government. The Charter boroughs were abolished and the town became one with a new Council of Nottingham, elected by the ratepayers and comprising 42 Councillors (six from each of the seven Wards) Byron, Castle, Exchange, Park, St.Ann `s St.Mary`s and Sherwood), with fourteen Aldermen, making a total Council of 56 members. The reformed Council held its first meeting on 1st. January, 1836, at which time Henry Moses Wood was elected Sheriff; his duties were to a great extent, set out in the oath signed;-

In the City and County of the City of Nottingham, do solemnly declare that I will well and truly serve the Queens Majesty in the Office of Sheriff of the City and County of the City of Nottingham, and promote her Majesty`s profit in all things that belong to my office, as far as I legally can or may; I will truly preserve the Queens right and all that belongeth to the Crown; I will not assent to decrease, lessen or conceal the rights of the Queen or of her franchises; and whatever I shall have knowledge that the rights of the Crown are concealed or withdrawn in any matter or thing. I will do my utmost to make them be restored to the Crown again; and if I may not do it myself, I will inform the Queen or some of her Majesty`s judges thereof; I will not respite or delay to levy the Queens debts, for any gift, promise, reward or favour, where I may raise the same without grievance to the debtors; I will do right as well to poor and rich in all things belonging to my office; I will do no wrong to any man for any gift, reward or promise, nor for favour or hatred; I will disturb no mans rights and will truly and faithfully acquit at the Exchequer all those of whom I shall receive any debts or sums of money belonging to the Crown; I will take nothing whereby the Queen may lose, or whereby her right may be disturbed, injured or delayed; I will truly return and truly serve all the Queens Writs according to the best of my skill and knowledge; I will take no Bailiffs into my service but such as I will answer for; I will truly set and return reasonable and due issue of them that be within my Bailiwick according to their estate and circumstances, and may due panels of persons able and sufficient and not suspected or procured, as is appointed by the Statutes of this Realm; I have not sold or let to farm, nor contracted for, nor have I granted or promised for reward or benefit, nor will I sell or let to farm, nor contract for or grant for reward or benefit to myself, or any other person for me, or for my use, directly or indirectly, my Sheriffwick or any Bailiwick thereof, or any office belonging thereunto, all the profits of the same to any person or persons whatsoever; I will truly and diligently execute the good laws and Statutes of this Realm, and in all things well and truly behave myself in my office for the honour of the Queen and the good of her subjects, and discharge the same according to the best of my skill and power. Declared at the City and County Of the City of Nottingham on ....

The next important change came in 1931 when the first lady was appointed to the important and historic office of Sheriff of Nottingham; Councillor Mrs. C.M.Harper. In all other matters, it would appear that the Sheriff carried out his duties similar to his, or her, counterpart of the days prior to 1836, plus involvement in matters introduced by the `new - style` Council. For over five hundred years Nottingham had been a county in its own right, completely separate from Nottinghamshire . It achieved this gradually through the efforts of its Burgesses in petitioning the Kings of England over three centuries.

The results of their efforts are to be found in the royal charters. Following the Beeching Commission Report, by the Courts Act of 1971, the office of Sheriff of Nottingham lost its ancient status and independence; the duties of the Borough Sheriff became almost entirely of a ceremonial nature. Under royal charter and grant by the College of Arms the City of Nottingham has retained its Lord Mayor, Sheriff, Arms and Title of the City, but many of its functions and responsibilities were transferred to the County Council as a result of the Local Government Act of 1972 which removed the last vestige of shrieval power and this one time tax collector and Law enforcement officer will now be seen joining the High Sheriff, on the occasion of the opening of Court Sessions, and joining the Lord Mayor in attending parades, meeting visiting royalty and other V.I.P,s, with visits tp various churches on the occasion of Civic Services.

On occasions such as these the Sheriff will wear his robes, cocked hat, lace jabot, and cuffs and carry one of the ancient wands, the symbol of his office; adorned with his gold chain, he will be preceded by his two sergeants - at - mace (Attendants) dressed in red livery and each carrying one of the historic maces. During 1992 the Shrievalty Association (UK) celebrated the millennium of English Shrievalty; giving support to the statement that the office of the Sheriff is at least a thousand years old. Records show that, from the implementation of the Charter of 1449, there have been some 950 Sheriffs of Nottingham; as indicated in the accompanying lists.

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