The Office of High Sheriff is at least 1000 years old having its roots in Saxon times before the Norman Conquest. It is the oldest continuous secular Office under the Crown.

Originally the Office held many of the powers now vested in the Lord-Lieutenant, High Court Judges, Magistrates, local authorities, Coroners and even the Inland Revenue. In England and Wales a High Sheriff is appointed for each County, and although originally the principal representative of the Crown the High Sheriff now takes precedence in the County immediately after the Lord-Lieutenant. This applies except when precedence is deferred to a Lord Mayor, Mayor or Chairman of a local authority in municipal premises, or at a municipal event.

The High Sheriff remains The Sovereign’s representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary, and they are responsible for the well-being and protection of Her Majesty’s High Court Judges when on circuit in the County.

High Sheriffs are appointed annually for a one year term of office, and the present High Sheriff of Leicestershire is Sally Bowie, who entered office during April 2013

Nominations to the Office of High Sheriff are dealt with through the presiding High Court Judge of the Circuit and the Privy Council for consideration by The Sovereign in Council. The annual nominations of three prospective High Sheriffs for each County are made in a meeting of the Lords of the Council in The Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice presided over by the Lord Chief Justice on 12 November in each year. Subsequently the selection of new High Sheriffs is made annually in a meeting of the Privy Council by The Sovereign when the custom of “pricking” the appointee’s name with a bodkin is perpetuated.

Eligibility for nomination and appointment of High Sheriff under the Sheriff’s Act of 1887 excludes Peers of Parliament, Members of the House of Commons, Commissioners or Officers of Customs and Excise or Inland Revenue, Officers of the Post Office and Officers of the Navy, Army or Royal Air Force on full pay, Clergymen whether beneficed or not and Barristers or Solicitors in actual practice.

As previously indicated the appointment of a High Sheriff is for one year only except in the event of something untoward happening to the High Sheriff’s expected successor when a High Sheriff must remain in Office until the appointment of a successor is executed.

High Court Writs are still exercised in the name of the High Sheriff, although the work in this connection is undertaken by an Under Sheriff or Enforcement Officer.

The High Sheriff receives no remuneration from the public purse. In recent years High Sheriffs in Leicestershire, as in many parts of England and Wales, have been particularly active in the field of the reduction of crime and the development of an anti-crime culture, particularly among young people through the Crimebeat Initiative.

For more information about High Sheriffs visit the Privy Council website at http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page29.asp

Previous High Sheriffs of Leicestershire

Year
1801	Thomas March Phillipps
1802	John Pares
1803	James Vann
1804	Henry Otway
1805	George Payne
1806	Frederick William Wollaston
1807	Edward Dawson
1808	John Finch Simpson
1809	Sir William Manners, Baronet
1810	Hon. Thomas Bowes
1811	Richard Norman
1812	Richard Cheslyn
1813	Robert Haymes
1814	Jacob Henry Franks
1815	Edward Farnham
1816	Charles William Pochin
1817	Clement Winstanley
1818	Sir George Robinson, Baronet
1819	Thomas Sansome
1820	John Clarke
1821	George Moore
1822	Charles James Packe
1823	Sir William Walker, Kt.
1824	Charles Godfrey Mundy
1825	Charles March Phillipps
1826	Thomas Westley Oldham
1827	Otho Manners
1828	George Pochin
1829	Joshua Grundy
1830	Sir G. H. W. Beaumont, Baronet
1831	J. G. D. Butler Danvers
1832	E. Bouchier Hartopp
1833	John Mansfield
1834	Henry Greene, of Rollestone
1835	William Herrick, of Beaumanor
1836	Sir Lionel Talmash, of Buckminster, Baronet, commonly called Lord Huntingtower
1837	Sir Arthur Grey Hazlerigg, of Noseley Hall, Baronet
1838	Sir Edmund Cradock Hartopp, of Knighton, Baronet
1839	Edward Dawson, of Whatton House
1840	Sir George Joseph Palmer, of Wanlip, Baronet
1841	Richard Mitchell, of Enderby
1842	John Bainbridge Story, of Lockington
1843	Sir Willoughby Wolstan Dixie, of Bosworth Park, Baronet
1844	Lord Archibald Algernon Henry St. Maur, of Burton on the Wolds
1845	William Corbet Smith, of Bitteswell
1846	William A Pochin, of Barkby
1847	William Wootton, Abney, of Swepstone
1848	Henry Freeman Coleman, of Evington Hall
1849	John Goodacre, of Lutterworth
1850	Thomas Stokes, of New Parks
1851	Sir Cornwallis Rickets, of Beaumont Leys, Baronet
1852	Sir George Howland Beaumont, of Coleorton, Baronet
1853	Frederick Wollaston, of Shenton
1854	Henry Corles Bingham, of Wartnaby
1855	William Ward Tailby, of Humberstone
1856	Thomas Cope, of Osbaston
1857	Edward Chatterton Middleton, of Loughborough
1858	Charles Thomas Freer, of Billesdon Coplow
1859	William Bosworth, of Charley
1860	Edward Henshaw Cheney, of Gaddesby
1861	Richard Sutton of Skeffington
1862	James Beaumont Winstanley, of Braunstone House
1863	John Martin, of Whatton House
1864	Edwin Burnaby, of Baggrave Hall
1865	Frederick Palmer, of Withcote Hall
1866	Charles Hay Frewen, of Cold Overton
1867	Edward Finch Dawson, of Launde Abbey
1868	Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle, of Garendon Park
1869	Thomas Tertius Paget, of Humberstone
1870	Edward Basil Farnham, of Quorndon House
1871	Harry Leycester Powys Keck, of Stoughton Grange
1872	Sir Henry St. John Halford, of Wistow Hall, Baronet
1873	Isaac Harrison, of Newfoundpool
1874	Edward Warner, of Quorndon Hall
1875	Thomas Charles Douglas Whitmore, of Gumley
1876	Sir Alexander Beaumont Churchill Dixie, of Bosworth Hall, Baronet
1877	Hussey Packe, of Prestwold
1878	Charles Marriott, of Cotesbach
1879	George Thomas Mowbray, of Grangewood House, Overseal
1880	Joseph Trueman Mills, of Husbands Bosworth
1881	Thomas Swift Taylor, of Leicester Frith
1882	William Winterton, of Leicester
1883	Richard Worsley Worswick, of Normanton
1884	The Hon. Harry Tywhitt Wilson, of Keythorpe
1885	Cecil George Assheton Drummond, of Enderby
1886	David Bromilow, of Bitteswell Hall
1887	William Edward John Basil Farnham, of Quorndon House
1888	John Bertie Norreys Entwistle, of Kilworth House
1889	James Percival Cross, of Catthorpe Towers
1890	William Byerley Paget, of Loughborough
1891	Alexander Lauderdale Duncan, of Knossington Grange
1892	William Henry Ellis, of Anstey Grange
1893	Charles Edmund De Trafford, of Hothorpe, Theddingworth
1894	Joseph Griggs, of Loughborough
1895	Charles Tollemache Scott, of Market Bosworth
1896	Sam Tudor Ashton, of Burton Lazars
1897	Edward Handley Warner, of Quorn Hall
1898	William Pochin Warner, of Langton Hall
1899	Charles James Phillips, of Old Dalby Hall
1900	Richard Smith-Carington, of Ashby Folville Manor
1901	Samuel Francis Stone, of Kirby Frith
1902	James Burns Hartopp, of Little Dalby Hall
1903	George Murray Smith, of Gumley Hall
1904	George William Pochin, of Barkby Hall
1905	Thomas William Everard, of Bradgate Park
1906	Everard March Phillipps De Lisle, Gracedieu Whitwick
1907	Richard Dalgliesh, of Asfordby Place
1908	Frederick Gretton, of Sudbury Hall
1909	The Rt. Hon. Lord Hazlerigg, of Nosely Hall
1910	Herbert Hanbury Smith-Carington, of Ashby Folville
1911	Sir Edward Hussey Packe, K.B. E., of Prestwold Hall
1912	Oswald Henry Philip Turville-Petre, of Husbands Bosworth Hall
1913	John Breedon Everard, of Knighton
1914	Lupton Topham Topham, of Lutterworth
1915	Henry Trueman Mills, of Langton Hall
1916	Alfred Corah, of Scraptoft Hall
1917	Hugh George Goodacre, of Ullesthorpe Court
1918	Thomas Fielding Johnson, Jun., of Goscote Hall
1919	Sir Samuel Faire, of Glenfield Frith, Kt.
1920	Sir John Turner, of Donisthorpe, Kt.
1921	John Edward Faire, of Evington Hall
1922	Alfred Ernest Haley, of Leicester Grange, Hinckley
1922	Sir Arthur Wheeler, of Woodhouse Eaves, Baronet
1923	Alfred Turner, of Brocks Hill, Oadby
1924	Sir William Lindsay Everard, of Ratcliffe Hall, Baronet
1925	James Leslie Cross, of Catthorpe Towers
1926	Sir Maurice Levy, of Great Glen House, Baronet
1927	William Montague Curzon-Herrick, of Beaumanor
1928	Robert Walter Kaye, of Great Glen Manor
1929	Capt. Sir Harold Stansmore Nutting, Bart., of Quenby Hall, Leicester
1930	Francis Herbert Carrington Smith-Carrington, Ashby Folville Manor
1931	Lt.-Col. Ernest Clive Atkins, of Stretton House, Hinckley
1932	Lt.-Col. Edward Gibson Gillilan, D.S.O., of Great Bowden
1933	Sir John Harold Corah, of Queniborough Hall
1934	Lt.-Col. Sir Charles Frederick Oliver, Kt. of Leicester
1935	William Albert North, of Keythorpe Hall
1936	Major John Ellis Viccars, D.S.O., O.B.E., T.D., of Ingarsby Old Hall
1937	Sir Ewart Joseph Maurice Levy, of Great Glen House, Baronet
1938	Claud Bennion, of Billesdon Coplow
1939	Disney Barlow, of Woodhouse Eaves
1940	George Cecil Gorham Gee, of Rothley
1941	Victor Robert Pochin, of Barkby
1942	Harry Percy Gee, O.B.E., of Leicester
1943	Bernard Everard, of Bardon Hill
1944	Horace Wilmer Pochin, of Houghton on the Hill
1945	Samuel Frederick Peshall, of Quorn
1946	Col. George German, D.S.O., of Ashby de la Zouch
1946	Leslie Crauford Robertson, of Sludge Hall, Billesdon
1947	Major Thomas Guy Frederick Paget, of Ibstock
1948	Lt-Col. John Cecil Gerard Leigh of Thorpe Satchville Hall, Melton Mowbray.
1949	Lt.-Col. Charles Hamilton Martin, O.B.E., of Kinchley House, Rothley
1950	Capt. Arthur Frederick John Roberts-George, of The Manor House, Thurnby
1951	Lt.-Col. J.D. Hignett, of Langton Grange, Market Harborough
1952	Lt.-Col. A.S. Gemmell, of Ingarsby Old Hall, Leicester
1953	Major Hubert Blount, M.C., of Old Dalby Hall, Melton Mowbray
1953	Brigadier R.A.G Tilney, D.S.O., T.D., of Sutton Bonington, Loughborough
1954	Major John Adrian Frederick March Phillipps De Lisle, of The Hall, Stockerston, Uppingham
1955	Lt.-Col. Alexander William Edward Kirkpatrick, of Lowesby Hall, Leicester
1956	Lt.-Col. George Anthony Murray-Smith, of Gumley, Market Harborough
1957	Col. Philip Henry Lloyd, T.D., of Stone House, Blaston, Market Harborough
1958	Major David Constable Maxwell, T.D., of Bosworth Hall, Husbands Bosworth, Rugby
1959	Robert William Banner Newton, of Carlton Curlieu Hall, Leicester
1960	Willoughby Rollo Norman, of Pickwell Manor, Melton Mowbray
1961	Major Denis Joseph Cowen, of East Farndon Hall, Market Harborough
1962	Sir Tresham Joseph Philip Lever, of Bosworth Old Hall, Husbands Bosworth, Rugby, Baronet
1963	Major Stephen Gordon Holland, of Foxton Grange, Market Harborough
1964	Patrick Anthony William Beresford Everard, of Ratcliffe Hall, Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicester
1965	Paul Cater Hyde-Thomson, Catthorpe Manor, Rugby
1966	Col. Hampton Ashburner Hughes, D.S.O., M.B.E., Chestnuts Farm, Hallaton, Market Harborough
1967	The Hon. Geoffrey Lionel Berry, Thorpe Lubenham Hall, Market Harborough
1968	Major Richard Peter Michael Spencer, of Rotherby Grange, Melton Mowbray
1969	Edmund Crispian Steven James George Brudenell, of Deene Park, Corby, Northants.
1970	John Michael Hignett, T.D., of Clipston Court, Market Harborough
1971	Archibald Somerset Clowes, of Ashlands, Billesdon, Leicester
1972	David Babington Smith, of Somerby Grove House, Old Somerby, Grantham, Lincolnshire
1973	Lord John Manners, of Reservoir Cottage, Knipton, Grantham, Lincolnshire
1974	Major Everard John Robert March Phillipps De Lisle, of Stockerston Hall, Uppingham
1975	John Wedgwood Thellusson Wood, J.P., of Home Farm, Bringhurst, Market Harborough
1976	George Hamilton Boyle, of Bisbrooke Hall, Uppingham
1977	Simon Jasper Packe-Drury-Lowe, of Prestwold Hall, Loughborough
1978	Lyonel Humphry John Tollemache J.P., of Buckminster Park, Grantham
1979	Timothy Gerald Martin Brooks J.P., of Wistow Hall, Leicester
1980	Major General Ronald Edward Coaker, C.B., C.B.E., M.C., D.L., of Seaton Old Rectory, Uppingham
1980/81	Major General R. E. Coaker CB., CBE., MC., DL
1981/82	K. J. M. Madocks Wright Esq
1982/83	Wing Commander J. H. Smith-Carrington AFC., DL
1983/84	Captain S. Everard TD., DL., BA
1984/85	A. W. Fenwick Esq
1985/86	The Lord Crawshaw
1986/87	E. G. A. Farnham DL
1987/88	J. P. A. M. P. de Lisle DL
1988/89	A. T. C. Haywood Esq
1989/90	G. A. A. M. P. de Lisle Esq DL
1990/91	Major .R. D. F. Bream TD, DL
1991/92	R. T. Constable-Maxwell DL
1992/93	J. M. Moubray Esq DL
1993/94	R. H. Murray-Philipson Esq DL
1994/95	J. M. S. Whitehead Esq CBE., JP., DL
1995/96	J. Cowen Esq
1996/97	G. N. Corah Esq DL
1997/98	D. C. Samworth Esq CBE., DL
1998/99	I. M. McAlpine Esq OBE., DL
1999/2000	Mrs A. G. Wilson CBE., JP., DL
2000/01	A. Wessel Esq
2001/02	M. C. C. Sandell Esq
2002/03	R. A. S. Everard Esq DL
2003/04	Mrs J. M. Birchall
2004/05	Mrs F. Hussain MBE
2005/06	Mr J Buxton - download details (PDF format)
2006/07	Mr Mark Newton FRICS - download details (PDF Format)
2007/08	Mr Barry Jackson - download details (PDF Format)
2008/09	Mr David Wyrko - download details (PDF Format)
2009/10	Mr Maurice Thompson - download details (PDF format)
2010/2011	Colonel R C J Martin OBE DL download details
2011/2012	Resham Singh Sandhu Esq MBE DL download details
2012/13	Richard Brooks FRICS download details