Sheriff of Nottingham (position)


The Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is entirely ceremonial and sustained to boost tourism due to the legendary connection with the fictional Sheriff of Nottingham in the tales of Robin Hood. However the historical position goes back to Anglo-Saxon times. The office is sometimes confused with that of the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire

Historical

The specific duty of enforcing the law and keeping the peace in Anglo-Saxon England appears to have been the sheriff or shire-reeve. Different types of reeves attested before the Conquest include the high-reeve, town-reeve, port-reeve, shire-reeve, reeve of the hundred and the reeve in charge of a manor, its post-conquest meaning. England in the early 11th century employed the services of shire reeves to assist in the detection and prevention of crimes. Groups of 10 families or "tithings" under a hundredman could call upon them. The reeve of an entire shire was a shire-reeve, predecessor to the sheriff.
After the Norman Conquest, specific counties appointed sheriffs to enforce the law, although sometimes the duties of these sheriffs would cross the border of their respective counties. Nottingham would have come under the "High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire" after the Norman Conquest.
The Sheriff during the reign of King John was Philip Marc. Marc was so unpopular that he was specifically mentioned in the Magna Carta which demanded his removal.

The first Sheriffs of Nottingham

In 1449, the city of Nottingham itself appointed its own sheriff for the first time. The sheriffs at that time may have been responsible for "the delivery of prisoners to the courts, the collection of rents and taxes and generally keeping the 'King's Peace'".
From 1450 until 1835, the office was shared between two people, one of whom may have been chosen by the Mayor, the other by the town council. The reversion to a single sheriff was explained by the mayor and aldermen of Lincoln as "Local Government changes".

Present sheriff

The current Sheriff of Nottingham is Councillor Patience Uloma Ifediora.

Past sheriffs

The office is considered largely ceremonial, expected to attend local events when the monarch is present and promoting the city in tourism and business. There are interviews with , and all recent sheriffs, describing the role of the present-day Sheriff of Nottingham. There have been seven female sheriffs, the first being in 1931. The most recent is Councillor Catharine Arnold.

List of sheriffs

15th Century

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