The High Sheriff of County Londonderry is

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

's judicial representative in

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. ...

. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the ruling monarch, 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.

History

The first (High) Shrivalties were established before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

in 1066 and date back to

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. In 1908, an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

made the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

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 is present in the counties of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, it ceased to exist in those Irish counties which formed the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

in 1922.

High Sheriffs

*1696: Robert Harvey of LondonderryA genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Ireland, 1912, Bernard Burke *1780: Mossom Boyd (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1817: James Major and Richard Harvey (also Sheriffs of City of Londonderry) *1818: John Thompson and Richard Babington (also Sheriffs of City of Londonderry) *1819: Thomas Kennedy (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1821: Joshua Gillespie and Marcus Gage (also Sheriffs of City of Londonderry) *1828: William Lenox-Conyngham (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1829: *1830: *1831: *1832: *1833: Anthony Babington of Creevagh (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1834: *1835: Anthony Babington of Creevagh (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1836: Henry Darcus and Archibald McCorkell of Glengalliagh (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1842: Henry Richardson *1846: Henry Hervey Bruce *1846: John Barré Beresford, of Learmount *1848: John Stephenson of Fort William, Tobermore (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1849:

James Johnston Clark James Johnston Clark (1809 – June 1891) was a Unionist politician in Ireland. Clark was born the son of Alexander and Margaret (née Johnston) Clark of Maghera. He inherited Largantogher House, Maghera, County Londonderry on the death of his fa ...

(also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1850:

Robert Peel Dawson Colonel Robert Peel Dawson (1818 – 2 September 1877) was an Irish Member of the House of Commons at Westminster. He was one of the Dawson family of Castledawson and lived at Moyola Park, County Londonderry. He was the son of The Rt. Hon. Georg ...

*1854: Robert Leslie Ogilby of ArdnargleVisitation of Ireland By Joseph Jackson Howard, Frederick Arthur Crisp *1857: William Edward Scott of Willsboro *1858: Samuel Maxwell Alexander of Newtownlimavady (also Sheriff of City of Londonderry) *1859: William Fitzwilliam Lenox-Conyngham of

Springhill House Springhill is a 17th-century plantation house in the townland of Ballindrum near Moneymore, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It has been the property of the National Trust since 1957 and, in addition to the house, gardens and park, there ...

*1860: James Thomas Macky of Castlefin *1861: Rowley Miller of Moneymore *1862: John Adams of Ballydevitt *1863: George Skipton *1866: Conolly Thomas McCausland of Drenagh *1867: James R. Montgomery *1868: Henry Kyle of Laurel Hill *1869: Sir John Hill, 4th Baronet, of St. Colombs *1870: Robert Jackson Alexander *1871: *1873: Alexander Shuldham of Flowerfield *1875: James Jackson Clark of Largantogher *1877: Robert Lyon Moore *1878: Bartholomew McCorkell of Richmond *1880: George Cather of Carrickhugh, Limavady *1882: Adolphus John Spencer Churchill Chichester *1883: *1886: Andrew Alexander Watt of Thorn Hill *1887: Robert Alexander Ogilby of Pellipar, Dungiven *1888: Conolly William Lecky Browne-Lecky of Derry *1889: *1894: Bartholomew H. McCorkell of Richmond *1895: John Cooke Kelly's Handbook, 1916 *1898: John Arthur Wellesley O'Niell Torrens of Somerset, Co Londonderry

20th century

21st century

References

{{High Shrievalties Londonderry County History of County Londonderry