The High Sheriff of
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Francis Burkitt
Welcome to the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire website, dedicated to supporting, recognising and thanking those who serve communities across Cambridgeshire.
Each year, the King appoints a resident of Cambridgeshire to serve as his High Sheriff, as the Monarch has done for every county of England & Wales for nearly 1,500 years. The High Sheriff is His Majesty’s second most senior personal representative in the county, after his Lord-Lieutenant.
The appointment runs from late March or early April, for one year. It is an independent, voluntary and non-political role. High Sheriffs receive no payment, expenses or support from the public purse.
About
This year’s High Sheriff
The High Sheriff for 2026-2027 is Francis Burkitt DL, of Granchester
Francis Burkitt was born in Cambridge and brought up in Grantchester, two miles south-west of the city; his great-grandfather was Professor of Divinity and his grandfather lectured in Prehistoric Archaeology, both at Cambridge University.
He lives in Grantchester with his wife Joanna, and they have three children. Francis read Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge and then embarked on a career in the City of London, advising large UK companies on their finances, which he has recently retired from.
Francis was a South Cambridgeshire District Councillor for 12 years, and as part of that role he served on the Greater Cambridge Partnership, becoming its Chair. Using his financial knowledge, he was a Non-Executive Director of the Cambridge Building Society and is a member of Trinity College’s Investment Committee. He is active within the church, being a Canon of Ely Cathedral and Senior Non-Executive Member of its Chapter, and also a member of Bishop’s Council with a particular focus on looking after the Diocese’s Glebe Land and investments.
He was a Trustee of the conservation charity Cambridge Past, Present and Future, and is a Trustee of The Arbory Trust, which runs an environmentally-friendly woodland burial site near Cambridge. He has fund-raised for Red Balloon, the Cambridge-based educational charity for severely-bullied children, as is currently Chair of the Campaign Board for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (part of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust).
Francis tries to keep fit by running 10k’s round the countryside near his home, accompanied by his family’s beloved dog Twiglet, and completed the Cambridge Half Marathon in 2025 in a reasonably-respectable time. However, his greatest athletic passion is for the Grantchester Boxing Day Barrel Race, which he’s competed in for the past every 20 years, occasionally even being on the winning team.
Francis will focus his Shrieval Year primarily (but by no means exclusively) on all aspects of the ‘justice system’ – the police, courts and tribunals, prisons and the probation service, including the prevention of crime, assistance for victims and the rehabilitation of offenders. He believes that, in our modern busy world, we often don’t have or take enough time to properly thank the people who work for the public good – whether in the areas mentioned above, or in other areas of civic, charity or community life, the uniformed services or healthcare services – and he’s looking forward to being able to spend his time as High Sheriff thanking as many such people as possible on behalf of the wider community of Cambridgeshire.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Focus
What does
the High Sheriff do?
Despite wearing traditional clothes, the High Sheriff’s role is modern and forward-looking, focussed on some of the most important services and urgent needs across Cambridgeshire.
Each High Sheriff has their own priorities for their year in office. But there are some common themes that all High Sheriffs focus on, listed below, and the High Sheriff is active in visiting all these areas and the people working and volunteering in them, promoting and supporting their efforts, and thanking them on behalf of the community and people of Cambridgeshire:
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Supporting the
Justice system
The four key elements of the ‘justice system’ are the police, courts, prisons and probation service; the High Sheriff’s focus on these recognises their traditional role in centuries past (e.g. how Americans still use the word ‘sheriff’).
The High Sheriff (right) meeting the Director of HM Prison Peterborough (centre) together with the Lord-Lieutenant (left).
Supporting the
Uniformed Services
This comprises members of the fire, ambulance and air ambulance services, alongside other uniformed services like St John’s Ambulance.
The High Sheriff watching preparations for a simulated accident training session at the Cambridgshire Fire and Rescue Training Centre, where she also met the young recruits in training.
Supporting our many
Charities and voluntary organisations
Hundreds of local charities and voluntary organisations are active in Cambridgeshire, focused on a wide range of needs, and tens of thousands of residents work or volunteer for these vital services.
The High Sheriff meeting representatives of many charities and community groups in Peterborough, discussing the challenges they face and how they are meeting them.
Attending
Civic Functions
An important part of the High Sheriff’s role is to attend Royal Visits; to support communities across Cambridgeshire; to represent the community at County, City and Town Council events such as the appointment of new Mayors; to place wreaths at Remembrance Day services; to attend events marking national occasions; and to make national proclamations.
The High Sheriff with the Mayor of Cambridge’s mace-bearer and Beadles at the annual Reach village fair, which has taken place for over 800 years
Social Media
News from The High Sheriff of Cambirdgeshire
Follow the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire on Instagram, LinkedIn or X to see what she has been up to — from community visits to supporting local charities and celebrating the county’s unsung heroes.
Instagram and Facebook: @highsheriffcambs
LinkedIn: High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire
X: @HSheriffCambs
Activity
The High Sheriff would be pleased to hear from you.
Attending your event
The High Sheriff is keen to attend as many community, charity and civic events as possible, subject to other diary commitments and appropriateness.
If you would like to invite the High Sheriff to attend your event, please click here to email or use the contact form below.
High Sheriff’s Awards
Each year, the High Sheriff makes awards (in the form of a paper certificate) to 20-40 people who have gone ‘above and beyond’ their service to the community or to local good causes.
These are usually given at an event hosted by the relevant charity or organisation, so the person’s work can be publicly acknowledged.
The awards are decided by the High Sheriff alone, but anyone can nominate potential candidates, by emailing cambridgeshire@highsheriffs.com.
High Sheriff’s Fund
Each year, the High Sheriff’s Fund makes grants/donations of up to £5,000 to a number of charities and voluntary organisations based in Cambridgeshire.
The Fund is administered by the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation. For more information on how to donate to it, or to apply for a grant from it, please visit cambscf.org.uk/high-sheriff-25-26/
