FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Why the strange clothes?
Male High Sheriffs wear traditional ‘Court dress’, and ladies create their own personalised uniforms in matching style. Both can be adapted to meet religious or cultural requirements or preferences.
Court dress was created in the Victorian days as smart clothes worn by people attending the King or Queen’s royal court or household. High Sheriffs wear it today so they can be instantly recognisable, and to emphasise the importance of their office.
The fact that it’s not a uniform shows that the High Sheriff is not, and has never been, a military or government appointment, but a royal one.
Jennifer Crompton and Bharat Khetani, High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire in 2022–23 and 2023–24 respectively, in their Court Dress
Who are the wider team?
Each High Sheriff appoints:
Under Sheriff: The Under Sheriff is the corporate memory of the Shrievalty, and advises each High Sheriff what to expect for their year and what the expectations will be of them; and assists in preparing them for their role. The Under Sheriff usually has a background in law (reflecting the traditional role of the High Sheriff) and is re-appointed for a number of years in order to provide consistency.
Chaplain: The High Sheriff appoints one or more chaplains or spiritual advisers, who can come from any faith.
Police Cadets: Two of the Cambridgeshire Volunteer Police Cadets (usually teenagers) support the High Sheriff at ceremonial and other events, as part of their own personal and career development.
Personal Assistant: Much of the day-to-day organisation of the High Sheriff’s visits and diary is managed by their Personal Assistant, who can be contacted at cambridgeshire@highsheriffs.com.
The Under Sheriff (with wand of office) and Chaplain pictured alongside an incoming and outgoing High Sheriff
What’s the protocol?
The High Sheriff takes precedence after the Lord-Lieutenant or her Deputy Lieutenant
When the Lord-Lieutenant or a Deputy Lieutenant is not present, the High Sheriff takes precedence over all others, and is the last to arrive at an engagement and the first to depart. (This applies unless a (Lord) Mayor of a city or town is hosting a civic event, in which case they take precedence).
The High Sheriff should be referred to as ‘High Sheriff’; after initial introductions, the salutation of ‘Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms (Surname)’ is also appropriate. In speeches he or she is acknowledged first (or second after the Lord-Lieutenant or Deputy Lieutenant, if applicable).
The Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Mrs Julie Spence OBE CStJ QPM. For more information about the Lord-Lieutenant and the Lieutenancy of Cambridgeshire, please see cambridgeshirelieutenancy.org.uk
Who are the previous and nominated High Sheriffs?
A list of past High Sheriffs of Cambridgshire is at High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire - Wikipedia
The nominees as High Sheriff of Cambridgshire for 2026–27 and 2027–28 are Francis Burkitt and Jaspal Singh respectively. Those nominations will be placed before the King in March 2026 and 2027 respectively for his approval.
A list of High Sheriffs in a Tudor document. You can see in the middle: “Cantab Hunt” (Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire) and the name “Clement Chicheley”, who lived in Wimpole and was High Sheriff in 1563.
How are High Sheriffs chosen?
Each High Sheriff is responsible for nominating one person to serve five years after them, subject to the approval of the Lord-Lieutenant. That name is kept secret for two years; then announced in the Royal Courts of Justice on 12th November two years and four months before the intended start date; and finally placed before the King at a Privy Council in mid-March a few weeks before the start date. If the King approves the nomination, he pricks the name with a silver bodkin, in a tradition dating back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
In making their nomination, the High Sheriff must consult and be guided by the Cambridgeshire Nominations Panel. This is an inclusive Panel of at least six members, comprising a mix of those connected with the current Shrievalty and of representatives of the broader community with a good gender balance and appropriate minority representation; the Chairman and the majority of members must be independent, i.e. not past, present or nominees as High Sheriffs.
Queen Victoria pricking the Sheriff Roll.
What was the historic role of the High Sheriff?
The position of High Sheriff is very old: the first ones were appointed in anglo-saxon days by King Ethelred the Unready who reigned from 978–1016 AD. The first female High Sheriff was appointed in 1216.
One way of thinking of the role is as follows. In the old days, our Kings and Queens were primarily focused on fighting (resisting invasion, fighting abroad, or in-fighting amongst the nobles) and didn’t have much spare time to spend on administering the internal working of their kingdom, not helped by transport and communication difficulties. So they divided the country up into counties, and appointed local people to be, in effect, their Chief Executives or Chief Operating Officers in each county.
In the very old days, the High Sheriff’s job was to administer local justice: to catch criminals (today the job of the police); to arrange for them to be brought to trial (the courts); and if found guilty, to collect a fine or lock them up (prisons) or even arrange for their execution. Later Kings added the role of local tax-collector, with an emphasis on collecting as much tax as possible for the King. And finally, as elections to Parliament were developed, the High Sheriff was responsible for managing the election process, sometimes being asked to ensure that it was the King’s preferred candidate who was elected as MP.
So although being High Sheriff was an important and prestigious role, it was often a hard, unpopular and costly one, which probably explains why it was for one year only. But throughout, the High Sheriff was usually a local person, living in the county, and not an ‘external’ appointment from Westminster, as people living in the counties felt that even unpopular roles should be done by one of their own residents.
A Sheriff’s procession in olden times.
