The High Sheriffs' Fund
Today in Essex it is estimated that nearly 400,000 people undertake some form of charity or voluntary work, whether it is caring for an elderly relation, helping in the local hospice or school or perhaps giving time freely in some form of service, for example as a special constable. It is this wealth of talent, dedication and devotion to our communities, which makes our society today so much richer. The High Sheriff plays an essential role in being able to applaud, appreciate, enthuse and at times reward this fantastic army of unsung heroes. The High Sheriff’s post is unpaid and receives no expenses, so he or she can therefore justifiably be numbered as a true volunteer themselves.
It is a very special privilege for the High Sheriff to discover and recognise the vast quantity of voluntary work and charity work being done in Essex. Through the Essex High Sheriff’s Awards Scheme it is often possible to provide some financial support for schemes where local people or organisations tackle crime and social problems in their communities.
View the profile of the current High Sheriff
To download an application from for a grant from the High Sheriffs' Fund click here
History of the High Sheriff
The office of High Sheriff is the oldest secular appointment in the country, which has developed and changed over its 1000 years of continuous existence. Current incumbents hold the post for one year only and this has been the case by law since 1258 although the annual change was not implemented until 1340. Mark Thomasin-Foster CBE DL is the present High Sheriff and is the 823rd person to hold the position for Essex.
Although the Saxon Kings did not claim to own all the land in their kingdom (as Norman Kings did) they were the greatest landowners in the realm. All these estates needed management and the Reeve or Sheriff was the person appointed to fulfil that duty. The Kings’s Reeve was naturally the most senior Reeve in the county and assumed wide and great power not only overseeing the Crown’s interests, but regulating trade and presiding at the Hundred courts which were held every four weeks. The King’s Reeve was additionally charged with the responsibility of carrying out the punishments handed down.
Written records of this time are scarce but there are references to Reeves by King Beorhtric who reigned over Wessex from 786 to 802. Even in 669 it is recorded that King Egbert of Kent sent his Reeve Redrid on an errand to Paris. Some time between the years 964 and 988 official records note the appointment of the High Reeve but the actual title of High Sheriff was not used until 1055.
The coastal raids and invasions by the Danes or Vikings greatly increased the duties of the High Reeve and many were killed in the defence of the realm. Numerous Danish raids were highly successful from their point of view, in that large sums of Danegeld or ransom were paid to the Danes, these monies being collected as taxes by the high reeves. In one such incident a high reeve was required to raise and pay £24,000 to the Danes. The Battle of Maldon in991, recorded in vivid detail in the famous Anglo Saxon poem, was one very significant raid during these dangerous years and before the Danish King Cnut (Canute) conquered the country and brought some degree of peace. During the two or three centuries after the Battle of Maldon the High Sheriff, who was now very firmly the Crown’s chief executive officer in the County, undertook the duties of tax collector, law enforcer, police, judge (including all matters of administering law and order), levy raiser, (recruiting fighting men for the army), and organising the choice of the county’s representatives at Westminster. During the succeeding centuries and as central government took greater prominence most of the High Sheriff’s tasks were slowly taken over by specialist organisations or individuals.
Justices of the peace or magistrates were appointed to administer the law in the 13th Century and given permanent commission in 1388. Indeed in 1430 justices of the peace were even empowered to commit a High Sheriff to prison for criminal offence. Henry VIII appointed Lord Lieutenants to undertake military matters in the shires but it was not until 1908 that Edward VII gave Lord Lieutenants precedence over the High Sheriff.
Many unsavoury tasks still remained the duty of the High Sheriff. Indeed until the death sentence was abolished in 1965 one duty of the High Sheriff was to oversee executions. The High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Thomas Andrews, led Mary Queen of Scots to her beheading in 1587 and then single handedly he was charged with the secret burial of the Queen’s body in Fotheringhay Castle. The Sheriff carried out these instructions so carefully that to this day the burial site has never been discovered. For a short while under the reign of Queen Mary, Sheriffs were charged with the burning to death of heretics. The Sheriff’s grasped any opportunity however devious to avoid this gruesome responsibility but some 300 men and women were burnt at the stake.
Tax collection of dues owing to the Crown was a major role of the Shire’s High Sheriff and although these duties declined significantly after Tudor times enterprising High Sheriffs found that a profit could be made by raising over and above the tax expected from their County or Bailiwick by the Exchequer. Conversely the Sheriff whose tax collecting fell short was either forced to make up the deficit from his own pocket or he found himself in jail. One imaginative High Sheriff in the reign of King John raised additional monies for the Crown by kidnapping the mistresses of the clergy, returning them to their monastic lovers only after high ransoms had been paid. The King apparently found this highly amusing and rewarded the High Sheriff with a gift of £1,000.
Through Acts of Parliament in 1856 and 1865, all the Sheriffs powers concerning prisons, policing and the pursuit of felons passed to the Prison Commissioners and the constabulary. The responsibility held to control and account for the Crown’s property in the High Sheriff’s bailiwick, was transferred to the Crown Commissioners in 1883.
As society and Government further developed so the once great powers and official duties of the Sheriff passed to others. The Sheriffs Act of 1887 consolidated the role of the Sheriff today as requiring the execution of High Court Writs, attending and caring for the Sovereign’s Judges, acting as Returning Officer at Elections and generally upholding the rule of law and order whilst uniting all subjects in loyalty to the Monarchy.
It has been said that the story of the High Sheriff is indeed the story of England itself. The post has developed over its 1000 years or more of continuous existence and devotion to the Crown, with duties of the High Sheriff being adapted and moulded to today’s needs. Upholding law and order and loyalty to the Crown stay paramount but the importance of recognising and rewarding the community spirit amongst our population now assumes ever greater importance. The 20th Century has witnessed many difficult social and environmental changes but today’s High Sheriff once again fulfils the ancient role of supporting the Shire, upholding its peace and encouraging its communities to act in the furtherance of the good of us all.
