In today's world, Sheriff of Nottingham (position) represents a highly relevant and topical issue that impacts people of all ages and cultures. For decades, Sheriff of Nottingham (position) has been the subject of studies and research that seek to understand its influence on different aspects of daily life. In this article, we will thoroughly explore the meaning and importance of Sheriff of Nottingham (position), as well as its implications in the social, cultural, economic and scientific fields. Through an exhaustive and detailed analysis, we will seek to shed light on the latest trends and discoveries related to Sheriff of Nottingham (position), with the aim of giving the reader a broader and enriching perspective on this fascinating topic.
Responsibility for enforcing the law and keeping the peace in Anglo-Saxon England fell to the sheriff or shire-reeve (which is a contraction of the Old English word for county and reeve or greave). Different types of reeves attested before the Conquest include the high-reeve, town-reeve, port-reeve, shire-reeve (predecessor to the sheriff), 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 (later constable) 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 (such as Yorkshire for example), 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 (although the post was held simultaneously between two men, William Sadler and Thomas Lyng). 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" (possibly the Municipal Corporations Act 1835).
Present sheriff
Shuguftah Quddoos was elected Sheriff on May 24, 2023. Quddoos is the first Asian woman to hold the position.
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 Joan Casson, John Hartshorne and Leon Unczur all recent sheriffs, describing the role of the present-day Sheriff of Nottingham. The first female sheriff was appointed in 1931.
List of sheriffs
Source
15th Century
1449/50 William Sadler / Thomas Lyng
1450/51 John Clarke / Richard Bedal
1451/52 John Jowett / John Chaloner
1452/53 Robert Polson / John Holyock
1453/54 Thomas Bradmore / Thomas Smith
1454/55 Thomas Lovatt / Robert Shewood
1455/56 John Peringon / Henry Fisher
1456/57 William Strelly / Richard Hanson
1457/58 Ralph Hall / Henry Higyn
1458/59 No known names
1460/61 Hugh Smith / Thomas Garner
1461/62 John Ody / John Hyne
1462/63 John Mapperley / Roger Hewson
1463/64 Richard Knight / Walter Hilton
1458/59 No known names
1465/66 Richard Ody / John Hardy
1466/67 Richard Burton / John Taverner
1467/68 John Cooke / John Draper
1468/69 Robert Hanson / William Bithway
1469/70 William Barnes / Thomas Woodhouse
1472/73 Thomas Kendal / Richard Mellor
1473/74 John Gotham / John Holyock
1475/76 John Hilton / William Skevyngton
1476/77 William Allyn / John Cowper
1477/78 Walter Watnall / William Hurst
1478/79 Robert Ratcliffe / John Wederley
1479/80 John Clarke / John Alred
1480/81 John Cost / John Wood
1481/82 Thomas Cost / Ralph Hill
1482/83 John Howitt / William Johnson
1483/84 John Mellor / John Burton
1484/85 Thomas Ball / Edward Hilton
1485/86 John Bolton / John Williamson
1486/87 John Turner / William Wright
1487/88 Edmund Milnes / John Sergeant
1488/89 Richard Pyckard / Richard Fisher
1489/90 Richard Essett / Thomas Balderby
1490/91 Thomas Watt / William Congerton
1491/92 Richard Clough / Thomas Clifton
1492/93 Thomas Williamson / William Shirley
1493/94 Robert Coytus / John Pyerson
1494/95 Robert Toft / John Webster
1495/96 John Shaw / Christopher Pickard
1496/97 John Cost / Alexander Elvington
1497/98 John Walton / Alexander Elvington
1498/99 Robert Norwood / Henry Hobbes
1499/1500 William Turner / William Benbow
16th Century
1500/01 Thomas Camworth / John Town
1501/02 John Wilkinson (mayor 1517) / John Fisher
1502/03 John Rose / Thomas Willoughby (mayor 1518)
1503/04 Henry Plumptre / Ranulph Bulkley
1504/05 Nicholas Rodes / James Brasenby
1505/06 William Kirkby (mayor 1523) / William Johnson
1506/07 Richard Caunt / Richard Halton
1507/08 John Hames / Thomas Stables
1507/09 Thomas the Curren
1508/09 William Cost / Thomas Wass
1509/10 William Hegyn / Thomas Mellers (mayor 1529)
1510/11 Thomas Cockayne / William Parmaton (mayor 1527, 1534)
1511/12 Robert Mellers / Thomas Morton
1512/13 Henry Cost / Robert Shemald
1513/14 Richard Lister / Robert Fisher
1514/15 John Doubleday / John Dorand
1515/16 John Yates / Richard Stanley
1516/17 Richard Selyoke / Thomas Hunt
1517/18 Robert Hesilrig (mayor 1539) / Henry Green
1518/19 Robert Rossel / Robert Stables
1519/20 John Alynson (mayor 1540) / Thomas Meryel
1520/21 William Holden / Hugh Oldham
1521/22 Thomas Dokker / Ralph Palmer
1522/23 Robert Lovatt / Robert Moody
1523/24 Thomas Hobbes / Robert Nedham
1524/25 William Warner / Thomas Harpham
1525/26 Henry Shepherd / William Sherpington
1526/27 William Colville / Robert Elton
1527/28 Thomas Gregory / Thomas Dawson (mayor 1547)
1528/29 Richard Richardson / Laurence Wirehorn
1529/30 James Mason / Robert Clattercoats
1530/31 Richard Willoughby / Anthony Garland
1531/32 William Clattercoats / Richard Nedham
1532/33 William Edmondson / Laurence Marriott
1533/34 William Mellers / Randell Bland
1534/35 Humphrey Quernby (mayor 1549) / William Coke
1535/36 Thomas Cockayne / John Smith
1536/37 Richard Bunting / John Collinson
1537/38 John Revell / Thomas Wallis
1538/39 Richard Kyte / John Newbold
1539/40 Robert Freeman / Christopher Stocks
1540/41 Richard Crewe / John Sladen
1541/42 Humphry Byrd / William Foster
1542/43 John Haskett / Nicholas Bonner (mayor 1559, 1565)
1543/44 Henry Wincell / Henry Fosbrooke (mayor 1560, 1566)
1544/45 Richard Alyson / Richard Burton
1545/46 John English / William Goodwin
1546/47 Robert Cockayne / Robert Stanley
1547/48 John Stanley / Edward Crewe
1548/49 John Simpson / John Presse
1549/50 Randolph Glossop / John Gregory (mayor 1561)
1550/51 John Nix / Nicholas Gorstan
1551/52 John Alcocke / John Brownley (mayor 1567)
1552/53 John Elton / Edward Newton
1553/54 John Collin / Walter Dawson
1554/55 Edward Edmundson / Richard Askew
1555/56 Francis Colman / William Gelstrop (mayor 1583, 1590)
1556/57 Hugh Smith / Mathew Hallam
1557/58 Peter Clarke (mayor 1591, 1597) / Robert Burton
1558/59 Henry Dand / Robert Alvey (mayor 1580, 1587, 1594)
1559/60 William Wilson / Thomas Clarke
1560/61 Richard James (mayor 1577) / Thomas Kettering
1561/62 Richard Welsh / James Rawlinson
1562/63 William Ball / Gilbert Scale
1563/64 Robert Jepson / John Parr
1564/65 Thomas Atkinson / George Rotherham
1565/66 Simon Wilson / Robert Marsh
1566/67 William Scott / Henry Sherwood
1567/68 James Hartley / John Townrow
1568/69 Thomas Barwell / Fabian Mellers
1569/70 Thomas Nix / William Glossop
1570/71 Thomas Cadman / William Stansal
1571/72 Robert Cowper / Richard Morhag (mayor 1596, 1603, 1610)
1572/73 William Dodgson / Roger Wood
1573/74 Michael Bell / Henry Brightmore
1574/75 Robert Phipps / William Parlby
1575/76 Nicholas Alvey / William Bell
1576/77 Edmund Burton / Thomas Donycliffe
1577/78 Humphrey Bonner (mayor 1600, 1607) / George Hutchinson