High Sheriff of Bristol

This is a list of Civic Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of the County and City of Bristol, England.

Contents

• 14th 15th century
• 20th century
• 21st century
• References

The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign's representative in the County for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.

Bristol is unusual in having been a city with county status since medieval times (1373). The Lord Mayor and one or sometimes two sheriffs served the city and county as part of its civic governance. The county was expanded to include suburbs such as Clifton in 1835, and it was named a county borough in 1889, when the term was first introduced. However, on 1 April 1974 it became a part of the local government county of Avon. On 1 April 1996 Avon was abolished, allowing Bristol to regain its independence and county status and became a unitary authority with the royal appointments of Lord-Lieutenant and High Sheriff.