High Sheriff of Hallamshire

The Sheriff of Hallamshire was a shrievalty title which was in existence from 1962 until 1974 in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Creation The shrievalty was created on 30 April 1962 under the terms of the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1962. Section 3 of the Act provided that for: ... the purposes of the law relating to sheriffs, the Sheffield Division of the county of York ... shall on the appointed day cease to be part of the county of York and become a separate county by the name of Hallamshire The creation of a distinct county for judicial purposes in the south of Yorkshire originated in the 1961 report of the Streatfeild Committee, which made various recommendations on the operation of the criminal courts in England and Wales. The need for the creation of a new jurisdiction arose from the long waiting times for cases to come to trial in the North Eastern Circuit, which were far in excess of the maximum recommended waiting period of two months. In order to deliver timely justice, the committee felt that it was necessary for assizes to be held at Leeds and Sheffield simultaneously. As the Sheriff of Yorkshire was required to preside at all assizes in the county, it followed that a new shrievalty and county would need to be formed. During the parliamentary debate on the bill, Lord Rea sought to rename the proposed judicial county as simply "Hallam" (or alternatively as the "South Riding"). He felt that the use of the suffix "shire" was misleading as: