High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester

The office of High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester came into existence with the county of Hereford and Worcester on 1 April 1974 under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. The office subsumed that of the much older offices of Sheriff of Herefordshire and Sheriff of Worcestershire. The office was abolished in 1998 and the functions of the High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester returned to the offices of the Sheriff of Herefordshire and Sheriff of Worcestershire, both of which were renamed High Sheriff. During its existence the office of High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester remained the sovereign's representative in the county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. The High Sheriff changed every March. Officeholders 1974: Colonel George Michael Singleton, of Tustins, Colwall, near Malvern 1975: George Howard Heaton, of The Tee, Martley, near Worcester 1976: David Vernon Swynfen Cottrell, of Rectory Farm Cottage, Kemerton, Tewkesbury 1977: Lieut-Colonel Edward Courtenay Phillips, of Chase House, Monnington-on-Wye, near Hereford. 1978: John Sydney Birch Lea, of Dunley Hall, Stourport-on-Severn 1979: Bernard Arthur Higgins, of The Halesend, Storridge, near Malvern. 1980: Colonel Thomas Jim Bowen, of Little Blakes, Shelsley Beauchamp 1981: Richard Chevallier Green, of The Whittern, Lyonshall, Kington. 1982: Lieut-Cdr.