The High Sheriff of West Sussex is annually appointed as the sovereign's representative in West Sussex county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
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History of the office high sheriff
The oldest office under the crown, the office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of 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. Prior to 1974, there was one High Sheriff for the whole of Sussex. The High Sheriff is appointed annually in March.
Roles and responsibilities
High Sheriffs are responsible in the Counties of England and Wales for duties conferred by the Crown through Warrant from the Privy Council, including:
Attendance at Royal visits to the County
The wellbeing and protection of Her Majesty's High Court Judges when on Circuit in the County and attending them in Court during the legal terms.
The execution of High Court Writs and Orders (which is mainly achieved through the Under Sheriff)
Acting as the Returning Officer for Parliamentary Elections in County constituencies
Responsibility for the proclamation of the accession of a new Sovereign
The maintenance of the loyalty of subjects to the Crown
High Sheriffs of West Sussex
1974-1975: Wing Commander Geoffrey Harry Briggs
1975-1976: Donald D Scott
1976-1977: David S W Blacker
1977-1978: Geoffrey M Cresswell-Wall
1978-1979: Peter M Luttman-Johnson
1979-1980: Henry Edward Boscawen
1980-1981: Leslie Langmead
1981-1982: David I Bosanquet
1982-1983: Peter Langmead
1983-1984: Edward John Frederick Green
1984-1985: Major General John Cain Cowley
1985-1986: Major General Sir Philip John Newling Ward
1986-1987: James Frederick Godman-Dorington
1987-1988: David Hugh Laing Hopkinson
1988-1989: Ronald Charles Langmead
1989-1990: John Richard Bine Morgan-Grenville, of Upperton, Petworth
1990-1991: David William Bowerman
1991-1992: Michael Desmond Sugden
1992-1993: Jeremy Fox Eric Smith
1993-1994: Richard Harry Goring
1994-1995: Peter Longley