Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland
The Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland, also known as the Sheriff of Orkney and Zetland, was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Orkney and Shetland, Scotland. The office was combined with the role in Shetland of the "foud" and the "foudry".[1] The foud was a bailiff who returned customs and rents due the crown, including butter and oil known as "fat goods".[2]
The sheriffdom of Orkney and Shetland was created in the 16th century upon the ceding of the islands to Scotland for non-payment of the dowry of Margaret's marriage to King James III of Scotland by King Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar
The position was merged in 1870 with that of the Sheriff of Caithness to create the new position of Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney & Shetland.[3]
Sheriffs of Orkney and Shetland
- Olave Sinclair (foud)
- Robert Stewart (1564)
- Gilbert Balfour of Westray, Sheriff of Orkney (1566).[4]
- Laurence Bruce (1571)
- John Dishington (1581-1610)
- Lt-Col. Patrick Blair 1663, 1669–1672
- Sheriffs-Depute
- Robert Craigie, 1786–1791 [5] (Sheriff of Dumfries, 1791–1811)
- Charles Hope, 1792–1801 [6]
- William Rae, 1801–1809 [7] (Sheriff of Edinburgh, 1809)
- William Erskine, 1809–?1822 (died 1822)[8]
- James Allan Maconochie, 1822–?1845 (died 1845)[9]
- Charles Neaves, 1845–1852 [10]
- William Edmondstoune Aytoun, 1852–1865
- Adam Gifford, 1865–1870
- For sheriffs after 1870 see Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland
References
- John H. Ballentyne & Brian Smith, Shetland Documents, 1195-1579 (Lerwick, 1999), p. 307.
- Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, 5:2 (Edinburgh, 1957), pp. 186-7 no. 3014.
- "No. 8087". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 August 1870. p. 1001.
- Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, 5:2 (Edinburgh, 1957), p. 16 no. 2529.
- Brunton, George. An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice. p. 548.
- "Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- Parliament, Great Britain. The Parliamentary Register. p. 539.
- The Scots Magazine and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany, Volume 71. p. 476.
- Accounts and Papers, Finance, Banks. Offices. Vol. XIII. p. 71.
- "Moray Register" (PDF). Retrieved 10 April 2018.