Sheriff of Caithness facts for kids
The Sheriff of Caithness was an important royal official in Caithness, Scotland, a long time ago. Their main job was to make sure laws were followed and to keep peace and order in the area. Think of them like a chief law enforcer for the King or Queen!
The job of Sheriff of Caithness probably started in the mid-1100s. But then, in the 1200s, it seems like the role was stopped, and its duties were combined with the Sheriff of Inverness.
In 1455, a powerful person named William Sinclair, who was the Earl of Caithness, was given the right to be the Sheriff of Caithness again. Before 1748, most sheriff jobs were passed down through families, like an inheritance. But after a big event called the Jacobite uprising in 1745, things changed. These family sheriffs were replaced by new sheriffs who were paid a salary. These new sheriffs were called "sheriff-deputes" and were trained lawyers from Scotland.
In 1747, the job title changed to the Sheriff of Caithness & Sutherland. However, the two areas were separated again in 1806, and the job went back to being just the Sheriff of Caithness. It changed again in 1857 to the Sheriff of Sutherland & Caithness. By 1870, it became the Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney & Shetland. The job was reorganized one last time in 1946 as the Sheriff of Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney & Zetland. This role was finally ended in 1975. Today, the area is covered by the modern sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands.
Who Were the Sheriffs of Caithness?
Here are some of the people who held the important job of Sheriff in Caithness and the surrounding areas over the years.
Sheriffs of Caithness (Before 1747)
- William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, 1455–1470
- John Sinclair
Sheriffs of Caithness and Sutherland (1747–1806)
- James Brodie of Spynie, 1747–1756
- John Sinclair the younger, 1756–1784
- James Traill, 1784–1806 (He continued as Sheriff of Caithness after 1806.)
Sheriffs of Caithness (1806–1857)
- James Traill, 1806–1832
- James Ivory, 1832–1833
- Robert Thomson, 1835–1857
Sheriffs of Sutherland and Caithness (1857–1870)
- George Dingwall Fordyce, 1857–1870
Sheriffs of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland (1870–1946)
- George Hunter MacThomas Thoms, 1870–1899
- Christopher Nicholson Johnston, 1899–1900
- John Wilson, 1900–1905
- Frank Towers Cooper, 1905
- John Ferguson M'Lennan, KC, 1905–1917
- Andrew Henderson Briggs Constable, 1917–1920
- James Campbell Pitman, 1920–1929
- Alexander Maitland, QC, 1929–1931
- John Charles Watson, QC, 1931–1944
- Thomas Blantyre Simpson, QC, 1944–1946
Sheriffs of Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney & Zetland (1946–1975)
- Thomas Blantyre Simpson, QC, 1946–1952
- Francis Clifford Watt, QC, 1952–1961
- Harald Robert Leslie, 1961–1965
- Sir Frederick W.F. O'Brien, 1965–1975
The job of sheriff for these areas was officially ended in 1975. It was replaced by the current sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands.
See also
- Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms
