Sheriff of Inverness facts for kids

The Sheriff of Inverness was a very important job in Inverness, Scotland, a long time ago. The person in this role was in charge of keeping the peace and making sure people followed the rules. They also helped catch criminals and bring them to justice.

For many years, this job was passed down through families, like an inheritance. But after a big event called the Jacobite uprising in 1745, things changed. From 1748, the job was no longer inherited. Instead, people called "sheriff-deputes" were hired. These were lawyers who were paid for their work.

Over time, the areas that the Sheriff was responsible for grew bigger. In 1882, the job became the Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin & Nairn. Then, in 1946, it changed again to the Sheriff of Inverness, Moray, Nairn & Ross & Cromarty. Finally, in 1975, this role was replaced by a new one: the Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands.

Early Sheriffs of Inverness

Many people held the important role of Sheriff of Inverness over the centuries. These individuals were responsible for law and order in the region. Here are some of the people who served as Sheriff of Inverness:

• William de Moravia (1204)
• William Pratt (1227)
• Michael Mowat (1234)
• Lawrence Grant (1263)
• Alexander Murray (1266)
• William de Soulis (1291)
• Alan Durward (1291)
• Reginald le Chen (1292)
• William de la Hay (1295)
• John Stirling of Moray (1305-?)
• Alexander Pilche (1307-1328)
• Maurice Grant (1340)
• Robert de Chisholm (1359)
• John of Ross (1360)
• John Hay of Tullybothill (1364)
• Galfrid de Munbeyn (1370)
• Alan de Winton (1370)
• William Lambe (1376)
• Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (1380-1390)
  • William Fotheringay - 1383 - Acting
• Thomas Dunbar, 5th Earl of Moray (1390-?)
  • William Fotheringay - 1398 - Deputy
• Hugh Fraser (1430)
• William Leslie (1440)
  • John Grant - 1442 - Deputy
• John Macdonald, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles (1455-1460)
  • Celestine of the Isles - 1460 - Deputy
• George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly (1556-?)
• Simon Fraser, 6th Lord Lovat (c. 1599)

High-Sheriffs and Sheriff-Deputes

Later, the role of Sheriff changed. Some were called "High-Sheriffs," and after 1748, they were called "Sheriffs-Depute." These were paid lawyers who took on the job.

High-Sheriffs

• Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (c. 1667–1747)

Sheriffs-Depute

• Simon Fraser, 1781–1810
• William Fraser Tytler, 1810–1852
• George Young, 1853–1860
• Andrew Rutherfurd Clark, 1860–1862
• William Ivory, 1862–1882

Sheriffs of Inverness, Elgin & Nairn (1882)

In 1882, the Sheriff's area grew to include Elgin and Nairn. Here are the people who held this expanded role:

• William Ivory, 1882–1900
• Christopher Nicholson Johnston, 1900–1905
• James Ferguson, 1905–1905
• John Wilson, 1905–1912
• Alastair Oswald Morison Mackenzie, 1912–1917
• George Watt KC, 1917– 1934
• Robert Henry Maconochie KC, 1934–1942
• Charles Mackintosh KC, 1942–1944
• Ronald Peter Morison KC, 1944-1945
• John Cameron, 1945–1946

Sheriffs of Inverness, Moray, Nairn & Ross & Cromarty (1946)

The Sheriff's area became even larger in 1946, adding Moray, Nairn, Ross, and Cromarty.

• John Cameron, 1946–1948
• Hector MacKechnie, QC, –1958
• Douglas Mason Campbell, QC, 1958–

This specific Sheriff role ended in 1975. It was replaced by the Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands.

See also

• Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms