The Sheriff of Caithness was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Caithness, Scotland. The sheriffdom of Caithness appears to have been created in the mid 12th century and to have been dissolved and incorporated into the sheriffdom of Inverness in the 13th century. in 1455, William Sinclair, Earl of Caithness gained a grant of the justiciary and sheriffdom of the area from the Sheriff of Inverness. 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. In 1747, the office became known as the Sheriff of Caithness & Sutherland, however the sheriffdoms were disunited in 1806 again being known as the Sheriff of Caithness. It became the Sheriff of Sutherland & Caithness in 1857. In 1870 the office became known as the Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney & Shetland. It was again reorganised as the Sheriff of Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney & Zetland in 1946, but was abolished in 1975 when the current sheriffdom of

Grampian, Highland and Islands The Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands is the head of the judicial system of the sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands, one of the six sheriffdoms covering the whole of Scotland. The sheriffdom employs a number of legally ...

was created.

Sheriffs of Caithness

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney (1434–1470 de facto, –1472 de jure), 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the buil ...

, 1455–1470 *John Sinclair

Sheriffs of Caithness and Sutherland (1747)

*James Brodie of Spynie, 1747–1756 *John Sinclair the younger, 1756–1784 *James Traill, 1784–1806 (Sheriff of Caithness, 1806–) *''For Sutherland sheriffs for 1806–1857 see

Sheriff of Sutherland The Sheriff of Sutherland was historically a royal appointment, held at pleasure, which carried the responsibility for enforcing justice in the sheriffdom of Sutherland, Scotland. It became a heritable post in the hands of the Earls of Sutherland ...

Sheriffs of Caithness (1806)

*James Traill, 1806–1832 *

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with scree ...

, 1832–1833 ( Sheriff of Bute, 1834–38) *Robert Thomson, 1835–1857

Sheriffs of Sutherland and Caithness (1857)

*George Dingwall Fordyce 1857–1870 (

Sheriff of Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland The Sheriff of Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Ross-shire, Cromarty and Sutherland, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Original known as the office of the Sheriff of ...

, 1870–1874) *''For Sutherland after 1870 see

Sheriffs of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland (1870)

* George Hunter MacThomas Thoms, 1870–1899 *

Christopher Nicholson Johnston Sir Christopher Nicholson Johnston, Lord Sands FRSE (18 October 1857 – 26 February 1934) was a Unionist Party (Scotland) MP for Edinburgh and St Andrews universities between two by-elections in 1916 and 1917. He was an expert on Church Law an ...

, 1899–1900 * John Wilson, 1900–1905 ( Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin and Nairn, 1905–1912) *Frank Towers Cooper 1905–1905 *John Ferguson M'Lennan, KC, 1905–1917 * Andrew Henderson Briggs Constable, 1917–1920 (

Sheriff of Argyll The Sheriff of Argyll was historically a royal officer charged with enforcing the king's rights in Argyll; in Scotland, the concept of ''sheriff'' gradually evolved into a judicial position. Originally, the region of Argyll was served by the sheri ...

, 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)

* Thomas Blantyre Simpson, QC, 1946–1952 (

Sheriff of Perth The Sheriff of Perth was historically a royal official, appointed for life, who was responsible for enforcing justice in Perth, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite upri ...

and Angus, 1952–1954) * Francis Clifford Watt, QC, 1952–1961 ( Sheriff of Stirling, Dunbarton and Clackmannan, 1961) * Harald Robert Leslie, 1961–1965 (Chairman of

Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scotti ...

, 1965) * Sir Frederick W.F. O'Brien, 1965–1975 *''Sheriffdom abolished in 1975 and replaced by the current sheriffdom of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caithness * Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff