The Sheriff of Edinburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in the shire of Edinburgh (also known as Edinburghshire or Midlothian) in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In 1482 the burgh of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

itself was given the right to appoint its own sheriff, and thereafter the sheriff of Edinburgh's authority applied in the area of Midlothian outside the city, whilst still being called the sheriff of Edinburgh. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, they were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar. In 1872, following mergers, the sheriffdom became known as the sheriffdom of Midlothian and Haddington After further reorganisations it became part of the sheriffdoms of

The Lothians Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scott ...

in 1881 and The Lothians and Peebles in 1883.

Sheriffs of Edinburgh

*Norman (1143–1147) * Geoffrey de Melville (1153) *Robert (1162–1165) *Henry de Brade (1165–1214) *Thomas de Lastalrie (1210) *John de Vallibus (1214–1249) *John de Graham (1225) * Roger de Mowbray (1263) * William St. Clair (1264-1265) *William St. Clair (1288-1290) *

Hugh de Lowther Hugh de Lowther of Lowther and Newton Reigny, was an English noble and administrator. He was Sheriff of Edinburgh The Sheriff of Edinburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to ju ...

(1292-1296) * Walter de Huntercombe (1296) * John de Kingston (1300) * Ebulo IV de Montibus (1303) * Ivo de Aldeburgh (1305) * Piers de Lombard (1313) *Robert de Menzies (1328) * John de Kingston (1334) *

John de Strivelyn John de Strivelyn ( fl. 1327 – 15 August 1378), also called John Stirling or Johannes de Strivelyn, was a medieval Scottish knight in English service. Military career Stirling was first mentioned in the aftermath of the Battle of Halidon Hil ...

(1335) *Laurence Preston (1337) *Gilbert Fouler (1358) *William Ramsay * Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas (1361-1364) *Robert de Dalyell (1366) *Simon de Preston (1367) *Thomas de Erskyne (1371) *Malcolm Fleming (1374) *John Lyon of Glamis (1380) *Adam Forrester (1382) *William Lindsay (1390–1406) *Henry Preston (1435) *William de Crechtoun (1438) *John Logan (1444) *John Haldane (1460) *Alexander Hepburn (1482) * Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell (1488-1508) * Adam Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell (1508-1513) * Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell (1513–?1556) * William Seton of Kylesmure (1616) *

George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen (3 October 163720 April 1720), was a Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Early life Gordon, born on 3 October 1637, the second son of Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo, Aberdeenshire, (executed in 1644); and ...

(1682–1684) *

James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC (164811 May 1716), also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite. Family The eldest son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth by his spouse Lady Anne, daughter o ...

(1684–1689) *''No appointment'' (1689–1710) *William Ramsay, 5th Earl of Dalhousie (1703–1710) *Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale (1718–1744) *

James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale (25 January 1718 – 17 August 1789), and was one of the sixteen representative peers for Scotland in the House of Lords. Life James Maitland was born the eldest son of Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Laud ...

(1744–1748) * Charles Maitland of Pittrichie, 1748 sheriff depute *Hon Walter Sandilands, 8th Lord Torpichen, 1748– sheriff depute *

Archibald Cockburn Archibald Cockburn (1738 in Edinburgh, Midlothian – 20 June 1820) was a Scottish judge. He lived at Caroline Park House north of Edinburgh. Family Son of Archibald Cockburn of Cockpen and wife (m. 17 August 1735) Martha Dundas, daughter ...

, 1765–1790 *John Pringle, 1790–1793 *James Clerk, 1793–1809 * William Rae, 1809–1819 *Adam Duff, 1819–1840 *

Robert Cunningham Graham Spiers Robert Cunningham Graham Speirs or Spiers FRSE (1797–1847) was a 19th-century Scottish advocate and prison reformer. In later life he is largely referred to simply as Graham Speirs. He held the offices of Sheriff of Elgin and Moray fr ...

, 1840–1847 *

John Thomson Gordon John Thomson Gordon FRSE (1813-1865) was a Scottish advocate who served as Rector of Marischal College 1849-50 and Sheriff of Aberdeen 1847-48 and Edinburgh 1848–>1852. Life He was born on 19 March 1813 at 14 Buccleuch Place in Edinburgh t ...

, 1848–c.1852 *Archibald Davidson of Slateford, <1870–>1886>

Sheriffs of Midlothian and Haddington (1872)

* ''For sheriffs after 1881 see the

Sheriff of the Lothians and Peebles The Sheriff of the Lothians and Peebles was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in The Lothians and Peebles, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. ...

References

*''Extracts From the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1403-1528'', ed. J D Marwick (Edinburgh, 1869), 'Appendix: Sheriffs of the shire of Edinburgh' {{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh * *Sheriff History of Edinburgh

Sheriffs of Edinburgh

Sheriffs of Midlothian and Haddington (1872)

See also

References