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
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 ...
and
Peebles, Scotland. 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 of Sheriff of the Lothians had been created in 1881 following a merger of the sheriffdom of
Midlothian and Haddington with the Linlithgow part of the sheriffdom of
Linlithgow, Clackmannan & Kinross. The position of Sheriff of Peebles was then joined to it in 1883 to create the new position of Sheriff of the Lothians & Peebles.
This latter sheriffdom was replaced in 1975 by the current sheriffdom of
Lothian and Borders
Lothian and Borders is an area in Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian areas (collectively known as Lothian) along with the Scottish Borders.
The area constitutes a sheriffdom, and was also served ...
.
Sheriffs of the Lothians (1881)
Sheriffs of Peebles
*Gilbert Fraser, 1259
*Aymer de Maxwell, 1262
*Simon Fraser of Oliver, 1266-1291
*William of Durham, 1302
*
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (c. 127523 June 1324) was an Anglo-French nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, ...
, 1306
*Adam Lockhart, 1357
*Lawrence of Govan, 1359
*
Thomas Hay, 1373
**Walter Tweedy, 1373 - Deputy
*William Hay, 1388
**Adam Dickson, 1388 - Deputy
*
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester (c. 1450 – after October 1508) is the ancestor of the Marquesses of Tweeddale. He was created a Lord of Parliament on 29 January 1488 by James III of Scotland.
He was born in Peebleshire, the son of Sir David Hay ...
, 1464–1509
*David Hay, 1470
**Thomas Hay, 1470 - Deputy
*William Douglas, 2nd Earl of March, 1724–1747
*
James Veitch of Elliock, 1747–
;Sheriffs-Depute
*
James Montgomery, 1748–?1760
*
Alexander Murray of Murrayfield, 1761–1775
*James Wolf Murray, 1789–1811
*James Wedderburn, 1811–1816
*Andrew Clephane, 1816–>1825
*John Wood, c.1835–1840
*George Napier, 1840-1883
Sheriffs of the Lothians and Peebles (1883)
* James Arthur Crichton, 1885–1891
* Alexander Blair, 1891–1896
* Andrew Rutherford, 1896–1904
[
* Charles Cornelius Maconochie, 1904–>1918
* Gerard Lake Crole, KC, –1927 ][
* ]John Charles Fenton
Sir John Charles Fenton (5 May 1880 – 3 January 1951) was a Scottish lawyer.
Biography
Fenton was born 5 May 1880, the son of Elizabeth Jack and James Fenton of Edinburgh. He was educated at George Watson's College, at the University of Edi ...
, 1942–1951 [
* William Ross McLean, QC, 1960– ][ (]Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders
The Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders is the head of the judicial system of the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders, one of the six sheriffdoms covering the whole of Scotland. The sheriffdom employs a number of legally qualified sheriffs wh ...
, 1975)
* ''After 1975 the sheriffdom was merged into the new sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders
Lothian and Borders is an area in Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian areas (collectively known as Lothian) along with the Scottish Borders.
The area constitutes a sheriffdom, and was also served ...
''.
See also
* Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lothians and Peebles
*
Lothian
Peebles
East Lothian
History of Edinburgh