The Sheriff of Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland was historically the office responsible for enforcing
law and order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
in
Ross-shire
Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
,
Cromarty
Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from In ...
and
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice.
Original known as the office of the Sheriff of Cromarty it became known, following mergers of the Scottish sheriffdoms, as the Sheriff of Ross & Cromarty in 1747 and the Sheriff of Ross, Cromarty & Sutherland in 1870. Following a further merger in 1946 it became the
Sheriff of Inverness, Moray, Nairn & Ross & Cromarty.
Sheriffs of Cromarty
The position of the sheriff of Cromarty was a heritable position.
*William de Monte Alto (1266)
*
William de Monte Alto (1296-1304), (1305-?)
*
William III, Earl of Ross
William (or Uilleam) III, 5th Earl of Ross (d. 1372) was a fourteenth-century Scotland, Scottish nobleman. He was the fifth O’Beolan earl of Ross, descending from the founder of the line, Fearchar, Earl of Ross, Fearchar of Ross (or Fearchar Mac ...
(c. 1345)
*Adam Urquhart (1365)
*William Urquhart (c.1470)
*Alexander Urquhart (1497)
Sheriffs of Ross
*1493: Hugh Ross of Balnagowan
*1499: David Ross of Balnagowan
*1706–1722: Hugh Rose of Kilravock
*1725–1729:
Sir Robert Munro of Foulis
*1729–1732:
Hugh Rose, 15th of Kilravock
Hugh Rose, 15th Baron of Kilravock and Chief of Clan Rose, (1663–1732) was one of the Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain as MP for Nairnshire.
Early life
Rose was born at Kilravock Castle the son of Hugh ...
[
*1732–1734: Hugh Rose, Master of Kilravock][
]
Sheriffs of Ross and Cromarty (1747)
*1747–1772: Hugh Rose of Geddes [
*1773–1774: William Mackenzie of Balmaduthy ][
*1774–1833: Donald Macleod of Geanies ][
*1835–1850: John Jardine ][
*1850–1851: ]George Deas
Sir George Deas, Lord Deas (1804–1887) was a 19th century Scottish judge.
Life
Deas, son was born in 1804. Sir David Deas, naval medical officer, was his brother. He acquired the rudiments of knowledge in various schools in Falkland, Miln ...
[
*1851–1855: ]Thomas Mackenzie
Sir Thomas Mackenzie (10 March 1853 – 14 February 1930) was a Scotland, Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand, 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and ...
*1855–1859: George Moir
George Moir FRSE (1800–1870) was a Scottish advocate and author, amateur artist and early photographer.
Life
The son of George Moir, a vintner running "The Old Ship Inn", he was born in Aberdeen, and educated in the city. Moving to Edinburgh ...
[
*1859–1869: Alexander Shank Cook ][
*1869–1870: Alexander Moncrieff ][
]
Sheriffs of Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland (1870)
*1870–1874: George Dingwall Fordyce [
*1881–1886: William Mackintosh ][
*1886–1889: John Cheyne, KC ][
*1890–1891: ]Andrew Jameson, Lord Ardwall
Andrew Jameson, Lord Ardwall (5 July 1845 – 21 November 1911) was a Scottish Advocate and Judge. He is the subject of a 1913 biography by John Buchan.
Life
Born at Ayr on 5 July 1845, he was eldest son of Alexandra, daughter of Alexander C ...
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 ...
, 1891)
*1891–1898: Henry Johnston [ (]Sheriff of Angus
The Sheriff of Angus (alternatively the Sheriff of Forfar) was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Angus, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice.
Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms, was held on a hereditary ...
, 1898–1905)
*1898–1900: William Charles Smith, KC Charles John Guthrie
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, KC [
*1907–1912: John Alexander Reid, KC ][
*1912–1940: James Mackintosh, KC ]
See also
* Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms
A sheriffdom is a judicial district of Scotland. Originally identical to the Shires of Scotland, from the eighteenth century many counties were grouped to form "sheriffdoms".
By 1975 there were 12 sheriffdoms, with only Lanarkshire not groupe ...
References
*
Sutherland
Ross and Cromarty
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