https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Sheriff_of_Surrey
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland[edit]
High sheriffs in the United Kingdom customarily wear velvet Court Dress suits on formal occasions.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the high sheriff (or in the City of London the sheriffs) are theoretically the sovereign's judicial representative in the county,[citation needed] while the lord-lieutenant is the sovereign's personal and military representative. Their jurisdictions, the shrieval counties, are the ceremonial counties. The post contrasts with that of sheriff in Scotland, who is a judge sitting in a sheriff court.
The word sheriff is a contraction of the term shire reeve. The term, from the Old English scīrgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a reeve) throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king.[2][3] The term was preserved in England notwithstanding the Norman Conquest.
English historians have offered varying estimates as to when the office of the sheriff was established.[4] According to historian George Molyneaux, "the late tenth century is a very plausible period for the introduction of sheriffs, especially in the south."[4] The office reached the height of its power under the Norman kings.
While the sheriffs originally had been men of great standing at court, the 13th century saw a process whereby the office devolved on significant men within each county, usually landowners.[5] The Provisions of Oxford (1258) established a yearly tenure of office. The appointments and duties of the sheriffs in England and Wales were redefined by the Sheriffs Act 1887.[6] Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974, the office previously known as sheriff was retitled high sheriff.[7]
The serving high sheriff submits a list of names of possible future high sheriffs to a tribunal which chooses three names to put to the sovereign. The nomination is made on 12 November every year and the term of office runs from 25 March, Lady Day, which was the first day of the year until 1751. No person may be appointed twice in three years unless there is no other suitable person in the county.[citation needed]
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Pricking[edit]
The practice of pricking is an ancient custom used to appoint the high sheriffs of England and Wales.
In February or March of each year, two parchments prepared the previous November are presented to the Sovereign (who is also Duke of Lancaster) at a meeting of the Privy Council. A further parchment is drawn up in November for Cornwall and presented to the Duke of Cornwall (or to the Sovereign when there is no such Duke).[12]
Certain eligible persons (High Court judges and the Privy Council) nominate candidates for each county shrievalty, one of whom is chosen for each by the sovereign. In practice, the first name on the list is nowadays always the one chosen; the second and third names tend to become sheriffs in succeeding years, barring incapacity or death. The Sovereign signifies assent by pricking (i.e., piercing) the document with a silver bodkin by the relevant name for each county, and signs the parchment when complete. The parchment for the Duchy of Lancaster is known as the Lites, and the ceremony of selection known as Pricking the Lites.[13] The term lites, meaning list, was once reserved for Yorkshire;[14] the date at which the name was transferred to Lancashire is unknown.[according to whom?][15] The Lites is used for the three shrieval counties that fall wholly or partially within the boundaries of the historic county palatine of Lancaster, since 1 April 1974: Lancashire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside.[13]
The practice is believed to date back to a year in the reign of Elizabeth I, when, lacking a pen, she decided to use her bodkin to mark the name instead. By contrast, Lord Campbell stated, perhaps without the intention of publication, in February 1847, "[it began] in ancient times, sir, when sovereigns did not know how to write their names." while acquiring a prick and a signature from Queen Victoria as Prince Albert asked him when the custom began.[16][17] The High Sheriffs' Association argues pricking vellum ensured that the record could not be altered. Given that holders of the office often had to bear large costs and implement unpopular policies altering the choice of the monarch must sometimes have been tempting.[18]
April 30th 1807 To the HIGH SHERIFF of the COUNTY of SURRY
We, whose names are undersigned, being FREEHOLDERS of the County of Surry, do request you to call a MEETING to take into consideration the nominating two fit and proper persons to represent this County in the ensuing Parliament:-
W. Clayton Robert Hankey J. P. Kensington Thomas Page William Kenrick William Prescott Edmund Shallett Lomax Robert Burnett James Bragden Thomas Gaitskell George Holme Sumner Thomas Lett Beeston Long William Nonner John Brickwood
In consequence of the above Requisition, I do appoint a MEETING at the Spread Eagle, Epsom, at 12 o’clock, on Saturday next, the 2d of May.
Wandsworth-Lodge, April 29
James Newsome, Sheriff.
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RANK OF COMMANDANTS to take place when the under-mentioned Volunteer Corps are formed into Battalions, and assembled at their respective Alarm Posts. Lieut-Colonel PRESCOTT: - The Clapham Legion; Wandsworth Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry; Battersea Volunteer Infantry; Battersea, Benwell, and Weymouth Volunteer Infantry; Camberwell Volunteer Infantry; Streatham Volunteer Infantry; and Tooting Volunteer Infantry.
[https://eehe.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/TheTimes-1800s.pdf]
London Evening Star Newspaper Archives, Apr 30, 1818, p. 1
NewspaperArchive
https://newspaperarchive.com › ... › 1818
... Wandsworth Lodge the late residence t t and property of James Newsome Esq. Deceased delightfully situate of the Road from Upper Tooting to Wandsworth ...
London Evening Star April 30, 181
The Athenaeum: A Magazine of Literary and Miscellaneous ..., Volume 1
edited by John Aikin
The following gentlemen have been pricked by His Majesty in Council to serve the office of Sherriff for the several counties in England for the year ensuing
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d98RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA323&lpg=PA323&dq="james+newsome"+wandsworth&source=bl&ots=ISUwDx1VwQ&sig=ACfU3U3uBhW1jY11amn3ldIBX1iA9IM37g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiooOOno_KGAxWZV0EAHQHRClkQ6AF6BAgjEAM#v=onepage&q="james%20newsome"%20wandsworth&f=falsejohn-newsome-pricked.png
Bells Life in London and Sporting Chronicle [Town Edition]
18/01/1863
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 1863. AND SPORTING CHRONICLE LATEST EDITION. Mr James Newsome having purchased Lord Oswald, he goes into Chai'les Thorpe's stable, Letcomb Regis, near Wantage.
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