The office of High Sheriff is the oldest continuous secular Office under the Crown, dating back to Anglo-Saxon times when the Monarch appointed a “Shire Reeve” to act in effect as governor responsible to the King for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown.  The Monarch makes the appointments, on the advice of the Privy Council, by pricking each name with an ancient bodkin. This was an early form of document security and the tradition, which stems from at least the reign of King Henry VIII, still exists today. 

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The Office is held for one year, at no charge to the public purse. The High Sheriff is still the Returning Officer for parliamentary elections for all the County Constituencies in Hertfordshire and has responsibility for proclaiming the accession of a new Sovereign. Being independent and non-political, High Sheriffs are able to bring a wide variety of people together within the county. Their main role is to support the judges, police, magistrates, prison and probation services, the armed forces, emergency services and the many charities in Hertfordshire, which currently number over 4,000, helping the most vulnerable in our community.