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. 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.
Sherriffs of Lothian
Alexander Fairlie of Braid, 1594
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, 1306 Patrick Fleming of Biggar, 1327NRS GD436/1/2 - 1346Bruce Webster, editor, Regesta Regum Scottorum, The Acts of David II, King Of Scots 1329-1371: (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1982), 6 vols. VI, 139 (ch. 108) Adam Lockhart, 1357 Lawrence of Govan, 1359 Thomas Hay, 1373 Walter Tweedy, 1373 - Deputy William Hay, 1388 Adam Dickson, 1388 - Deputy Patrick Fleming of Bord 1397 Scotland Court of Exchequer, editor, Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum: The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland (Edinburgh: General Register House, 1912), vol i, 1306-1424, app 2, ch 1883 John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester, 1464–1509 David Hay, 1470 Thomas Hay, 1470 - Deputy Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming 1531-1540Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland (Edinburgh: T and A Constable, 1911), vol viii, Fleming Earl of Wigtown pages 519 - 558 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, 1918–1927 Charles Herbert Brown, KC, 1927–c.1937 John Charles Fenton, 1942–1951 James Albert Gilchrist, QC, 1953– William Ross McLean, QC, 1960– Gerald Paisley Sinclair Shaw, 1965– William James Bryden, 1973–1975 (Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders, 1975) After 1975 the sheriffdom was merged into the new sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders.
See also Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms
References