CPRE Berkshire members enjoy a lecture and lunch

Members of CPRE Berkshire met in the clubhouse at Goring and Streatley Golf Club, Streatley-on-Thames, for their annual ‘Historical Luncheon’ to hear guest speaker Dr Christina Hill Williams DL give a lecture on the history of the office of High Sheriff.

Dr Hill Williams explained that while the Lord Lieutenant is the King’s personal representative in the county, the High Sheriff is the King’s ‘Law and Order’ representative. She traced the history of the ‘Shrievalty’ to Anglo-Saxon England, when the role was created to uphold the laws of the land and to raise taxes and troops for the Crown. It is the oldest secular office in the land, after the Crown itself. The word ‘Sheriff’, she explained, comes from ‘Shire Reeve’ or, in Old English, ‘Scir Gerefa’, and the first recorded High Sheriff of Berkshire, Godric, was killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, fighting to protect the Saxon king Harold Godwinson.

The role of the High Sheriff has evolved over the centuries and is now mainly ceremonial. It is an unpaid role, and the post is held for just one year. There is a High Sheriff in each English and Welsh county. The work of the Shrievalty includes such activities as organising the ceremonial service for the Opening of the Judicial Year, hosting Royal and State visits, making Royal Proclamations, performing Citizenship Ceremonies for new UK citizens, acting as Returning Officer at elections, and maintaining connections with the Armed Forces within the county.

Dr Hill Williams, who served as High Sheriff of Berkshire in 2009/10, illustrated her lecture with a series of photographs, maps and documents. The highlights of her year as High Sheriff included officiating at the ‘mock trials’ held at Reading Crown Court, visiting the Headquarters of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Maidenhead, and organising the very first county-wide ‘Beating the Bounds’.

The present (2024/25) High Sheriff of Berkshire is Alexander Barfield, who is the youngest High Sheriff in all of England. To find out more about the High Sheriffs of Berkshire, please visit the website www. berkshirehighsheriff.com. CPRE Berkshire exists to promote, protect and enhance the countryside of Berkshire. For more information on CPRE, go to www.cpreberkshire.org.uk.