Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year.
They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative functions and execute High Court Writs.
It remained first in precedence in the counties, until the reign of Edward VII, when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative.
The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign's representative in the county for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
[citation needed] Names indented are those of undersheriffs.