Sheriff of Nottingham

“ I do love thee for the sweet feast thou hast given me this day in merry Nottingham Town; but there be those here who love thee not so much. If thou wilt look down the cloth thou wilt see Will Stutely, in whose eyes thou hast no great favor; then two other stout fellows are there here that thou knowest not, that were wounded in a brawl nigh Nottingham Town, some time ago—thou wottest when; one of them was sore hurt in one arm, yet he hath got the use of it again. Good Sheriff, be advised by me; pay thy score without more ado, or maybe it may fare ill with thee. ”

“ Robyn Hode and his mery men
To mete can they gone.
64 THE SIXTH FYTTE (317-353)
Argument.—The Sheriff of Nottingham secures the assistance of the High Sheriff, and besets the knight’s castle, accusing him of harbouring the king’s enemies. ”

“ Get thee gone for a coward. An thou dost not bring me that outlaw’s head within half-a-year, thy shrievalty shall be given to a better man.’
“The poor sheriff felt his disgrace, and returned slowly home to Nottingham, pondering on the king’s [137] words, and devising plans by which he might retrieve his lost character. He thought of a notable scheme. He caused it to be proclaimed that an archery meeting would be held at Nottingham, and that a golden arrow would be given to the victor of the games. ”

“ Whose men are all these said the master sheriff,
I pray thee come tell unto me,
Why they are all mine, and none of them thine.
For they are come for the squires all three.
Go take them, go take them says the master sheriff,
Go take them along with thee,
There's never a man in fair Nottingham
Shall borrow three more of me.
◎❋◎❋◎❋◎❋◎
Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth-Court
7 Dials.
Battledores, Pruners, &c., Sold very Cheap. ”

“ These twelve days thou wonest [876] with me,
To sup, eat, and dine.’
[Pg 551] CCCXVI
Boards were laid, and cloths spread,
Readily and anon;
Robin Hood and his merry men
To meat gan they gone.
The Sixth Fytte How Sir Richard was cast by the Sheriff into Prison, and rescued by Robin Hood
CCCXVII
Lithe and listen, Gentlemen,
And hearken to my song;
How the proud Sheriff of Nottingham
And men of armès strong
CCCXVIII
Full fast came to the High Sheriff,
The country up to rout [877] ,
And they beset the Knight’s castell,
The wallès all about. ”

“ The county or sheriff prison for Notts and Derby was, as far as can be traced back by records, half-way up the over ninety feet cliff of the town of Nottingham, and was entered from the King's hall at the top. Light holes were made in the face of the rock to the south. In these vaults, now closed, men and women were confined like wild beasts, on straw. The prior and monks were enclosed here in the time of Henry VIII., and were marched thence to the gallows. ”

“ Then an esquire, when he rode to town, was attended by eight or ten men in blue coats with badges;" and it would seem that from the reign of King Charles II the javelin men have continued to be much the same as at present, as in the printed articles of agreement entered into in that reign by sixty-four Wiltshire gentlemen, who were liable to serve the office of High Sheriff, it is stipulated (inter alia) "That no one of the said persons, when he is made sheriff of the said county, have above thirty livery-men, nor under twenty, for his attendance at the assize. ”

“ Robed and armed with his bouquet, he smilingly inquires if there are no sheriffs to escort him into court. A hasty buckling on of sword, a snatching up of his bouquet and a little dusting of cigar ashes from his velvet knee breeches, prepares the under-sheriff for the function, and, preceded by the sheriffs in their blue gowns, his Lordship bringing up the rear, the little procession starts along the corridor and enters the door leading to the judges' dais. The under-sheriff shortly returns to finish his cigar but the guest tarries beside the judge. ”

“ But the practical spirit, the common sense of our race, successfully asserted itself—e.g., in the case of the Sheriffs, who in London are elected by the citizens. In general, sheriffs are appointed by the Crown, and, as the name implies, they are strictly county officers. In the case of the special franchise of the Fitzwalters we have seen how eagerly the Corporation embraced the opportunity afforded by the sale of Baynard Castle to secure greater freedom and homogeneity in the government of the City.
Subordinate to the sheriff in the administration of a county are various classes of bailiffs ”

“ When in the judgment of the court party it became desirable that at least one of the sheriffs of London should be a supporter of the crown, it was resolved that, to insure this end, the custom should be revived of allowing the lord mayor to appoint one of the sheriffs, while the choice of the other was left to the livery. The king determined that Dudley North should be nominated by the lord mayor, and, after much turmoil and violent opposition, he was sworn sheriff accordingly in June 1682 (Examen, pp. 598–610) . ”

“ He took a lively interest in a dame's school in the town, paying it a visit of inspection every week, and making minute inquiries into the behaviour of the children, and reproving delinquents with ‘Od's bud, Od's bud, but I will mend you.’ Though his rank in the county was but that of a squire who worked like a yeoman on his land, and lived on intimate terms with his labourers, he was chosen sheriff in 1683. ”

“ What really remains to him is an empty and expensive honour, usually shunned rather than courted. In Scotland and America the sheriff also exists at the present day, but his position and functions have in these countries developed in very different directions. In Scotland, in opposition to what has happened in England and America, the sheriff has remained emphatically a judicial officer, the judge of an inferior court, namely, the local court of his shire, known as “the Sheriff Court.” ”

“ Chuse them as you do other officers of less consequence, by ballot, election, &c. such a mode of choice will soon procure proper persons, and put the officers on a reputable footing. There is nothing dishonourable in the profession itself, more than in constable p. 31or any other minister of justice; the name of bailiff is become contemptible ONLY from a notion, that none are such but those totally destitute of every spark of humanity and honesty. Sheriffs themselves are royal officers of great dignity, taking place even of noblemen in the county during their sheriffalty. ”

“ It is the plan to have you in the weak jail confined—one single night will serve their purpose—and when your friends come the next morning it will be too late. The sheriff is a weakling, as you know—worse, he is as wax in the hands of Bartholomew, who did win from him at cards much treasure that is to the county belonging, though why that should be cause to make him lick my husband's hand I can not understand. ”

“ The men who ran away have far more sense than that brainless spalpeen who led them on, although I can see he is brave enough. One or two more useless attacks will lead him to a more conciliatory frame of mind, unless he appeals to the law, which is what I thought he would do; for I felt sure a sheriff would be in the van of attack. Just now you are opposed only to the Earl of Westport; but, when the sheriff comes on, you're fornenst the might of England. ”

“ At this time rose a contention between the mayor, citizens, commonalty and sheriffs, about choosing their officers, but it was agreed, that for the future the sheriffs should choose such as they would answer for, to be under-sheriff, clerks, and bailiffs, and the mayor, aldermen, and common council, should for the future choose yearly a discreet lawyer, into the office of steward of the court of the sheriffs of the city, and for his service in the court, such steward shall receive of the sheriffs 40s. ”

“ His questioner vanishes.
“Jim, Mr. Felton wants to see you,” the clerk of the Raymond Hotel informs the sheriff of Mansfield County, who is playing cards in a room off the office. Sheriff Wilson is a man with a game leg, a war record, and a wild mania for the diversion of sancho pedro. When he sits in for an evening of that fascinating pastime he dislikes to be disturbed. ”

“ The period between 1106 and 1110 was marked by the rise of several more sheriffs of the same class and by the displacement of some of the baronial sheriffs in shires which they had long held. Gilbert the knight, whose shrievalty in Surrey begins not later than 1107, in 1110 had also the counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon. [20] Hugh of Leicester, the seneschal of Matilda, daughter of Earl Simon of Senliz, in her widowhood, is represented as sheriff and also as benefactor of the church at Daventry in Northamptonshire. ”

“ We may farther observe, that by statute 1 Ric. II. c. 11. no man, that has served the office of sheriff for one year, can be compelled to serve the same again within three years after.
We shall find it is of the utmost importance to have the sheriff appointed according to law, when we consider his power and duty. These are either as a judge, as the keeper of the king's peace, as a ministerial officer of the superior courts of justice, or as the king's bailiff. ”

“ It hopes that the incarceration of one night in the common gaol may prove in case of a young man like yourself sufficiently efficacious to deter you from the repetition of so grave a misdemeanor, and at the same time not crush too much that generous spirit of youth which in its proper exercise may prove so advantageous to its possessor, and redound so much to the benefit of the Commonwealth. The order of the Court, therefore, is that the Sheriff discharge you from further imprisonment. ”

“ However, as the evils arise not so much from the Defect of our laws as from a Breach of them, there is a firm bottom to proceed on, and from your insatiable hatred to oppression, we may hope to see some wholesome regulations in the sheriffs department. The judicious choice of Mr. Reynolds, as under-sheriff, will greatly facilitate a remedy to these growing complaints; from whom, as a man and friend to the community, we have every thing to hope—as an able lawyer, nothing to doubt. ”

“ Whiting said they weren’t in any particular hurry, and they’d run over to Washington Hills and bring the sheriff back. So we did it. Found the sheriff washing up for supper, got him into the car, and hustled him back. The rest was easy. He just showed those Gipsies his badge and the handle of his revolver, and they said, ‘Welcome to our city.’ We hunted through the whole place and got everything except a few cans of vegetables and two strips of bacon. Then the sheriff threatened to arrest every one if they didn’t pay up for what was missing and move out of the township before to-morrow night. ”

“ Innocent men are seldom tried before such juries, for the case must be clear before the sheriff will run the risk of being shot in making the arrest. When the man‘s fate is settled, the sheriff drives out quietly in his buggy, and next day men say when they meet, “Poor ——‘s escaped;” ”

“ Earls and barons to be fined by their peers; and clerks only according to the amount of their lay property.
(24-33) The powers of sheriffs, constables, coroners, and bailiffs of the King are strictly defined. No sheriff is to be a justice in his own county. Royal officers are to pay for all the goods taken by requisition; money is not to be taken in lieu of service from those who are willing to perform the service. The horses and carts of freemen are not to be seized for royal work without consent. The weirs in the Thames, Medway, and other rivers in England are to be removed. ”

“ They constituted as respectable a body of gentlemen as could have been collected. Thomas Newton, of Boston, was commissioned to act as attorney-general. The official title of marshal ceasing with the new government, George Corwin was appointed sheriff of the county of Essex. Herrick appears to have continued in the service as deputy. Sheriff Corwin was twenty-six years of age. He was the grandson of the original George Corwin, and the son of John. His mother was grand-daughter of Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts, and daughter of Governor Winthrop of Connecticut. ”

“ No persons shall be nominated in 1973 in pursuance of section 6 (1) of the Sheriffs Act 1887 as persons fit to serve as high sheriff, but the lord-lieutenant of a new county or Greater London shall, as soon as may be after he has been appointed under section 218 (1) above or has been specified in an Order in Council under section 218 (4) above, nominate three persons as being fit to serve as high sheriff of that county or Greater London, as the case may be, and they shall be treated as having been nominated under the said section 6 (1) . ”

“ If the prisoner fails to make good or tries to run away, the farmer notifies the sheriff promptly, who sends a deputy sheriff after him. The reports from Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware and Wisconsin, where this plan prevails, show very few escapes. No guard is necessary, as the farmer looks after the prisoners, and thus the overhead charges are done away with. ”

“ The sheriff was also the custodian of the county jail and its prisoners. He had the authority to decide on and collect bail, and he was liable for a fine if a prisoner escaped. He appears generally to have taken his responsibility for the county jail lightly, for there is evidence of widespread [Pg 22] contracting for others to provide the guard for the jail and the food for the prisoners. Other officials who were part of the colonial county government performed specialized functions, but unlike the clerk and sheriff, took no part in the general administration of county business. ”