Sheriff of Ayr

The Sheriff of Ayr was historically (from 1221) the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Ayr, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Sundrum Castle was used by the sheriff from the 14th century, and Loudoun Castle from the 16th century. 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.

In 1946 Bute was added to form the new sheriffdom of Ayr and Bute, which was in turn abolished in 1975 and replaced by the current sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway .

Sheriffs of Ayr

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• John of Moray (c.1170)
• Reginald de Crawford, (1221–died 1226/1229)[1]
• Malcolm of Moray (1236)
• Hugh Crawford (died 1265), Chief of Clan Crawford, Lord of Loudon Castle)
• Walter Stewart, 1264[2]
• William Comyn (1263-1265)[2]
• Andrew Moray (1288)[2]
• James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (1288)
• Reginald Crawford (1296)
• Patrick IV, Earl of March (1301)
• Robert de Brus (1303)
  • Magnus de Stratherne - 1303 - Deputy
  • Nicholas de Benhathe - 1303 - Deputy
• Godfrey de Ros (1305–)[3]
• Robert of Laybourn (1306)
• Duncan Wallace (1359)
• John Wallace of Craigie
• Andrew Campbell of Loudoun (died 1368)[4]
• William Cunningham, Earl of Carrick (died between December 1396 and July 1399)[5] (1374)
• William de Cunningham[3] (1406)
• Hugh Campbell of Loudoun
• George Campbell of Loudoun (1450–1491)[6]
• Hugh Campbell (died 1508)[7]
• Hugh Campbell of Loudoun (1503–1561) [3]
• Matthew Campbell of Loudoun (1561–1574) [3]
• Mathew Baird, (1573)[8]
• Hugh Campbell of Loudoun (1574–15 Dec 1622) 1st Lord of Loudoun
• William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn (1661-1664)
• Robert Wallace c.1723[9]
• John, Lord Loudon (1747-1748) [3]

Sheriffs-Depute (1748)

• William Duff, 1747–1775 [3][10]
• William Wallace, 1775–1786[11]
• William Craig, Lord Craig, 1787–1792
• Edward McCormick, 1793–1814[12]
• Archibald Bell, 1815–>1852 [13] (died 1854)
• Neil Colquhoun Campbell of Barnhill, 1862–1883
• William Alexander Orr Paterson, <1890-1901[14]
• John Campbell Shairp, 1901-??? [14]
• Sir David Brand, ?–1908 [15]
• John Campbell Lorimer, 1908–1911[15][16]
• William Lyon Mackenzie, 1911–1937[16] [17]
• Arthur Paterson Duffes, KC, 1937–1946[17] [18]

Sheriffs of Ayr and Bute (1946)

• Arthur Paterson Duffes, KC, 1946–1948 [18] [19]
• Henry Wallace Guthrie, KC, 1948–1949 [19][20]
• James Frederick Gordon Thomson, KC, 1949–1952 [20][21]
• Christopher William Graham Guest, QC, 1952–1954[21] [22] (Sheriff of Perth and Angus, 1954–)
• Charles James Dalrymple Shaw, QC, 1954–1957 [22] [23](Sheriff of Perth and Angus, 1957–)
• John Oswald Mair Hunter, QC, 1957–1961 [23][24]
• Ian MacDonald Robertson, QC, 1961–1966 [24] (Sheriff of Perth and Angus, 1966)
• Robert Howat McDonald, QC, 1966–1972 [25]
• Donald MacArthur Ross, 1972–1973 [25]
• Robert Reid, 1973– [25] [26]

• Sheriffdom abolished in 1975 and replaced by current sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway

See also

• Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms

References

1. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/crawford.htm
2. Young, Alan (1990), "Noble families and political factions in the reign of Alexander III", in Reid, Norman H. (ed.), Scotland in the reign of Alexander III, 1249–1286, John Donald, pp. 1–30, ISBN 0 85976218 1.
3. Chalmers, George. Caledonia: Or, An Account, Historical and Topographic, of North Britain . p. 453.
4. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Campbell-1032
5. http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1323.htm
6. http://www.thepeerage.com/p40271.htm
7. G. Harvey Johnston. (1920). The heraldry of the Campbells, with notes on all the males of the family, descriptions of the arms, plates and pedigrees. Vol. 2. https://archive.org/details/heraldryofcampbe02john
8. https://archive.org/details/chartersofroyalb00coop "Charters of the Royal Burgh of Ayr", 1883, pages 109-111
9. Charles Rogers (1889). The Book of Wallace.
10. Milne, Hugh. Boswell's Edinburgh Journals: 1767-1786.
11. Milne, Hugh. Boswell's Edinburgh Journals: 1767-1786.
12. Edinburgh Magazine: Or Literary Miscellany, Volume 19. p. 156.
13. The Scots Magazine. 77. p. 236.
14. "No. 27311". The London Gazette. 7 May 1901. p. 3124.
15. "No. 28108". The London Gazette. 11 February 1908. p. 968.
16. "No. 12394". The Edinburgh Gazette. 29 September 1911. p. 965.
17. "No. 15352". The Edinburgh Gazette. 12 January 1937. p. 32.
18. "No. 37663". The London Gazette. 23 July 1946. p. 3797.
19. "No. 38303". The London Gazette. 28 May 1948. p. 3197.
20. "No. 16631". The Edinburgh Gazette. 22 March 1949. p. 121.
21. "No. 16986". The Edinburgh Gazette. 25 July 1952. p. 442.
22. "No. 17234". The Edinburgh Gazette. 16 November 1954. p. 600.
23. "No. 41095". The London Gazette. 7 June 1957. p. 3432.
24. "No. 42474". The London Gazette. 26 September 1961. p. 6985.
25. "SHERIFFS (SCOTLAND)". UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
26. "No. 45913". The London Gazette. 20 February 1973. p. 2364.