This is a list of the present unpaid ceremonial offices of High Sheriffs in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, along with the more localised but equivalent Sheriffdoms of 16 towns/cities.
Historically a High Sheriff was appointed by the Crown to each of the historic counties of England and Wales and those of Ireland. The Sheriffs Act 1887 sets out the appointments and qualifications of sheriffs in England and Wales. The shrievalties were subsequently redefined in terms of the new administrative counties established by the Local Government Act 1888 and Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. These were abolished in England and Wales in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, with shrievalties since then being defined in terms of the new local government areas created by that Act. As the structure of local government has changed since the introduction of unitary authorities from the 1990s onwards, the shrievalties in England and Wales are now defined as groups of local authorities, or parts of them, in a similar fashion to the Lieutenancies.[1]
The shrieval counties and shrievalties contrast with different words and meaning in Scotland where the office of Sheriff has remained a judicial office. Sheriffs preside over sheriff courts with one Sheriff Principal for each of the six sheriffdoms in Scotland.