Sheriff of Canterbury

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Sheriff of Canterbury is a shrievalty in the city of Canterbury, England. The office was first held in 1461 by Richard Carpenter, when a charter of king Edward IV granted the city the perpetual status of a county independent of Kent itself. The role was at that time involved in police and legal functions (overseeing public executions, collecting taxes and having powers of arrest), but is now honorific. The role survived the local government reorganisation of 1974, when a large number of other areas lost County Borough status and thus had their Sheriffs' posts abolished, and the Sheriff is still elected at the Annual Council Meeting in May. Canterbury City Council in 2002 merged the role of deputy Chairman of the Council into that of Sheriff, to create a Civic Team of only the Sheriff and the Lord Mayor.