Members of Team ESL were delighted to attend the Herefordshire High Sheriff’s Shrieval Ball recently, which raised over £20,000 for the High Sheriff’s Charity Fund through ticket sales, a raffle and luxury auction.
High Sheriff for Herefordshire 2024/25 is Pat Churchward, who, along with her husband Martin, owns beautiful wedding and events venue Brinsop Court. The Ball was held in twinkling lights of The Knot Barn, one of the many areas for private functions at the Brinsop estate. 175 people partied the night away enjoying canapes, 2 course dinner and a sumptuous cheese table, followed by DJ music and a dance floor.
Photographs by Richard Weaver Photography
The Role of a High Sheriff:
The Office of High Sheriff dates to Saxon times and is an independent non-political Royal appointment for a single year. Then, the ‘Shire Reeve’ was responsible to the Monarch for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown.
Today, 55 High Sheriffs serve the counties of England and Wales each year and Patricia Churchward Esq is now halfway through her term in Herefordshire. Clearly with no delusions of grandeur, Pat, as she prefers to be called, treats this office with the rolled-up sleeves approach that she applies to all her ventures, though is grateful that the duties have evolved over time.
Whilst supporting the Crown and the judiciary remain central elements, today’s High Sheriffs actively lend support and encouragement to crime prevention agencies, the emergency services, and the voluntary sector. Many High Sheriffs assist Community Foundations and local charities working with the vulnerable, the young by endorsing and helping to raise the profile of their valuable work.
No longer carrying the weighty burden of tax collection and law enforcement, the role of the High Sheriff has become a welcome appointment. Nominations to the Office of High Sheriff are dealt with through the Presiding Judge of the Circuit and the Privy Council for consideration by The Sovereign in Council. The annual nominations of three prospective High Sheriffs for each County are made in a meeting of the Lords of the Council in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice presided over by the Lord Chief Justice on 12th November each year. Subsequently, the selection of new High Sheriffs is made annually in March, when the traditional custom of the Sovereign ‘pricking’ the appointee’s name with a bodkin is perpetuated. Eligibility for nomination and appointment of High Sheriffs excludes Peers of Parliament and Members of the House of Commons, and, by extension, Members of the Welsh Assembly, full-time members of the Judiciary including Tribunal Judges, and Officers of the Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force on full pay. These provisions reflect the essential requirement that the Office of High Sheriff is a non-political appointment.
Some officers take a year out from their businesses to fulfil their High Sheriff’s duties, but this was not an option for busy Pat. “I was proposed by Tricia Thomas during her tenure. It was a great surprise, but very flattering and a huge honour. With the numerous (over 125) meetings I’ve had already I find I am able to connect people and their community groups sometimes – seemingly to their benefit. This is when curiosity is so helpful.” Fortunately Brinsop is an excellent location to host successful fundraising events that her post demands.
Some High Sheriffs choose to focus on specific charities and causes, but Pat prefers to spread her resources more generally. “I actively support and sympathise with the care and retention of our county’s heritage and landscape values, education and faith, the difficulties of rural and agricultural living for many, and also the less -than-privileged families and individuals across this county.
My intended, but not exclusive, focus for this coming year will be to shine a light on those in our community as challenged teenagers, getting consistent care and good direction for parents and children alike, and particularly those families who may find themselves compromised due to a member being imprisoned.
The famous saying ‘Show me the child at 7 and I will show you the grown up’ holds much truth, I think.”
Read more about the High Sheriff, her fund and how to apply to it on www.highsheriffherefordshire.org
Images of Brinsop Court