High Sheriff of Cumberland

The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct so that its functions are now largely ceremonial. The sheriff changes every April.

The post of Sheriff of Cumberland existed from the creation of the county in the twelfth century up until 1974 when the administrative and ceremonial or geographic county of Cumberland became part of Cumbria.