The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign's representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
The county of Avon was formed in 1974 and abolished in 1996. Before and after this time the area covered was in a variety of other shrievalties, including Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire.
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