Sheriff of Stirling


The Sheriff of Stirling was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Stirling, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
Following mergers of the Scottish sheriffdoms the office became the Sheriff of Stirling & Dumbarton in 1871 and the Sheriff of Stirling, Dumbarton & Clackmannan in 1881.
The sheriffdom was dissolved in 1975 when the current sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde and Tayside, Central and Fife were created.

Sheriffs of Stirling

Sheriffs-Depute of Stirling and Clackmannan (1748)

Sheriffs-Depute of Stirling (1807)

  • 1807 - Stirling separated from Clackmannan
  • David Williamson, 1807–1811
  • Ranald Macdonald of Staffa, 1811–1838
  • John Shaw Stewart, 1839–1840
  • Robert Handyside, 1840–1853
  • Charles Baillie, 1853–1858
  • George Moir, 1858–1868
  • Robert Bogle Blackburn, 1868–1871

Sheriffs of Stirling and Dumbarton (1871)

  • Robert Bogle Blackburn, 1871–1875

Sheriffs of Stirling, Dumbarton and Clackmannan (1881)