The High Sheriff of Surrey 2026-27 – Mrs Joosje Hamilton DL.

Welcome to the High Sheriff of Surrey’s Website

This website will inform you about the High Sheriff’s work and activities during their Shrieval Year. It features the areas of life in Surrey upon which the incumbent focuses, with reports upon, and photographs of, visits made to charities, voluntary groups, agencies and organisations, and events attended. A High Sheriff is appointed personally by the Sovereign and it is an independent, non-political and unpaid office, each occupant funding what they do during their year. It is the oldest secular Office in the UK after the Crown, dating back to Saxon days, when the shire-reeve’s role was one of collecting taxes for the King and preserving the peace. The “millennium” of the Office was celebrated in 1992. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Judges of Assize were given hospitality and security whilst visiting a county to try felonies, the most serious criminal offences. The Crown Court replaced the Assizes in 1971, and the High Sheriff’s role has since evolved under the aegis of the High Sheriff Association.                                                                           “The current High Sheriff  is Joosje Hamilton DL – a solicitor and Governor at Reigate Grammar School.  Joosje’s focus as High Sheriff will be to shine a light on the innovative work being done in Surrey to break the cycle of domestic abuse.  Sadly, the general perception that domestic abuse is rare in Surrey is not true – a third of homes in the County are affected by domestic abuse and an increasing number of domestic abuse incidents involve people younger than 16. Joosje would like to use her Shrieval Year to help develop a cohesive and robust County-wide approach seeking to ensure that children and young people know what makes a safe and healthy relationship and that perpetrators of domestic abuse are held to account.“