Michael Scott (L 59-64) Appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire

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Congratulations to Michael Scott who earlier this year was appointed the post of High Sheriff of Lincolnshire. In an historic first, Michael took on the ceremonial role in April, via FaceTime. The office of High Sheriff pre-dates the Norman Conquest and is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The original ‘Shire Reeves’ were royal officials appointed to enforce the king’s interests in a county, in particular the collection of revenues and the enforcement of law and order. While the role has evolved over the years, supporting the Crown and the judiciary remain central elements to it.

Born in Grimsby in 1945, Michael is a proud ‘Yellow Belly’. In 1949 the family travelled to what was then southern Tanganyika, where his father was working on the Groundnut Scheme. The next move was to Wattle Estates in the southern highlands of Tanzania and then on to a copper and gold mine on Lake Victoria near the Kenya/Uganda border and finally into Nairobi.

Michael attended boarding school in Nairobi and then to Sedbergh in Cumbria. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell – now KPMG – in the City in 1968. He then married Jackie – nee Dring – in 1969 and invited by his father-in-law to join him farming in 1973. Michael is now farming at Holland Fen, Kirton Fen, Brothertoft near Boston and at Ewerby. They have three children and nine grandchildren with son Nick running the farms. Michael’s hobbies include photography and travel, and he is a member of MCC while being a fan of all sport.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was advised that ceremonial appointments take place by telephone or via link this year – the first time this has happened since the first High Sheriff was installed in Lincolnshire in 1060. Upon Michael’s appointment, the traditional declaration was used in a format that has changed little over centuries, with the High Sheriff promising to ‘well and truly serve the Queen’s Majesty in the office of Sheriff of Lincolnshire’.

In commenting on his appointment, Mr Scott expressed his disappointment that it had not been possible for the turnover ceremony to take place as originally envisaged in St Andrew’s Church, Ewerby, due to the self-isolating advice.

However, he said: “I look forward to the time when a semblance of normality returns and I can apply the enthusiasm I hold for my appointment to help the wider Lincolnshire area recover from the corona trauma.”

Click here to see the full article from Sleaford Standard.