IN ENGLAND AND IN WALES, a high sheriff is supposed to represent the interests of the king or queen in their local district. This job, England’s longest-running secular office, has existed for more than a millennium, going back to the 10th century, and for the past five hundred years or so, high sheriffs have been chosen using an unusual tool—a silver bodkin, a large, blunt needle used for hemming or, historically, as a hairpin.
DAVE DOES HISTORY 
Leave a comment