Harrogate woman Dr Ruth Smith has been appointed as the new High Sheriff of North Yorkshire.
Dr Smith is a board leadership coach and is a director of Harrogate business PM Management Consultants Ltd. She has also published a book on authentic leadership.
As chair of Teesside Mind and a former trustee of the charity Refuge, she is passionate about promoting mental wellbeing and supporting survivors of domestic abuse.
She has spent most of her life in North Yorkshire, attending school in Harrogate and returning in 1992 to lead her father’s consultancy business.
High sheriffs are appointed by the King and hold an independent non-political role for a single year. There are currently 55 serving the counties of England and Wales.
Dr Smith succeeded another Harrogate woman, Birstwith artist Clare Granger, at a swearing-in ceremony this week at York Crown Court. The ceremony was presided over by the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris.
At the swearing-in ceremony Dr Smith took her oath of office and the outgoing High Sheriff, Ms Granger handed over her medal of office after completing her year of service.
Clare Granger (left) and Dr Ruth Smith
Outlining her priorities at the ceremony, Dr Smith pledged to highlight the role of organisations that support domestic abuse victims, particularly children as well as mental health organisations.
In her declaration speech, she said:
“The impact of domestic abuse on women and children is both devastating and tragic with at least 1 in 4 women experiencing it, 2 women a week killed by a partner or former partner and at least 1 in 5 children impacted by domestic abuse.
“It is only since 2021 that children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse and yet the consequences of domestic abuse on them can also be devastating as well as long term and life changing.
“My theme is to raise awareness of the impact of domestic abuse on children as well as identifying the support available in the moment and from our excellent charities in the county ”
The origins of the high sheriff role date back to Saxon times, when the ‘Shire Reeve’ was responsible to the king for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown.
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The Harrogate high sheriff with a dash of colour
In April, King Charles III appointed Harrogate artist Clare Granger as High Sheriff of North Yorkshire.
The high sheriff — a role which dates back over 1,000 years — represents the monarch in matters relating to law and order.
It may seem incongruous that an artist with a studio in High Birstwith is rubbing shoulders with barristers and judges on behalf of the king.
But Ms Granger is well qualified for the role: she studied law at Cambridge University and briefly worked as a lawyer before swapping legal briefs for paint brushes and forging a successful career as an artist, with annual shows in London.
Her son and daughter-in-law are barristers so “the law has never really left me”, as she puts it.
Art and law may appear unlikely bedfellows but Ms Granger brings a stamp of colour and style to the role.
Among her aims is to use the 12-month appointment to promote art as therapy for offenders. The role also involves representing the voluntary sector and emergency services, and she has revamped a Dragon’s Den-style contest run by Two Ridings Community Foundation by getting charities bidding for funding to submit photographs illustrating what they do. She says:
“Art is a therapeutic tool. It’s such a joyful thing to do. It makes people feel really happy.”
Ms Granger says she’s “more or less” retired from portraits and is focusing more on the use of colour in her art, which she works on from 9am to 5pm at her home studio. She says:
“I love colour. I’m enjoying the freedom of painting whatever I like and if someone likes it they buy it.”
But ironically, being high sheriff has left little time for painting. The role comes with few essential engagements but Ms Granger has thrown herself so enthusiastically into the role, clocking up hundreds of miles each week to attend engagements in North Yorkshire, she has barely any time left.
The day before our interview, she visited the coroner’s office in Northallerton. After our early morning interview she was due to drive to Scarborough for a lunch and then participate in a 10 kilometre evening walk in York.
Tomorrow featured a community event in Birstwith, followed the day after by a visit to Yorkshire Air Ambulance in Nostell and the day after that she was due to attend a rewilding event in Sharow and another community event.
That took her to the weekend, where her engagements included the Harrogate Army Foundation College parade through Harrogate town centre, a golden wedding and a trip to an Open Studios art event.
With Mark Dowie, chief executive of RNLI
The size of North Yorkshire doesn’t make life easy.
Moreover, the role isn’t paid: she self-funds her trips and even hosted a big coronation garden party at her own expense in a marquee that had already been erected for her son’s wedding.
She doubts whether anyone could combine being high sheriff with a full-time job.
“You don’t have to take a year off to do it but it does compromise you.”
The high sheriff has no formal powers but the invitations have piled up. Why does she think this is?
“The value of saying ‘thank-you’ is huge. People appreciate someone coming and listening to their concerns. I don’t have any powers but I have conversations and can bring people together.”
Ms Granger is a big supporter of the police and is putting particular emphasis on supporting them as part of her role. She says:
“All of us expect the police to be there when push comes to shove yet we are constantly knocking them and if we are not careful nobody will want to do the job.”
With Lady Justice King in York when she accepted the role.
For all the robes of office and archaic traditions, Ms Granger brings a warmth that is often lacking to the legal world. Her name will join a long list of high sheriffs at York Crown Court.
But although she has a lot of respect for the legal profession, she doesn’t take long to respond when asked if she regrets giving it up to become an artist:
“Not one single jot! I love the fact that law is still in my life but I’m relieved not to have to do it myself. Perhaps I wasn’t a solicitor long enough to enjoy it but I think I’d find it boring.”
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Harrogate district charities urged to get creative to win Dragons’ Den event
Harrogate district voluntary organisations that come up with a striking photograph encapsulating what they do could receive a funding boost this year.
Two Ridings Community Foundation holds an annual High Sheriff’s Dragons’ Den event in which community groups pitch for funding in front of a panel and audience.
It usually awards individual grants of between £3,000 and £7,000 from a total funding pot of £30,000.
Birstwith artist Clare Granger has been nominated High Sheriff of North Yorkshire this year and she plans to take a creative approach to the event.
This week’s event at Allerton Castle
Speaking at an event at Allerton Castle this week to thank groups that took part in last year’s Dragons’ Den, Ms Granger said the idea of a more visual approach and an exhibition of entries appealed to her.
She said organisations would be assessed on the strength of their images and an explanation of how each one represented their work, rather than by making a standard spoken pitch.
Two Ridings Community Foundation has yet to reveal final details of this year’s event.
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As high sheriff Ms Granger, who has a studio at home, will represent law and order in the county on behalf of the king, assuming her nomination is ratified at York Crown Court in April.
About 100 representatives from voluntary organisations took part in this week’s event at Allerton Castle, which will host this year’s Dragons’ Den event and exhibit the photos.
It was organised by Jonathan Wright, a trustee of the charity that maintains Allerton Castle. Harrogate district Mayor Victoria Oldham and deputy mayor Robert Windass were among those attending.
(from left) Robert Windass, Jonathan Wright and Victoria Oldham