Sheriff of Hallamshire
In order to deliver timely justice, the committee felt that it was necessary for assizes to be held at Leeds and Sheffield simultaneously.[5] During the parliamentary debate on the bill, Lord Rea sought to rename the proposed judicial county as simply "Hallam" (or alternatively as the "South Riding").[6]The Lord Chancellor, Viscount Kilmuir, explained that "Hallamshire" was the correct term for the area surrounding Sheffield, that the suffix "shire" was widely used in the north of England for subdivisions of counties, and that it was particularly appropriate as its original meaning was the area under the jurisdiction of a sheriff.Under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, high sheriffs were appointed to each of the new metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England.Accordingly, a new office of High Sheriff of South Yorkshire was created, covering a similar area to the abolished Hallamshire jurisdiction.