This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously known as sheriff was retitled High Sheriff on 1 April 1974). Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that the High Sheriff's functions are now largely ceremonial. The High Sheriff changes every March.