A canon of Ely Cathedral has been named as the next High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire.
Francis Burkitt was installed at Grantchester Church during a ceremony attended by 200 people.
He was appointed to that role, which he will serve for the next 12 months, by HM the King at a Privy Council meeting held on March 10.
The audience included the Vice Lord-Lieutenant, the chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council, the police and crime commissioner, the resident judge for Cambridge and Peterborough, the Cambridgeshire Magistrates’ Bench chair, and other invited guests.
Francis Burkitt was born in Cambridge and brought up in Grantchester, his great-grandfather was Professor of Divinity and his grandfather lectured in prehistoric archaeology, both at Cambridge University.
He lives in Grantchester with his wife Joanna, and they have three children.
Francis studied natural sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge and then embarked on a career in London, advising large UK companies on their finances, which he has recently retired from.
Francis was a South Cambridgeshire District Councillor for 12 years and, as part of that role. he served on the Greater Cambridge Partnership, becoming its chair.
He was also a non-executive director of the Cambridge Building Society and is a member of Trinity College’s Investment Committee.
He is active within the church, being a canon of Ely Cathedral and senior non-executive member of its Chapter, and also a member of Bishop’s Council.
He was a trustee of the conservation charity Cambridge Past, Present and Future, and is a trustee of The Arbory Trust, which runs an environmentally-friendly woodland burial site near Cambridge.
He has fundraised for Red Balloon, the Cambridge-based educational charity for bullied children, as is currently chair of the campaign board for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (part of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust).
In 2024, the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire appointed Francis as one of her deputy lieutenants for the county.
Francis, who tries to keep fit by running 10ks round the countryside near his home, accompanied by his family’s beloved dog Twiglet, completed the Cambridge Half Marathon in 2025.
However, his greatest athletic passion is for the Grantchester Boxing Day Barrel Race, which he’s competed in every year for the past 20 years, occasionally even being on the winning team.
During March, April and May, Francis will be visiting the Mayors of the 13 towns and three cities within the county, to introduce himself to them and their communities, and to visit community and charity projects in each location.
Later, he will be undertaking a full programme of visits to all aspects the justice system – including the police, courts, prisons and probation service – and will also visit charities and to environmental projects.
He said: “I’m honoured and delighted to take on this role.
“There are 900,000 of us living in Cambridgeshire, and we all depend on the hard work of our public services, civic services and the huge number of local and grass-roots charities.
“They are the people who make our county and our local communities the wonderful places that they are.
“My job over the next 12 months is to support, promote and thank them, and I look forward to meeting as many people as possible during my Shrieval Year."
The High Sheriff is His Majesty’s second most senior personal representative in the county, after the Lord-Lieutenant.
The role is an independent, voluntary and non-political role. High Sheriffs receive no payment, expenses or support from the public purse.
Share