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William Heron had a poor contemporary reputation as a grasping and arbitrary sheriff. For twelve years, he held important positions in the North- East, as sheriff, then also as keeper of key castles and justice of the forests. The Chancery and Exchequer records show that, even by the standards of his time, he was unusually dishonest. Henry III’s government required sheriffs to squeeze more revenue from the counties; sheriffs like Heron added to the pressure by their corruption and greed. Such behaviour helped to fuel the popular discontent which found expression at the time of the movement of baronial reform and rebellion, which began in 1258. Unpublished documents, including the particulars of the sheriff’s account for 1258–59, show how the county community was exploited to provide the county farm and profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]