Vice Lord-Lieutenant

The Vice Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire

The Vice Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire is Mr Christopher Legard DL. The Lord-Lieutenant may appoint a Vice Lord-Lieutenant and the nomination is submitted to the Prime Minister in order that the approval of The Monarch may be obtained. The Vice Lord-Lieutenant stands-in when the Lord-Lieutenant cannot be present, is sick or otherwise unable to act, and  carries out such duties as the Lord-Lieutenant decides. The appointment as Vice Lord-Lieutenant normally ends when the Lord-Lieutenant who made the appointment leaves his or her post. By statute, Vice Lord-Lieutenants retire at the age of 75.

Mr Christopher Legard DL

After leaving school Chris worked for a firm of accountants in Hull and shortly after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant joined Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and spent almost a decade with them in their audit and corporate finance departments in Leeds, London and Boston (USA) offices.

In 1997 Chris left PwC and founded the Thirsk-based catalogue and online menswear retailer, Joseph Turner, literally in a shed behind his house. The business has grown over the years and is still owned by Chris and based in Thirsk.

Chris now lives at his family home, Scampston Hall near Malton, which includes the award-winning visitor attraction ‘Scampston Walled Garden’ as well as many other varied businesses from farming to holiday lodges that form part of this modern diversified rural estate.

Chris served as High Sheriff of North Yorkshire for 2018/19, and was made a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire in 2019.

Chris has also served as a Governor of Aysgarth School, a well-known Yorkshire preparatory school in the Dales, and is currently Deputy Chairman of the York Minster Fund whose purpose is to raise funds for the preservation and restoration of York Minster, as well as being a Trustee of the Two Ridings Community Fund which serves North & East Yorkshire.

Chris lives at Scampston Hall with his wife, Miranda, who is an artist and they have two adult children.