Hundred of Houndsborough

Houndsborough Hundred
Area
18,890 acres (7,640 ha)
History
• Created	Before 1086
Status	Hundred
Subdivisions
• Type	Parishes
• Units	Barwick, Chilton Cantelo, Chinnock (East, Middle, and West), Chiselborough, Closworth, Coker, Hardington Mandeville, Haselbury Plucknett, Norton-under-Hamdon, Odcombe, Pendomer, North Perrott, and Sutton Bingham

The Hundred of Houndsborough is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. Each hundred had a 'fyrd', which acted as the local defence force and a court which was responsible for the maintenance of the frankpledge system. ^[1] They also formed a unit for the collection of taxes. ^[2] The role of the hundred court was described in the Dooms (laws) of King Edgar. The name of the hundred was normally that of its meeting-place. ^[3]

It is also known as Houndsborough Barwick and Coker Hundred. ^[4]

There were 11 places listed at the time of the Domesday Book, ^[5] however at the time the hundreds were called Hundesbera and Licget or Liet. Licget or Liet. It was also called Coker Hundred at a later time. ^[6]

It consisted of the ancient parishes of: Barwick, Chilton Cantelo, Chinnock (East, Middle, and West), Chiselborough, Closworth, Coker, Hardington Mandeville, Haselbury Plucknett, Norton-under-Hamdon, Odcombe, Pendomer, North Perrott, and Sutton Bingham. It covered an area of 18,890 acres (7,640 ha). ^[7]

The importance of the hundred courts declined from the seventeenth century. By the 19th century several different single-purpose subdivisions of counties, such as poor law unions, sanitary districts, and highway districts sprang up, filling the administrative role previously played by parishes and hundreds. Although the Hundreds have never been formally abolished, their functions ended with the establishment of county courts in 1867 ^[8] and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894. ^[9]

References

1. "Administrative Units Typology | Status definition: Hundred". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
2. "The Shire and the Hundred". Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
3. "Summary". Institute of Archaeology. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
4. "Houndsborough Barwick and Coker". A vision of Britain through time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
5. "Hundred:Houndsborough". Open Domesday. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
6. "Somerset Introduction" (Word). University of Hull. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
7. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
8. County Courts Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 142) s.28
9. "Mapping the Hundreds of England and Wales in GIS". University of Cambridge Department of Geography. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2011.