England in 1086 showing hundreds, wapentakes and wards
Most of the counties of England were divided into hundreds or wapentakes from the late Anglo-Saxon period and these were, with a few exceptions, effectively abandoned as administrative divisions in the 19th century.[1]
The County of Berkshire comprised 20 Hundreds and 193 parishes and parts of four others.[2] From The National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland (1868), Victoria County History Berkshire Vol 3 (1923)[3] & Vol 4 (1924)[4]
Until at least the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 there were 18 hundreds in Buckinghamshire.[11] It has been suggested however that neighbouring hundreds had already become more closely associated in the 11th century so that by the end of the 14th century the original or ancient hundreds had been consolidated into 8 larger hundreds.[12]
Cambridgeshire was divided into 17 hundreds, plus the borough of Cambridge. Each hundred had a separate council that met each month to rule on local judicial and taxation matters. In 1929 the hundreds contained the following parishes.[13][14]
From Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-722761-9.
The civil divisions of Derbyshire were anciently called wapentakes. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 are mentioned the wapentakes of Scarvedale, Hamestan, Morlestan, Walecross, and Apultre, and a district called Peche-fers.[16] Divided into hundreds by 1273. From GENUKI Genuki: DERBYSHIRE, England – History and Description, 1868, Derbyshire (based on the 1868 Gazette):
High Peak—Hamestan wapentake and perhaps Peche-fers district in 1086; Peck wapentake by 1273.
Morleston and Litchurch—Called in the Domesday Survey of 1086, Morlestan or Morleystone wapentake and Littlechurch wapentake,[17] and in the Hundred-Roll of 1273, Littlechirch; by 1300 combined as the hundred of Morleston and Litchurch.[18]
Repton and Gresley—In 1274 formed the separate wapentakes of Repindon and Greselegh (owned by the King and the heirs of the Earl of Chester respectively); in 1086 the large Walecross wapentake.
According to essex1841.com Hundreds in the Essex 1841 census the 1841 census also recorded Harwich hundred, which the Victoria County History places within Tendring.
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Hundreds in 1832
The thirty-nine hundreds mentioned in the Domesday Survey and the thirty-one hundreds of the Hundred Rolls of 1274 differ very widely in name and extent both from each other and from the twenty-eight hundreds of the present day. From the National Gazetteer of Britain and IrelandGenuki: Miscellaneous Places, Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire
The Domesday Survey mentions 44 hundreds in Hampshire,[23] recorded as HanteScire and abbreviated as Hante.[24] By the 14th century the number had been reduced to 37. The hundreds of East Medina and West Medina in the Isle of Wight are mentioned in 1316. The Isle of Wight obtained a county council of its own in 1890 and became a full ceremonial county in 1974.
Hampshire has in the past been named Southamptonshire and is so recorded in the Commonwealth Instrument of Government, 1653. The name of the administrative county was changed from 'County of Southampton' to 'County of Hampshire' on 1 April 1959. The short form of the name, often used in postal addresses, is Hants.
The hundreds mentioned in the Domesday Survey and the hundreds of the Hundred Rolls of 1274 differ very widely in name and extent both from each other and from the ten hundreds of the present day. Not included in the hundreds of Herefordshire at the time of Domesday, the sparsely populated Welch area of Archenfield included Ashe Ingen, Baysham and Kings Caple.[26]
The hundreds contained parishes and portions of parishes. In many regions of England as well as Kent, an entire parish would be within one hundred, yet especially along rivers and estuaries which had previously seen invasion, the Kentish hundreds were smaller in area and "shared" parishes to institutionalize resiliency and collective responsibility for defence and justice.
Lathe of Scraye formed by mid-1200s from the half lathe of Milton (which consisted of the hundred of Milton and the Isle of Sheppey) and the Lathe of Wye (which consisted of the Isle of Harty (which is conjoined to the Isle of Sheppey) and many additional hundreds.
Due to a judicial administrative reform in the mid-19th century, the some hundreds of the Lathe of Scray were moved from East Kent administration to West Kent administration:
In 1857 the provisions of the Act of 9 Geo. IV were invoked to re-examine the whole structure of Lathes and their divisions in providing for the administration of justice. The Lower Division of the Lathe of Scray, which formed the southernmost part of the Lathe, became part of West Kent, and consisted of the following Hundreds:
Leicestershire was originally divided into four wapentakes, but these were usually later described as hundreds. From the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica[50] after 1346 the six hundreds were:
In the Domesday Book, West Goscote and East Goscote made up just Goscote and Sparkenhoe did not yet exist. The division which brought East and West Goscote and Sparkenhoe into existence was made in 1346.
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Wapentakes in 1832
Lincolnshire was divided into three Parts, each of which was divided into wapentakes, analogous to hundreds.
In 1086, there were 39 hundreds in the county:[57] Alboldstow, Alwardsley, Barcheston, Beltisloe, Bloxham, Bumbelowe, Cleyley, Coleshill, Collingtree, Corby, Cuttlestone, Fawsley (Foxley), Gravesend (later absorbed into Fawsley Hundred),[58] Guilsborough, Hamfordshoe, Higham, Hunesberi, Huxloe, Kirtlington, Mawsley, Navisford, Navisland, Ness, Nobottle, Offlow, Orlingbury, Polebrook, Rothwell, Spelhoe, Stoke (By the time of the 'Nomina Villarum' a survey carried out in the first half of the 12th century, the Stoke Hundred had been absorbed into the Corby Hundred),[59] Stotfold, Sutton, Towcester, Upton, Warden, Willybrook, Witchley, Wootton and Wymersley.
From the Northamptonshire Family History Society[60] the hundreds in the 1800s are:
Following the Harrying of the North and subsequent incursions from Scotland, the high sheriff of Northumberland was granted extraordinary powers. The county was subdivided into baronies, which were arranged in six wards and subdivided into constabularies.[63] The wards were analogous to hundreds. From the National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland (1868) GENUKI: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) – Northumberland
Wootton – Includes the three hundreds dependent on the royal manor of Wootton in 1086[76] and sometimes called the "three hundreds of Wootton"[77] in the later 12th century: Shipton hundred,[78] (unknown name) hundred and pre-1086 Wootten hundred.[79] The hundred was later divided into two administrative regions:
† — including the Shropshire exclave of Halesowen ‡ The liberties of the borough of Shrewsbury and priory/borough of Wenlock were extensive and are usually considered as hundreds (Wenlock was sometimes described as the "franchise of Wenlock").[85]
The Arundel Rape covered nearly all of what is now West Sussex until about 1250, when it was split into two rapes the Arundel Rape and the Chichester Rape.[88] In 1834 it contained five hundreds sub-divided into fifty six parishes.[89]
The combined Chichester and Arundel Rape covered nearly all of what is now West Sussex until about 1250, when it was split into two rapes the Arundel Rape and the Chichester Rape.[88] In 1834 it contained seven hundreds and seventy-four parishes.[91]
Medieval sources talk of a group of people who were separate to that of the South Saxons they were known as the Haestingas. The area of Sussex they occupied became the Rape of Hastings.[92] It encompassed the easternmost part of Sussex, with the county of Kent to its east and the Rape of Pevensey to its west. The Anglo-Saxon hundred of Hailesaltede[93] was later partitioned into Battle Hundred and Netherfield Hundred. In 1833, the Rape of Hastings had 13 hundreds giving a total of about 154,060 acres.[94]
The Rape of Lewes is bounded by the Rape of Bramber on its west and the Rape of Pevensey on its east. Although it had the same amount of hundreds in 1833 as in the Domesday survey, there had been some cases of manors and parishes been taken from one and added to another hundred, and in other cases the hundreds had been divided and lost.[95]
The ancient hundreds in 1086 at the time of the Domesday survey were:[97] Ash, Came,[98] Celfledetorn, Clent, Cresslow, Cutestornes, Doddingtree, Dudstone, Fernecumbe, Fishborough, Greston, Ossulstone, Oswaldslow, Pershore, Plegelgete, Seisdon, Tewkesbury, Tibblestone, Wolfhay. Some of the parishes within these hundreds, such as Feckenham in Ash Hundred, or Gloucester in Dudstone Hundred, may have partially been in other counties or were transferred between counties in the intervening years.
Over the centuries, some of the hundreds were amalgamated and appear in many useful statistical records. The hundreds that continued their courts until disuse include:
Yorkshire has three Ridings,[104]East, North and West. Each of these was divided into wapentakes, analogous to hundreds.
The Ainsty wapentake, first associated with the West Riding, became associated in the fifteenth century with the City of York, outside the Riding system.
The hundreds of Amounderness and Lonsdale in Lancashire plus part of Westmorland were considered as part of Yorkshire in the Domesday Book.
Pickering Lythe – Formed from the Domesday wapentake of Dic, and additionally by 1284–85 the parish of Sinnington and by (circa 15th–16th century) the parish of Kirkby Misperton, both from the Domesday wapentake of Maneshou.[107]
Ryedale – First mentioned by name in 1165–66, probably when its court was relocated there. Formed from the Domesday wapentake of Maneshou minus Sinnington and Kirkby Misperton parishes, plus the additional parish of Lastingham from the Domesday wapentake of Dic.[107] In the 19th century, Ryedale contained the parishes of Ampleforth; Appleton-Le-Street; Barton-Le-Street; Great Edston; Gilling; Helmsley; Hovingham; Kirkby Moorside; Kirkdale; Lastingham; New Malton, including the parishes of St. Leonard and St. Michael; Old Malton; Normanby; Nunnington; Oswaldkirk; Salton; Scawton; Slingsby; Stonegrave.[107]
The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans, in many cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires created by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Celts and others. They are alternatively known as ancient counties, traditional counties, former counties or simply as counties. In the centuries that followed their establishment, as well as their administrative function, the counties also helped define local culture and identity. This role continued even after the counties ceased to be used for administration after the creation of administrative counties in 1889, which were themselves amended by further local government reforms in the years following.
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, Curonia, the Ukrainian state of the Cossack Hetmanate and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of New South Wales. It is still used in other places, including in Australia.
A lathe formed an administrative country subdivision of the county of Kent, England, from the Anglo-Saxon period, until it fell out of general practical use in the early twentieth century.
A rape is a traditional territorial sub-division of the county of Sussex in England, formerly used for various administrative purposes. Their origin is unknown, but they appear to predate the Norman Conquest. Historically the rapes formed the basis of local government in Sussex.
Alton Pancras is a small village and civil parish in Dorset, England. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 175.
Thirn is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated close to the River Ure, about 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Bedale.
Thorganby is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974, but from 1974 to 2023 was in the Selby District of the shire county of North Yorkshire. In 2023 the district was abolished and North Yorkshire became a unitary authority.
Trotton with Chithurst is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. Trotton is on the A272 road 7 miles (11 km) west of Midhurst. Chithurst is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of Trotton. The parish also contains the hamlet of Dumpford.
Singleton is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies in the Lavant valley, 5 miles (8 km) miles north of Chichester on the A286 road to Midhurst.
North Otterington is a civil parish with no village centre on the east bank of the River Wiske, in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. North Yorkshire County Council estimated its population in 2011 to be 40 and 30 in 2015. Details are also included in the civil parish of Ainderby Steeple. It is on the A167 road 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Northallerton; South Otterington is further south on the same road.
Out Newton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Easington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated just inland from the North Sea coast, approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south-east of Withernsea, and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Patrington.
The Lathe of Scray is an historic division of the county of Kent, England, encompassing the present-day Districts of Swale, Ashford, and the eastern part of Tunbridge Wells The Lathes of Kent were ancient administration divisions originating, probably, in the 6th century, during the Jutish colonisation of the county.
Codsheath was a hundred, a historical land division, in the county of Kent, England. It occupied the eastern part of the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, in the west division of Kent. Codsheath was also recorded as "Codsede" in ancient records. Today the area that was the Codsheath Hundred is part of the Sevenoaks District of Kent that includes the town of Sevenoaks and surrounding area. The Hundred of Codsheath was included in the Domesday Book of 1086, that records it as having 203 houses, 44 in Sundridge and 159 in Otford. The River Darent flowed through the Codsheath Hundred, generally in a northeast direction. Several watermills were constructed on the river within the hundred, in the villages of Sundridge, Otford, Shoreham and Chevening.
Little and Lesnes was a hundred, a historical land division, in the county of Kent, England. It occupied the northern part of the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, within in the west division of Kent. Little and Lesnes was the northernmost hundred in the whole county of Kent. The hundred existed since ancient times, before the Domesday Book of 1086, until it was made obsolete with the creation of new districts at the end of the nineteenth century.
Grumbald's Ash Hundred was a subdivision of the county of Gloucestershire, England. Hundreds originated in the late Saxon period and lasted as administrative divisions until the 19th century. It has been reported that the court was originally held under an Ash tree situated in Doddington parish, although this location would not be consistent with the previous split of hundred. Its name survives in the Grumbolds Ash with Avening electoral ward of Cotswold district council.
Hang East was a Wapentake (Hundred), which is an administrative division, in the historic county of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It was one of the smaller wapentakes by area and consisted of nine parishes and two towns; Bedale and Masham.
Colton is a village and former civil parish, 8 miles (13 km) west of Norwich, now in the parish of Marlingford and Colton, in the South Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 175.
Little Cowarne is a village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, and is 9 miles (14 km) north-east from the city and county town of Hereford. The closest town is the market town of Bromyard, 4 miles (6 km) to the north-east.
The Hundreds of Derbyshire were the geographic divisions of the historic county of Derbyshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were established in Derbyshire some time before the Norman conquest. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 AD the hundreds were called wapentakes. By 1273 the county was divided into 8 hundreds with some later combined, becoming 6 hundreds over the following centuries. The Local Government Act 1894 replaced hundreds with districts. Derbyshire is now divided into 8 administrative boroughs within the Derbyshire County Council area.
↑ "Alvredesberge Hundred was broken up after 1086 and contributed Cranborne, Boveridge, Edmondsham and Pentridge to the later Cranborne Hundred; Brockington to Knowlton Hundred and Wimborne St Giles (see Book of Fees, p. 92; and 10,3 Wimborne note) to the later Wimborne Hundred", quoted from: [dead link]
↑ 'The hundred of Pershore: Introduction', in A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 4, ed. William Page and J W Willis-Bund (London, 1924), pp. 1–3. British History Online (accessed 22 October 2020).
↑ Room, Adrian (1986). A Dictionary of True Etymologies. London: Routledge. pp.148–149. ISBN0-415-03060-9. - Riding is taken from the Old Norsethrithjung meaning thirdings one third of an equally important area.
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