Hundred of Huntspill and Puriton

The Hundred of Huntspill and Puriton is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England,[1] 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.[2] They also formed a unit for the collection of taxes.[3] 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.[4]

Huntspill and Puriton
Area
6,800 acres (2,800 ha)
StatusHundred
Subdivisions
 • TypeParishes
 • UnitsHuntspill and Puriton

The hundred of Huntspill and Puriton consisted of the ancient parishes of Huntspill and Puriton, and covered about 6,800 acres (2,800 ha).[5] At some point Huntspill and Puriton were separate with Huntspill first being called a hundred in 1084.[6]

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[7] and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894.[8]

References
  1. "Administrative unit Huntspill and Puriton Hundred". A vision of Britain through time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. "Administrative Units Typology | Status definition: Hundred". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  3. "The Shire and the Hundred". Somerset County Council. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  4. "Summary". Institute of Archaeology. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  5. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  6. Dunning, Robert. "Introduction: Huntspill and Puriton Hundred'". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 8: The Poldens and the Levels (2004), pp. 8-9. British History Online. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  7. County Courts Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 142) s.28
  8. "Mapping the Hundreds of England and Wales in GIS". University of Cambridge Department of Geography. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
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