Axstane Hundred

Axstane was a hundred in the county of Kent, England.[1] The Hundred of Axstane lay south-east of Dartford and Wilmington Hundred. It is called Achestan in Domesday Book,[2] but by the reign of Edward I it was called Axstane.

Axstane
Former subdivision of England
Map showing the parishes of the hundred of Axstane
Area
 • Coordinates51.395480°N 0.326980°E / 51.395480; 0.326980
History
 • OriginAnglo-Saxon period
 • Created10th century
 • Abolished1894
 • Succeeded byDartford Rural District
Statusobsolete
GovernmentHundred
Subdivisions
 • TypeParishes (see text)
 • UnitsParishes

Its name has been interpreted as referring to an oak bearing stony land, or alternatively a reference to the personal name Acca.[3]

In the time of Edward I, the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury were then its lords paramount. In the 20th year of the reign of Edward III (1347, just before the Black Death) this hundred answered for a total of 14.725 knights' fees.

Alternative spellings: Achestan (as above), Axston, Axstone, Axtane, Axton[4]

The hundred included the parishes of

The Hundred of Dartford and Wilmington did not exist at the time of the Norman Conquest, and the parishes of Dartford and Wilmington were accounted as part of Axstane in Domesday Book.[5]

The importance of the hundred courts declined from the 17th century, and most of their powers were extinguished with the establishment of county courts in 1867. In 1894 the Hundred was succeeded by Dartford Rural District, which was then created out of the same parishes, with the addition of Wilmington and Crayford.[6]

Dartford Poor Law Union

Dartford Poor Law Union was formed on 19 May 1836, covering roughly the same area as the Hundred of Axstane. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 24 in number, representing the following 21 constituent parishes (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one): Ash, Bexley (2), Crayford (2), Darenth, Dartford (2), Eynsford, Erith, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Kingsdown, Longfield, Lullingstone, Ridley, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, Swanscombe, East Wickham, Wilmington.

The area was 34,139 acres (138 km2). Population in 1851: 9,869; Houses: 1,852.[4]

The population by parish was as follows:[7]

ParishArea
(acres)		Pop.
1851		Pop.
1891		Comments [8]
Ash 3,074 702 619 Merged into Ash-cum-Ridley 1 April 1955 [9]
Darenth 2,223 654 2801
Eynsford 3,544 1,323 1,841
Farningham 2,739 701 879
Fawkham 1,198 249 232
Hartley 1,211 227 272
Horton Kirby 2,841 747 1,551
Kingsdown 2,813 423 412 Renamed West Kingsdown 1 August 1948
Longfield 605 162 498
Lullingstone 1557 51 64 Abolished 1 April 1955.[10]
Ridley 834 91 86 Abolished 1 April 1955[11]
Southfleet 2,409 657 968
Stone 3,009 829 3,773
Sutton at Hone 3,625 1,290 3,847 Swanley parish created 1 April 1955[12]
Swanscombe 2,141 1,763 6,577
TOTAL 33,823 9,869 24,420

The Hundred of Axstane belonged to the Lathe of Sutton at Hone.

Notes
  1. "Axstane Hundred". Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  2. The Domesday Book: Kent (Publisher: Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1 Nov 1983)The original text and translation
  3. Dartford Country - The Story Of The Hundred Of Axstane by Geoff Porteus, 1985,ISBN 9780860232032 (page 13)
  4. Hundred of Axton in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales,1870-72
  5. See The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1, author:Edward Hasted, publ. 1797
  6. Dartford RD Kent through time | Local history overview for the Local Government District, Visionofbritain.org.uk.
  7. Victoria County History of Kent Vol 3, p. 367, publ.1932, ed William Page, ISBN 9780712906081
  8. See Dartford Registration District
  9. Incorporated in the parish of Ash cum Ridley and, to a minor extent, West Kingsdown
  10. Became part of the parish of Eynsford
  11. Became part of the parish of Ash cum Ridley
  12. Out of the parish of Sutton at Hone and minor parts of other parishes
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