Hundred of Bempstone

The Hundred of Bempstone 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]

Bempstone

Map of Bempstone Hundred
Area
24,000 acres (9,700 ha)
Population
 • 18618,383
History
StatusHundred
Subdivisions
 • TypeParishes
 • UnitsBiddisham, Brean, Burnham, Chapel Allerton, Mark, Weare and Wedmore

The hundred of Bempstone contained the parishes of Biddisham, Brean, Burnham, Chapel Allerton, Mark, Weare and Wedmore.[4] The hundred covered an area of below 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) and contained approximately 1,299 houses according to the 1831 census.[5]

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

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. "Bempstone Hundred". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  5. "Bempstone hundred Population". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  6. County Courts Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 142) s.28
  7. "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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