Hundred of Stone

The Hundred of Stone is one of the 40 historical hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England,[1] dating from sometime before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era. Each hundred had a fyrd as its local defence force, and a court responsible for the maintenance of the frankpledge system.[2] They also formed a unit for the collection of taxes.[3] The hundred court's role was described in the Dooms (laws) of King Edgar. The name of the hundred was normally that of its meeting-place.[4]

Stone Hundred
Area
10,720 acres (4,340 ha)
History
StatusHundred
Subdivisions
 • TypeParishes
 • UnitsAshington, Brympton, Chilthorne Domer, Limington, Lufton, Mudford, Preston Plucknett, and Yeovil

The Hundred of Stone consisted of the ancient parishes of Ashington, Brympton, Chilthorne Domer, Limington, Lufton, Mudford, Preston Plucknett and Yeovil. It covered an area of 10,720 acres (4,340 ha).[5]

The importance of the hundred courts declined from the seventeenth century on. By the 19th century, several different single-purpose subdivisions of counties, such as poor law unions, sanitary districts, and highway districts appeared, 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. "Stone Hundred". A vision of Britain through time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  2. "Administrative Units Typology | Status definition: Hundred". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. "The Shire and the Hundred". Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. 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 21 October 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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