Hundred of Abdick and Bulstone

Adbick and Bulstone
A map showing the hundred of Adbick and Bulstone dating from the 1850s.


Area
38,575 acres (15,611 ha)
Population
 • 1851 12,047
History
Status Hundred
Subdivisions
 • Type Parishes
 • Units Ashill, Beer Crocome, Bickenhall, Broadway, Buckland Street, Curland, Curry Mallet, Curry Rivel, Donyatt, Drayton, Earnshill, Fivehead, Ilminster, Puckington, South Bradon, Swell and Whitelackington

The Hundred of Abdick and Bulstone 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]

The Hundred of Abdick and Bulstone contained the parishes of Ashill, Beer Crocome, Bickenhall, Broadway, Buckland Street, Curland, Curry Mallet, Curry Rivel, Donyatt, Drayton, Earnshill, Fivehead, Ilminster, Puckington, South Bradon, Swell and Whitelackington.[4] The Hundred contained 38,575 acres (15,611 ha), had a population of 12,047 according to the 1851 census, and housed at least 2,498 houses.[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 2010-01-31.
  2. ↑ "The Shire and the Hundred". Somerset County Council. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "Summary". Institute of Archaeology. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "ABDICK AND BULSTONE Hundred Through Time". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Abdick and Bulstone in South Somerset". A Vision Britain Through Time. Retrieved 9 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, published 06-06-08, accessed 2011-10-12
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