Place:North Petherton Hundred, Somerset, England

Watchers


NameNorth Petherton Hundred
TypeHundred
Located inSomerset, England

North Petherton Hundred included Bridgwater and a number of parishes mostly to the east and the south of the town. It comprises, exclusive of Bridgwater, an area of 23,150 acres (9,370 hectares or 36.17 sq mi). Some parishes were also considered to be in Andersfield Hundred.

The hundred was one of the 40 historical hundreds in the ancient 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. They also formed a unit for the collection of taxes. 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.

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 and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894.

A sketchmap from the Victoria History of the Counties of EnglandHistory of the County of Somerset, produced by The Institute of Historical Research illustrates the immediate area. This is the introduction to their review of the area parish by parish. Wikipedia also has a long article on the hundred.

The map included is based on one of a series of maps in Wikimedia Commons. These maps are in the public domain and originally drawn by "Hogweard". A map of the hundreds of Somerset dated 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time gives the locations of all the hundreds in one map. It will expand for visibility, but it unfortunately cannot be copied to WeRelate.

Image:North Petherton hundred PJ.png

List of Parishes

ParishDescriptionLocation at 1900
Bawdrip ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Bridgwater ancient parish, civil parish municipal borough
Chedzoy ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Chilton Common extraparochial, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Chilton Trinity ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Durston ancient parish, civil parish Taunton Rural District
North Petherton ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Pawlett ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
St. Michaelchurch chapelry, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Thurloxton ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District
Wembdon ancient parish, civil parish Bridgwater Rural District

Research Tips

  • The Somerset Heritage Centre (incorporating what was formerly the Somerset Record Office and the Somerset Local Studies Library) can be found at its new location at Langford Mead in Taunton. It has an online search facility leading to pages of interest, including maps from the First and Second Ordnance Survey (select "Maps and Postcards" from the list at the left, then enter the parish in the search box).
    The Heritage Centre has an email address: archives@somerset.gov.uk.
  • Three maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrate the changes in political boundaries over the period 1830-1945. All have expanding scales and on the second and third this facility is sufficient that individual parishes can be inspected.
  • Somerset Hundreds as drawn in 1832. This map was prepared before The Great Reform Act of that year. Note the polling places and representation of the various parts of the county.
  • Somerset in 1900, an Ordnance Survey map showing rural districts, the boundaries of the larger towns, the smaller civil parishes of the time, and some hamlets and villages in each parish
  • Somerset in 1943, an Ordnance Survey map showing the rural districts after the changes to their structure in the 1930s