The Hundred of Willey is a historical land division, a

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

in the northwest corner of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Its northwestern boundary is the county border with

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and its southwestern boundary the border with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Some of its parishes and settlements lay on the River Great Ouse which flows through the hundred. The hundred of Willey was formed after King

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...

subdued the Vikings of Bedford in 915 and constructed two

burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

s on each side of the River Ouse in Bedford. Willey, Barford, Stodden and the half-hundreds of Buckelow and Bedford were created to support the north Bedford burh. Willey consisted of 105 hides, which were situated in the following vills:

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

Chellington Chellington is a village in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, situated approximately north-west of Bedford town centre. Chellington was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey The Hundred of W ...

Farndish Farndish is a rural hamlet in northwest Bedfordshire, located about 500 metres (yards) east of the county border with Northamptonshire. The village is near the Northamptonshire villages of Irchester and Wollaston and the Bedfordshire village of ...

Felmersham Felmersham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, on the River Great Ouse, about north west of Bedford. As a civil parish, it includes the hamlet of Radwell, and is sometimes known as Felmersham ...

with Radwell, Harrold, Odell,

Podington Podington is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The village is within the electoral ward of Harrold in the Borough of Bedford. Podington lies around northwest of Bedford and is about east of the county border ...

with

Hinwick Hinwick ( ) is a hamlet (place), hamlet in northwest Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom; it is around nine miles north west of Bedford and is about east of the county border with Northamptonshire which is also the Postal counties of the Unit ...

Sharnbrook Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in Saxon ti ...

Thurleigh Thurleigh is a village and civil parish in north Bedfordshire, England. History Excavations have shown evidence the locality was occupied in the Iron-Age, Roman and Saxon periods. In Domesday of 1086 the Middle English orthography as to bot ...

, Turvey, and

Wymington Wymington is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Bedford in northern Bedfordshire, England. It is located around a mile and a half south of Rushden, in the neighbouring county of Northamptonshire, and about 10 miles north-northwes ...

. The name of the hundred is derived from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

wēoh ‘an idol, a shrine’ and lēah ‘clearing, clearing in a wood’, denoting a clearing or grove with a pre-Christian shrine or temple. The areas of these hundreds were intermingled - so Thurleigh was separated from the rest of the hundred by Bletsoe in the Buckelow half-hundred and Milton, Clapham and Milton Earnest (three vills within Stodden hundred) were separated from the rest of their hundred by Thurleigh and Bletsoe. This is taken as supporting the formation of these hundreds together as a unit of support for the same burh. It appears that the hundred of Willey and half-hundred of Buckelow were administered together, with ''Hugh de Willey'' recorded as the ''keeper of the bailiwick of Wilie and half bailiwick of Bukkelowe.'' At his death in 1278 his son Roger succeeded him; making the title appear hereditary. In the 17th century, the half-hundred of Buckelowe, comprising the vills of Biddenham,

Bletsoe Bletsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the A6, and about eight miles north of Bedford. The village has a small park, the former site of Bletsoe Castle and a church. Nearby places are Sharnbrook, Milton Ernest, ...

, Bromham,

Pavenham Pavenham is a small village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about north-west of Bedford. Village amenities consist of St Peter's Church, a pub, Village hall, tennis Club, Cricket Clu ...

, Stagsden, and Stevington, was formally merged with the hundred of Willey. Other parish combinations have included the parishes of

and

merging in 1934, and

being absorbed into

with Hinwick parish. Although there are many small settlements the majority of land in the hundred remains rural and is still used for farming. There is a railway line running close to the northeast border, however some stations on this line are now closed such as

closed in 1960. Today the area of the Hundred of Willey is within the

Borough of Bedford The Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based in Bedford, its namesake and principal settlement, which is the county town of Bedfordshire. The bor ...

Parishes

The hundred contained the following parishes: Biddenham,

, Bromham,

, Harrold, Odell,

Souldrop Souldrop is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Knotting and Souldrop, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, located near the border with Northamptonshire. Nearby places are, Sharnbrook, ...

, Stagsden, Stevington,

, Turvey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willey Hundreds of Bedfordshire

Parishes

See also

References