The Hundred of Williton and Freemanners (also written as Freemanors) is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, dating from before the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

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 Frankpledge was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected in tithings. This unit, under ...

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 Hundred of Williton and Freemanners consisted of

Watchet Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of ...

the ancient parishes of: Bicknoller,

Brompton Ralph Brompton Ralph is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, about west of Taunton, and north of Wiveliscombe. It is in a wooded district at the eastern extremity of the Brendon Hills. According ...

Brompton Regis Brompton Regis (formerly known as Kingsbrompton) is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England about north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Pulham in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoo ...

, Brushford, Chipstable, Clatworthy,

Old Cleeve Old Cleeve (https://www.oldcleeveparishcouncil.org/) is a village south east of Minehead in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, and also a civil parish. The civil parish of Old Cleeve covers an area of and includes t ...

Crowcombe Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, southeast of Watchet, and from Taunton. The village has a population of 489. The parish covers the hamlets of Crowcombe Heathfield, Flaxpool, Halsway, Law ...

, St Decuman, Dodington,

Dulverton Dulverton is a small town and civil parish in west Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town had a population of 1,408 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately ...

Elworthy Elworthy is a small village and civil parish in the Brendon Hills south-east of Watchet, and west of Taunton, in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Willett. History On the Brendon H ...

, Exmoor Forest, Exton, Halse, Hawkridge,

Huish Champflower Huish Champflower is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, three miles north-west of Wiveliscombe and ten miles north of Wellington, Somerset, Wellington. It has a population of 301 (Census 2011). History The name comes from the ''hiw ...

, Kilton,

Kilve Kilve is a village in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957. It lies on the A39 almost exactly equidistant from Brid ...

, Lilstock, Monksilver, Nettlecombe,

East Quantoxhead East Quantoxhead is a village in the district of Somerset West and Taunton, from West Quantoxhead, east of Williton, and west of Bridgwater, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England. History Above the ...

West Quantoxhead West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from Wil ...

, Raddington,

Sampford Brett Sampford Brett is a village and civil parish situated at the south-western edge of the Quantock Hills, Somerset, England, less than south of Williton, just off the A358 road to Taunton. Geography It lies in a shallow valley cut by the Sampford ...

, Skilgate, Stogumber,

Nether Stowey Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills (England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey ...

, Upton,

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

, and Withypoole. It covered an area of . At the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

Williton and Dulverton were separate Hundreds. These were brought together with Winsford and Old Cleeve. 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 district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s, and

highway district {{short description, Type of district in England and Wales Highway Districts were areas in England and Wales united for the maintenance and repair of highways. They were first formed in 1862 and consisted of groupings of civil parishes in rural ar ...

s 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 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

References

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