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The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England, were the geographic divisions of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...
for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time 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 Conq ...
. Later on, both the number and names of the hundreds changed by processes of land being lost from Cheshire, and merging or amalgamation of remaining hundreds. The
Ancient parishes of Cheshire The ancient parishes of Cheshire refers to the group of parishes that existed in the English county of Cheshire, roughly within the period of 1200–1800.Dunn, F. I. (1987). page 5. Initially, the ancient parishes had only an ecclesiastical functi ...
were usually wholly within a specific hundred, although a few were divided between two hundreds.


The hundreds at the time of the Domesday Survey

Cheshire, in 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 manusc ...
was recorded as a larger county than it is today. There is a small disagreement in published sources about where the northern boundary of Cheshire lay, and some parts of the border areas with
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
were disputed with the predecessors of Wales. One source states that the northern border was the
River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea ...
, resulting in large parts of what was to become
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
being at that time part of Cheshire. This area is included as "Inter Ripam et Mersam" in the Domesday Book. However, more recent sources confirm that the actual boundary at that time was the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...
. The ancient parish of Whitchurch in Hodnet Hundred appears in both Cheshire and Shropshire rolls of the Domesday Survey.


Twelve hundreds

The land south of the River Mersey was made up of twelve
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 des ...
s: Atiscross, Bochelau, Chester, Dudestan, Exestan, Hamestan, Middlewich, Riseton, Roelau, Tunendune, Warmundestrou and Wilaveston, with the hundreds of Atiscross and Exestan being disputed with the
Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Based in northwest Wales, ...
. (There are slight variations between various sources in the spellings of these names.) The hundreds in between the Mersey and the Ribble (''Inter Ripam et Mersam'') were:
West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West ...
("Derbei"), Newton ("Neweton"), Warrington ("Walingtune"),
Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
("Blacheburn") and Leyland ("Lailand"). This uncertain nature of the northern border lasted until 1182, when the land north of the Mersey became administered as part of the new county of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
. Later, the hundreds of Atiscross and Exestan became firmly part of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, as did part of the Dudestan hundred.


Emergence of the later hundreds

Over the years the remaining ten hundreds consolidated to just seven with changed names: Broxton, Bucklow, Eddisbury,
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...
,
Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
,
Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...
and Wirral. The date at which this process happened is not clear: These newer names are reported to be all in use by 1259 to 1260. The same source reports research that has found Macclesfield Hundred to be named in 1242 and Eddisbury Hundred by the late 12th century. Chester lost its hundred status, but was subsequently given the status of "county of itself" and was known as the City and County of Chester.


Broxton

This hundred was mainly formed from the old Dudestan hundred. The southern part of Dudestan was transferred to
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
where it was known as
Maelor Saesneg English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being part ...
, and (later still) "
Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
Detached" (see Ancient county of Flintshire.) Broxton hundred from time to time contained all or part of the following parishes:WeRelate: Broxton Hundred, Cheshire.
Accessed 23 July 2022.
*Aldford *Backford *Bunbury (until 1866 – to Eddisbury hundred)WeRelate: Bunbury, Cheshire.
Accessed 23 July 2022.
*Chester St. Mary on the Hill *Chester St. Oswald *Christleton *Coddington *Dodleston *Eccleston *Farndon *Guilden Sutton *Handley *Harthill *Malpas *Plemstall *Pulford *Shocklach *Tarvin *Tattenhall *Tilston *Waverton


Bucklow

Bucklow was known to have been in existence at least as early as 1260. It was formed from the earlier Domesday hundreds of Bochelau and Tunendune.


Eddisbury

Eddisbury included the
ancient parishes Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
of:Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72). * Barrow *Bunbury (from Broxton hundred after 1866) *Chester St. Oswald * Delamere *Frodsham *Great Budworth * Ince *Little Budworth *Middlewich *Over *Plemstall *Tarporley *Tarvin *Thornton le Moors *Weaverham cum Milton *Whitegate


Macclesfield

Macclesfield was known to have been in existence at least as early as 1242. It was formed to a great extent from the earlier Domesday hundred of Hamestan.


Wirral

Wirral was formed from the earlier Domesday hundred of Wilaveston.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hundreds Of Cheshire
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...