The Hundred of Keynsham is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

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 Conque ...

during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

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 Keynsham consisted of the ancient parishes of:

Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...

, Burnett,

Chelwood Chelwood is a small village within the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Compton Dando in Somerset, England, and is in the affluent Chew Valley in the Bath and North East Somerset council area, about from Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

Compton Dando Compton Dando is a small village and civil parish on the River Chew in the affluent Chew Valley in England. It is in the Bath and North East Somerset council area and ceremonial county of Somerset, and lies from Bristol, from Bath, and from ...

Farmborough Farmborough is a small village and civil parish, south west of Bath in Somerset, England. It straddles both the A39 and A368 roads. The parish has a population of 1,035. History The Farmborough Hoard of Iron Age coins was found in the ...

Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...

Marksbury Marksbury is a small village and civil parish on the eastern edge of the affluent Chew Valley in Somerset, about from Keynsham and from Bath on the A39 where it meets the A368. The parish, which includes the villages of Hunstrete and Stant ...

Nempnett Thrubwell Nempnett Thrubwell is a small village and civil parish in dairying country on the western edge of Bath and North East Somerset, in the county of Somerset, England. It is about 15 km south-west of Bristol. The parish, which has a population ...

Pensford Pensford is the largest village in the civil parish of Publow in Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley, approximately south of Bristol, west of Bath and north of Wells. It is on the A37 road from Bristol to Shepton Mallet. Pensford ...

Priston Priston is a civil parish and village south west of Bath in Bath and North East Somerset, which is within the English ceremonial county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Wilmington. History A walled field boundary, which marks ...

Publow Publow is a small village and civil parish in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It lies beside the River Chew in the Chew Valley. It is 7 miles from Bristol, 9 miles from Bath, and 4 miles from Keynsham. The principal settlement in the pa ...

Queen Charlton Queen Charlton is a small village within the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Compton Dando, within the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset in Somerset, England. The nearest town is Keynsham, which lies approximately north ...

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 116 ...

, Stanton Drew,

Stanton Prior Stanton Prior is a small village within the civil parish of Marksbury, set in Duchy of Cornwall countryside between Newton St Loe and Marksbury, west from the UK city of Bath, Somerset. Stanton Prior derives its name from the Old English 'S ...

, and Whitchurch. It covered an area of . The manor and Hundred was conferred on the Canons of

Keynsham Abbey Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 153 ...

. 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 area ...

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 court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

s in 1867 and the introduction of

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

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

Further reading