The Hundred of South Petherton 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 South Petherton was based on the area covered by the Royal Estate of

South Petherton South Petherton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,367 in 2011 and includes the smaller village of Over Stra ...

which had existed before 1066. In the 13th century it included

Shepton Beauchamp Shepton Beauchamp is a village and civil parish, from Barrington and north east of Ilminster between the Blackdown Hills and the Somerset Levels in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. History The first part of the name of the vil ...

Lopen Lopen is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, situated west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 260 people. History The name of the village means ''Lufa's pen or fold''. A Roman mosaic, probably ...

Whitestaunton Whitestaunton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Northay. It was known simply as Staunton until the 14th century. History The univallate Iron Age hill fort at Horse ...

, Cudworth, Dowlish Wake, Westcombland in

Buckland St Mary Buckland St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated to the west of Ilminster and south of Taunton in the South Somerset district, close to the A303. The village has a population of 521. The parish is within the Blackdown Hi ...

, and probably Hurcott in Seavington St Mary. Later it also included the ancient parishes of: Barrington,

Chaffcombe Chaffcombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Chard in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 229. History The name of the village probably comes from a Saxon settler and means "' ...

, Chillington,

Cricket St Thomas Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district. The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...

, Dinnington, St Giles Knowle, Niden and

Seavington St Michael Seavington St Michael is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated next to the village of Seavington St Mary, about east of Ilminster, within the South Somerset district. It lies in a hollow within a larger area of low-lyin ...

. It covered an area of . 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

{{Hundreds of Somerset