Burnham Hundred is a hundred

Hundred (division)

A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...

 in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated towards the south of the county and is bounded on the north by Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 and on the south by Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

History

Until at least the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 there were 18 hundreds in Buckinghamshire. It has been suggested however that neighbouring hundreds had already become more closely associated in the 11th century so that by the end of the 14th century the original or ancient hundreds had been consolidated into 8 larger hundreds. Burnham hundred is one of three hundreds which became collectively known as the Chiltern hundreds

Chiltern Hundreds

Appointment to the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham is a sinecure appointment which is used as a device allowing a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament to resign his or her seat...

 around the 13th century, the others being Desborough hundred

Desborough (hundred)

Desborough Hundred is a hundred in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county and is bounded on the west by Oxfordshire and on the south the River Thames marked the boundary with Berkshire.-History:...

 and Stoke hundred

Stoke (hundred)

Stoke Hundred is a hundred in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county and is bounded on the east by Middlesex and on the south by Berkshire.-History:...

. Even before this time these individual hundreds had become possessions of the Crown and were nominally stewarded as a royal bailiwick

Bailiwick

A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...

. The hundreds lost their collective 'Chilterns' title having become separately leased though retainng their individual administrative status as Buckinghamshire hundreds. Meanwhile the role of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds persisted in name only becoming an appointment of the House of Commons.

Parishes and hamlets

Burnham hundred comprised the following ancient parishes and hamlets, (formerly medieval vill

Vill

Vill is a term used in English history to describe a land unit which might otherwise be described as a parish, manor or tithing.The term is used in the period immediately after the Norman conquest and into the late medieval. Land units in Domesday are frequently referred to as vills, although the...

s):
 
 

Amersham Amersham Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....	Beaconsfield Beaconsfield Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...	Burnham Burnham, Buckinghamshire Burnham is a village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in the South Bucks District of Buckinghamshire, and sits on the border with Berkshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough. It is served by Burnham railway station in the west of Slough on the main line between London...  (with Lower Boveney Boveney Boveney is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, near Windsor.The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin and means 'above island'. This refers to the island that sits in the River Thames next to the village... )
Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge of the Chilterns, 25 miles from London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham....	Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe and Rickmansworth. Chalfont St Peter is...	Chenies Chenies Chenies is a village in the very eastern part of south Buckinghamshire, England, near the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated to the east of Chesham and the Chalfonts. Chenies is also a civil parish within Chiltern district....
Chesham Chesham Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...	Chesham Bois Chesham Bois Chesham Bois is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, adjacent to both Amersham and Chesham.-History:...	Dorney Dorney Dorney is a village and civil parish within South Bucks district in the English county of Buckinghamshire, near Slough and about two and a half miles west of Eton.The village name is Old English and means "island frequented by bumble bees"...
Farnham Royal Farnham Royal Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the south of the county, around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London....	Hedgerley Dean Hedgerley Hedgerley is a village and civil parish in South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. The parish is west of Gerrards Cross and south-east of Beaconsfield...	Hitcham Hitcham, Buckinghamshire Hitcham was a village in Buckinghamshire, England. Today it is indistinguishable from the extended village of Burnham and is no longer marked on Ordnance Survey 1:50000 maps as a separate settlement. It is to the west of Burnham, adjacent to the common on which Burnham Beeches stands.The village...
Penn Penn, Buckinghamshire Penn is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of Beaconsfield and east of High Wycombe...	Seer Green Seer Green Seer Green is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about a mile east of Beaconsfield and a mile south-west of Chalfont St Giles.-History:...	Taplow Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish within South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the east bank of the River Thames facing Maidenhead on the opposite bank. Taplow railway station is situated near the A4 south of the village....