The Hundred of Catsash is one of the 40 historical Hundreds

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

Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

 of Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England, dating from before the Norman conquest

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 during the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

 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

Frankpledge, earlier known as frith-borh , was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected through kinship, or some other kind of tie such as an oath of fealty to a...

 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 Blachethorna described in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 roughly equates to the later Hundred of Catsash.

The Catsash hundred covered an area of approximately 25300 acres (10,238.6 ha). It consisted of the ancient parishes of: Alford

Alford, Somerset

Alford is a village and parish on the River Alham, in Somerset, England, situated south of Shepton Mallet and two miles west of Castle Cary in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 63. It lies on the River Cary.-History:...

, Almsford, Babcary

Babcary

Babcary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated east of Somerton and south west of Castle Cary in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 239. It lies close to the River Cary and the A37.-History:...

, North Barrow

North Barrow

North Barrow is a village and civil parish to the north-east of Ilchester in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England.-History:The parish was part of the hundred of Catsash.-Governance:...

, South Barrow

South Barrow

South Barrow is a village and civil parish approximately north of Sparkford and north-east of Ilchester in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England.-History:...

, St. David Barton

Barton St David

Barton St David is a village and civil parish on the River Brue adjacent to Keinton Mandeville in Somerset, England. It is situated south-east of Glastonbury and north-east of Somerton in the South Somerset district...

, North Cadbury

North Cadbury

North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...

, South Cadbury

South Cadbury

South Cadbury is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset council area of the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the village of Sutton Montis...

, Castle Cary

Castle Cary

Castle Cary is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet.The town is situated on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.-History:...

, Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot is a village in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 130. The civil parish of Blackford and Compton Pauncefoot joins the village with Blackford and therefore population is...

, Keinton Mansfield

Keinton Mandeville

Keinton Mandeville is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Castle Cary in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 991...

, Kingweston

Kingweston

Kingweston is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 128.-History:The village's name was Chinwardestune in the Domesday Book of 1086...

, Lovington

Lovington, Somerset

Lovington is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Castle Cary, between the River Brue and River Cary, in the South Somerset district...

, West Lydford

Lydford-on-Fosse

Lydford-on-Fosse is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of East Lydford.-History:...

, Maperton

Maperton

Maperton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 150. However this number includes Elliscombe House care home which alone has an average of 40 residents.-History:The name of the village...

, Queen Camel

Queen Camel

Queen Camel is a village and civil parish, on the River Cam and the A359 road, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is about north of Yeovil. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 926. The parish includes the hamlet of Wales...

, Sparkford

Sparkford

Sparkford is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde....

, Sutton Montis, and Weston Bampfield.

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 union

Poor Law Union

A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...

s, sanitary district

Sanitary district

Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 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...

s, and highway district

Highway district

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 areas...

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

County Court

A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...

s in 1867 and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894

Local Government Act 1894

The Local Government Act 1894 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 under the Local Government Act 1888...

.