Desborough 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 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 in the south of the county and is bounded on the west by Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

 and on the south the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 marked the boundary with 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. Desborough 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 Burnham hundred

Burnham (hundred)

Burnham Hundred is a hundred in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated towards the south of the county and is bounded on the north by Hertfordshire and on the south by 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 retaining 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

Desborough 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):

 
 

Bradenham Bradenham, Buckinghamshire Bradenham is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is near Saunderton, off the main A4010 road between Princes Risborough and High Wycombe.- Village :...	Ibstone Ibstone Ibstone is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills on the border with Oxfordshire, about two miles south of Stokenchurch.... (part of)	†Stokenchurch Stokenchurch Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and west of High Wycombe. The village is a popular place to live, due to its rural location and ease of access to London and Birmingham...
Fawley Fawley, Buckinghamshire Fawley is a village and civil parish in Wycombe district in the south-western corner of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the boundary between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, about seven miles west of Great Marlow and north of Henley-on-Thames....	Great Marlow Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckinghamshire located north of the town of Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the hamlets of Bovingdon Green, Burroughs Grove, Chisbridge Cross and Marlow Common, and Danesfield Base, a housing...	Turville Turville Turville is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about five miles west of High Wycombe and five miles north of Henley-on-Thames....
Fingest Fingest Fingest is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills near the border with Oxfordshire, about six miles WSW of High Wycombe. It lies in the civil parish of Hambleden....	Little Marlow Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England.It is on the north bank of the River Thames, about a mile east of Marlow. The toponym "Marlow" is derived from the Old English for "land remaining after the draining of a pool"...	Wooburn Wooburn Wooburn is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located off the A4094 road between Wooburn Green and Bourne End in the very south of the county near the River Thames, about two miles south west of Beaconsfield and four miles east of Marlow...
Hambleden Hambleden Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about four miles west of Marlow, and about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire....	Medmenham Medmenham Medmenham is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about three and a half miles southwest of Marlow and three miles east of Henley-on-Thames....	Chepping Wycombe Chepping Wycombe Chepping Wycombe is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. The parish includes the three large villages of Tylers Green, Loudwater and Flackwell Heath...  (later High Wycombe)
Hedsor Hedsor Hedsor is a small village and civil parish in Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, in the very south of the county, near the River Thames and Bourne End....	Radnage Radnage Radnage is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills about two miles north east of Stokenchurch and six miles WNW of High Wycombe....	West Wycombe West Wycombe West Wycombe is a small village situated along the A40 road, due three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of tourists - being the site of West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe Caves and the...
Hughenden Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley is an extensive village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, just to the north of High Wycombe...	Saunderton Saunderton Saunderton is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in a valley of the Chiltern Hills, about three and a half miles north west of High Wycombe, four miles south of Princes Risborough. It lies on the main A4010 road, and has a station on the Chiltern Main Line between the two...

† Stokenchurch was originally in Oxfordshire and transferred to Buckinghamshire in the latter part of the 19th century after the hundred was superseded.