The Hundred of Williton and Freemanners (also written as Freemanors) 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 Williton and Freemanners consisted of Watchet

Watchet

Watchet is a harbour town and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish...

 the ancient parishes of: Bicknoller

Bicknoller

Bicknoller is a village and civil parish on the western slopes of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset.Administratively, the civil parish falls within the West Somerset local government district within the Somerset shire county, with administrative tasks shared between county,...

, Brompton Ralph

Brompton Ralph

Brompton Ralph is a village and civil parish in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England, about west of Taunton, and north of Wiveliscombe. It is in a wooded district at the eastern extremity of the Brendon Hills...

, Brompton Regis

Brompton Regis

Brompton Regis is a village and civil parish in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England about north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Haddeo in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park, close to Wimbleball Lake, a water supply reservoir constructed in the 1970s and...

, Brushford

Brushford, Somerset

Brushford is a village and civil parish south of Dulverton and north of Tiverton in Devon, in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 535 in 243 households...

, Chipstable

Chipstable

Chipstable is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside Heydon Hill west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The parish has a population of 253.The parish includes Raddington and Waterrow.-History:...

, Clatworthy

Clatworthy

Clatworthy is a village and civil parish in the West Somerset District of Somerset, England. It is situated from Wellington and four miles from Wiveliscombe on the southern slopes of the Brendon Hills and close to the Exmoor National Park....

, Old Cleeve

Old Cleeve

Old Cleeve is a village and civil parish south east of Minehead in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The civil parish of Old Cleeve covers an area of and includes the villages of Blue Anchor, Roadwater and Washford as well as hamlets such as Bilbrook, Chapel Cleeve, Golsoncott and...

, Crowcombe

Crowcombe

Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, south east of Watchet, and from Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, St Decuman, Dodington, Dulverton

Dulverton

Dulverton is a town and civil parish in the heart of West Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town has a population of 1,630. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately north west of Dulverton...

, Elworthy

Elworthy

Elworthy is a small village and civil parish in the Brendon Hills south-east of Watchet, and west of Taunton, in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England...

, Exmoor Forest, Exton

Exton, Somerset

Exton is a village and civil parish north-east of Dulverton and south-west of Dunster in Somerset, England. It lies on the River Exe on Exmoor...

, Halse

Halse, Somerset

Halse is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 271.-History:The name of the village derives from the Old English heals meaning a neck of land....

, Hawkridge, Huish Champflower

Huish Champflower

Huish Champflower is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, three miles north-west of Wiveliscombe and ten miles north of Wellington...

, Kilton, Kilve

Kilve

Kilve is a village in West Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957....

, Lilstock

Lilstock

Lilstock is a hamlet in the civil parish of Stringston within the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is north-west of Bridgwater, and north-east of Williton...

, Monksilver

Monksilver

Monksilver is a village west of the town of Williton in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills and the border of the Exmoor National Park. It is on the Coleridge Way footpath....

, Nettlecombe

Nettlecombe, Somerset

Nettlecombe is a civil parish in the English county of Somerset. The parish covers a rural area below the Brendon Hills, comprising the small hamlets of Woodford, Yarde and Torre together with more isolated individual farms and homes...

, East Quantoxhead

East Quantoxhead

East Quantoxhead is a village in West Somerset, from West Quantoxhead, east of Williton, and west of Bridgwater, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England.-History:...

, West Quantoxhead

West Quantoxhead

West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from Williton and equidistant from Bridgwater and Taunton...

, Raddington, Sampford Brett

Sampford Brett

Sampford Brett is a village and civil parish situated at the north-western edge of the Quantock Hills, Somerset, England, less than south of Williton, just off the A358 road to Taunton....

, Skilgate

Skilgate

Skilgate is a village and civil parish east of Dulverton and west of Wiveliscombe in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 96....

, Stogumber

Stogumber

Stogumber is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Lower Vexford, Preston, and Vellow.-History:The name comes...

, Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey

Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills , just below Over Stowey...

, Upton

Upton, Somerset

Upton is a village and civil parish north of Skilgate in Somerset, England. It is situated on a hill above the eastern end of Wimbleball Lake.-History:The parish of Upton was part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred....

, Winsford

Winsford, Somerset

Winsford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, located about north-west of Dulverton.It is within the borders of the Exmoor National Park and around south-west of the coastal town of Minehead. The village has two hotels, Karslake House Hotel and the Royal Oak, both dating to before...

, and Withypool

Withypool

Withypool is a small village in Somerset, England, near the centre of Exmoor National Park and close to the border with Devon. The word Withy means Willow...

e. It covered an area of 114870 acres (46,486.3 ha).

At the time of 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...

 Williton and Dulverton were separate Hundreds. These were brought together with Winsford and Old Cleeve.

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...

.