The Hundred of Taunton Deane was 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 ancient county 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 Taunton Deane consisted of the town of Taunton

Taunton

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....

 and the ancient parishes of: Angersleigh, West Bagborough

West Bagborough

West Bagborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 394....

, Bradford

Bradford on Tone

Bradford on Tone is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Cheddon Fitzpaine

Cheddon Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Quantock Hills north of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, Combe Florey

Combe Florey

Combe Florey is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, on the West Somerset Railway. The village has a population of 252...

, Corfe

Corfe

Corfe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated below the Blackdown Hills south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 262.-History:...

, Cothelstone

Cothelstone

Cothelstone is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Quantock Hills six miles north of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, Heathfield, Hillfarrance, Hull-Bishop's

Bishops Hull

Bishop's Hull is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the western suburbs of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. It includes the areas of Rumwell, Rumwell Park, Roughmoor and Longaller and is close to the River Tone...

, Kingston

Kingston St Mary

Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills north of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, Lydeard St. Lawrence, Norton Fitzwarren

Norton Fitzwarren

Norton Fitzwarren 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 2,325.-History:...

, Nynehead

Nynehead

Nynehead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone, south-west of Taunton and north-west of Wellington, in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 416.-History:...

, Oake

Oake

Oake is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 695....

, Orchard Portman

Orchard Portman

Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 150....

, Otterford

Otterford

Otterford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Blackdown Hills, south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...

, Pitminster

Pitminster

Pitminster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 929. The parish also includes the villages of Angersleigh, Blagdon or Blagdon Hill and Staplehay...

, Rimpton

Rimpton

Rimpton is a village and civil parish north-west of Sherborne, and north-east of Yeovil on a tributary of the River Parret in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England.-History:The parish of Rimpton was part of the Taunton Deane Hundred...

, Ruishton

Ruishton

Ruishton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone and A358 road east of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 1,389...

, Staplegrove, Stoke St. Mary, Tolland

Tolland, Somerset

Tolland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton, between the Brendon Hills and Quantock Hills, in the Taunton Deane district. The parish has a population of 81.-History:...

, Trull

Trull

Trull is village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish which includes Dipford has a population of 1,861.-History:The name Trull is thought to derive from the word Trendle meaning circle or wheel....

, Wilton, and Withiel Florey. In 1871 it covered an area of 42389 acres (17,154.2 ha).

Much of the Hundred fell into the great manor of Taunton Deane, which was the property of the Bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

. The manor was divided into three separate organisational divisions; the borough of Taunton, the outlying rural parishes which was known as the Liberty or Outfaring and an inner ring lying between the borough and the rural parishes known as the Infaring.

The name survives in Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane is a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council is based in Taunton.The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District,...

 a local government district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 with borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 status. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton

Taunton

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....

, Wellington Urban District

Wellington, Somerset

Wellington is a small industrial town in rural Somerset, England, situated south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town...

, Taunton Rural District

Taunton Rural District

Taunton was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894.In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of Taunton Deane district....

, and Wellington Rural District

Wellington Rural District (Somerset)

Wellington was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894.In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of Taunton Deane....

. Taunton Deane was granted borough status in 1975, perpetuating the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

alty of Taunton.

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...

.