The Hundred of Williton and Freemanners (also written as Freemanors) is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, England, dating from before the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

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 was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected in tithings. This unit, unde ...

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 the ancient parishes of:

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 Somerset West and Taunton local government district within the Somerset ...

Brompton Ralph Brompton Ralph is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton 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. Accordi ...

, Brompton Regis, Brushford, Chipstable,

Clatworthy Clatworthy is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It is situated from Wellington and four miles (6 km) from Wiveliscombe on the southern slopes of the Brendon Hills and close to the ...

, Old Cleeve,

Crowcombe Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, southeast of Watchet, and from Taunton. The village has a population of 489. The parish covers the hamlets of Crowcombe Heathfield, Flaxpool, Halsway, ...

, St Decuman, Dodington, Dulverton,

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

, Exmoor Forest, Exton, Halse, Hawkridge, Huish Champflower, Kilton,

Kilve Kilve is a village in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957. It lies on the A39 almost exactly equidistant from Bridg ...

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

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. The Coleridge Way footpath passes through the village. History The name of the vill ...

, Nettlecombe,

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

West Quantoxhead West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton 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 W ...

, Raddington,

Sampford Brett Sampford Brett is a village and civil parish situated at the south-western edge of the Quantock Hills, Somerset, England, less than south of Williton, just off the A358 road to Taunton. Geography It lies in a shallow valley cut by the Sampford ...

, Skilgate,

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, Lo ...

, Nether Stowey,

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridg ...

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining indust ...

, and

Withypool Withypool (formerly Widepolle, Widipol, Withypoole) 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". The civil parish, known as Withypool and Haw ...

e. It covered an area of . At the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

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 unions,

sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 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 *Rural sanitary dis ...

s, and

highway district {{short description, Type of district in England and Wales 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 ar ...

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 A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the hig ...

s in 1867 and the introduction of

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

by the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) 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 un ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williton Hundreds of Somerset