Axstane was a

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The Hundred of Axstane lay south-east of Dartford and Wilmington Hundred. It is called Achestan in Domesday Book, but by the reign of Edward I it was called Axstane. Its name has been interpreted as referring to an oak bearing stony land, or alternatively a reference to the personal name Acca. In the time of Edward I, the King and the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

were then its lords paramount. In the 20th year of the reign of Edward III (1347, just before the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

) this hundred answered for a total of 14.725 knights' fees. Alternative spellings: Achestan (as above), Axston, Axstone, Axtane, AxtonHundred of Axton in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales,1870-72 The hundred included the parishes of * Ash * Darenth * Eynsford *

Farningham Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314. History Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic human occupancy – flint and othe ...

* Fawkham *

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales * Hartley, South Australia ** Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada * Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom * Hartley, Cumbria * Hartley, P ...

* Horton Kirby * Longfield *

Lullingstone Lullingstone is a rural hamlet in the civil parish of Eynsford, in the Sevenoaks District, Sevenoaks district of Kent, England, located south east of Swanley. It is best known for its Lullingstone Castle, castle, Lullingstone Roman Villa, Roman ...

* Ridley * Southfleet *

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Swanscombe Swanscombe /ˈswɔnzkəm/ is a town in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford. History Prehistory Bone fragments and to ...

Sutton-at-Hone Sutton-at-Hone is a village in the civil parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 3.5 miles south of Dartford & 3.6 miles north east of Swanley. History The place-name 'Sutton-at-Hone' is fi ...

* Kingsdown The Hundred of Dartford and Wilmington did not exist at the time of the Norman Conquest, and the parishes of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and Wilmington were accounted as part of Axstane in Domesday Book.See The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1, author:Edward Hasted, publ. 1797 The importance of the hundred courts declined from the 17th century, and most of their powers were extinguished with the establishment of county courts in 1867. In 1894 the Hundred was succeeded by

Dartford Rural District Dartford Rural District was a rural district with an area of in the county of Kent, England. In 1971 it had a population of 64,561 and an electorate of 43,911. At dissolution it was the most populous rural district council in Kent, but had o ...

, which was then created out of the same parishes, with the addition of Wilmington and

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

Dartford Poor Law Union

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

was formed on 19 May 1836, covering roughly the same area as the Hundred of Axstane. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 24 in number, representing the following 21 constituent parishes (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one): Ash, Bexley (2), Crayford (2), Darenth, Dartford (2), Eynsford, Erith, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Kingsdown, Longfield, Lullingstone, Ridley, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, Swanscombe, East Wickham, Wilmington. The area was 34,139 acres (138 km²). Population in 1851: 9,869; Houses: 1,852. The population by parish was as follows:Victoria County History of Kent Vol 3, p. 367, publ.1932, ed William Page, The Hundred of Axstane belonged to the

Lathe of Sutton at Hone The Lathe (county subdivision), Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone historically included a large part of Kent: the present-day boroughs of Dartford (borough), Dartford, London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich, London Borough ...

Notes

{{reflist Borough of Dartford Hundreds of Kent