The Hundred of Catsash is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

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, un ...

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 Edgarwhile the name of the hundred was normally that of its meeting-place. The hundred of ''Blachethorna'' described in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

roughly equates to the later Hundred of Catsash. The Catsash hundred covered an area of approximately . It consisted of the ancient parishes of: Alford,

Ansford Ansford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the northern edge of Castle Cary, with a population of 1,175. The village lies on the A371, close to Castle Cary railway station and the River Brue, where the bridge dates from 1 ...

Babcary Babcary is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about east of Somerton and southwest of Castle Cary. The village has a population of 248. It lies close to the River Cary and the A37. The parish includes the hamlet of Foddington ...

, North Barrow,

South Barrow South Barrow is a village and civil parish approximately north of Sparkford and north-east of Ilchester in the county of Somerset, England. History In the 12th century the manor was held by Alured de Ponsand who gave the church to Wells Cath ...

, St. David Barton,

North Cadbury North Cadbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, Somerset, River Cam, in Somerset, England. It shares its Parish councils in England, parish council with nearby Yarlington and its civil ...

South Cadbury South Cadbury is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of South Cadbury and Sutton Montis, in the Somerset district of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Sutton Montis. It is famous as ...

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives ...

Compton Pauncefoot Compton Pauncefoot is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 139 in 2011. The civil parish also includes the villag ...

, Keinton Mansfield,

Kingweston Kingweston is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on Combe Hill, north east of Somerton. The village has a population of 128. History The village's name was Chinwardestune in the Domesday Book of 1086. There is evidenc ...

, Lovington,

West Lydford West Lydford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lydford-on-Fosse in Somerset, England. The village is spread along a stretch of road called the High Street. At the north end of the village is a distinct group of houses k ...

Maperton Maperton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 140. However, this small number includes Elliscombe House care home which alone has a ...

Queen Camel Queen Camel is a village and civil parish, on the River Cam and the A359 road, in the unitary authority of Somerset, England. It is about north of Yeovil. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 908. The parish includes the hamlet ...

Sparkford Sparkford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde. It is situated near the junction of the A303 road, A303 from London to Exeter and the A359 road, A359 from Frome to Yeovil. In 1 ...

Sutton Montis Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * Sut ...

, and Weston Bampfield. 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 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 ...

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 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. They were abolished in 1894 when their powers and dutie ...

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 courts 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 leve ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catsash Hundreds of Somerset