Penwith Hundred was one of ten ancient administrative

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 ...

s of 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 ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, UK. The ancient hundred of Penwith was larger than the local government district of

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

(1974–2009), which took its name. Daphne du Maurier in Vanishing Cornwall suggests that the name, Penwith, has three renderings; "the last promontory," "promontory on the left, and "the headland of slaughter," thus suggesting that this area might have been the site of prehistoric invasions of sea-borne fighters, or perhaps tribal battles. The eastern part became part of the Kerrier District.

All of the Hundreds of Cornwall belonged, and still belong, to the

Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

apart from Penwith which belonged to the Arundells of Lanherne. The Arundells sold it to the Hawkins family in 1813 and the Hawkins' went on to sell it to the Paynters in 1832. The Lordship of Penwith came with a great number of rights over the entire hundred. These included: rights to try certain cases of

trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...

, trespass on the law, debt and detinue, to appoint a jailor for the detention of persons apprehended, to receive high-rent from the lords of the principal manors and to claim the

regalia Regalia ( ) is the set of emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royal status, as well as rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by a sovereign, regardless of title. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and ...

of the navigable rivers and havens, the profits of the royal gold and silver mines, and all wrecks,

escheat Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied t ...

deodand A deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument that becomes forfeited because it has caused a person's death. The English common law of deodands traces back to the 11th century and was applied, on ...

treasure trove A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the he ...

waif A waif (from the Old French , )Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/waif (accessed: June 02, 2008) is a person removed, by hardship, loss or other helpless circumstance, from their original ...

estray Estray, in common law, is any domestic animal found wandering at large or lost, particularly if its owner is unknown. In most cases, this implies domesticated animals rather than pets. Under early English common law, estrays were forfeited to the ...

s, goods of felons and droits of admiralty happening within the hundred. The main settlement was

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

, . Other settlements within the area included St Ives,

Hayle Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...

St Just in Penwith St Just (), also known as St Just in Penwith, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives, Cornwall, St Ives to the A3 ...

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, C ...

and

Marazion Marazion (; ) is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At tide, low wa ...

. The institutions of the Penwith hundred were centred initially in the parish of

Gwithian Gwithian () is a coastal village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian, in the Cornwall district, in west Cornwall, England. It is three miles (5 km) north-east of Hayle and four miles (6.5 km) east of St Iv ...

and were moved to

in 1771 (or earlier)Pool, P. A. S. (1974) ''The History of the Borough and Town of Penzance''. Corporation of Penzance following large successive inundations of blown sand. There are records of several institutions attached to the Penwith Hundred, including a Hundred Gaol (maintained for civil debtors), a Hundred Pound for stray animals and a Hundred Court. The parishes of the Penwith hundred were

, Crowan,

St Buryan St Buryan () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Buryan, Lamorna and Paul in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1412. The village of St Buryan is situated approximately west of ...

Gulval Gulval () is a village in the civil parish of Penzance, in Cornwall, England. Although historically a parish in its own right, Gulval was incorporated into the parishes of Ludgvan, Madron and Penzance in 1934, and is now considered to be a sub ...

(or Lanisly), Gwinear,

Illogan Illogan (pronounced ''il'luggan'', ) is a village and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, two miles (3 km) northwest of Redruth. The population of Illogan was 5,404 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of ...

Lelant Lelant () or Uny Lelant is a village in the civil parish of St Ives in, west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the Hayle Estuary, about southeast of St Ives and one mile (1.6 km) west of Hayle.Ordnance Survey: Landranger ...

(or Uny Lelant),

Ludgvan Ludgvan ( ; ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, UK, northeast of Penzance. Ludgvan village is split between Churchtown, on the hill, and Lower Quarter to the east, adjoining Crowlas. For the purposes ...

Madron Madron ( (village) or (parish)) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Madron is named after Saint Madern's Church. Its annual Trafalgar Service commemorating the death of Horatio ...

Morvah Morvah () is a civil parish and village on the Penwith peninsula in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish has a population of 49. Geography The village is centred approximately west-southwest of St Ives and north-west of Penza ...

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

Perranuthnoe Perranuthnoe (; ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a village in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,184. The Parish includes the settlements of Goldsithney, Perran Downs, ...

, Phillack,

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

St Erth St Erth () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Erth takes its name from Saint Erc, one of the many Irish saints who brought Christianity to Cornwall during the Sub-Roman Britain, Da ...

, St Hilary, St Ives, St Just-in-Penwith,

St Levan St Levan () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is rural with a number of hamlets of varying size with Porthcurno probably being the best known. Hewn out of the cliff at Minack Point and ...

Sancreed Sancreed () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately three miles (5 km) west of Penzance. Sancreed civil parish encompasses the settlements of Bejouans, Bosvennen, Botreah ...

Sennen Sennen () is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Sennen parish is bounded by ...

, Towednack,

Zennor Zennor (; (village) or (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about no ...

References

* Priestland, Gerald & Sylvia (1980) ''West of Hayle River'' (new edition 1992 as ''Priestland's Cornwall'') * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penwith (Hundred) History of Cornwall Hundreds of Cornwall