The Hundred of Abdick and Bulstone is 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 ceremonial county

Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

 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 Abdick and Bulstone contained the parishes of Ashill

Ashill, Somerset

Ashill is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton, and three miles north-west of Ilminster in the South Somerset district...

, Beer Crocome

Beercrocombe

Beercrocombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Fivehead River, a tributary of the River Isle, south of Curry Mallet and south-east of Taunton in the South Somerset district...

, Bickenhall

Bickenhall

Bickenhall is a hamlet and parish in Somerset, England, situated south east of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Batten's Green, has a population of 122....

, Broadway

Broadway, Somerset

Broadway is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Ilminster and north of Chard in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 616...

, Buckland Street

Buckland St Mary

Buckland St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated to the west of Ilminster and south of Taunton in the South Somerset district, close to the A303. The village has a population of 559...

, Curland

Curland

Curland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 141...

, Curry Mallet

Curry Mallet

Curry Mallet is a village and parish in Somerset, England. It is on the Fivehead River , east of Taunton in the South Somerset district...

, Curry Rivel

Curry Rivel

Curry Rivel is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Somerton and east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 2,093...

, Donyatt

Donyatt

Donyatt is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at the source of the River Isle north of Chard in the South Somerset district...

, Drayton

Drayton, Somerset

Drayton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated less than a mile from Curry Rivel and five miles southwest of Somerton in the South Somerset district. It is situated on the River Isle, near its confluence with the Parrett, and the former Westport Canal...

, Earnshill, Fivehead

Fivehead

Fivehead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Fivehead River, miles east of Taunton in the South Somerset district...

, Ilminster

Ilminster

Ilminster is a country town and civil parish in the countryside of south west Somerset, England, with a population of 4,781. Bypassed a few years ago, the town now lies just east of the intersection of the A303 and the A358...

, Puckington

Puckington

Puckington is a village and civil parish, situated south-east of Taunton and west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England...

, South Bradon, Swell and Whitelackington

Whitelackington

Whitelackington is a village and civil parish on the A303 one mile north east of Ilminster, in Somerset, England. The parish includes Dillington Park and the hamlets of Atherstone and Ashwell.-Etymology:...

. The Hundred contained 38575 acres (15,610.8 ha), had a population of 12,047 according to the 1851 census, and housed at least 2,498 houses.

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...

.