The Hundred of Carhampton 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 Carhampton was a large hundred, covering approximately 60350 acres (24,422.8 ha), that contained the parishes of Minehead

Minehead

Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...

, Cutcombe

Cutcombe

Cutcombe is a village and civil parish south of Minehead and north of Dulverton straddling the ridge between Exmoor and the Brendon Hills in Somerset...

, Carhampton, Luccombe

Luccombe, Somerset

Luccombe is a village and civil parish in the Exmoor National Park in the English county of Somerset. It at the foot of the moor's highest hill, the Dunkery Beacon, and is about one mile south of the A39 road between Porlock and Minehead. Administratively it forms part of the district of West...

, Withycombe

Withycombe

Withycombe is a village and civil parish south east of Dunster, and from Minehead within the Exmoor National Park in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England...

, Wootton

Wootton Courtenay

Wootton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on Exmoor in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Huntscott.-History:Wootton was part of the hundred of Carhampton.-Governance:...

, Luxborough

Luxborough

Luxborough is a small village and civil parish located some south of Dunster, lying amongst the Brendon Hills and the Exmoor National Park in Somerset, England. It is divided into the hamlets of Churchtown, Kingsbridge and Pooltown, which lie within a mile of each other...

, Almsworthy, Oare

Oare, Somerset

Oare is a village and civil parish on Oare Water on Exmoor in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Oareford and the village of Culbone which contains its own tiny church.-History:...

, Dunster

Dunster

Dunster is a village and civil parish in west Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast south-southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. The village has a population of 862 .The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs...

, Porlock

Porlock

Porlock is a coastal village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in a deep hollow below Exmoor, west of Minehead. The parish, which includes Hawkcombe and Doverhay, has a population of 1,377....

, Langham, Selworthy

Selworthy

Selworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brandish Street and Allerford.At Selworthy Beacon, which is...

, Wilmersham, Allerford

Allerford

Allerford is a village in the county of Somerset, England, located within Exmoor National Park, and is part of the parish of Selworthy in the district of West Somerset. It appears in Domesday Book as “Alresford – forda Ralph de Limesy Mill”....

, Bickham, Broadwood, Holne

Holne

Holne is a village and civil parish on the southeastern slopes of Dartmoor in Devon, England. A community has existed here since at least the 11th century, and today a population of around 250 people is served by a church and a public house, the Church House Inn.-Village:The Church of St Mary the...

, Staunton, Avill, Knowle, East Myne

East Myne

East Myne is a univallate Iron Age hill fort enclosure in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately west from the town of Minehead. The hill fort is considered to be a deserted post-medieval farmstead....

, West Myne, Exford

Exford, Somerset

Exford is a rural village at the centre of Exmoor, north-west of Dulverton, and south-west of Minehead, in Somerset, England. Less than a mile away is the hamlet of Lyncombe....

, Aller

Aller, Somerset

Aller is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Somerton on the A372 road towards Bridgwater in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 374...

, Doverhay, Gilcott, Bagley, Oaktrow, Downscombe, Rodhuish, Treborough

Treborough

Treborough is a small village and civil parish miles south of Dunster, lying amongst the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England.-History:...

 and Stone.

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...

.