The Hundred of Hartcliffe 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.

At one time it was called Hartcliffe With Bedminster Hundred. Bedminster was previously a separate hundred after 1086 having been called Betmenistra and Bedmynstra before changing to its current name. The Hartcliffe Hundred also included Knowle West

Knowle West, Bristol

Knowle West is a neighbourhood situated on a low plateau in the south of Bristol, England, about from the centre of the city. Most of the area is coterminous with the Filwood ward of Bristol City Council, although a small part of the estate lies within Knowle ward to the east. To the west are...

. It consisted of the ancient parishes of: Long Ashton

Long Ashton

Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the Unitary Authority of North Somerset, a few miles south west of the city of Bristol. The parish has a population of 4,981...

, Backwell

Backwell

Backwell is a suburban village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the Unitary Authority of North Somerset and has a population of 5,455.It is south west of Bristol, on the A370 to Weston-super-Mare...

, Barrow Gurney

Barrow Gurney

Barrow Gurney is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Unitary Authority of North Somerset on the B3130, midway between the A38 and A370 near the Long Ashton bypass and Bristol Airport, south west of Bristol city centre...

, Bedminster, Butcombe

Butcombe

Butcombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The village is situated just north of Blagdon Lake, in North Somerset. The parish has a population of 232 and mainly consists of family-owned farmland...

, Chelvey, and Winford

Winford

Winford is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley, Somerset, England. It is within the unitary authority of North Somerset about south of Bristol...

. It covered an area of 19440 acres (7,867.1 ha).

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...

.