The Hundred of Keynsham 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 Keynsham consisted of the ancient parishes of: Brislington

Brislington

Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. The Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley...

, Burnett

Burnett, Somerset

Burnett is a small village within the civil parish of Compton Dando, approximately from the River Chew in the Chew Valley within the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset in Somerset, England. The nearest town is Keynsham, which lies approximately north of the village. The parish had...

, Chelwood

Chelwood

Chelwood is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in North Somerset about from Bristol and Bath. The parish has a population of 153.- History :...

, Compton Dando

Compton Dando

Compton Dando is a small village and civil parish on the River Chew in the Chew Valley in England. It is in the District of Bath and North East Somerset and ceremonial county of Somerset, and lies from Bristol, from Bath, and from Keynsham...

, Farmborough

Farmborough

Farmborough is a small village and civil parish, south west of Bath in Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,103.- History :The parish of Farmborough was part of the Keynsham Hundred,...

, Keynsham

Keynsham

Keynsham is a town and civil parish between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, south-west England. It has a population of 15,533.It was listed in the Domesday Book as Cainesham, which is believed to mean the home of Saint Keyne....

, Marksbury

Marksbury

Marksbury is a small village and civil parish in Somerset about from Keynsham and from Bath on the A39 where it meets the A368. The parish, which includes the villages of Hunstrete and Stanton Prior, has a population of 399.- History :...

, Nempnett Thrubwell

Nempnett Thrubwell

Nempnett Thrubwell is a small village and civil parish in dairying country on the western edge of Bath and North East Somerset, in the county of Somerset, England. It is about 15 km south-west of Bristol. The parish, which has a population of 189, is sheltered by the Mendip Hills, near the River...

, Pensford

Pensford

Pensford is a village in the civil parish of Publow and Pensford in Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley south of Bristol and west of Bath...

, Priston

Priston

Priston is a civil parish and village south west of Bath in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Wilmington.- History :...

, Publow

Publow

Publow is a small village in the civil parish of Publow and Pensford in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It lies beside the River Chew in the Chew Valley. It is 7 miles from Bristol, 9 miles from Bath, and 4 miles from Keynsham.- History :...

, Queen Charlton, Saltford

Saltford

Saltford is a large village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath....

, Stanton Drew

Stanton Drew

Stanton Drew is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset, England, situated north of the Mendip Hills, south of Bristol in the Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority....

, Stanton Prior

Stanton Prior

Stanton Prior is a small village, within the civil parish of Marksbury, set in Duchy of Cornwall countryside, south west from the UK city of Bath, Somerset....

, and Whitchurch

Whitchurch, Bristol

Whitchurch is a village in north Somerset, England and an adjoining suburb of south eastern Bristol, bounded by Hartcliffe to the west and Hengrove and Knowle to the north. The suburb was initially developed during the 1930s....

. It covered an area of 24520 acres (9,922.9 ha).

The manor and Hundred was conferred on the Canons of Keynsham Abbey

Keynsham Abbey

Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England was founded by William, Earl of Gloucester for the Augustinian Canons Regular around 1170 and survived until 1539...

.

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...

.