Pitney Hundred
historical Hundred of Somerset, England
The Hundred of Pitney is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon 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 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 Pitney hundred grew in the 16th century from two free manors and a neighbouring borough. The Hundred of Pitney consisted of the ancient parishes of: Langport Eastover, Muchelney, and Pitney. It covered an area of 3,690 acres (1,490 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 unions, sanitary districts, and highway districts sprang up, filling the administrative role previously played by parishes and hundreds.
The public source identifies “Pitney Hundred” as historical Hundred of Somerset, England. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pitney, Hundred and historical.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 6, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7199007. Authority coordinates are 51.050, -2.790. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pitney Hundred” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.