The Hundred of Chew 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 Chew consisted of the ancient parishes of: Chew Magna

Chew Magna

Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...

, Chew Stoke

Chew Stoke

Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about south of Bristol. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol/Bath green belt...

, Clutton

Clutton, Somerset

Clutton is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area on the A37 road. It is located 10 miles from Bristol and Bath, very near Temple Cloud. The nearest town is Midsomer Norton...

, Dundry

Dundry

Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between Bristol and the Chew Valley Lake, in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Maiden Head and East Dundry...

, Norton Hawkfield, Norton Malreward

Norton Malreward

Norton Malreward is a small Somerset village and civil parish south of Bristol, England at the northern edge of the Chew Valley. In 1895 Norton Malreward was combined with the neighbouring hamlet of Norton Hawkfield or Hautville into a single parish, which has a population of 241.- History :Norton...

, Stowey

Stowey

Stowey is a small village within the Chew Valley in Somerset, England. It lies south of Chew Valley Lake and north of the Mendip Hills, approximately south of Bristol on the A368 road Weston-super-Mare to Bath...

, and Timsbury

Timsbury, Somerset

Timsbury is a village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority of the county of Somerset, south-west of Bath England...

. In 1870 it had a population of 6,200 people and covered an area of 15182 acres (6,143.9 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...

.