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. In 1084 at the time of a
geld inquest the area now covered by this Hundred was part of
Bruton Hundred. Later it was named for Wincanton and then during the 12th century took the name of Norton manor in
Kilmington, which became part of
Wiltshire in 1896. Part of the name of the
Selwood Forest was added to make Norton Selwood. In the 16th century it was called Norton Ferrers or Ferris and Norton Stourton in 1557. The Hundred of Norton Ferris consisted of the ancient parishes of:
Bratton Seymour,
Charlton Musgrove,
Cucklington,
Kilmington,
Penselwood,
Shepton Montague,
Stoke Trister,
Wincanton, and parts of
Maiden Bradley and
Stourton. It covered an area of . 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. Although the Hundreds have never been formally abolished, their functions ended with the establishment of
county courts in 1867 and the introduction of
districts by the
Local Government Act 1894. == References ==