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.
[5] The Hundred of Portbury consisted of the ancient parishes of: Abbots Leigh, Bourton, Clapton, Clevedon, Easton in Gordano, Nailsea, Portbury, Portishead, Tickenham, Walton, Weston in Gordano, and Wraxall.
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[7] and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894.
[8] The name the Portbury Hundreds is still used for the main road which connects Portishead to the M5 motorway.