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.
[3] The role of the hundred court was described in the Dooms (laws) of King Edgar.
It was probably created by 1084 and is mentioned in the manors given by Robert, Count of Mortain to Montacute Priory.
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[8] and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894.