As a result, an inquiry was to be made into the status of the king’s rights which, in some cases, had been appropriated "by lay and ecclesiastical lords" (who had used them to strengthen their power over feudal tenants), and also "into the excessive demands of sheriffs, escheators and coroners, and also of bailiffs and other officials, whether royal or seigniorial.
[2] Juries for each hundred were ordered to appear before the commissioners on set dates (the names of the jurors are recorded on the rolls) answering a series of fifty questions and providing them with an opportunity to complain or otherwise highlight to the commissioners examples of misfeasance in franchises, taxes and misuse of Royal warrants among other things.
[1] The Kent Hundred Rolls list a number of locations in the county, many of which correspond directly to villages and towns which still exist today.
At the same time, there are a number of place names without an identifiable current equivalent and which may refer to abandoned or renamed settlements.
The Rolls are, for the most part, complete however certain areas are not represented or are omitted from the record such as the Cinque Ports, the Isle of Sheppey and Ospringe.