Axstane Hundred

Axstane was a hundred in the county of Kent, England.[1] The Hundred of Axstane lay south-east of Dartford and Wilmington Hundred. It is called Achestan in Domesday Book,[2] but by the reign of Edward I it was called Axstane.

Axstane
Former subdivision of England
Map showing the parishes of the hundred of Axstane
Area
• Coordinates	51.395480°N 0.326980°E / 51.395480; 0.326980
History
• Origin	Anglo-Saxon period
• Created	10th century
• Abolished	1894
• Succeeded by	Dartford Rural District
Status	obsolete
Government	Hundred
Subdivisions
• Type	Parishes (see text)
• Units	Parishes

Its name has been interpreted as referring to an oak bearing stony land, or alternatively a reference to the personal name Acca.[3]

In the time of Edward I, the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury were then its lords paramount. In the 20th year of the reign of Edward III (1347, just before the Black Death) this hundred answered for a total of 14.725 knights' fees.

Alternative spellings: Achestan (as above), Axston, Axstone, Axtane, Axton[4]

The hundred included the parishes of

• Ash
• Darenth
• Eynsford
• Farningham
• Fawkham
• Hartley
• Horton Kirby
• Longfield
• Lullingstone
• Ridley
• Southfleet
• Stone
• Swanscombe
• Sutton-at-Hone
• Kingsdown

The Hundred of Dartford and Wilmington did not exist at the time of the Norman Conquest, and the parishes of Dartford and Wilmington were accounted as part of Axstane in Domesday Book.[5]

The importance of the hundred courts declined from the 17th century, and most of their powers were extinguished with the establishment of county courts in 1867. In 1894 the Hundred was succeeded by Dartford Rural District, which was then created out of the same parishes, with the addition of Wilmington and Crayford.[6]

Dartford Poor Law Union

Dartford Poor Law Union was formed on 19 May 1836, covering roughly the same area as the Hundred of Axstane. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 24 in number, representing the following 21 constituent parishes (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one): Ash, Bexley (2), Crayford (2), Darenth, Dartford (2), Eynsford, Erith, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Kingsdown, Longfield, Lullingstone, Ridley, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, Swanscombe, East Wickham, Wilmington.

The area was 34,139 acres (138 km²). Population in 1851: 9,869; Houses: 1,852.[4]

The population by parish was as follows:[7]

Parish	Area (acres)	Pop. 1851	Pop. 1891	Comments [8]
Ash	3074	702	619	Merged into Ash-cum-Ridley 1.4.1955 [9]
Darenth	2223	654	2801
Eynsford	3544	1323	1841
Farningham	2739	701	879
Fawkham	1198	249	232
Hartley	1211	227	272
Horton Kirby	2841	747	1551
Kingsdown	2813	423	412	Renamed West Kingsdown 1.8.1948
Longfield	605	162	498
Lullingstone	1557	51	64	Abolished 1.4.1955.[10]
Ridley	834	91	86	Abolished 1.4.1955[11]
Southfleet	2409	657	968
Stone	3009	829	3773
Sutton at Hone	3625	1290	3847	Swanley parish created 1.4.1955[12]
Swanscombe	2141	1763	6577
TOTAL	33823	9869	24420

The Hundred of Axstane belonged to the Lathe of Sutton at Hone.

Notes

1. "Axstane Hundred". Retrieved 2012-09-19.
2. The Domesday Book: Kent (Publisher: Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1 Nov 1983)The original text and translation
3. Dartford Country - The Story Of The Hundred Of Axstane by Geoff Porteus, 1985,ISBN 9780860232032 (page 13)
4. Hundred of Axton in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales,1870-72
5. See The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1, author:Edward Hasted, publ. 1797
6. Dartford RD Kent through time | Local history overview for the Local Government District, Visionofbritain.org.uk.
7. Victoria County History of Kent Vol 3, p. 367, publ.1932, ed William Page, ISBN 9780712906081
8. See Dartford Registration District
9. Incorporated in the parish of Ash cum Ridley and, to a minor extent, West Kingsdown
10. Became part of the parish of Eynsford
11. Became part of the parish of Ash cum Ridley
12. Out of the parish of Sutton at Hone and minor parts of other parishes