Hundreds of Norfolk
Between Anglo-Saxon times and the nineteenth century Norfolk was divided for administrative purposes into hundreds, plus the boroughs of Norwich, King's Lynn, Thetford and Great Yarmouth. Each hundred had a separate council that met each month to rule on local judicial and taxation matters.
The shire-system was not definitely established in East Anglia before the Conquest, but the boundaries at the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086 remain largely unchanged to the present day. The 36 Domesday hundreds were subdivided into leets, of which no trace remains, and the boroughs of Norwich and Thetford ranked as separate hundreds, while Great Yarmouth was the chief town of three hundreds. Two of Thetford's parishes now lie partially in Norfolk with the remainder in Suffolk. The Domesday hundred of Emneth is now included in Freebridge while Freebridge itself, originally a hundred and a half, was later split into Freebridge-Lynn and Freebridge-Marshland. Docking hundred is now incorporated into that of Smithdon, and the boundary between Brothercross and Gallow hundred has been considerably changed.[1] By the 19th century there were the 33 hundreds listed below.
The lete court boundaries were more fluid and transient than the hundred court boundaries. Yet it may be possible to trace many of the early leets of Brothercross hundred. At the time of Domesday, the parishes of the hundreds of Brothercross and Gallow "were strangely intermixed".[2] From time to time during the following eight centuries, various parishes of Brothercross hundred were transferred to Gallow hundred;[3] all the parishes that used the same prior lete court were likely included in each instance.
The hundred court of Humbleyard hundred was held in the parish of Swardeston; that of Clackclose at Clackclose Hill on Stradsett common; Taverham at Frettenham Hill; Grimeshoe at a tumulus between Brandon and Norwich; Forehoe in the parish of Carleton Forehoe; Greenhoe by the tumuli on the London road to Swaffham; Smithdon in the parish of Bircham Magna; Freebridge at Flitcham Burgh, afterwards at an oak at Gaywood and still later at an oak at Wiggenhall St Germans; Gallow in the 15th century at Fakenham and in the 16th century at Longfield Stone; Brothercross, at the cross by the ford over the Burnham; Eynsford at Reepham; Depwade, at the "deep ford" over the Tas; Mitford, in 1639, at "Brokpit"; North Erpingham at Guneby Gate near Gunton; South Erpingham at Cawston Park Gate; Launditch at the crossing of the Norwich road with the long ditch between Longham and Beeston; Earsham, at an encampment near Earsham church.[1]
Parishes
In 1845 the hundreds contained the following parishes.[4]
In addition the following four towns were considered as separate boroughs.
| Borough | Acres |
|---|---|
| Great Yarmouth | 1270 |
| King's Lynn | 2720 |
| Norwich | 6630 |
| Thetford | 6976 |
References
-
- British History Online: Gallow and Brothercross Hundreds, accessed December 2017.
- Norfolk militia accounts, 1591-1594, signed by Richard Buntynge and Richard Pepys, chief constables of the hundred of Brothercross, accessed Dec 2017.
- William White (1845). History, gazetteer, and directory of Norfolk.