# List of hundreds in Dorset

This is a list of hundreds in the county of Dorset, England. Between the Anglo-Saxon period and the Local Government Act 1888, the county of Dorset was divided into hundreds and boroughs (and from the mediaeval period, liberties as well). The Local Government Act 1888 replaced the hundreds and liberties with urban and rural districts, based on the sanitary districts of the Poor Law Unions which existed in parallel with the hundreds/liberties from 1834.
While numerous minor changes took place during that period, the general pattern remained stable. The subdivisions below within hundreds and liberties are the old civil parishes, into which the tithings (the original sub-divisions of the hundreds) came to be fitted. (Civil parish is used here in the sense of an "area for which a poor rate is or can be assessed", a unit which has thus been in existence de facto from the establishment of the Elizabethan Poor Law; the term itself dates from mid 19th century legislation such as the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866.)
The following are the units existing immediately prior to the act of 1834, with some additional changes noted up to the reforms of the Local Government Act 1894 and their immediate aftermath. Liberties and Boroughs are listed for completeness.
Prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, the hundreds were grouped, mostly for taxation purposes, by divisions, which were rearranged by local act of Parliament in 1830. See List of divisions in Dorset.

## Hundreds

* Badbury Hundred:
    Chalbury
    Gussage St Michael
    Hinton Martell
    Hinton Parva
    Horton
    More Crichel
    Shapwick
    Tarrant Crawford
    Wimborne Minster (a borough pre-Conquest)
    (Holt and Pamphill were created in 1894 from Wimborne Minster, and Colehill in 1896 from Holt)
* Beaminster Forum and Redhone Hundred:
    Beaminster
    Bradpole
    Chedington
    Chardstock (transferred to Devon 1896)
    Corscombe
    Mapperton
    Mosterton
    Netherbury
    North Poorton
    South Perrott
    Stoke Abbott
    Toller Porcorum (part)
    Wambrook (transferred to Somerset 1895)
* Bere Regis Hundred:
    Bere Regis
    Winterborne Kingston
    (Milborne Stileham was created from Bere Regis and Winterborne Kingston in 1866)
* Brownshall Hundred:
    Holwell (transferred from Somerset 1844)
    Lydlinch
    Stalbridge
    Stock Gaylard (absorbed by Lydlinch 1884)
    Stourton Caundle
* Buckland Newton Hundred:
    Buckland Newton
    Glanvilles Wootton
    Mappowder
    Pulham (part)
* Cerne, Totcombe and Modbury Hundred:
    Cattistock
    Cerne Abbas
    Godmanstone
    Hilfield
    Hawkchurch (part) (transferred to Devon 1896)
    Nether Cerne
    West Compton
* Cogdean Hundred:
    Canford Magna
    Charlton Marshall
    Corfe Mullen
    Hamworthy
    Lytchett Matravers
    Lytchett Minster
    Poole (part of Canford Magna; borough from 1248; County of Itself 1571)
    Sturminster Marshall
    (Kinson, Longfleet and Parkstone were created from Canford Magna 1866)
* Coombs Ditch Hundred:
    Anderson
    Blandford Forum (borough from 1605)
    Blandford St Mary
    Bloxworth
    Winterborne Clenston
    Winterborne Tomson
    Winterborne Whitchurch
* Corfe Castle Hundred:
    Corfe Castle (borough from 1268 or 1576)
* Cranborne Hundred:
    Ashmore
    Belchalwell (divided between Okeford Fitzpaine and Fifehead Neville 1884)
    Cranborne (part)
    East Woodyates (created 1858)
    Edmondsham (part)
    Farnham
    Hampreston (part; entire from the 1860s, when the other part was transferred from Hampshire)
    Pentridge
    Shillingstone
    Tarrant Gunville
    Tarrant Rushton
    Tollard Royal (divided between Dorset and Wiltshire until the 1880s, when the Dorset part was transferred to Wiltshire)
    Turnworth
    West Parley
    Witchampton
    (Alderholt and Verwood were created from Cranborne in 1894)
* Culliford Tree Hundred:
    Broadwey
    Buckland Ripers
    Chickerell (part)
    Melcombe Regis (part of Radipole; a borough from 1268)
    Osmington
    Radipole
    Upwey (part)
    West Knighton
    West Stafford
    Whitcombe
    Winterborne Came (part)
    Winterborne Herringston
    Winterborne Monkton
* Eggerton or Eggardon Hundred:
    Askerswell
    Hooke
    Long Bredy
    Powerstock (part)
    Winterbourne Abbas
    Wraxall
* Godderthorne Hundred:
    Allington
    Shipton Gorge
    Walditch
* Hasilor or Hasler Hundred:
    Arne
    Church Knowle
    East Holme
    Kimmeridge
    Steeple
    Tyneham
* Hundredsbarrow Hundred (formerly often Barrow Hundred)
    Affpuddle
    Turners Puddle
* Knowlton Hundred:
    Gussage All Saints
    Long Crichel
    Woodlands
* Loosebarrow Hundred:
    Almer
    Morden
    Spetisbury
* Pimperne Hundred:
    Bryanston
    Durweston
    Fifehead Neville
    Hammoon
    Hazelbury Bryan
    Iwerne Stepleton
    Langton Long Blandford
    Pimperne
    Stourpaine
    Tarrant Hinton
    Tarrant Keyneston
    Tarrant Launceston
    Tarrant Rawston
    Winterborne Houghton
    Winterborne Stickland
* Puddletown Hundred:
    Athelhampton
    Burleston
    Milborne St Andrew (part)
    Puddletown
    Tincleton
    Tolpuddle
* Redlane or Redland Hundred:
    Buckhorn Weston
    Child Okeford
    East Stour
    Fifehead Magdalen
    Hanford (from 1858)
    Iwerne Courtney
    Kington Magna
    Manston
    Silton
    Sutton Waldron
    Todber
    West Stour
* Rowbarrow or Rowberrow Hundred:
    Langton Matravers
    Studland
    Swanage
    Worth Matravers
* Rushmore Hundred:
    Winterborne Zelston
* St George's Hundred (later often George Hundred):
    Bradford Peverell
    Broadmayne
    Charminster
    Frome Whitfield (absorbed by Dorchester Holy Trinity in 1610)
    Stinsford
    Stratton
    Winterborne St Martin
* Sherborne Hundred:
    Beer Hackett
    Bishops Caundle
    Bradford Abbas
    Castleton
    Caundle Marsh
    Folke
    Haydon
    Holnest
    Leweston (from 1858)
    Lillington
    Longburton
    Nether Compton
    North Wootton
    Oborne
    Over Compton
    Purse Caundle
    Sherborne (a borough from 1227)
    Thornford
    Up Cerne
* Sixpenny Handley Hundred:
    Cann
    Compton Abbas
    East Orchard
    Fontmell Magna
    Iwerne Minster
    Melbury Abbas
    Sixpenny Handley
    West Orchard
* Sturminster Newton Hundred:
    Hinton St Mary
    Margaret Marsh
    Marnhull
    Okeford Fitzpaine
    Sturminster Newton
* Tollerford Hundred:
    Chilfrome
    East Chelborough
    Evershot
    Frome St Quintin
    Frome Vauchurch
    Maiden Newton
    Melbury Sampford
    Rampisham
    Toller Fratrum
    Toller Porcorum (part)
    West Chelborough
    Wynford Eagle
* Uggescombe Hundred:
    Abbotsbury
    Chilcombe
    Fleet
    Hawkchurch (part)
    Kingston Russell
    Langton Herring
    Littlebredy
    Litton Cheney
    Portesham
    Puncknowle
    Swyre
    Weymouth (part of Wyke Regis; a borough from 1252)
    Winterbourne Steepleton
* Up Wimborne or Monkton Up Wimborne Hundred
    Chettle
    Cranborne (part)
    Tarrant Monkton
* Whitchurch Canonicorum Hundred:
    Burstock
    Catherston Leweston
    Charmouth
    Chideock
    Lyme Regis
    Marshwood
    Pilsdon
    Stanton St Gabriel
    Stockland (part) (transferred to Devon 1844)
    Symondsbury
    Thorncombe (transferred to Devon 1844 and back to Dorset 1896)
    Whitchurch Canonicorum
    Wootton Fitzpaine
* Whiteway Hundred:
    Cheselbourne
    Hilton
    Ibberton
    Melcombe Horsey
    Milton Abbas
    Stoke Wake
    Woolland
* Wimborne St Giles Hundred:
    Wimborne All Saints (absorbed by Wimborne St Giles 1732)
    Wimborne St Giles
    West Woodyates (created 1858)
* Winfrith Hundred:
    Coombe Keynes
    East Lulworth
    East Stoke
    Moreton (part)
    Owermoigne (later a separate liberty)
    Poxwell
    Warmwell
    Watercombe (from 1858)
    Winfrith Newburgh
    Woodsford
* Yetminster Hundred:
    Batcombe
    Clifton Maybank
    Melbury Bubb
    Melbury Osmond
    Yetminster
    (Chetnole and Leigh were created from Yetminster in 1866)

## Liberties

* Alton Pancras
* Bindon Liberty
* Broadwindsor
* Corfe Castle
* Dewlish Liberty
* Fordington Liberty
* Frampton Liberty
* Gillingham Liberty
* Halstock
* Loders and Bothenhampton Liberty
* Owermoigne
* Piddlehinton
* Piddletrenthide Liberty
* Portland
* Powerstock Liberty:
* Ryme Intrinseca
* Stoborough
* Stour Provost
* Sutton Poyntz Liberty
* Sydling St Nicholas
* Waybayouse or Wabyhouse Liberty
* Wyke Regis and Elwell Liberty
For full details see List of liberties in Dorset

## Boroughs

* Bridport
* Blandford Forum
* Dorchester
* Lyme Regis
* Shaftesbury
* Wareham
* Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

## Sources

* Boswell, Edward, 1833: The Civil Division of the County of Dorset (published on CD by Archive CD Books Ltd, 1992)
* Hutchins, John, History of Dorset, vols 1-4 (3rd ed 1861-70; reprinted by EP Publishing, Wakefield, 1973)
* Mills, A. D., 1977, 1980, 1989: Place Names of Dorset, parts 1-3. English Place Name Society: Survey of English Place Names vols LII, LIII and 59/60