All the residents of a hundred would regularly gather at a fixed meeting place to, for example, hold courts and muster for military service. The name of the hundred was taken from this meeting place so that the hundred which covers most of north London was known as Ossultone hundred, from 'Oswald's Stone' which served as the meeting place. The hundred and hundred names are now mostly forgotten, but they provided a convenient way of dividing up counties. From the time of the Norman Conquest, the unit of landholding was the manor. Careful records were kept about how each manor passed from owner to owner, for this was the proof of ownership and social status.
Manorial records are among the most important sources of local history.
10 MI Monument Inscription. Parish Parishes were originally units of church organization, whose boundaries were determined by the way in which revenues were assigned to particular churches. It was important that the inhabitants of the parish knew the boundaries, and ceremonies such as 'Beating the Bounds' were intended to ensure that this knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. From the 16th century, parishes also became units of organisations for such local government functions as the provision of state aid for the poor. The parish became the focus for local life.