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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 1834 Act, 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.
- 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
- 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
- Winterborne Kingston
- (Milborne Stileham was created from Bere Regis and Winterborne Kingston in 1866)
- Holwell (transferred from Somerset 1844)
- Lydlinch
- Stalbridge
- Stock Gaylard (absorbed by Lydlinch 1884)
- Stourton Caundle
- Cattistock
- Cerne Abbas
- Godmanstone
- Hilfield
- Hawkchurch (part) (transferred to Devon 1896)
- Nether Cerne
- West Compton
- 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)
- Anderson
- Blandford Forum (borough from 1605)
- Blandford St Mary
- Bloxworth
- Winterborne Clenston
- Winterborne Tomson
- Winterborne Whitchurch
- Corfe Castle (borough from 1268 or 1576)
- 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)
- 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
- Hundredsbarrow Hundred (formerly often Barrow 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
- Buckhorn Weston
- Child Okeford
- East Stour
- Fifehead Magdalen
- Hanford (from 1858)
- Iwerne Courtney
- Kington Magna
- Manston
- Silton
- Sutton Waldron
- Todber
- West Stour
- 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
- 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
- Cann
- Compton Abbas
- East Orchard
- Fontmell Magna
- Iwerne Minster
- Melbury Abbas
- Sixpenny Handley
- West Orchard
- Chilfrome
- East Chelborough
- Evershot
- Frome St Quintin
- Frome Vauchurch
- Maiden Newton
- Melbury Sampford
- Rampisham
- Toller Fratrum
- Toller Porcorum (part)
- West Chelborough
- Wynford Eagle
- 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
- Chettle
- Cranborne (part)
- Tarrant Monkton
- 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
- Wimborne All Saints (absorbed by Wimborne St Giles 1732)
- Wimborne St Giles
- West Woodyates (created 1858)
- Coombe Keynes
- East Lulworth
- East Stoke
- Moreton (part)
- Owermoigne (later a separate liberty)
- Poxwell
- Warmwell
- Watercombe (from 1858)
- Winfrith Newburgh
- Woodsford
- Batcombe
- Clifton Maybank
- Melbury Bubb
- Melbury Osmond
- Yetminster
- (Chetnole and Leigh were created from Yetminster in 1866)
- 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
- 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
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