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Repton and Gresley Hundred, Derbyshire

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Description and Travel

The Repton and Gresley Hundred encompassed the extreme north of the county, with the River Trent forming the northern and western border, Leicestershire forming the southern and eastern border, and having a portion that was completely within the boundaries of Leicestershire. The Hundred covered 65,677 acres in recent centuries. The land was a rich red loam, some of the finest agriculatural land in the county. The Hundred covered 27 parishes and a number of "bits and pieces".

A Hundred (or Wapentake) is an ancient Anglo-Saxon political unit. It was primarily a collection of local parishes and towns where the chieftans could gather to communicate about politics, threats to their welfare and other issues. Presumably the "hundred" refers to a collection of 100 warriors from the surrounding area. The term "Wapentake" deals with the fact that agreement was shown by raising your weapon or striking it against your shield (Wapen = weapon).

The "Hundred" fell out of use a few centuries ago, being replaced by the the arangement of counties and districts and the eventual 19th century implementation of Civil Registration and the extension of voting rights to all citizens.

Many of the Hundreds (or Wapentakes) evolved politically into "district" councils under the advent of Civil Registration as there was still the desire for addressing the needs of related parishes. The "High Peak" District Council is an example of that in Derbyshire.

But for over a millenium the Hundred was an effective form of government. Parishes and towns in the area had common interests and needs.

Alas, there are few records indexed by Hundred that are of use to family historians. The Archives will have records relating to political and civic issues addressed by the Hundreds. Many published Directories of the 1700s and early 1800s are arranged by Hundred, but that method fell out of favor by the mid 1800s.

Politics and Government

  • This place was the ancient Repton and Gresley Hundred (or Wapentake).