April 2021

7 Buckden Roundabout April 2021 Toseland Hundred Toseland Hundred Cycle or drive from Offord to Gravely and turn right, you end up in the small village of Toseland. The name Toseland is Scandinavian in origin and is possibly connected with the old Norse word 'lunde,' meaning a grove, perhaps a sacred grove or small wood. Tose bears some re- semblance to the name of the Danish Earl Toglos or Toli, who was killed at the battle of Tempsford in the year 921, when the Danish stronghold there was stormed by an English army from the territories of King Edward the Elder. As you travel through the village there is no evidence of its former importance, as Toseland was once the centre of “ local government ” for the area with its status as a hundred. A hundred was an administrative division that was geograph- ically part of a larger region, sometimes but not always, inde- pendent of county and parish boundaries. Hundreds were widely used in England and Wales as the intermediate in size between the parish, with its various administrative functions and the county, with its formal, ceremonial functions. They were also used throughout Scandinavia, some parts of the United States and are still used in other places, including parts of Australia. The origin of the division of counties into hundreds is not known. The term "hundred" was first recorded in the laws of Edmund I (939 – 46) as a measure of land and the area served by a hundred court. Although it may once have referred to an area of 100 hides, Toseland Hundred, at the time of the Domesday Survey (1086), was returned as 214 hides. This in- formation was used to levy taxes: the hundred, based on the number of hides, would pay geld, i.e tax, to the County and each County paid the King through the Exchequer. The assessment process involved a King ’ s clerk and knight vis- iting each county. Here they sat with the shire - reeve (or sher- iff) and a select group of local knights, two from each hundred. After it was determined what geld had to be paid, the bailiff and knights of the hundred were responsible for collecting the money from the local landowners and getting it to the sheriff. It was then the sheriff ’ s responsibility to get the money to the Exchequer. Over time, the principal functions of the hundred became the administration of law and the keeping of the peace. By the 12th century, the hundred court was held twelve times a year and formed of twelve freeholders, or freemen. Tucked behind some houses, the parish church of St Michael (St Mary in earlier records) dates to the twelfth century and has the moot stone in the churchyard. 'Moot' is Saxon for meeting place and moot stones are common in parts of Eng- land to indicate an ancient meeting place. Local historians, however, do not believe that St Michael ’ s is the site of the orig- inal moot stone and that the stone and court were more likely to be located in what is now Toseland Wood. This ancient woodland, a large portion of which was cut down to make way for Graveley Airfield during World War 2, housed an ancient manor surrounded by a moat. A number of old houses in the village were made from remains of the old manor house. The importance of the hundred courts declined from the 17th century as many were leased to local gentry. Eventually, most of their powers were extinguished with the establishment of county courts in 1867. The jurisdiction of hundred courts was finally curtailed by the Administration of Justice Act as recently as 1977. Richard Storey, Secretary to the Buckden Local History Society Toseland hundred covered 23 parishes in the local area, includ- ing Buckden.