1. The Chiltern 100s geographically - areas of Buckinghamshire.A "hundred" or 100 refers to an administrative division of a shire going back to approximately the 10th or 11th century. The hundred refers to a 100 hides within the division. A hide, which was possibly an Anglo Saxon term, referred to a piece of land approximately 100 to 120 acres in size suitable for a family to live and farm. Although more recently it is thought hides may well refer to the dwellings within a hundred. Whichever term is correct each hundred consisted of homesteads with families who worked the land and paid taxes to the crown. Each hundred was supervised by an elder chosen from the existing occupants. From around the 16th century this changed to a much more disciplined and organised administration.
The Chiltern Hundreds consist of three areas, Desborough, Stoke and Burnham and it was within the Burnham hundred, where I was born, in the town of Chesham. The history of my very first house and any other relevant and interesting facts relating to the area will appear very soon in my History Blog.
Map showing the three Chiltern 100s, Desborough, Burnham and Stoke
2. The Chiltern 100s more political - In the early days of the hundreds, it was found that many of them were becoming exceptionally unruly and a haven for criminal activity, so it was decided that a steward and bailiff would be appointed directly by the crown to bring about law and order. This role was later superseded by Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace and a Lord Lieutenant of the county. The role of the steward and bailiff then became redundant but the title was still kept as a crown office. The office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds has long been purely a nominal one. The passing of the Place Act 1742 made it possible to use this appointment for Parliamentary purposes as a pretext for enabling members of the House of Commons to resign their seats. So "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to the legal procedure for an MP to resign from the House of Commons. Other titles have been used in the past to effect this process but now only the Chiltern Hundreds office and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead are used. If you would like to read more on this subject then there is an excellent factsheet available from parliament which explains everything in a little more detail, it is quite short unlike most government documents. THE CHILTERN HUNDREDSAs for my link to this use of the Chiltern Hundreds, well, I am not an MP that has resigned their seat, but I am connected to politics as I work for one of the top political monitoring companies in the UK and have done so for a number of years. I don't think I have ever worked with such a kind, friendly and supportive bunch of people. Celebrated my eighth year with them couple of months back. Cheers guys, here's to a few more years !
A birthday vid sent to me couple of weeks back from the A Team in London office. Such a kind thought. This is a still from the vid, will try and get it running on here..
All comments are welcome. If abusive or threatening language is used it will be removed and reported.
No comments:
Post a Comment