Axstane Hundred


Axstane was a hundred in the county of Kent, England. The Hundred of Axstane lay south-east of Dartford and Wilmington Hundred. It is called Achestan in Domesday Book, but by the reign of Edward I it was called Axstane.
Its name has been interpreted as referring to an oak bearing stony land, or alternatively a reference to the personal name Acca.
In the time of Edward I, the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury were then its lords paramount. In the 20th year of the reign of Edward III this hundred answered for a total of 14.725 knights' fees.
Alternative spellings: Achestan, Axston, Axstone, Axtane, Axton
The hundred included the parishes of
The Hundred of Dartford and Wilmington did not exist at the time of the Norman Conquest, and the parishes of Dartford and Wilmington were accounted as part of Axstane in Domesday Book.
The importance of the hundred courts declined from the 17th century, and most of their powers were extinguished with the establishment of county courts in 1867. In 1894 the Hundred was succeeded by Dartford Rural District, which was then created out of the same parishes, with the addition of Wilmington and Crayford.

Dartford Poor Law Union

was formed on 19 May 1836, covering roughly the same area as the Hundred of Axstane. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 24 in number, representing the following 21 constituent parishes :
Ash, Bexley, Crayford, Darenth, Dartford, Eynsford, Erith, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Kingsdown, Longfield, Lullingstone, Ridley, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, Swanscombe, East Wickham, Wilmington.
The area was 34,139 acres. Population in 1851: 9,869; Houses: 1,852.
The population by parish was as follows:
ParishArea
Pop.
1851		Pop.
1891		Comments
Ash3074702619Merged into Ash-cum-Ridley 1.4.1955
Darenth22236542801
Eynsford354413231841
Farningham2739701879
Fawkham1198249232
Hartley1211227272
Horton Kirby28417471551
Kingsdown2813423412Renamed West Kingsdown 1.8.1948
Longfield605162498
Lullingstone15575164Abolished 1.4.1955.
Ridley8349186Abolished 1.4.1955
Southfleet2409657968
Stone30098293773
Sutton at Hone362512903847Swanley parish created 1.4.1955
Swanscombe214117636577
TOTAL33823986924420

The Hundred of Axstane belonged to the Lathe of Sutton at Hone.