4 NATURAL HISTORY 
Hides, in Carew, (p. 47.) faid to contain 120 Acres ; i. e. Cornifh 
Acres. This was the ancient divifton, probably made by Alfred 
the Great, who is faid firft to have divided the Saxon Kingdom 
into Hundreds. 
Cornwall is at prefent divided into nine Hundreds ; Eaft, Weft, 
Poudre, and Kerrier fpread the South Coaft ; Stratton ', Lyfnewyth, 
Trig, Pidre, and Penwith the North. When this prefent Divifton 
was firft introduced has not occurred to me, but it certainly exifted 
before the Lincoln Taxation, A. D. 1288, the parochial Churches 
being therein rang’d according to the prefent Hundreds; I am apt 
to think therefore, that a new Divifton took place foon after 
the Norman Conqueft, the former Diviftons appearing by the 
Surveys of William the Firft, to be not fufficiently diftindt ; for 
about this time, fays Mr. Carew, m “ the country was forted by a 
“ more orderly manner into parifhes, and every parifli committed 
“ to a Ipiritual father perhaps there was then alfo, if we may 
guefs by analogy, a more orderly divifton of the county into the 
prefent Hundreds ; the large ones were reduced and fplit, and the 
names of ancient Manors gave place to other names more expreflive 
of the fttuation, or at that time better entitled to give name to 
the diftridt. 
It is not eafy to difcovcr the limits of the ancient Divifton, and 
to reconcile it to the prefent. Conarton (it may be aflerted with 
great probability) included the prefent Hundred of Penwith ; for 
the Lord of the Manor of Conarton, has been Lord alfo of all the 
Hundred of Penwith from the time of Henry III. (fee note f in the 
preceding page) and there is but one Court Leet held for both the 
Honours, which implies fome more than ordinary union. Among the 
reft there is not the like connexion ; but what was anciently call’d 
Tibefta included, as I imagine, the Hundred of Poudre: Winnenton, 
Kerrrier: Stratton, formerly extenftve, makes at prefent the three 
finall Hundreds of Stratton, Lyfnewith, and Trig: Fauiton con- 
tained the Hundred of Eaft, as I fuppole, and the fouthern part of 
Weft Hundred : Rialton moft part of Pidre : and Pauton the 
reft of Pidre, and of the Hundred of Weft. 
In the nine Hundreds are contained, according to Camden and 
Speed, (p. 21.) one hundred and ftxty one Parifh Churches ; accord- 
ing to others about one hundred and eighty ; but Martin in his 
Index Villaris, one hundred and ninety eight : fome reckoning the 
Chapels of Eale and their Appendixes, others only the Mother 
Churches. 
1 In the Lincoln Vifitation the two Hundreds Tcrgrifhire. Trig fignifies the Influx of the Sea, 
of Stratton and Lyfnewyth are joined together, and from the arm of the Sea at Padftow the divi- 
and called Decanatus major Tergrifhire, as that fion of the bordering land had probably its name, 
now called Trig is termed Dacanatus minoris ra Survey of Cornwall, p. 82. 
The 
