Codsheath Hundred

{{Short description|Historical Hundred of Kent, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{infobox historic subdivision

|Name = Codsheath

|nation = England

|HQ = RiverheadAn Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Terence Lawrence & David Killingray (2004) {{ISBN|1-86077-255-2}} - Map and description of meeting places & hundreds p. 30

|Government = hundred

|Status = obsolete

|Start =

|End = 1894 (obsolete) History of Kent, by Frank Jessup, 1958

|Replace = Sevenoaks Rural District,
Sevenoaks Urban District

|Map = Hundred_of_Codsheath_in_Kent_1778_map.png

|map_caption = Map of the Hundred of Codseath by Edward Hasted published, Canterbury (1778) included in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent (1778–99) (Hasted)

|PopulationFirst = 12,709 (6,394 female, 6,315 male)

|PopulationFirstYear = 1831

|PopulationLast = 12,709

|PopulationLastYear = 1831

|AreaFirst = {{convert|37720|acre|km2|0}}[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/datavalue/14851935 Hundred of Codsheath 1831 census] "Codsheath Area 37720 acres in 1831" at A Vision of Britain Through Time

|AreaFirstYear = 1831 (census)

|AreaLast = {{convert|37720|acre|km2|0}}

|AreaLastYear = 1831 (census)

|Divisions = Parishes

|DivisionsNames = Shoreham, Halstead, Otford, Kemsing, Seale, Sevenoaks, Sundridge,
and parts of Chevening, Leigh, Speldhurst, Woodland in Kingsdown Bexley[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10100811 F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Southern England] (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), pp. 260-291. (lists parishes belonging to Codsheath, in whole or in part as Shoreham, Halstead, Otford, Kemsing, Seal, Sevenoakes, Sundridge, West Kingsdown, Chevening, Leigh, Speldhurst, Bexley and Brasted.)

|DivisionsMap =

|os_grid_reference =

|latitude =

|longitude =

}}

Codsheath was a hundred, a historical land division, in the county of Kent, England. It occupied the eastern part of the Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone,An Historical Atlas of Kent, edited by Terence Lawrence & David Killingray (2004) {{ISBN|1-86077-255-2}} - Maps front cover and back cover inlay in the west division of Kent. Codsheath was also recorded as "Codsede" in ancient records.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp1-2 "The hundred of Codsheath: Introduction"], in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3 by Edward Hasted (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 1-2. posted at British History Online Today the area that was the Codsheath Hundred is part of the Sevenoaks District of Kent that includes the town of Sevenoaks and surrounding area.Nicholson Greater London Street Atlas Comprehensive Edition (2003) {{ISBN|0-583-33291-9}} shows present district boundaries The Hundred of Codsheath was included in the Domesday Book of 1086, that records it as having 203 houses, 44 in Sundridge and 159 in Otford.[http://opendomesday.org/hundred/codsheath/ Hundred of Codsheath], in The Domesday Book (1086). posted at Opendomesday.org The River Darent flowed through the Codsheath Hundred, generally in a northeast direction. Several watermills were constructed on the river within the hundred, in the villages of Sundridge, Otford, Shoreham and Chevening.{{cite book | first = Alan| last = Stoyel| year = 2008| title = Memories of Kentish Watermills, The Rivers Cray & Darent| publisher = Landmark Publishing| location = Ashbourne|isbn= 978-1-84306-418-3}}

In the 1831 census, Codsheath was recorded as having an area of {{convert|37720|acre|km2|0}} and a population of 12,709, of which 6,394 were female, 6,315 were male,[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/table_page.jsp?tab_id=GB1831ABS_M%5b1%5d&u_id=10001080&show=&min_c=6&max_c=10 Kent Hundreds population information], 1831 census posted at www.visionofbritain.org.uk and 3,239 were males aged 20 and over.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10100811/cube/OCC_PAR1831_TOT Kent Hundreds population information], 1831 census posted at www.visionofbritain.org.uk The same census recorded the population as belonging to 2,437 families living in 2,211 houses,[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/table_page.jsp?tab_id=GB1831ABS_M%5b1%5d&u_id=10001080&show=&min_c=1&max_c=5 Kent Hundreds population information], 1831 census posted at www.visionofbritain.org.uk and that 1,295 of these families worked in agriculture, and 649 families worked in trade, manufacturing, or handicraft.

Codsheath, like the other hundreds in Kent, became less significant gradually over time, and although never formally abolished, it was obsolete by 1894 with the creation of new districts. In 1894 the area of the Codsheath Hundred became the Sevenoaks Urban District and part of Sevenoaks Rural District, which in turn merged with each other in 1974 to become the Sevenoaks District which remains up to present day.