Broadwater Hundred is presented as a historic Hertfordshire grouping. The linked parish set is based on the cited Victoria County History context and contains 21 parish guides in this edition. A hundred is not a modern district and should not be used as the sole basis for deciding present archive custody.
How the grouping helps
Older histories, tax material, court references and place descriptions may use a hundred when modern search interfaces use parish or county fields. Recognising the label can connect a historic description to the right parish. From there, move to the record creator and catalogue series rather than searching the hundred as though it were a single parish collection.
Linked parish guides
- Aston
- Ayot St Lawrence
- Ayot St Peter
- Baldock
- Benington
- Datchworth
- Digswell
- Great Munden
- Great Wymondley
- Hatfield
- Knebworth
- Little Munden
- Little Wymondley
- Sacombe
- Stevenage
- Totteridge
- Walkern
- Watton at Stone
- Welwyn
- Weston
- Willian
Boundary caution
Historic groupings changed in relevance, and detached parts or later transfers can complicate place labels. Compare the date of the record, the parish, the historic county and the modern repository. For Barnet and Totteridge, London finding aids may be relevant; for Kensworth, Bedfordshire custody may matter; Potters Bar was historically Middlesex.
Next research move
Choose the parish that matches the source context, inspect its three coverage rows, and follow its catalogue plan. If the place is absent, search the official archive catalogue using observed variants and consult the cited county history rather than assigning it to the nearest listed parish.
Record the place conclusion
In the research log, quote the place wording from the source and add a separate standardised label only after the jurisdiction has been checked. Cite the county-history page that supports the hundred relationship, then cite the parish or archive item used for the event itself. If several parishes remain possible, retain them as alternatives and list the catalogues searched. This preserves the reasoning chain and prevents a historic administrative label from becoming an unsupported statement about residence or identity.
Related research paths
- Parish registers
- Bishops’ transcripts
- Civil registration
- 1841 census
- Start Hertfordshire family-history research
- Identify the right Hertfordshire parish
- Read parish-register coverage dates
- Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies
Sources for this page
Links and stated coverage checked 2026-07-29. A coverage date is not evidence of complete survival.