The system of dividing shires into hundreds was established in East Anglia following the conquest by Wessex in the early 10th century.'The Historical Context', Anglo-Saxon Settlement on the Siltland of Eastern England, Lincolnshire Archaeology and Heritage Reports Series, 7 (2005), 264-88, David Roffe, quoting Williamson, T., 1993 The Origins of Norfolk (Manchester), pp The boundaries described at the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086 remained largely unchanged up to the 1970s. The 36 Domesday hundreds were subdivided into leets, now lost, and the boroughs of Norwich and Thetford ranked as separate hundreds, while Great Yarmouth was the chief town of three hundreds. Two of Thetford's parishes now lie partially in Norfolk with the remainder in Suffolk. The Domesday hundred of Emneth is now included in Freebridge, which was split into Freebridge-Lynn and Freebridge-Marshland. Docking hundred was then incorporated into Smithdon, and the boundary between Brothercross and Gallow hundreds was changed. By the 19th century there were 33 hundreds.
