Thus parishes were gradually formed, and parish churches endowed with the tithes that arose within the circuit assigned. But some lands, either because they were in the hands of irreligious and careless owners, or were situate in forests and desart places, or for other now unsearchable reasons, were never united to any parish, and therefore continue to this day extraparochial; and their tithes are now by immemorial custom payable to the king instead of the bishop, in trust and confidence that he will distribute them, for the general good of the church[p]. And thus much for the ecclesiastical division of this kingdom.
[p] 2 Inst. 647. 2 Rep. 44. Cro. Eliz. 512.
2. The civil division of the territory of England is into counties, of those counties into hundreds, of those hundreds into tithings or towns. Which division, as it now stands, seems to owe it's original to king Alfred; who, to prevent the rapines and disorders which formerly prevailed in the realm, instituted tithings; so called, from the Saxon, because ten freeholders with their families composed one. These all dwelt together, and were sureties or free pledges to the king for the good behaviour of each other; and, if any offence were committed in their district, they were bound to have the offender forthcoming[q]. And therefore antiently no man was suffered to abide in England above forty days, unless he were enrolled in some tithing or decennary[r]. One of the principal inhabitants of the tithing is annually appointed to preside over the rest, being called the tithing-man, the headborough, (words which speak their own etymology) and in some countries the borsholder, or borough's-ealder, being supposed the discreetest man in the borough, town, or tithing[].
[q] Flet. 1. 47. This the laws of king Edward the confessor, c. 20. very justly intitle "summa et maxima securitas, per quam omnes statu firmissimo sustinentur;—quae hoc modo fiebat, quod sub decennali fidejussione debebant esse universi, &c."
[r] Mirr. c. 1. §. 3.
[] Finch. L. 8.
Tithings, towns, or vills, are of the same signification in law; and had, each of them, originally a church and celebration of divine service, sacraments, and burials; which to have, or have had, separate to itself, is the essential distinction of a town, according to sir Edward Coke[t]. The word town or vill is indeed, by the alteration of times and language, now become a generical term, comprehending under it the several species of cities, boroughs, and common towns. A city is a town incorporated, which is or hath been the see of a bishop; and though the bishoprick be dissolved, as at Westminster, yet still it remaineth a city[]. A borough is now understood to be a town, either corporate or not, that sendeth burgesses to parliament[w]. Other towns there are, to the number sir Edward Coke says[x] of 8803, which are neither cities nor boroughs; some of which have the privileges of markets, and others not; but both are equally towns in law. To several of these towns there are small appendages belonging, called hamlets; which are taken notice of in the statute of Exeter[y], which makes frequent mention of entire vills, demi-vills, and hamlets. Entire vills sir Henry Spelman[z] conjectures to have consisted of ten freemen, or frank-pledges, demi-vills of five, and hamlets of less than five. These little collections of houses are sometimes under the same administration as the town itself, sometimes governed by separate officers; in which last case it is, to some purposes in law, looked upon as a distinct township. These towns, as was before hinted, contained each originally but one parish, and one tithing; though many of them now, by the encrease of inhabitants, are divided into several parishes and tithings: and sometimes, where there is but one parish there are two or more vills or tithings.
[t] 1 Inst. 115 b.
[] Co. Litt. 109 b.
[w] Litt. §. 164.