HISTORY AND ORIGINS OF THE NAME “DACORUM”

from A Mapp of Hartfordshire, by Richard Blome, 1673

The Origins of Dacorum

The name Dacorum dates back to an ancient administrative division known as a hundred, which once included the parishes of Aldbury, Berkhamsted, Bovingdon, Flaunden, Great Gaddesden, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, King’s Langley, Little Gaddesden, Northchurch, Tring, Wheathampstead, and Wigginton.

Today, the name has been revived for the modern Borough of Dacorum, which encompasses the towns of Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, and Tring, along with several villages such as Aldbury, Bovingdon, Flamstead, Kings Langley, Little Gaddesden, and Markyate.

Historical Background

The Domesday Survey (1086) divided England into areas known as hundreds—a system that predated the Norman Conquest. One explanation for the name is that each hundred comprised roughly one hundred hides—units of land large enough to support a household. Under the Saxon system of tithing, one man was responsible for ten households and represented them at the hundred moot, a local court presided over by the King’s Reeve (a royal official).

Interestingly, our modern phrase “a moot point” originates from these assemblies, where matters were openly debated.

The hundred known as Danais (“of the Danes”) was later Latinised to Dacorum by 1196.

Evolution Through the Centuries

The Domesday Book records the existence of Tring Hundred, which was later absorbed into Dacorum by the 16th century, around the time when cartographer John Speed produced the first printed map of the area. At that time, Dacorum was bordered by the hundreds of Hitching(en) and Broadwater to the north, Ha(e)rtford to the east, and Caisho to the southeast—all within the shire of Hertfordshire.

In 1644, Dacorum Hundred was divided into two parts. The parishes of Hemel Hempstead, Great Gaddesden, and Kings Langley were separated from Berkhamsted and its surrounding parishes. As a result, Little Gaddesden and Great Gaddesden now belong to different parishes.

Historical maps from this period also show older spellings such as Hemsted for Hemel Hempstead and Barkhamsted for Berkhamsted, and note that St Albans was considered the most ancient town in the region.

Many thanks to our member June Sinclair and Hertfordshire Genealogy for the above.