The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three ancient hundreds and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the legal fictions used to effect resignation from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since Members of Parliament are not permitted to resign, they are instead appointed to an "office of profit under the Crown", which requires MPs to vacate their seats. The ancient office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, having been reduced to a mere sinecure by the 17th century, was first used by John Pitt (of Encombe) in 1751 to vacate his seat in the House of Commons. Other titles were also later used for the same purpose, but only those of the Chiltern Hundreds and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead are still in use.

Three Chiltern Hundreds

right|thumb|200px|The three Chiltern Hundreds (black) shown in Buckinghamshire

A hundred is a traditional division of an English county: the Oxford English Dictionary says that the etymology is "exceedingly obscure". The three Chiltern Hundreds were Stoke Hundred, Desborough Hundred, and Burnham Hundred. The area had been Crown property as early as the 13th century. By the 17th century the office of steward and bailiff had been reduced to just a title with no attached powers or duties. On 2 March 1623, a resolution was passed by the House of Commons making it illegal for an MP to quit or wilfully give up his seat. Believing that officers of the Crown could not remain impartial, the House passed a resolution on 30 December 1680 stating that an MP who "shall accept any Office, or Place of Profit, from the Crown, without the Leave of this House ... shall be expelled [from] this House." However, MPs were able to hold Crown Stewardships until 1740, when Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn was deemed to have vacated his Commons seat after becoming Steward of the Lordship and Manor of Bromfield and Yale.

See also

  • List of stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds

References

  • UK Parliament – Glossary – Chiltern Hundreds and the Manor of Northstead