The division of the county into Hundreds dates from Saxon times. Each Hundred was governed by a High Constable, or Bailiff, and formerly there was a Court of Justice, called the Hundred Court, which was held regularly for the trial of causes, but this court fell into disuse. By various Acts of Parliament the Hundred is made liable for damage caused to persons by riots.

In early days most of Berkshire was divided amongst different manors, and each manor had a Manorial Court or Court Baron.

It has been already explained in Chapter 3 that the present administrative county differs somewhat from the geographical county, and as the town of Reading with a tract around it has been formed into the “County Borough of Reading” it is not for most administrative purposes a part of the county of Berks.

The chief officials of Berkshire, under His Majesty the King, are the Lord Lieutenant, the Custos Rotulorum, and the Sheriff. The first two of these offices are usually held by the same person.

The office of Lord Lieutenant dates from about the time of Edward IV, and he was formerly the chief military officer of the Crown in the county. The Custos Rotulorum is the first amongst the justices, but the High Sheriff has precedence in the county. The Custos selects the county magistrates, and they are appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The office of Custos dates from the time of Edward III. He is nominally the keeper of the County Records, but in these days they are in fact in the charge of the Clerk of the Peace.

The Sheriff was originally elected by the people in the county, but since the time of Edward II he has been appointed by the Crown. He was the agent through whom the King collected his dues, and in time became the military as well as the judicial and executive head of the county and headed the posse comitatus or power of the county. During the Wars of the Roses his influence became less, and the Lord Lieutenant took his place to some extent. It is recorded in Domesday Book that Godric the Sheriff of Berkshire gave a lady with the name of Aluuid half an acre of the royal domain as a present for teaching his daughter the art of gold embroidery.

The Sheriff is the first man in the county, taking precedence of all peers and of the Lord Lieutenant. He is appointed annually.

The county is divided into Petty Sessional divisions for magisterial purposes, and the Court of Quarter Sessions is a general meeting of all the justices of the county. In boroughs, Reading, Abingdon, Newbury, and Windsor, the Court of Quarter Sessions is held by a Recorder.

The affairs of the county (not including Reading, which is a County Borough of itself) are managed by the County Council, which was established by statute of 1888, and by District and Parish Councils, which were established by an Act of 1894. The county is divided into eleven districts, Bradfield, Windsor, Cookham, Easthampstead, Wokingham, Newbury, Hungerford, Wantage, Wallingford, Faringdon, and Abingdon.

The affairs of the County Borough of Reading are managed by its Mayor and Corporation.

For purposes of Assizes, Berkshire is on the Oxford circuit, and the Court is held at Reading. County Courts are held from time to time at the various towns. The County Court circuits are quite different from the Assize Court circuits.

For Parliamentary elections the county is divided into three divisions, Abingdon, Newbury, and Wokingham, each of which returns one member to Parliament. Reading also returns a member to Parliament, and so does Windsor, but the Parliamentary borough of Windsor includes a considerable tract outside Berkshire.