Most of the counties of England were divided into hundreds or wapentakes from the late Anglo-Saxon period and these were, with a few exceptions, effectively abandoned as administrative divisions in the 19th century. In Wales a similar Celtic system of division called cantrefi (a hundred farmsteads) had existed for centuries and was of particular importance in the administration of the Welsh law. Following the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, Wales was divided into hundreds to be consistent with England.