Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). English counties are among the oldest extant national divisions in the world.
It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement, and spread to most of the rest of England in the 10th century. Today, 23 counties bear the "-shire" suffix in England, 23 in Scotland, and 10 in Wales.
In some rural parts of Australia, a shire is a local government area; however, in Australia, it is not synonymous with a "county", which is a lands administrative division.
Etymology
The word
shire derives from the Old English sċir, from the Proto-Germanic skizo (), denoting an 'official charge' a 'district under a governor', and a 'care'.
In the UK,
shire became synonymous with
county, an administrative term introduced to England through the
Norman Conquest in the later part of the eleventh century. In contemporary British usage, the word
counties also refers to shires, mainly in places such as
Shire Hall.
[ The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1991) C.T. Onions, Ed., p. 821.]
In regions with rhotic pronunciation, such as Scotland, the word shire is pronounced ; in areas of non-rhotic pronunciation, the final R is silent, unless the next word begins in a vowel sound. In England and Wales, when shire is a place-name suffix, the vowel is unstressed and usually shortened (monophthongized); the pronunciations include and , with the final R pronunciation depending on rhoticity. The vowel is normally reduced to a single schwa, as in Leicestershire or and Berkshire or .[ The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1991) C.T. Onions, Ed., p. 821.]
Origins
The system was first used in the kingdom of
Wessex from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement, and spread to most of the rest of England in the 10th century, along with the West Saxon kingdom's political domination. In
Domesday (1086) the city of
York was divided into shires.
[Gareth Dean, Medieval York 2008:21.] The first shires of Scotland were created in English-settled areas such as
Lothian and the
Scottish Borders, in the 9th century. King David I more consistently created shires and appointed
across lowland
shores of Scotland.
The shire in early days was governed by an ealdorman and in the later Anglo-Saxon period by a royal official known as a "shire reeve" or sheriff.
In most cases, the "shire town" is the seat of the shire's government, or was historically. Sometimes the nomenclature exists even where "county" is used in place of "shire" as in, for instance, Kentville in Nova Scotia.
Shires in the United Kingdom
"Shire" also refers, in a narrower sense, to ancient counties with names that ended in "shire". These counties are typically (though not always) named after their
county town. The suffix
-shire is attached to most of the names of English, Scottish and Welsh counties. It tends not to be found in the names of shires that were pre-existing divisions.
Essex,
Kent, and
Sussex, for example, have never borne a
-shire, as each represents a former
Heptarchy. Similarly
Cornwall was a Brittonic kingdom before it became an English county. The term "shire" is not used in the names of the six traditional counties of
Northern Ireland.
Shire names in England
Counties in England bearing the "-shire" suffix are:
These counties, on their historical boundaries, cover a little more than half the area of England. The counties that do not use "-shire" are mainly in three areas, in the south-east, south-west and far north of England. Several of these counties no longer exist as administrative units, or have had their administrative boundaries reduced by local government reforms. Several of the successor authorities retain the "-shire" county names, such as North Yorkshire Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire Yorkshire.
The county of Devon was historically known as Devonshire, although this is no longer the official name.
Hexhamshire was a county in the north-east of England from the early 12th century until 1572, when it was incorporated into Northumberland.
Shire names in Scotland
Scotland was barely affected by the Norman conquest of England, and the word "shire" prevailed over "county" until the 19th century. Earliest sources have the same usage of the "-shire" suffix as in England (although in Scots this was most often schyr). Later, "Shire" appears as a separate word.
"Shire" names in Scotland are:
In Scotland four shires have alternative names with the "-shire" suffix: Angus (Forfarshire), East Lothian (Haddingtonshire), Midlothian (Edinburghshire) and West Lothian (Linlithgowshire).
Sutherland is occasionally still referred to as Sutherlandshire. Similarly, Argyllshire, Buteshire, Caithness-shire and Fifeshire are sometimes found. Also, Morayshire was previously called Elginshire. There is debate about whether Argyllshire was ever really used.
Shire names in Wales
Shires in
Wales bearing the "-shire" suffix (Sir preceding the name in Welsh) are:
The counties of Merioneth and Glamorgan are occasionally referred to with the "shire" suffix. The only traditional Welsh county that never takes "shire" in English is Anglesey; in Welsh it is called Sir Fôn.
Non-county "shires"
England
Historically, the suffix "-shire" could be a generalised term referring to a district. It did not acquire the strong association with
county until later. Other than these, the term was used for several other districts.
Bedlingtonshire,
Craikshire,
Norhamshire and
Islandshire were
of County Durham, and were incorporated into Northumberland or Yorkshire in 1844. The suffix was also used for many hundreds,
and liberties such as:
Also carrying the "shire" suffix were county corporate such as Hullshire, and other districts such as Applebyshire, Bamburghshire, Carlisleshire, Cravenshire, Hallamshire, and Mashamshire.
Richmondshire was, from 1974 to 2023, the name of a local government district of North Yorkshire.
Scotland
Non-county shires were very common in Scotland.
Kinross-shire and
Clackmannanshire are arguably survivals from such districts. Non-county "shires" in Scotland include
Coldinghamshire and
Yetholmshire.
"The Shires"
Colloquially, the term "the Shires" has become used to refer to those counties, particularly of the southern
Midlands, which are still largely rural and which are stereotypically thought of as places where a more
bucolic lifestyle is possible.
[ Cambridge Dictionary definition]
Shires in the United States
New York and New England
Before the Province of New York was granted county subdivisions and a greater royal presence in 1683, the early ducal colony consisted of York Shire, as well as Albany and Ulster, after the three titles held by Prince James: Duke of York, Duke of Albany, Earl of Ulster.
The word also survives in the name of the state of New Hampshire, whose co-founder, John Mason, named his Province of New Hampshire after the English county of Hampshire.
Vermont has 14 counties, whose county seats are called shire towns. Bennington County is unique in having two shire towns, Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire")
Virginia
In 1634, eight "shires" were created in the
Virginia Colony by order of Charles I, King of England. They were renamed as counties only a few years later. They were:
-
Accomac Shire (since 1642 Northampton County, Virginia)
-
Charles City Shire (since 1637 Charles City County, Virginia)
-
Charles River Shire (since 1643 York County, Virginia)
-
Elizabeth City Shire (became Elizabeth City County, Virginia in 1643)
-
Henrico Shire (later became Henrico County, Virginia)
-
James City Shire (about 1642–43 James City County, Virginia)
-
Warwick River Shire (became consolidated with the City of Newport News, Virginia)
-
Warrosquyoake Shire (became Isle of Wight County, Virginia)
Today, the concept of a "Shire" still exists in Virginia code. It is defined as a semi-autonomous subdivision of a consolidated City-County. Currently no Shires exist in the commonwealth and the administrative provision is largely unknown.
Shires in Australia
"Shire" is the most common word in Australia for rural local government areas (LGAs). New South Wales, the Northern Territory,
Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia, use the term "shire" for this unit; the territories of the Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are also shires. In contrast,
South Australia uses
district and
region for its rural LGA units, while
Tasmania uses
municipality. Shires are generally functionally indistinguishable from
,
,
municipality, or
city.
Three LGAs in outer metropolitan Sydney and four in outer metropolitan Melbourne have populations exceeding that of towns or municipalities, but retain significant bushlands and/or semi-rural areas, and most have continued to use "shire" in their titles whilst others have dropped it from theirs. These "city-shires" are:
Melbourne:
-
Shire of Cardinia
-
Shire of Mornington Peninsula (which is locally known as "The Peninsula")
-
Shire of Nillumbik ("The Green Wedge Shire")
-
Shire of Pakenham (1862–1994)
-
Shire of Yarra Ranges
Sydney:
-
Hornsby Shire ("The Bushland Shire")
-
Sutherland Shire (which is locally referred to as "The Shire")
-
The Hills Shire ("The Garden Shire", previously "Baulkham Hills Shire")
In fiction
The Shire, homeland of the
in J. R. R. Tolkien's works, where both
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings begin and end, got its name from the English administrative land division.
See also
-
Comarca
-
Comarcas of Spain
-
Counties of the United Kingdom
-
Counties of England
-
Historic counties of Wales
-
Shires of Scotland
-
Gau
