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In Great Britain, a shire is a county that is named after its prinicpal town. The county takes the name of the town with the 'shire' suffix. |
In Great Britain, a shire is a county that is named after its prinicpal town. The county takes the name of the town with the 'shire' suffix. |
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Shires in [[England]] |
== Shires in [[England]] == |
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*[[Bedfordshire]] |
*[[Bedfordshire]] |
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*[[Berkshire]] |
*[[Berkshire]] |
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In England, the counties of Devon and Dorset are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix. |
In England, the counties of Devon and Dorset are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix. |
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Shires in [[Scotland]] |
== Shires in [[Scotland]] == |
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*[[Aberdeenshire]] |
*[[Aberdeenshire]] |
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*[[Argyllshire]] |
*[[Argyllshire]] |
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In Scotland four counties have alternative names with the 'shire' suffix: Angus/Forfarshire, East Lothian/Haddingtonshire, Midlothian/Edinburghshire and West Lothian/Linlithgowshire |
In Scotland four counties have alternative names with the 'shire' suffix: Angus/Forfarshire, East Lothian/Haddingtonshire, Midlothian/Edinburghshire and West Lothian/Linlithgowshire |
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Shires in Wales |
== Shires in [[Wales]]== |
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*[[Brecknockshire]] |
*[[Brecknockshire]] |
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*[[Caernarvonshire]] |
*[[Caernarvonshire]] |
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In Wales, the counties of Merioneth and Glamorgan are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix. The only Welsh county that never takes it is Anglesey. |
In Wales, the counties of Merioneth and Glamorgan are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix. The only Welsh county that never takes it is Anglesey. |
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== Administration == |
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The suffix -<b>shire</b> was also included in the name of some former areas subsequently incorporated into administrative counties, for instance Richmondshire and Cravenshire in what is now North Yorkshire, and Bedlingtonshire, Norhamshire and Islandshire, detached parts of County Durham until their incorporation in Northumberland. The term shire thus predates the creation of England's counties, referring originally to a more local jurisdiction. |
The suffix -<b>shire</b> was also included in the name of some former areas subsequently incorporated into administrative counties, for instance Richmondshire and Cravenshire in what is now North Yorkshire, and Bedlingtonshire, Norhamshire and Islandshire, detached parts of County Durham until their incorporation in Northumberland. The term shire thus predates the creation of England's counties, referring originally to a more local jurisdiction. |
Revision as of 18:49, 21 October 2003
For information on the fictional Shire of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, see Shire (Middle-earth)
In Great Britain, a shire is a county that is named after its prinicpal town. The county takes the name of the town with the 'shire' suffix.
Shires in England
- Bedfordshire
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cheshire
- Derbyshire
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Herefordshire
- Hertfordshire
- Huntingdonshire
- Lancashire
- Lincolnshire
- Leicestershire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- Wiltshire
- Worcestershire
- Yorkshire
In England, the counties of Devon and Dorset are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix.
Shires in Scotland
- Aberdeenshire
- Argyllshire
- Ayrshire
- Banffshire
- Berwickshire
- Buteshire
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfriesshire
- Dunbartonshire
- Inverness-shire
- Kincardineshire
- Kinross-shire
- Kirkcudbrightshire
- Lanarkshire
- Morayshire
- Nairnshire
- Peeblesshire
- Perthshire
- Renfrewshire
- Roxburghshire
- Selkirkshire
- Stirlingshire
- Wigtonshire
In Scotland four counties have alternative names with the 'shire' suffix: Angus/Forfarshire, East Lothian/Haddingtonshire, Midlothian/Edinburghshire and West Lothian/Linlithgowshire
Shires in Wales
- Brecknockshire
- Caernarvonshire
- Cardiganshire
- Carmarthenshire
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Monmouthshire
- Montgomeryshire
- Pembrokeshire
- Radnorshire
In Wales, the counties of Merioneth and Glamorgan are occasionally referred to with the 'shire' suffix. The only Welsh county that never takes it is Anglesey.
Administration
The suffix -shire was also included in the name of some former areas subsequently incorporated into administrative counties, for instance Richmondshire and Cravenshire in what is now North Yorkshire, and Bedlingtonshire, Norhamshire and Islandshire, detached parts of County Durham until their incorporation in Northumberland. The term shire thus predates the creation of England's counties, referring originally to a more local jurisdiction.
In local government terms, the phrase 'Shire county' refers to the non-metropolitan administrative counties of England outside London. The term is often used by political commentators to describe the areas of England outside London and the 'metropolitan counties' created for the principal conurbations in 1974.
Shire is also the name for a breed of large draft horse.