Shires
Midlands region nickname
Shires refers to rural counties in England, particularly those in the Midlands whose names end in "-shire" (Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and the like).
The Shires evokes traditional English countryside—fox hunting, rolling farmland, and conservative rural values.
Shire horses are a large draft breed associated with these agricultural regions.
The term gained wider currency through Tolkien's hobbit homeland, the Shire, which draws on this pastoral English imagery.
They retired to a cottage in the Shires.
Fictional halfling settlement
- hobbitsSmall, peaceful fantasy folk
- BilboSlim dueling sword
- Middle-earthFantasy world with hobbits
- Bag EndHobbit's hillside burrow
Frodo · pastoral · Brandywine · Farthing · burrows · peaceful · idyllic · Gandalf
Rural area beyond towns
- ruralOf the countryside
- rollingTurning over repeatedly
- hillsLow natural elevations
- farmlandAgricultural terrain
villages · hedgerows · meadows · pastoral · green · agricultural · bucolic · tranquil
Administrative territorial divisions
- regionsDefined geographical areas
- districtsDefined administrative regions
- MidlandsEngland's central region
- EnglandLargest British country
Lincolnshire · Leicestershire · Nottinghamshire · Derbyshire · Staffordshire · Warwickshire · Northamptonshire · boundaries
Large domesticated hoofed mammals
- draftPreliminary version of text
- ClydesdalesLarge Scottish draft breed
- PercheronsFrench heavy horse breed
- heavyOf great mass
breed · cart · plow · workhorses · feathered · hooves · gentle · giants
Hobbiton
Fictional halfling settlement
- hobbitsSmall, peaceful fantasy folk
- BilboSlim dueling sword
- Middle-earthFantasy world with hobbits
Frodo · Bag End · pastoral · Brandywine · Farthing · burrows · peaceful · idyllic · Gandalf · halflings
countryside
Rural area beyond towns
farmland · villages · hedgerows · meadows · pastoral · green · agricultural · bucolic · tranquil · lanes
counties
Administrative territorial divisions
- regionsDefined geographical areas
- districtsDefined administrative regions
- MidlandsEngland's central region
England · Lincolnshire · Leicestershire · Nottinghamshire · Derbyshire · Staffordshire · Warwickshire · Northamptonshire · boundaries · rural
horses
Large domesticated hoofed mammals
- draftPreliminary version of text
- ClydesdalesLarge Scottish draft breed
- PercheronsFrench heavy horse breed
heavy · breed · cart · plow · workhorses · feathered · hooves · gentle · giants · harness
Shirescities
Major populated areas
metropolises · London · metropolitan areas · urban areas · conurbations
- the ShireHalflings' rural homeland