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The Four Shire Stone is a
The Four Shire Stone is not a single stone, but a nine-foot high monument, built from the local
Pictures of the Four shire stone
Four Shire Stone Restoration Project
Boundary markers Quadripoints and higher Cotswold District West Oxfordshire District Stratford-on-Avon District History of Worcestershire Monuments and memorials in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Monuments and memorials in Oxfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire Monuments and memorials in Warwickshire Grade II listed buildings in Warwickshire 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Monumental columns in the United Kingdom Moreton-in-Marsh Geography of Warwickshire Geography of Oxfordshire Geography of Gloucestershire Geography of Worcestershire
The Four Shire Stone is a boundary marker
A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land Border, boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several ...
that marks the point where the English counties
The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpos ...
of Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, and Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
once met. Since 1931, when the Worcestershire exclave of Evenlode
Evenlode is a village and civil parish (ONS Code 23UC051) in the Cotswold District of eastern Gloucestershire in England.
Evenlode is bordered by the Gloucestershire parishes of Moreton-in-Marsh to the northwest, Longborough and Donnington t ...
was transferred to Gloucestershire, only three counties have met at the stone.
Boundary marker
The Four Shire Stone is not a single stone, but a nine-foot high monument, built from the local Cotswold stone
The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...
. It is in the English midlands
The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...
at the northern corner of a T junction
A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...
on the A44 road
The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.
History
The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the ...
, a mile and a half east of the small town of Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
Its flat and low-lying site is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode r ...
(which has the closest railway station), at , grid reference SP2301432023. The existing structure was probably built in the 18th century, and is a grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. There was an earlier "4 Shire Stone" on or near the site in 1675, almost certainly that illustrated in 1660. Thomas Habington's ''Survey of Worcestershire'' mentions "the stone which toucheth four sheeres, a thing rarely scene".
Five (formerly seven) civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es meet at the stone:; ;
* Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
Its flat and low-lying site is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. The River Evenlode r ...
to the west, in Gloucestershire;
* Formerly Batsford
Batsford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. There is a falconry centre close to the village ...
to the northwest, also in Gloucestershire, until Batsford/Moreton-in-Marsh boundary change in 1987;
* Formerly Lower Lemington
Lower Lemington is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Batsford, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about north-east of Moreton-in-Marsh.
Lower Lemington lies east of the Fosse Way, a ...
to the north, also in Gloucestershire, and which merged into Batsford in 1935;
* Great Wolford to the north, in Warwickshire;
* Little Compton to the northeast, also in Warwickshire;
* Chastleton
Chastleton is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England, about northeast of Stow-on-the-Wold. Chastleton is in the extreme northwest of Oxfordshire, on the boundaries with both Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. T ...
to the southeast, in Oxfordshire;
* Evenlode
Evenlode is a village and civil parish (ONS Code 23UC051) in the Cotswold District of eastern Gloucestershire in England.
Evenlode is bordered by the Gloucestershire parishes of Moreton-in-Marsh to the northwest, Longborough and Donnington t ...
to the south, now also in Gloucestershire; until 1931 it was a detached part
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of Worcestershire.
The J. R. R. Tolkien Society claims that the Four Shire Stone inspired the "Three-Farthing Stone" in J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's book ''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
''. In that work, the Shire
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in the ...
, the homeland of the hobbits
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
is divided into four farthings, three of which meet at the "Three-Farthing Stone".
2022 restoration
The failing state of this unique bit of local history inspired James Hayman-Joyce, a local, semi-retired chartered surveyor, to do what he could to restore it. He formed the Four Shire Stone Restoration Committee with the aim of raising £20,000 to restore the Four Shire Stone to its former glory. The project comprises restoring and repairing the stonework, replacing the railings and enhancing the engravings on all four sides of the pillar.See also
*Quadripoint
A quadripoint is a point on Earth where four distinct political territories meet. The territories can be of different types, such as national and provincial. In North America, several such places are commonly known as Four Corners (disambiguatio ...
* Three Shires Oak, marking the meeting point of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire
* No Man's Heath, Warwickshire
No Man's Heath is an area of the civil parish of Newton Regis, in the North Warwickshire district, in the county of Warwickshire, England, about northeast of Tamworth. It is near the boundaries of four English counties: Derbyshire, Leicester ...
, meeting point of Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire
* Dow Bridge
Dow Bridge is a location in the English Midlands where the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road (the former Roman road, Roman Watling Street) crosses the River Avon (Warwickshire), River Avon. It is the point where the three counties of Warwickshir ...
, meeting point of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire
References
{{reflistExternal links
Pictures of the Four shire stone
Four Shire Stone Restoration Project
Boundary markers Quadripoints and higher Cotswold District West Oxfordshire District Stratford-on-Avon District History of Worcestershire Monuments and memorials in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Monuments and memorials in Oxfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire Monuments and memorials in Warwickshire Grade II listed buildings in Warwickshire 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Monumental columns in the United Kingdom Moreton-in-Marsh Geography of Warwickshire Geography of Oxfordshire Geography of Gloucestershire Geography of Worcestershire