Shire facts for kids
A shire is a type of area used for local government in Great Britain and Australia. It's like a special name for a county or a local district.
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What is a Shire?
A shire is an administrative area. This means it's a section of land that has its own local government. This government helps manage things like roads, schools, and local services for the people living there.
History of Shires
The idea of shires started a long time ago in England. The Anglo-Saxons, who lived in England many centuries ago, created the first shires. They used them to organize central and southern England.
Each shire was looked after by a royal official. This person was called a "shire reeve". You might know them by their modern name: a sheriff! Sheriffs were important people who helped keep order and manage the shire.
Today, shires are often divided into smaller areas called districts.
Shires in Great Britain
In England and Wales, the word "shire county" is used for counties that are not big city areas (called metropolitan counties).
Sometimes, "shire" refers only to older, traditional counties. These counties usually have names that end in "shire". Often, they are named after their main town, called the county town.
English Shires You Might Know
Many English counties end in "shire". Here are some examples:
- Bedfordshire
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cheshire
- Derbyshire
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Herefordshire
- Hertfordshire
- Lancashire
- Lincolnshire
- Leicestershire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- Wiltshire
- Worcestershire
Some older shires, like Huntingdonshire and Yorkshire, are now part of other areas or divided into smaller parts.
Welsh Shires
Wales also has counties that use the "shire" ending. Some of these include:
- Brecknockshire
- Caernarvonshire
- Cardiganshire
- Carmarthenshire
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Monmouthshire
- Montgomeryshire
- Pembrokeshire
- Radnorshire
Scottish Shires
In Scotland, many areas also have names ending in "shire". Here are a few:
- Aberdeenshire
- Ayrshire
- Banffshire
- Berwickshire
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfriesshire
- Dunbartonshire
- Inverness-shire
- Lanarkshire
- Perthshire
- Renfrewshire
- Ross-shire
- Stirlingshire
Shires in Australia
In Australia, "shire" is a very common word for the smallest local government areas. These are areas with a smaller population.
The states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia use "shire" for these units. Other states, like South Australia and Tasmania, use the word "district" instead.
A shire in Australia has the same powers as a larger town or city council. In New South Wales, people sometimes call the Sutherland shire simply "The Shire".
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