TEXT:  
   
   
  A GUIDE TO THE SHIRE 
  BY  
  RICHARD HARRISON 
  FOR 
  THE ONE RING 
  ROLE-PLAYING GAME 
   
   
   
  Author Credits  
  Text used within this guide was largely acquired from the Wikipedia page for The Shire. 
   
  Artwork Credits  
  Special thanks to the artists whose work appears within this fan created supplement. It is strictly the copyright of the original artists and, if 
  applicable, any publications associated to their printing and distribution and such usage in no way challenges this.
  
  - The Shire -  
  The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by 
  Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in 
  the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the 
  northwest of the continent, in the large region of 
  Eriador and the old Kingdom of Arnor. 
   
  A NOTE ON TIMEFRAME 
  This guide refers to the Shire circa TA 2998. At 
  different periods in time the locations and details 
  herein will likely vary. 
   
  GEOGRAPHY 
  The Shire measures 40 leagues (120 miles from the 
  Far Downs in the west to the Brandywine Bridge in 
  the east, and 50 leagues (150 miles) from the 
  northern moors to the marshes in the south.  
   
  The original territory of the Shire was bounded on 
  the east by the Baranduin River, on the north by 
  uplands rising to the old centre of Arnor, on the 
  west by the White Downs, and on the south by 
  marshland south of the River Shirebourne. After the 
  original settlement, hobbits also expanded to the 
  east into Buckland between the Baranduin and the 
  Old Forest. 
   
  The Shire was originally divided into four Farthings, 
  the outlying land of Buckland being formally added 
  later. Within the Farthings there are some smaller 
  unofficial clan homelands: the Tooks nearly all live 
  in or near Tuckborough in Tookland, for instance. A 
  Hobbit surname often indicates where the family 
  came from: Samwise Gamgee's last name derives 
  from Gamwich, where the family originated. 
  Buckland was named for the Oldbucks (later called 
  the Brandybucks). 
    
   
   
   
  The Shire is a small but beautiful and fruitful land, 
  beloved by its inhabitants. The Hobbits have an 
  extensive agricultural system in the Shire but are 
  not industrialised. The landscape includes small 
  pockets of forest and various supplies are produced 
  in the Shire, including cereal crops, fruit, wood and 
  pipe-weed. 
   
  REGIONS OF THE SHIRE 
  The Three-Farthing Stone marks the tri-point where 
  the borders of the East Farthing, West Farthing and 
  South Farthing of the Shire come together, by the 
  East Road. 
    
  The 
  The 
  The 
  The North F
  North F
  North F
  North Farthing
  arthing
  arthing
  arthing    
  The North farthing is the least populous part of the 
  Shire. It is where most of the Shire's barley crop is 
  grown, and the only farthing where heavy snow is 
  common. The historic Battle of Greenfields was 
  fought here. 
   
  • 
  Long Cleeve
  Long Cleeve
  Long Cleeve
  Long Cleeve is the home of a splinter of the 
  Took 
  clan, 
  descendants 
  of 
  Bandobras 
  "Bullroarer" Took known as the North-Tooks, 
  who settled here after the Battle of Greenfields 
   
  • 
  Greenfields
  Greenfields
  Greenfields
  Greenfields is the market centre for the 
  northern Shire, often serving as a fish market 
  when trout from Lake Evendim and Pike from 
  the Brandywine are available. Greenfields is 
  the site of the famous Battle of Greenfields 
  where a muster of hobbits were led by 
  Bandobras “Bullroarer” Took and defeated a 
  force of goblins from Mount Gram 
   
  • 
  Bindb
  Bindb
  Bindb
  Bindbaaaale Wood
  le Wood
  le Wood
  le Wood is one of the larger forests of 
  the Shire  
      
  
  The 
  The 
  The 
  The West
  West
  West
  West    FFFFarthing
  arthing
  arthing
  arthing    
  The western part of the Shire runs from the Three-
  Farthing Stone west as far as the Far Downs and 
  includes the White Downs. 
   
  • 
  Michel Delving
  Michel Delving
  Michel Delving
  Michel Delving on the White Downs is the chief 
  town of the Shire. Its name means simply "large 
  excavation". The Mayor of Michel Delving, with 
  a seven-year term, is the only elected official of 
  the Shire. Currently, the Mayor is Will 
  Whitfoot, the fattest hobbit in the West 
  farthing. Michel Delving houses the mathom-
  house, a museum for old items 
   
  • 
  Little Delving
  Little Delving
  Little Delving
  Little Delving is a village to the north of Michel 
  Michel 
  Michel 
  Michel 
  Delving
  Delving
  Delving
  Delving 
   
  • 
  Waymeet
  Waymeet
  Waymeet
  Waymeet grew up at the junction of the Great 
  East Road with the older South Road that 
  crossed the Baranduin at Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford before the 
  Brandywine Bridge was built 
   
  • 
  The village of Hardbottle
  Hardbottle
  Hardbottle
  Hardbottle is the home of the 
  Bracegirdle family, to whom Lobelia Sackville-
  Baggins belonged before she married and 
  moved to the South Farthing 
      
  • 
  Tuckbor
  Tuckbor
  Tuckbor
  Tuckborough
  ough
  ough
  ough is the centre of the Took 
  homeland where most Tooks dwell. The Thain's 
  extended family lives here in the Great Smials 
   
  • 
  Bywater
  Bywater
  Bywater
  Bywater is a village situated on the East Road 
  along a natural pool in the stream called The 
  Water, a river running through the centre of the 
  Shire. It is known for two inns, "the Green 
  Dragon"] and "the Ivy Bush" as well as hosting 
  the annual Four Farthings Cricket Tournament 
   
  • 
  Rushock Bog
  Rushock Bog
  Rushock Bog
  Rushock Bog is a swampy area along The 
  Water, situated near the town of Needlehole
  Needlehole
  Needlehole
  Needlehole 
   
  • 
  Hobbiton
  Hobbiton
  Hobbiton
  Hobbiton is a village along a stream locally 
  known as The Water, a short distance west of 
  Bywater. There are no stables, inns, or pubs in 
  the town, the nearest of which are found in 
  Bywater. The neighbourhood to the north, The 
  The 
  The 
  The 
  Hill
  Hill
  Hill
  Hill, is divided into Underhill on the south and 
  Overhill on the north; The Hill Road runs north 
  from Bagshot Lane and continues onward to 
  Overhill 
   
   
      
   
  • 
  Bag End
  Bag End
  Bag End
  Bag End is an unnumbered smial built by 
  Bungo Baggins of Hobbiton as a wedding gift to 
  Belladonna Took, a daughter of Gerontius Took 
  of Tookland. Bungo built the hole in the side of 
  a hill off a path leading from The Hill Road on 
  the north side of Hobbiton. It sits above its 
  three closest poorer neighbours on Bagshot 
  Row 
   
  The 
  The 
  The 
  The South
  South
  South
  South    FFFFarthing
  arthing
  arthing
  arthing    
  The South farthing is the site of Longbottom
  Longbottom
  Longbottom
  Longbottom, where 
  the best pipe-weed is grown, owing to the area's 
  warmer climate. 
   
  • 
  At Longbottom
  Longbottom
  Longbottom
  Longbottom, Tobold Hornblower introduced 
  the cultivation of pipe-weed to the Shire with 
  plantations in his garden, c. TA 2670 
   
  • 
  The Green Hill Country
  The Green Hill Country
  The Green Hill Country
  The Green Hill Country is a region of rolling 
  countryside in the central part of the Shire, 
  extending into both the South Farthing and the 
  East Farthing 
   
  • 
  Sackville 
  Sackville 
  Sackville 
  Sackville is the second largest town of the 
  South Farthing, surrounded wheatfields and 
  orchards, and terraced vineyards and melon-
  fields on the nearby hills. The Sackville’s are 
  rare among hobbits in the pride they take 
  selling their goods to folk ‘over the bounds’. 
  Wine and leaf from Sackville may find its way 
  as far east as Dale. 
   
  • 
  The Overbourne Marshes
  The Overbourne Marshes
  The Overbourne Marshes
  The Overbourne Marshes    are a swampy area 
  along the western bank of the Baranduin, 
  across the river from the mouth of the 
  Withywindle. The River Shirebourne flows 
  through the marshes into the Baranduin just 
  south of Haysend
  Haysend
  Haysend
  Haysend 
   
  • 
  Haysend 
  Haysend 
  Haysend 
  Haysend lies on the borders between the South 
  and East Farthings and Buckland 
   
  • 
  Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford
  Sarn Ford is the stony ford across the 
  Baranduin on the southern borders of the 
  Shire. A road leaving the Great East Road at 
  Waymeet crosses the ford and meets the 
  Greenway farther east 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  The
  The
  The
  The    East
  East
  East
  East    FFFFarthing
  arthing
  arthing
  arthing    
  The East Farthing borders Buckland and contains 
  the towns Frogmorton
  Frogmorton
  Frogmorton
  Frogmorton and Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows and the 
  farms of the Marish
  Marish
  Marish
  Marish. The farmers near the 
  Brandywine largely acknowledged the authority of 
  the Oldbucks, even after the latter moved across the 
  river and became the Brandybucks. 
   
  • 
  The Marish
  The Marish
  The Marish
  The Marish is the name of fertile but marshy 
  farmlands along the Brandywine River. The 
  Marish was settled about thirty years after the 
  Shire had been created, by Stoors who arrived 
  there 
  from 
  Dunland. 
  The 
  Marish 
  was 
  important in Shire history as the home of 
  Bucca, the first of the Shire-thains. Gorhendad, 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  descendants, 
  crossed 
  the 
  Brandywine and founded Buckland. Farmer 
  Maggot lives at Bamfu
  Bamfu
  Bamfu
  Bamfurlong
  rlong
  rlong
  rlong the largest of the 
  farms in the Marish 
   
  • 
  SSSStock
  tock
  tock
  tock is the major town of the Marish and the 
  location of "the Golden Perch", an inn with a 
  reputation for excellent beer and mead. Stock 
  Road is a road that runs eastwards from 
  Tuckborough in the West Farthing across the 
  Green Hill Country and past the Yale to Stock 
   
  • 
  The Yale
  The Yale
  The Yale
  The Yale is a low-lying farming area shown on 
  the Shire Map between the Stock Road and the 
  East Road. This is the homeland of the Boffin 
  family 
   
  • 
  Scary
  Scary
  Scary
  Scary is a village in the northern part of the 
  East Farthing at the southern feet of the Hills of 
  Scary. A road runs south from Scary to cross 
  the Water at Budgeford
  Budgeford
  Budgeford
  Budgeford and join the Great East 
  Road at Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows
  Whitfurrows 
   
  • 
  Woody End
  Woody End
  Woody End
  Woody End is a forested upland near the 
  village of Woodhall
  Woodhall
  Woodhall
  Woodhall 
   
  • 
  Woodhall 
  Woodhall 
  Woodhall 
  Woodhall 
  is 
  small 
  handsome 
  village 
  surrounded by orchards and groves of well-
  tended apple trees 
      
  Buckland
  Buckland
  Buckland
  Buckland    
  Not originally part of the Shire, Buckland lies east of 
  the Baranduin (Brandywine) river. The area is 
  protected from the nearby Old Forest by the "High 
  Hay", a tall hedge which forms the eastern border of 
  Buckland, running from the Brandywine Bridge in 
  the north to the confluence of the Withywindle with 
  the Baranduin near the village of Haysend
  Haysend
  Haysend
  Haysend in the 
  south.  
   
  The main entrance to Buckland from the north is a 
  gate in the Hay, called variously the Buckland Gate, 
  the North Gate, or the Hay Gate, located "where the 
  Hedge runs down to the river-bank, just this side of 
  the Bridge," opening onto the East Road from the 
  Shire to Bree. 
    
  Unlike other hobbits the Bucklanders are prepared 
  for danger and less naive than the Shire-hobbits. 
  They close the Hay Gate and lock their own front 
  doors at night, and are prepared to rush to arms at 
  the sound of the Horn of Buckland. Most 
  Bucklanders were originally of Stoor stock, and they 
  are the only hobbits known to use boats. 
   
  • 
  Bucklebury
  Bucklebury
  Bucklebury
  Bucklebury is the main town of Buckland. The 
  Master of Buckland, hereditary chieftain of the 
  Brandybuck family, maintains his home here 
  at Brandy Hall 
   
  • 
  The Bucklebury Ferry
  The Bucklebury Ferry
  The Bucklebury Ferry
  The Bucklebury Ferry, a raft-ferry some ten 
  miles south of the Bridge, provides another 
  crossing of the Brandywine from the Shire to 
  Buckland. It is unmanned, to be used by 
  hobbits as needed 
   
  • 
  Crickhollow
  Crickhollow
  Crickhollow
  Crickhollow is a village in Buckland 
    
  The 
  The 
  The 
  The Westmarch
  Westmarch
  Westmarch
  Westmarch    
  The Westmarch is not part of the Shire officially and 
  reaches from the western borders of the Shire, the 
  Far Downs, to the Tower Hills.  
   
   
  
  HISTORY 
  Note that this information is not widely known to 
  hobbit-kind but is included here as a point of 
  interest for players. 
   
  The Shire was settled by Hobbits in the year 1601 of 
  the Third Age (Year 1 in Shire Reckoning).  
   
  The Hobbits (who originally lived in the Vale of 
  Anduin) had migrated west over the perilous Misty 
  Mountains in the decades before that, and before 
  entering the Shire they had lived in Dunland and 
  parts of the depopulated Arnorian splinter-realms 
  Cardolan and Rhudaur. It has been speculated that 
  the Hobbits had originally moved west to escape the 
  troubles of Mirkwood, and the evil caused by the 
  Easterlings. 
    
  The Shire was a part of Arthedain, and as such a 
  part of Arnor. The Hobbits obtained official 
  permission from King Argeleb II at Fornost to settle 
  the lands, which were not populated and were seen 
  as the king's hunting grounds. The King stipulated 
  three conditions to this grant;  
   
  i) 
  That the hobbits should acknowledge his 
  Lordship 
   
  ii) 
  That they should maintain the roads within the 
  Shire  
   
  iii) That they should aid his messengers 
   
  The 
  Hobbits 
  therefore 
  considered 
  themselves 
  subjects of the king and sent some archers to the 
  great battles Arnor fought against Angmar. After the 
  fall of Arnor, the Shire remained a minor but 
  independent, self-governing realm. The chiefs of the 
  Clans elected an official named the Thain to hold 
  the king's powers after the North-kingdom fell. The 
  first Thains were the heads of the Oldbuck clan. The 
  position later came to be held by the Tooks. 
    
  Its small size, relative lack of importance, and brave 
  and resilient Hobbit population made it too modest 
  an objective for conquest. The only strangers to 
  enter the Shire are the Dwarves travelling on the 
  Great Road that runs through the Shire to and from 
  their mines in the Blue Mountains, and the 
  occasional Elves on their way to the Grey Havens. 
    
   
   
  GOVERNMENT 
  The only government services of the Shire are the 
  Message Service (the post) and the Watch. 
   
  The Watch
  The Watch
  The Watch
  The Watch    
  The Watch are the police, whose officers are called 
  Shirriffs, and whose chief duty in times of peace 
  merely involves the rounding up of stray livestock. 
  The total number of regular Shirriffs is 12, three for 
  each Farthing. There is also a somewhat larger and 
  fluctuating number of Bounders, a kind of 
  unofficial border control.  
   
  Regional Families
  Regional Families
  Regional Families
  Regional Families    
  To a large extent, individual families and clans 
  handle their own internal affairs. Where a 
  prominent family is associated with a certain area 
  of the Shire, the head of that family will also 
  exercise a kind of authority over the land and 
  hobbits there.  
   
  • 
  The Master of the Hall or Master of Buckland
  Master of Buckland
  Master of Buckland
  Master of Buckland 
  (the two titles are used interchangeably), 
  hereditary head of the Brandybuck family, is 
  the effective ruler of Buckland. The title Master 
  of the Hall comes from his more immediate 
  authority over Brandy Hall, the greatest of the 
  dwelling places of the Brandybuck family, 
  filling Buck Hill in Bucklebury. The Master also 
  exercises a good deal of authority in the 
  Marish, a region of the East Farthing just 
  across the Brandywine from Buckland. 
  • 
  Similarly, the HHHHead of the Took F
  ead of the Took F
  ead of the Took F
  ead of the Took Family
  amily
  amily
  amily, often 
  just called the Took, rules the ancestral Took 
  dwelling of Great Smials, the village of 
  Tuckborough, and the wider area known as the 
  Tookland. 
    
  The Thain and The Mayor
  The Thain and The Mayor
  The Thain and The Mayor
  The Thain and The Mayor    
  There are only two Shire-wide officials, the Thain 
  and the Mayor. The Thainship is a hereditary office, 
  set up after the collapse of the Kingdom of 
  Arthedain, to hold the King's authority over the 
  Shire. In practice, the Thain's duties are limited, 
  mostly related to defence: the Thain is the master of 
  the Shire-moot, and captain of the Shire-muster and 
  the Hobbitry-in-arms; but as muster and moot are 
  only held in times of emergency, which no longer 
  occur, the Thainship has ceased to be more than a 
  nominal dignity. Nevertheless, the feeling remains 
  widespread that, in the absence of a King, the Thain 
  is the source for all proper authority in the Shire.    
      
      
  
      
      
  The Thainship
  The Thainship
  The Thainship
  The Thainship  
  In TA 2998 (SR 1398), the office of Thain has existed 
  for approximately 1,000 years. The first Thain, 
  Bucca of the Marish, took office in SR 379; he and 
  his 11 successors of the Oldbuck family held the 
  Thainship for 361 years. When Gorhendad Oldbuck 
  led his family to settle Buckland (SR 740), the office 
  of Thain passed to Isumbras I, head of the Took 
  family, which has held the Thainship ever since. 
  Thains of the Shire include: 
   
  • 
  Bucca of the Marish (379-?) 
   
  ... [11 Thains of the Oldbuck line, possibly 
  including Gorhendad Oldbuck, who removed 
  to Buckland] 
   
  • 
  Isumbras I Took (740-?) 
   
  ... [8 Thains of the Took line] 
   
  • 
  Isengrim II (? – 1122) 
  • 
  Isumbras III (1122 – 1159) 
  • 
  Ferumbras II (1159 – 1201) 
  • 
  Fortinbras I (1201 – 1248) 
  • 
  Gerontius, the Old Took (1248 – 1320) 
  • 
  Isengrim III (1320 – 1330) 
  • 
  Isumbras IV (1330 – 1339) 
  • 
  Fortinbras II (1339 – 1380) 
  • 
  Ferumbras III (1380 – Present) 
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
  The 
  The 
  The 
  The Office of 
  Office of 
  Office of 
  Office of Mayor
  Mayor
  Mayor
  Mayor        
  The chief official of the Shire is the Mayor of Michel 
  Delving. Elected every seven years at the "Free Fair" 
  held on the White Downs in the West Farthing, the 
  Mayor is also the Postmaster and First Shirriff of the 
  Shire. 
    
  The Laws of the Shire
  The Laws of the Shire
  The Laws of the Shire
  The Laws of the Shire    
  The Hobbits of the Shire generally obey the Rules, 
  that is, the ancient laws of the North Kingdom, and 
  there is no real need to enforce them; all Hobbits 
  voluntarily obey them as they are both ancient and 
  just.  
   
  Hobbits have lawyers, but these deal mostly with 
  wills and other civil matters; there is no record of a 
  formal 
  court 
  system, 
  still 
  less 
  of 
  criminal 
  prosecutions or punishments. In the Shire, no 
  Hobbit has ever been known intentionally to kill 
  another Hobbit. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Middle-Earth™ (MERP) [multi]/The One Ring/Third Party.Homebrew/A Guide to the Shire.pdf