One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.

THE SHIRE

Places in grey are in approximate locations.

Shire

The word shire means "province, district, region." In England, a shire is a county and the word appears in many place names such as Yorkshire, Hampshire, etc.

The name Shire is from Old English scr, meaning a land granted as a fiefdom.

The land of Hobbits west of the Brandywine River in Eriador in the northwest of Middle-earth.

Founded 3A1601 (year 1 by the Shire-reckoning), and expanded to include Buckland and the Westmarch in 4A0041 (1452 by the Shire-reckoning)

At the end of the Third Age, the Shire was the most populous country of the Hobbits in the north of Middle-earth. It was founded in the middle of the Third Age by the Bree-hobbits Marcho and Blanco, and gifted to them and their followers by King Argeleb II of Arthedain, within whose borders the land lay at that time.

The Shire was divided into four farthings, North, South, East and West; its chief town was at Michel Delving on the White Downs, in the Westfarthing. The Mayor of Michel Delving was accounted among the most important of the Shire-hobbits, as was the Thain (the head of the Took family).

The Shire was largely given over to agriculture, and its land was well-suited for farming. One of its chief products was Halflings' Leaf (tobacco), grown especially in the warmer regions of the Southfarthing.

A shire is an organised region with a "county-town". In the case of the Hobbits' Shire this was Michel Delving. The Shire was an area of about 18.000 square miles.

Founders of The Shire: Blanco and Marcho. 3A1601 = SR1601.

-LAND OF THE HALFLINGS. Land of the Halflings

-SZA. (Hg) "Shire".

See also HOBBITS, RULERS, RULERS (PDF), FAMILIES.

LIBRARIES of the Hobbits. Library in Brandy Hall, Great Smials, Undertowers.

SHIRE CALENDAR = CALENDAR OF THE SHIRE. See CALENDARS

SHIRE-FOLK. Shire-folk

SHIRE-HISTORIANS.

SHIRE-HOBBITS. Shire-hobbits

SHIRE-MOOT. See RULERS > THAIN

SHIRE-MUSTER. See RULERS > THAIN

SHIRE-RECKONING = CALENDAR OF THE SHIRE. See CALENDARS

SHIRE-REFORM = CALENDAR OF THE SHIRE. See CALENDARS

INNS.

-BRIDGE INN, THE. Shire Eastfarthing. Located on the Great East Road at the west end of the Brandywine Bridge. Torn down during Lotho's control of the Shire.

Inn near the Brandywine Bridge. The Bridge Inn was on the west side of the Brandywine River. It was likely used by travellers on the Great East Road. When the Shire was occupied by Men during the War of the Ring, the Bridge Inn was torn down and replaced with a guard house and gates were erected on the Bridge.

Bridge Inn

-FLOATING LOG, THE. A good inn at Frogmorton. Closed during the WR by Sharkey's Men.

The Floating Log was a good inn situated on the Great East Road. During the War of the Ring, the inn was closed. Frodo Baggins and his companions intended to stay at the inn when they came to Frogmorton on their way home on November 1, 3019 of the Third Age, but they were arrested and taken to the Shirriff-house instead.

Floating Log

-FORSAKEN INN, THE. See MEN OF BREE

-GOLDEN PERCH, THE. The inn at Stock. Reputed at the time of the WR to have the best beer in the Eastfarthing.

Inn in the village of Stock that served the finest beer in the Eastfarthing, according to Pippin Took. He was hoping to stop at the Golden Perch on the way to Crickhollow, but Frodo replied, "'Short cuts make delays, but inns make longer ones."

According to Tolkien, the Golden Perch may have been popular with anglers, or fishermen, since a perch is a type of fish.

Golden Perch

-GREEN DRAGON, THE. The inn at Bywater, located on the Hobbiton side of the village, frequented by Hobbits of both villages.

The Green Dragon was the last building on the side of Bywater nearest to Hobbiton. It was located on the Bywater Road which linked with the Great East Road. Hobbits from Bywater, Hobbiton, and the surrounding area came to the Green Dragon for pints of beer and gossip.

On April 27, 2941 of the Third Age, at the beginning of the quest to the Lonely Mountain, Thorin and Company went ahead to the Green Dragon to make preparations and await Bilbo Baggins.

One evening in early April of 3018, Sam Gamgee and Ted Sandyman, the miller's son, were at the Green Dragon. Sam spoke of strange things that had been happening, such as queer folk passing through the Shire and the Tree-man his cousin Hal claimed to have seen on the North Moors. Sam was particularly sad about the passing of the Elves westward as they left Middle-earth. Ted Sandyman scoffed at Sam's tales.

When Sam and the others returned to Bywater after the quest on November 2, 3019, they found that the windows of the inn were broken and the building looked lifeless. Six rough-looking Men lounged against the inn-wall, but the Hobbits drew their swords and the Men ran to Hobbiton for reinforcements. The next day the Men were defeated by the Hobbits in the Battle of Bywater.

Green Dragon

-IVY BUSH, THE. The inn on the Bywater Road in the Shire, frequented by Hobbits from Bywater and Hobbiton.

The Ivy Bush was a small inn that was frequented by residents of Bywater and Hobbiton as well as visitors from other parts of the Shire. In September of 3001, Gaffer Gamgee, the gardener at Bag End, had an interested audience at the inn for his stories about Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, who were about to throw a magnificent joint birthday party.

The Ivy Bush

-OLD GUESTHOUSE. See MINAS TIRITH

-PRANCING PONY, THE. See MEN OF BREE

BAG END. See BILBO

BAGGINS COUNTRY. See FAMILIES. > BAGGINS.

BAGSHOT ROW. Bagshot Row was so named because the holes were dug into a slope that was formed when the excess dirt from the digging of Bag End was "shot" over a steep side of the Hill.

Lane at the bottom of the Hill below Bag End. There were three smaller Hobbit-holes along Bagshot Row numbered 1, 2, and 3. Sam Gamgee and his father Hamfast lived at Number 3 Bagshot Row. Daddy Twofoot was the Gaffer's next-door neighbor at Number 2 Bagshot Row.

During the War of the Ring, when Saruman's minions occupied the Shire, Bagshot Row was dug up and replaced with a sand and gravel quarry. Sam's father and the other tenants were forced out of their homes and placed in shacks. After the Hobbits expelled the invaders, one of the first things they did was restore Bagshot Row. New holes were dug in the south side of the Hill. The holes were lined with brick, and a sheltered garden was planted in front. Hamfast Gamgee moved back into Number 3.

New names were considered for the restored Bagshot Row, including Better Smials and Battle Gardens, but in the end New Row was chosen. In Bywater, it was jokingly referred to as Sharkey's End because Saruman had met his death on the Hill.

Street in Hobbiton, running along the side of Hobbiton Hill below Bag End. It was a row of small holes in the lane, said to have been so named because the earth removed in excavating Bag End was shot over the edge of the sudden fall in the hillside onto the ground which later became the gardens and earthwalls of the humbler dwellings. The name has the same meaning "bag" as Bag End. Before the WR, the Gamgees lived at Number 3 Bagshot Row and

Daddy Twofoot lived nextdoor. During the WR, Bagshot Row was torn up by Saruman and made into gravel and sand quarry. After the WR, Bagshot Row was restored and named New Row.

Hobbit-holes carved into Hobbiton hill. Living at number 3 Bagshot Row was Hamfast Gamgee or Gaffer as he was more commonly known, while next door to him was Daddy Twofoot. During the War of the Ring, Sharkey (Saruman) had his followers dig up Bagshot Row and force the Hobbits from their homes. When order was restored, Bagshot Row was reinstated and renamed New Row, although by some it was jokingly called Sharkey's End, the place of Sarumans demise.

Lane at the bottom of the Hill below Bag End. There were three smaller Hobbit-holes along Bagshot Row numbered 1, 2, and 3. Sam Gamgee and his father Hamfast lived at Number 3 Bagshot Row. Daddy Twofoot was the Gaffer's next-door neighbor at Number 2 Bagshot Row.

During the War of the Ring, when Saruman's minions occupied the Shire, Bagshot Row was dug up and replaced with a sand and gravel quarry. Sam's father and the other tenants were forced out of their homes and placed in shacks. After the Hobbits expelled the invaders, one of the first things they did was restore Bagshot Row. New holes were dug in the south side of the Hill. The holes were lined with brick, and a sheltered garden was planted in front. Hamfast Gamgee moved back into Number 3.

New names were considered for the restored Bagshot Row, including Better Smials and Battle Gardens, but in the end New Row was chosen. In Bywater, it was jokingly referred to as Sharkey's End because Saruman had met his death on the Hill.

Bagshot Row was so named because the holes were dug into a slope that was formed when the excess dirt from the digging of Bag End was "shot" over a steep side of the Hill.

-BATTLE GARDENS. Battle Gardens A name mooted for the remade Bagshot Row.

-NUMBER 3 BAGSHOT ROW. Hole in Bagshot Row. The Gamgees lived here at the time of the WR.

It was ruined by the Chief's Men during Lotho's control of the Shire. Later it was rebuilt and lined with brick.

-NEW ROW. New Row

Street that had been Bagshot Row. The name New Row was given after it was completely rebuilt following its ruin by the Chief's Men in 3A3018-3019. In Bywater the street was in gest called Sharkey's End, since Saruman had been killed here.

-RUFFIANS END.

-SHARKEY'S END. Sharkeys EndA name in Bywater for New Row.

Bagshot Row

BAMFURLONG = WHITFURROWS.

BAMFURLONG. Farm. See HOBBITS > FARMER MAGGOT.

BATTLE GARDENS. See BAGSHOT ROW.

BATTLE PIT NEAR BYWATER. A sand-pit near Bywater (Shire) where the Chief's Men slain in the Battle of Bywater were buried.

Mass grave of the Chief's Men in the Shire. The Battle Pit was a sand pit near Bywater where the bodies of about 70 Men were buried after the Battle of Bywater on November 3, 3019 of the Third Age, at the end of the War of the Ring.

The 19 slain Hobbits were buried in a separate grave, marked by a garden and a stone memorial.

BINDBALE WOOD. The name Bindbole Wood has been mistakenly interpreted as Bindbale Wood because of unclear type on some maps of the Shire. The word bole means "tree trunk."

Forest in the Northfarthing. A woodland area lying some fifteen miles to the north of Hobbiton, across the border of the Northfarthing. Also BINDBOLE WOOD.

Bindbole Wood

Woods in the Northfarthing of the Shire, about 15 miles north of Hobbiton.

Bindbole Wood

BOFFIN COUNTRY. See FAMILIES > BOFFIN, BOLGER COUNTRY. See FAMILIES > BOLGER.

BONFIRE GLADE. Place in Old Forest. See ERIADOR > OLD FOREST.

BRANDY HALL. See RULERS > MASTER

BRANDYWINE BRIDGE.

Also called the Great Bridge and the Bridge of Stonebows. The Brandywine Bridge was build across the Brandywine River, on the Great East Road, by Arnor.

By Hobbits called Brandywine Bridge and the Bridge.

The proper name of the Brandywine Bridge was the Bridge of Stonebows. It was so named because of the three stone arches supporting it.

Bridge spanning the Brandywine River on the Great East Road. The Brandywine Bridge was also called the Bridge of Stonebows. It was a great stone bridge supported by three arches. The Bridge was the major crossing of the Brandywine River. The river could also be crossed at Sarn Ford on the southern border of the Shire or by the Bucklebury Ferry to Buckland.

The Brandywine Bridge was located on the eastern border of the Shire. Distances across the Shire were measured starting from the eastern end of the Brandywine Bridge. Just east of the Bridge on the south side of the Great East Road, the North-gate through the High Hay led into Buckland. The Road then continued past the Old Forest and on to Bree about 40 miles away.

The region of Bridgefields in the Shire was immediately west of the Brandywine Bridge. The Bridge Inn was a resting place for travellers on the west side of the Bridge. The Causeway ran south from the Brandywine Bridge to Stock and on through the Marish to Rushey and Deephallow.

The Brandywine Bridge was built by the Men of Arnor in the early days of the North-kingdom, which was founded in 3320 of the Second Age. It was part of the Great East Road which was the major thoroughfare across Eriador.

In 1601 of the Third Age, King Argeleb II gave permission to a group of Hobbits led by Marcho and Blanco to settle the land west of the Brandywine Bridge as far as the Far Downs. In exchange, the Hobbits of the Shire were required to keep the roads and bridges, including the Brandywine Bridge, in good repair.

During the War of the Ring, the Shire was occupied by Men in the service of Saruman. They erected great spiked gates at either end of the Brandywine Bridge. The gates were locked between sundown and sunrise and no one was permitted across. They tore down the Bridge Inn and replaced it with guard-houses. Hob Hayward was one of the guards stationed at the Bridge, and a Man of Bree named Bill Ferny supervised the Hobbit guards.

Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin returned to the Shire on the night of October 30, 3019, and found the gates on the Bridge locked. Merry and Pippin climbed the east gate and forced Bill Ferny to unlock it. The Hobbit guards let them through the west gate and they spent the night in a guard-house. The Men were driven from the Shire in the Battle of Bywater on November 3. Afterwards, everything the Men had built in the Shire was dismantled, presumably including the guard-houses and the gates on the Bridge.

In the year 15 of the Fourth Age, Aragorn, King Elessar, met with Sam, Merry and Pippin at the Brandywine Bridge. The King had decreed that Men were not allowed to enter the Shire, but he came to the Brandywine Bridge from time to time so that Hobbits could see and speak with him.

Brandywine Bridge

-BRIDGE OF STONEBOWES. Bridge of Stonebows

-BARANDUIN BRIDGE.

-GREAT BRIDGE. Great Bridge

-VARANDUINIANT.

See also INNS > BRIDGE INN THE. See also BRIDGEHOUSE.

BRANDYWINE RIVER.

Also called the Baranduin in Sindarin. The name Baranduin comes from the words baran meaning "golden brown" and duin meaning "river." The old Hobbit name for the river was Branda-nn meaning "border water," but Hobbits also jokingly referred to the river as Bralda-hm meaning "heady ale."

The name Sarn Ford includes the Sindarin word sarn meaning "small stone." The full Sindarin translation is Sarn Athrad. The ford was so called because of the small stones in the riverbed there.

River in Eriador. The Brandywine originated in Lake Evendim in the north and flowed south-southwest to the Sea. The Brandywine was the eastern border of the Shire. The region of Buckland was east of the Brandywine near the Old Forest. Girdley Island was in the middle of the river just north of the forest. The Brandywine was broad and its waters appeared golden-brown in color.

Sarn Ford was located on the Brandywine south of the Old Forest. The ford was a wide area of shingles, or small stones. A road that branched off the Greenway passed over Sarn Ford into the Shire.

The Great East Road crossed the Brandywine over the Bridge of Stonebows - also called the Brandywine Bridge - located at the northern border of Buckland. The bridge had been built at the height of the North-kingdom. Nearby, the Bridge Inn was a resting place for travelers.

Hobbits also used the Bucklebury Ferry to cross the river into Buckland. On the western bank, the Ferry crossing was in the Marish. There was a wooden landing stage where the Ferry could be docked. On the Buckland side, the Ferry crossing was near the town of Bucklebury. The Ferry itself was a large, flat boat that could be maneuvered across the river using long poles.

Around 1700 of the Second Age - long before the founding of the Shire - Sarn Ford was the site of a battle between the forces of Sauron and the combined forces of the Elves and the Men of Numenor. Sauron's forces were in retreat, and at Sarn Ford their numbers were further reduced. They were driven southeastward to Tharbad where they were finally defeated in the Battle of Gwathlo in 1701.

In the year 1601 of the Third Age, the Fallohide brothers Marcho and Blanco led a group of Hobbits from Bree west across the Brandywine. They had obtained permission from King Argeleb II at Fornost to settle the lands between the Brandywine and the Far Downs. This land became known as the Shire. Shire Reckoning began with the crossing of the Brandywine.

In 2340, Gorhendad Oldbuck crossed the Brandywine going the other way and settled in the lands between the river and the Old Forest. This area became known as Buckland and was the traditional home of the Brandybuck family, as the Oldbucks were renamed.

During the Fell Winter of 2911 (1311 S.R.), the Brandywine froze over and white wolves crossed into the Shire.

The Brandybucks sometimes went boating on the Brandywine. This practice stood Merry Brandybuck in good stead when the Fellowship traveled by boat down the Anduin. But boating was the cause of the deaths of Frodo Baggins' parents, who drowned in the Brandywine in 2980.

In the late Third Age, the Rangers of the North guarded the borders of the Shire, where the One Ring was hidden. Rangers were stationed at Sarn Ford, where the road from the Greenway entered the Shire. On September 22, 3018, the Rangers at the ford were slain or driven away by the Nazgl led by the Witch-king. Some of the Nazgl crossed the Brandywine and entered the Shire in search of the One Ring.

Frodo Baggins - the Ring-bearer - and his companions used the Bucklebury Ferry to cross the Brandywine on their way to Crickhollow in Buckland on September 25, 3018. When they reached the eastern bank, they saw Khamul, one of the Nazgl, on the western side lurking around the Ferry landing. The Nazgl was unable to follow them across and had to go north to the Brandywine Bridge.

When the Hobbits returned to the Shire, they found that great spiked gates had been erected on either end of the Brandywine Bridge. No one was allowed to cross the bridge between sundown and sunrise, but the four companions took no notice of that rule. Merry tore down the notice and he and Pippin climbed the gate. The Hobbits then crossed the river into the Shire and set about freeing their land from Saruman's minions.

Aragorn, King Elessar, came north in the year 15 of the Fourth Age. Since he had decreed that Men were not to enter the Shire, he met Merry Brandybuck, Sam Gamgee, and Peregrin Took at the Brandywine Bridge.

Brandywine

-BARANDUIN. (S) "Brown River". Baranduin

-BARANDUINEN.

-BRALDA-HM. (Hg) "Heady-ale". Bralda-hm

-BRANDA-NN. (Hg) "Border-water". Branda-nn

-BRANDUIN.

-BROWN RIVER THE.

-MALEVARN.

-RIVER THE. River

BREREDON. Breredon means "Briar Hill" from the Old English brere meaning "briar" and don meaning "down, hill."

Village in Buckland, near Haysend. Breredon (Briar Hill) was a little village on rising ground behind the hythe, in the the Brandywine.

Breredon was at the mouth of the Withywindle between the Brandywine River and the end of the High Hay. The small village was on a slope behind a haven called the Grindwall in the north bank of the Withywindle. The village of Haysend was nearby.

Breredon

BRIDGE INN. See INNS.

BRIDGEFIELDS. Region in Eastfarthing of the Shire. Bridgefields was located near the Brandywine Bridge on the west side of the Brandywine River. It was north of the Great East Road. The Water flowed through Bridgefields on its way to the Brandywine. Fatty Bolger and his sister Estella were from Budgeford in Bridgefields.

Bridgefields

BRIDGEHOUSE, BRIDGE-HOUSE.

During Lotho Sackville-Baggins' control of the Shire built at the west end of the Brandywine Bridge.

It was one of the ugly and uncomfortable hobbit guardhouses in that area. The house had two floors, narrow windows, and inadequate fireplaces.

BROCKENBORES. Also spelt Brockenborings. Village in the Eastfarthing near the Hills of Scary. During the WR Fredegar Bolger had his headquarters for his band here. Network of caves and tunnels in the Hills of Scary in the Shire. Fredegar Bolger and his band of rebels hid in the Brockenbores during the War of the Ring.

The name means "badgers' borings or tunnellings." The word brock is an old word for "badger."

Brockenbores Brockenborings

BUCK HILL.

Hill in Buckland. Buck Hill was a low hill located on the east bank of the Brandywine River. A path led from the Bucklebury Ferry to Buck Hill. Brandy Hall, the ancestral home of the Brandybucks, was a many-tunnelled mansion dug into the slopes of the hill. It had three large front doors, several smaller doors, and hundreds of windows carved into the sides of the hill. The village of Bucklebury was in the banks and slopes behind Brandy Hall.

The hill near Bucklebury in Buckland in which was delved Brandy Hall.

Buck Hill

BUCKLAND.

The word buck is from the Old English bucc meaning "male deer" or bucca meaning "male goat." Tolkien also noted that as an English place-name Buckland is frequently derived from book-land meaning a land held by a written charter.

Also called the East March because it was the eastern march or borderland of the Shire.

Town and Region. For language see Bucklandish.

Region on the eastern border of the Shire; home of the Brandybuck family. Buckland was located outside the four farthings of the Shire on the east side of the Brandywine River. It was a narrow strip of land stretching from the Brandywine Bridge at the Great East Road in the north to the River Withywindle in the south. On the eastern border of Buckland was the Old Forest.

Buckland was settled by Hobbits in 2340 of the Third Age, when Gorhendad Oldbuck led his family across the Brandywine from the Marish. He changed the family name to Brandybuck and built Brandy Hall, an extensive Hobbit-hole in Buck Hill. The head of the Brandybuck family came to be called the Master of Buckland, and his authority was recognized not only in Buckland but also by many of the farmers in the Marish on the west side of the Brandywine. Buckland could be reached by the Brandywine Bridge or by the Bucklebury Ferry.

The Hobbits of Buckland built a tall hedge called the High Hay on their eastern border. It ran along the edge of the Old Forest for over 20 miles, from the Brandywine Bridge in the north to the Withywindle in the south. The trees of the Old Forest attacked the High Hay and the Hobbits retaliated by cutting a swath through the trees at the edge of the forest and burning them. There was a gate in the Hedge, and Bucklanders would occasionally venture into the Old Forest.

Bucklanders were considered queer by many folk in the Shire proper. In addition to their forays into the Old Forest, Bucklanders were known to travel as far as Bree. They were also familiar with boats, and some could even swim.

Buckland was densely populated. The main village was Bucklebury, around the slopes of Buck Hill. Other villages included Newbury, Standelf, and Haysend at the mouth of the Withywindle. Crickhollow was a small village northeast of Bucklebury where Frodo Baggins bought a home when he sold Bag End in the summer of 3018.

Frodo traveled to Crickhollow along with Sam Gamgee and Pippin Took on September 25. There they were greeted by Merry Brandybuck, who had arrived two days earlier to prepare for Frodo's arrival. At Crickhollow, Frodo learned that his friends Merry and Pippin intended to accompany him on his quest. They left Buckland the next morning, going through the gate in the High Hay into the Old Forest.

See also HORN-CALL OF BUCKLAND.

Buckland

Region on the eastern border of the Shire; home of the Brandybuck family.

-BURY UNDERWOOD. Early name of Buckland (as village). (Replaced Wood Eaton).

-EASTMARCH. Eastmarch of the Shire

-WOOD EATON. Earliest name of Buckland (as village). (Replaced by Bury Underwood).

See also MASTER OF BUCKLAND.

-ROAD TO BUCKLAND.

-ROADS WITHIN BUCKLAND.

BUCKLAND GATE. In High Hay.

Buckland Gate

-HAY GATE. Hay Gate

-NORTH GATE. North Gate

BUCKLEBURY. Buck is from the name Buckland and Brandybuck and bury means "village" in Old English.

Chief village of Buckland. Bucklebury was located on the banks and slopes of Buck Hill behind Brandy Hall, the ancestral home of the Brandybuck family. On the east side of Bucklebury was the main road leading through Buckland, and on the west side was the Brandywine River.

The Bucklebury Ferry was one of the two main ways of crossing the river, along with the Brandywine Bridge. There was a landing stage in Bucklebury and one on the opposite bank in the Marish. The ferry-boats were large and flat and long poles were used to push them across the river. The boats were kept on the Bucklebury side.

Merry Brandybuck met Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, and Pippin Took at the landing stage in the Marish on the evening of September 25, 3018 of the Third Age. The Hobbits crossed the river to Bucklebury. Looking back, they saw a Black Rider on the western shore, but there were no boats on that side and the Rider was unable to follow them across the river. The Hobbits passed through Bucklebury and continued to the small village of Crickhollow northeast of Bucklebury where Frodo had bought a house.

Bucklebury

-BUCKLEBURY-BEYOND-THE-RIVER.

-BUCKLEBURY-BY-THE-RIVER.

BUCKLEBURY FERRY.

Bucklebury Ferry

An unmanned raft, which passing travellers could use to cross the Brandywine River. It was used by Frodo and the other Hobbits as they travelled to Crickhollow in Buckland.

-FERRY THE.

-FORD THE.

BUDGEFORD. The element budge is derived from bulge or bolge, as in the name Bolger. A ford is a shallow place where a river can be crossed.

It was the main residence of the bulgy Bolgers.

The name may be regarded as a corruption of the element "bolge" or "bulge". Whatever the real origin, the name is used in the story to suggest nicknames referring to fatness, tubbiness.

Village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Budgeford was located in Bridgefields on the Water. Nearby was the crossing of Budge Ford, where the road between Scary and Whitfurrows passed over the Water.

Budgeford was the main residence of the Bolger family. Fatty Bolger and his sister Estella were from Budgeford.

Budgeford

BYWATER.

Village in the Eastfarthing a few miles south-east of Hobbiton.

The name: as being beside the wide pool occurring in the course of the Water. Located on the Great East Road about three miles west of the Three Farthing Stone.

In 3A3019 the Battle of Bywater was fought here. The chief inn was the Green Dragon.

Village in the Shire; site of the Battle of Bywater. Bywater was in the Westfarthing on the Water at a point where the river widened to form Bywater Pool. The Bywater Road branched off the Great East Road and passed north through Bywater and past Hobbiton, the neighboring village to the northwest.

The Green Dragon in Bywater was a popular inn for residents of Bywater and Hobbiton as well as for travelers along the Great East Road. Thorin Oakenshield and his company of Dwarves assembled at the Green Dragon in 2941 of the Third Age while awaiting the arrival of their burglar Bilbo Baggins. There was also a post-office in Bywater. In the bank on the north side of Bywater Pool there was a row of Hobbit-holes, and along the road there was an avenue of trees. The most prominent Hobbit in Bywater was Tom Cotton, who had a farm down South Lane.

During the War of the Ring, the trees along the road were cut down by Ted Sandyman and a line of ugly houses were built in their place. The Hobbit-holes in the north bank were deserted and many of the houses had been burned down. The Green Dragon was occupied by ruffians and several of its windows had been broken.

When Frodo Baggins and his companions returned to the Shire and were arrested at Frogmorton on November 1, 3019, the Chief ordered that they be brought to Bywater and handed over to his Men. They set out for Bywater on the morning of November 2, but the four Hobbit adventurers soon outpaced their escort of Shirriffs and went on ahead, saying they'd meet the Shirriffs at the Green Dragon. At the Green Dragon, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, and Sam Gamgee drove off the six ruffians at the inn, but the Men ran toward Hobbiton for reinforcements.

Sam went to Tom Cotton's farm to find the farmer and his sons, while Merry blew the Horn of the Mark and rallied the Hobbits of the Bywater area. Over 200 Hobbits gathered in the center of the village. The Shirriffs who had arrested Frodo and his friends arrived, and many of them joined the ranks of the defenders. Barricades were placed on the road through Bywater. The ruffians from the inn return in a group of 20 Men, but Hobbit archers killed their leader and the rest surrendered and were taken prisoner.

Pippin rode off to Tookland and returned with 100 Hobbits on the morning of November 3. Merry went out scouting in the night and returned to report that 100 Men were heading toward Bywater. Merry orgainzed the Hobbitry and set up a trap on the Bywater Road that the Men walked right into. The Battle of Bywater ensued. In the end, nearly 70 Men were killed and 12 were taken prisoner, while 19 Hobbits died and about 30 were wounded. The dead Men were buried in a nearby sand-pit that came to be called the Battle Pit. The Hobbits were buried separately, and a stone was placed on their grave with a garden around it.

Bywater

BATTLE OF BYWATER. See BATTLES

BATTLE PIT.

GREEN DRAGON THE. See INNS.

BYWATER POOL = POOL OF BYWATER.

BYWATER ROAD.

The Bywater Road was also called the Hobbiton Road, though this name may apply only to the stretch of road between Hobbiton and Bywater.

Road leading from the Great East Road through Bywater and then north-west along the Water for about thirty miles. The inn on the Bywater Road was the Ivy Bush.

IVY BUSH THE. See INNS.

The road that left the main East Road a little to the west of the Three-Farthing Stone, leading to the village of Bywater from which it took its name. From there, it carried on to Hobbiton, where a traveller would turn right and cross a bridge across the Water to reach Hobbiton Hill and Bag End. The road itself carried on into the west, in the direction of Little Delving.

Road in the Shire. The Bywater Road began at the Great East Road and ran northwestward through the village of Bywater and past Hobbiton. For much of the way, the Bywater Road followed the course of the Water. It then veered westward to a crossroads where other roads went on to Little Delving, Nobottle, and Needlehole. (See the map below.)

The Bywater Road began a short distance west of the Three-Farthing Stone. The first section of road ran on an upward slope between two high banks topped with hedges. In the village of Bywater, the road skirted Bywater Pool. The stretch of road along Pool Side was lined with trees. In the middle of the village, the South Lane branched off the Bywater Road to the Cotton's farm. At the far end of the village stood the Green Dragon inn.

Another inn called the Ivy Bush was located somewhere along the Bywater Road. The road ran for about a mile or so between Bywater and Hobbiton, shaded by an avenue of trees. At Hobbiton, there was a bridge across the Water linking the Bywater Road to the Hill Road which ran up the Hill to Bag End and to Overhill beyond.

During the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age, the Shire was occupied by Men in the service of Saruman. The trees along the Bywater Road were cut down. Many of the homes and buildings were replaced by ugly, utilitarian structures.

On November 2, 3019, the Hobbits began to rally to evict the Chief's Men. Merry Brandybuck ordered barricades to be erected on the Bywater Road at both ends of the village. The Hobbits confronted about 20 Men who came from Hobbiton. The leader of the Men was killed by Hobbit archers and the rest surrendered.

The next day on November 3, the Battle of Bywater was fought. Around 100 Men came up the Bywater Road and walked into an ambush. About a furlong up the road, they were stopped by a barricade of farm carts. More carts were pushed onto the road behind them and Hobbits lined the high banks on either side of the road. In the ensuing battle, nearly 70 Men and 19 Hobbits were killed. The remaining Men were driven from the Shire.

After the War, the ugly buildings were torn down and homes were restored. Sam Gamgee planted saplings to replace many of the felled trees and used the soil from Lothlorien given to him by Galadriel to help them grow.

Bywater Road

CAUSEWAY. Road in the Shire, going through Deephallow, Stock, and Rushey. The road through the Marish.

The Causeway ran south from the Great East Road along the west side of the Brandywine River. The Causeway began at the Brandywine Bridge and passed through Stock and Rushey and ended at Deephallow. The land in the Marish was marshy and the Causeway was a raised road with high banks.

At the village of Stock, the Causeway was joined by the Stock Road from the west and traversed the Stockbrook. South of Stock, Maggot's Lane joined the Causeway from the west coming from Bamfurlong, the land of Farmer Maggot. About five miles further south, the Ferry Lane branched eastward from the Causeway to the Bucklebury Ferry. The entrance to the Ferry Lane was marked by two tall white posts.

The Causeway continued south through the village of Rushey and on to Deephallow. From Deephallow, a lane ran from the Causeway to the Mithe Steps which led to a landing stage at the juncture of the Shirebourn and the Brandywine. A road also branched west off the Causeway from Deephallow to Willowbottom.

On September 25, 3018 of the Third Age, Farmer Maggot brought Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, and Pippin Took along the Causeway from Maggot's Lane to the Ferry Lane where they met Merry Brandybuck. Khamul the Easterling and another Nazgl searched along the Causeway for the Ring-bearer but the Hobbits crossed the Brandywine before Khamul could reach them.

A causeway is a raised road, usually over wet ground. There was also a Causeway in Gondor.

The Causeway

CAUSEWAY. See GONDOR

CLAYHANGERS. Village or town in the Shire. It was the home of Lalia of the Clayhangers.

LALIA OF THE CLAYHANGERS. See HOBBITS

COMBE. See MEN OF BREE

CHETWOOD. See MEN OF BREE

CRICKHOLLOW. Cryc is a Celtic word meaning "hill" and a hollow is a small depression in the ground.

Village in Buckland. Crickhollow was a few miles northeast of Bucklebury. It was a quiet, secluded village.

In the summer of 3018 of the Third Age, Frodo Baggins bought a small house in Crickhollow as an excuse for leaving Bag End and the Shire. The house had been built by the Brandybucks for the use of those who wanted peace and quiet. It was set back from the lane behind a hedge with a gate and stood on a wide lawn inside a circle of trees. The house was much like a Hobbit-hole, with only one storey, a turf roof, and round windows and door.

Merry Brandybuck and Fatty Bolger had gone ahead to prepare the house at Crickhollow for Frodo's arrival on September 25, 3018. At Crickhollow, Merry and Pippin Took told Frodo that they intended to accompany him and Sam Gamgee on the quest. The four Hobbits left Crickhollow early the next morning.

Fatty Bolger remained behind to make it appear as though Frodo were still living there. In the early hours of September 30, the house at Crickhollow was attacked by three Nazgl including Khamul. When Fatty saw the shadowy figures approaching he fled out the back door and ran to the nearest house to raise the alarm. The Horn-call of Buckland sounded and the Nazgl fled.

After the War of the Ring, Merry and Pippin lived together at Crickhollow for a time before they assumed their family titles and responsibilities.

Crickhollow

-RINGHAY. Original name of the house at Crickhollow.

DEEPHALLOW. The name Deephallow apparently contains the Old English word hall or healh meaning "corner, nook" in reference to its location at the juncture of the two rivers.

Village in the southern part of the Eastfarthing, near where the Shirebourn flowed into the Brandywine.

Deephallow was located at the point where the River Shirebourn flowed into the Brandywine River. Deephallow was at the end of the Causeway that ran south from the Brandywine Bridge through the villages of Stock and Rushey.

Deephallow

DINGLE. Region. See ERIADOR

DWALING. The name is from Dwelian (OE) "to go astray" or "to wander". The name Dwaling appears related to the word dwelling. However, a note written by Tolkien suggests that Dwaling was the settlement of someone with the nickname Dwale meaning "dull" in Old English.

Village in the northern Eastfarthing so far afield as to be off the map to the north on a winding road.

Village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Dwaling was in the far northern part of the Eastfarthing, north of the Hills of Scary. A road to Dwaling branched off the road leading north to Oatbarton from the Great East Road.

Dwaling

EASTFARTHING.

Eastfarthing of the Shire

One of the Four Farthings of the Shire. The people of this Farthing had a strong Stoorish strain.

-EAST SHIRE.

EASTMARCH. See BUCKLAND

ELOSTIRION. Tower. See WHITE TOWERS

ELVET-ISLE. See ERIADOR

FAR DOWNS.

Downs in the Westfarthing of the Shire. Originally the Far Downs formed the western border of the Shire. In the year 31 of the Fourth Age, Aragorn, King Elessar, extended the Shire westward from the Far Downs to the Tower Hills. This new area was called the Westmarch. One village on the Far Downs was Greenholm, home of Fastred who married Elanor Gamgee.

In the "Prologue" of the early Ballantine paperback edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, the Far Downs are called the Fox Downs. This appears to be a typographical error.

Downs marking the western boundary of the Shire until its expansion in 4A0032.

Far Downs

-FOX DOWNS. Error.

FARTHINGS.

Farthings

The same word as English "farthing", quarter of a penny; but used in its original sense "fourth part, quarter". The word "farthing" has been used since early Middle English for "a negligible amount", so that to English ears the application to the divisions of the Shire (18.000 square miles) is comical.

FERRY LANE.

Lane in the Shire. The Ferry Lane was located in the Marish. It ran for about 100 yards from the Causeway east to the Bucklebury Ferry on the Brandywine River. Two tall white posts marked the entrance to the Ferry Lane and it was lined with large white stones. The Lane was straight and well-kept. At the end of the Lane was a landing stage. The Bucklebury Ferry was used to cross the river to Buckland.

Merry Brandybuck met Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, and Pippin Took at the Ferry Lane on September 25, 3018 of the Third Age.

FLOATING LODGE. See INNS.

FOLKLANDS.

Folklands

FORD OF STONES.

Ford on the Brandywine south of the Shire. Garded by the Rangers. The name is a (partial) translation of

Sarn-athrad. -SARN ATHRAD. -SARN FORD. (SARN-ATHRAD).

FORSAKEN INN, THE. See MEN OF BREE

FOUR FARTHINGS. The Four Farthings formed the Shire.

See Eastfarthing, Northfarthing, Southfarthing, Westfarthing.

-FOUR QUARTERS (FARTHINGS).

FROGMORTON. Frogmorton is composed of the elements frog + moor ("marshy land") + town.

Village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Frogmorton was on the Great East Road about twenty-two miles west of the Brandywine Bridge and fourteen miles east of the Three-Farthing Stone. The buildings of the village were on either side of the Road and the Water flowed north of the village. There was a good inn at Frogmorton called the Floating Log.

Frodo Baggins and his companions were arrested at Frogmorton on November 1, 3019 of the Third Age, by the Shirriffs of the First Eastfarthing Troop. The four Hobbits spent the night in the Shirriff-house at Frogmorton, an ugly, one-storey brick building. They left the next morning accompanied by a dozen Shirriffs but soon left their escort behind.

Frogmorton

During Lotho Sackville-Baggins' control of the Shire the village was the headquarters of the First Eastfarthing Troop of the Watch. The name is not an actual English place-name, but it has the same element as in Frogmore (Buckinghamshire): frog+moor+town. Moor/mor has the meaning of "marshy land".

FLOATING LODGE THE. See INNS.

GALABAS = GAMWICH

Galabas

A village-name from the Shire. The name of a village of the Shire, in the language of the Shire-hobbits themselves. The name was composed from two basic elements, galab, 'game', and 'bas', meaning a small village or farmstead. This place is more commonly referred to in its anglicised form, Gamwich, which has the same meaning as the Hobbits' original name. Little is known about the village itself, but Galabas, or Gamwich, was remembered as being the original home of a family that would later become famous in the Shire. That Hobbit-family from Galabas were known by the surname 'Galbasi', which was shortened to 'Galpsi'. The equivalent anglicised names were 'Gammidgy' and ultimately 'Gamgee': Galabas had been the original home of Samwise's ancestors.

GAMWICH. Gamwich was called Galabas in the language of the Hobbits. The name Galabas means "game village" from the Hobbitish galab meaning "game" and bas, the equivalent of the Old English wick or wich meaning "village."

The location of Gamwich is not known. The village was known for rope-making. Gamwich was the original hometown of the Gamgee family. Hamfast of Gamwich - born in 2760 of the Third Age - lived there. His son Wiseman Gamwich relocated to nearby Tighfield - also known for rope-making. The family name evolved from Gamwich to Gammidge to Gamgee.

Village in the Westfarthing. Home of the Gamwiches and of Hamfast of Gamwich, the founder of the Gamgee family. Gamwich is translated Hobbitish from genuine Hobbitish Galabas.

Gamwich

GIRDLEY ISLAND.

Island in the Brandywine River. Girdley Island was a large island in the middle of the river north of the Brandywine Bridge.

Girdley Island was so called because it was "girdled" by the Brandywine. The element -ey is from the Old Norse meaning "island."

Girdley Island

GOLDEN PERCH. See INNS.

GREAT SMIALS. See RULERS > THAIN

GREEN DRAGON. See INNS.

GREEN HILL COUNTRY.

Hilly region in the Shire. The Green Hill Country stretched from Tuckborough in the Westfarthing across the north end of the Southfarthing and across much of the Eastfarthing. The Great Smials - the ancestral home of the Tooks - were dug into the hills around Tuckborough. The Stock Road skirted the northern edge of the Green Hill Country.

On September 23, 3018 of the Third Age - the first day of their journey - Frodo, Sam, and Pippin climbed up into the Green Hill Country. Frodo paused on a hill and looked back at the lights of Hobbiton, saying, "I wonder if I shall ever look down into that valley again." (FotR, p. 80) The Hobbits walked into the night through the hills and camped in a patch of fir trees, where they were seen by a fox. The next day they made their way down the Stock Road to the Woody End.

During the War of the Ring, the Tooks defended the Great Smials and the Green Hills against the Men in the service of Saruman who had taken over the Shire. Many Hobbits from the Green Hills fought in the Battle of Bywater on November 3, 3019.

When Frodo left the Shire for good in 3021, he and Sam camped in the Green Hills on the night of September 21 and met the Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings in the Woody End the next day.

Green Hill Country

GREEN HILLS GONDOR. See GONDOR

GREEN HILLS SHIRE.

Green Hills of the Shire

Hills in the Southfarthing and the Westfarthing. The centre of Tookland.

GREENFIELDS. Village or area in the Shire. Probably in the Northfarthing.

3A2747: Battle of Greenfields. Also spelt Green-fields.

District in the Northfarthing of the Shire. Greenfields was located at the northeastern border of the Shire. It was said to be between the Brandywine and the Norbourn - though the location of the Norbourn is unknown.

In 2747 of the Third Age, Orcs from the Misty Mountains led by Golfimbul invaded Greenfields. They were defeated by the Hobbits led by Bandobras Took in the Battle of Greenfields.

GREENHOLM. The word holm means "small island" or "raised land, often surrounded by marshland." The name Greenholm may be a reference to the village's position on a hill, like a green island among the downs.

Village in the Westfarthing of the Shire. Greenholm was located on the Far Downs, which were originally the western border of the Shire. Fastred who married Elanor Gamgee was from Greenholm.

Greenholm

GRINDWALL. ATB02.Village in the southern part of Buckland, outsidethe High Hay.

Grindwall

Grindwall was a small hythe on the north bank of the Withywindle. It was well watched and protected by a grind or fence extended into the water.

Grindwall: A location found only in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. A footnote explains: "Grindwall was a small hythe on the north bank of the Withywindle; it was outside the Hay, and was so well watched and protected by a grind or fence extended into the water. Breredon (Briar Hill) was a little village on rising ground behind the hythe, in the narrow tongue between the end of the High Hay and the Brandywine. At the Mithe, the outflow of the Shirebourn, was a landing-stage, from which a lane ran to Deephallow and so on to the Causeway road that went through Rushey and Stock." Not only do neither Grindwall nor Breredon appear on Tolkien's Shire map, Breredon also seems to be located exactly in the space occupied by Hay's End (or as close to the latter as no matter), and has therefore been omitted here.

HARDBOTTLE. Old English "botl" is related to "build". The ending -bottle is from the Old English botl from which the modern word build is derived. It means "dwelling." Hardbottle was so named because of the hard, rocky land where it was built.

Village in the Shire. Hardbottle was located in the rocky lands of the Northfarthing. Its precise location is not known. Hardbottle was the home of the Bracegirdle family. When Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (ne Bracegirdle) was released from the Lockholes after the War of the Ring, she returned to her family in Hardbottle.

Tolkien states in his "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" that Hardbottle was a village in the Northfarthing, however in his unfinished Index he describes it as being in the Southfarthing.

Village in the Northfarthing. It was the home of the Bracegirdles. The name has the meaning of "large dwelling" or "hard dwelling", because the dwellings were of stone. The Northfarthing was very rocky. The name is not at all connected with "bottle" (glass container).

Hardbottle

HAYSEND. Haysend was so named because it was at the end of the Hay. Dialect "hedge's end" from Middle English. Haie "hedge", not "hay, dried grass".

Village in Buckland. Haysend was located at the southern end of the High Hay where the Withywindle flowed into the Brandywine. The small village of Breredon was nearby.

Haysend

HIGH HAY OF BUCKLAND. Also called the Hay and the Hedge. The word hay is an archaic term for "hedge" or "fence."

The hedge between Buckland and the Old Forest.

Hedge between Buckland and the Old Forest. The High Hay was a tall, thick and well-tended hedge that was over twenty miles long. It began at the Brandywine Bridge in the north and curved around the east side Buckland down to Haysend at the mouth of the Withywindle in the south.

The High Hay had been planted by the Hobbits of Buckland many generations before the War of the Ring as protection from the queer things in the forest to the east. The trees of the Old Forest had once attacked the Hedge, coming up close to it and leaning over it. The Hobbits had retaliated by cutting down hundreds of trees and making a bonfire and burning the ground in a long strip east of the Hedge. A bare patch known as the Bonfire Glade still remained many years afterwards.

There was a gate at the northern end of the High Hay where it met the Great East Road. This gate - called the North-gate, the Hay Gate, or the Buckland Gate - was guarded to prevent strangers from entering Buckland from the Road. Hob Hayward was one of the gate-guards. After the attacked Frodo Baggins' house at Crickhollow on September 30, 3018 of the Third Age, they rode out of Buckland through the North-gate.

The Brandybucks also had a private gate near the middle of the High Hay. This was a locked iron gate in a brick-lined tunnel under the Hedge. On the morning of September 26, 3018, Merry Brandybuck led Frodo, Sam Gamgee, and Pippin Took through the gate and into the Old Forest.

High Hay

-HAY THE.

-HEDGE THE. Hedge

-HIGH HEDGE THE.

HILL, THE = HOBBITON HILL

HILLS OF SCARY. Scar is an English dialectical word meaning "rocky cliff."

Hills in the Shire. The Hills of Scary were located near the northern border of the Eastfarthing. The village of Scary was at the southern foot of these hills. There were caves and tunnels called the Brockenbores in the Hills of Scary as well as a quarry.

During the War of the Ring, stores of food, beer, and goods were kept in the old quarries by the Chief's Men, and after the Scouring of the Shire these goods were used by the Hobbits to celebrate the Yule holiday. The Brockenbores in the Hills of Scary were also the hiding place of a band of rebel Hobbits led by Fatty Bolger during the war.

Hills in the Eastfarthing north of Scary.

HLOTHRAN (Hg). A village in the Shire. Home of Cotman Cotton (Hlothram).

The name is from hloth "two-room dwelling" + ranu "collection of these on a hill-side".

It was a common village-name.

HOBBITISH. See LANGUAGES

HOBBITON.

Village in the Westfarthing of the Shire. Located north of the Great East Road. Home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Hobbiton was located on the Water, about a mile northwest of its neighboring village Bywater. The Bywater Road passed through both villages and connected with the Great East Road to the south.

The village of Hobbiton spanned both sides of the Water. Some of the dwellings in Hobbiton were smials, or Hobbit-holes, but there were also buildings of wood, brick or stone. One of the main buildings in Hobbiton was Sandyman's Mill, which stood on the north side of the Water by the bridge. The Old Grange was on the west side of the lane that ran from the bridge to the Hill, where Bag End was located. On the southern slope of the Hill were three smaller Hobbit-holes along Bagshot Row. There were a number of other dwellings on the south side of the Water. Hobbiton also had its own post office.

Hobbiton was hit hard during the War of the Ring. Bag End had become the home of Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who had named himself Chief. Rough-looking Men came to Hobbiton at his invitation; at times up to fifty Men were living in sheds in Hobbiton. They tore up trees and hedges, Hobbit-holes and buildings to make way for industry. When Frodo and his companions returned they were stunned by what they saw.

It was one of the saddest hours in their lives. The great chimney rose up before them; and as they drew near the old village across the Water, through rows of new mean houses along each side of the road, they saw the new mill in all its frowning and dirty ugliness: a great brick building straddling the stream, which it fouled with a steaming and stinking overflow. All along the Bywater Road every tree had been felled.

The Old Grange had been torn down and replaced with tarred shacks; Bagshot Row had been dug up and turned into a quarry. Bag End itself was in terrible disrepair and there were sheds and piles of garbage in the garden.

After the Scouring of the Shire, Bag End was restored and new holes were dug along Bagshot Row. The new mill was removed. Sam Gamgee spread Galadriel's gift of earth from her orchard around the Shire, paying special attention to Hobbiton and Bywater. He planted the mallorn seed in the Party Field by the Hill where the Party Tree had once stood. Soon Hobbiton was a peaceful and beautiful village once again.

Hobbiton

See also BAGSHOT ROW, BRIDGE of HOBBITON, HILL of HOBBITON, MILL, OLD GRANGE, UNDERHILL..

HOBBITON HILL. The Hill

The Hill was a large hill in Hobbiton near the Water. It was the site of Bag End as well as three smaller Hobbit-holes along Bagshot Row at the bottom. The village of Overhill was north of the Hill.

Hobbiton Hill

At the Bag End. Also called the Hill. Located between Hobbiton and Overhill. The hill above Bag End. To the north of Hobbiton in the Shire

Latterly occupied by the Baggins family. Bag End, Bagshot Row. Often simply called The Hill.

A high, domed green hill, often simply called 'The Hill' that dominated the landscape around Hobbiton in the Shire, and gave its name to the settlements of Underhill and Overhill that stood on its slopes. It lay to the north of Hobbiton, from which a road ran past the Hill and on to Overhill on its far northern side, and a minor lane also ran westward from its base. The Hill was large enough, and its slopes shallow enough, for it to be divided by hedges into several separate fields. Trees grew sparsely on its slopes, including one that stood prominently on its crown.1

Though much of the Hill was covered by open land, it was not uninhabited. Along its southern base was a row of three Hobbit-holes originally known as Bagshot Row, but the Hill was more famous as the site of the large and luxurious smial known as Bag End. Bag End was created by Bungo Baggins, probably in the late thirteenth century of the Shire-reckoning (that is, the twenty-ninth of the Third Age). Its doors and windows opened out from much of the southern side of Hobbiton Hill, and the extensive rooms within must have filled much of the Hill's interior. After Bungo's time, Bag End was occupied by his heirs Bilbo and then Frodo, until it was sold to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins when Frodo departed from the Shire.

The Hill was reshaped during the closing years of the Third Age. When Lotho Sackville-Baggins set himself up as the 'Boss' in the Shire, he used Bag End as his base of operations, causing Bagshot Row to be dug out, and rows of huts to be built around Bag End. Saruman took Lotho's place when he came to the Shire in the guise of 'Sharkey', and it was his death at the hands of Grma that was considered to have brought the War of the Ring to a final end. That event took place on the steps of Bag End, and Saruman's spirit rose as a huge misty figure above the Hill before being dissipated by the wind. So Hobbiton Hill was witness to the last dramatic moments of the Great War of the Ring.

After their victory, the Shire-hobbits set about repairing the damage caused during the War. One of these changes was made to Hobbiton Hill, where the destroyed Bagshot Row was replaced by a new set of Hobbit-holes that were named simply New Row (but also jokingly referred to as 'Sharkey's End'). The great smial of Bag End was briefly occupied by Frodo Baggins, but after his departure into the West it was taken over by Sam Gamgee and his family. It evidently remained in the family for at least several generations: the last apparent mention we have of Hobbiton Hill is in the name of Samwise's great-grandson, who was known as Harding of the Hill.

-HILL THE. (The Hill). The Hill

HOBBIT-HOLES = SMIALS

HOBBIT-LANDS. See FOLKLANDS

HOBBITON ROAD = BYWATER ROAD. Road running from Bywater over the Water and thence to Hobbiton and Overhill.

Hobbiton Road

HORNBLOWER COUNTRY. HOBBITS > HORNBLOWER.

IVY BUSH. See INNS.

LANE. Road from Mithe to Deephallow. In the poem Bombadil Goes Boating.

LITTLE DELVING. The word delving means "digging."

Village in the north-west part of the Westfarthing.

The exact location of Little Delving is not known. It appears to have been somewhere north of Michel Delving and west of Rushock Bog.

Little Delving

LOCKHOLES. . See RULERS > MAYOR

LONG CLEEVE. The name Long Cleeve may be derived from cleave meaning "cut, split" and may here refer to a long cleft or crevice in the ground.

Village in the Northfarthing. Home of the North-tooks. Diamond of Long Cleeve married Thain Peregrin I.

Long Cleeve was the home of the North-tooks - a branch of the Took family descended from Bandobras Took. Since the family was called the North-tooks, the village of Long Cleeve was probably located in the northern part of the Shire, possibly the Northfarthing.

In the year 6 of the Fourth Age, Peregrin Took married Diamond of Long Cleeve.

Long Cleeve

DIAMOND OF LONG CLEEVE. See HOBBITS

LONGBOTTOM. In the name is the meaning "valley", especially the head or inner end of a valley. The element bottom means "valley."

Village in the Southfarthing. Home of the Hornblowers.

About 3A2670 Tobold Hornblower grew pipe-weed for the first time in the Shire in Longbottom.

Village in the Shire noted for its pipe-weed. Longbottom was in the Southfarthing. The warm, sheltered climate around Longbottom was conducive to growing the highest quality pipe-weed, including the varieties known as Longbottom Leaf, Southern Star, and Old Toby. Tobold Hornblower first grew pipe-weed in his gardens at Longbottom around 2670 of the Third Age.

Lotho Sackville-Baggins had land in the Southfarthing, and he began selling Longbottom Leaf to Saruman. Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took found barrels of Longbottom Leaf in the store-rooms at Isengard in March of 3019. It was their first indication that all was not well in the Shire. During the War of the Ring, a number of the Chief's Men were stationed at Longbottom.

Longbottom

MAGGOT'S LANE. Road in the Marish going from Rushy to Bamfurlong. It was five miles or more from Maggot's lane to the Bucklebury Ferry.

Maggots Lane

MARISH, THE. Marish is an old form of "marsh."

The Marish. Established as part of the Shire in 3A1601.

Locatiton the Eastfarthing of the Shire, on the western bank of the River Brandywine.

A stretch of marshland before the foundation of the Shire, but reclaimed and settled by the Shire-hobbits.

The Hobbits of this region were primarily descended from the Stoors.

Important families included the Maggots and the Puddifoots.

Settlements Rushey, Stock.

A marshy district of the Eastfarthing near the Brandywine River. (Dialect "marsh"). Gorhendad Oldbuck came from the Marish.

The Marish was a stretch of land on the western side of the Brandywine across the river from Buckland. Parts of this region were rough and boggy, but much of the land was fertile and the Marish was home to many farms including Bamfurlong belonging to Farmer Maggot. Mushrooms were an important crop of the Marish. The two main villages in the Marish were Stock in the north and Rushey in the south. The Causeway ran through the Marish south from the Brandywine Bridge through Stock and Rushey to Deephallow near the mouth of the River Shirebourn.

The Hobbits of the Marish were predominantly of Stoor descent. They were large and heavy-legged and many of the men grew beards. They were also unusual in that they sometimes wore dwarf-boots in muddy weather. They mainly lived in houses, and in fact the practice of building houses rather than Hobbit-holes was said to have begun in the Marish. The Marish had been settled later than other parts of the Shire, an the inhabitants had come mainly from the south. They retained a number of their own words and names.

The first Thain of the Shire was Bucca of the Marish, from whom the Oldbuck family was descended. Gorhendad Oldbuck led his family across the Brandywine to establish Buckland in 2340. The farmers of the Marish still recognized the authority of the Master of Buckland.

On September 25, 3018 of the Third Age, Frodo Baggins decided to take a shortcut across the Marish to the Bucklebury Ferry. Pippin Took warned him that the terrain was difficult, but they proceeded. The Hobbits became disoriented in the Woody End and emerged on Farmer Maggot's lands. From Maggot they learned that a Black Rider had come through the Marish earlier that day seeking Baggins. Merry Brandybuck met his friends at the Bucklebury Ferry and the four Hobbits crossed into Buckland that evening.

A fertile region in the Eastfarthing of the Shire.

A fertile but boggy farmland region on the western banks of the River Brandywine, in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Its main towns were Stock to the north and the smaller village of Rushey to the south.

The original inhabitants of the Marish were not among the first settlers in the Shire, but instead came mainly from a band of Stoors who arrived there from Dunland about thirty years after the Shire had been created. This was evident from the large and stocky build of the Hobbits of the Marish, and their downy chins, which were characteristic of the Stoor branch of Hobbit-kind.

The flat and muddy nature of the marshland by the river meant that the traditional technique of building Hobbit-holes was quite unsuitable to the terrain. Thus the people of the Marish began the habit of building houses and barns above ground in the manner of Men. From here, the habit spread, so that the practice became well established throughout the Shire. Nonetheless, even at the end of the Third Age, the Hobbits of the Marish were especially referred to as house-dwellers.

The Marish was important in Shire history as the home of Bucca, the first of the Shire-thains, and the Oldbuck family that descended from him. It was one of these descendants, Gorhendad, who crossed the Brandywine and founded Buckland, and thus most of the settlers of that region shared the Stoor heritage of the Hobbits of the Marish. For that reason, those Hobbits who remained on the western bank of the Brandywine nonetheless acknowledged the authority of the Master of Buckland, the rightful descendant of the first line of Thains. Among the Hobbits that remained in the Marish, the names of Maggot and Puddifoot are recorded as the two most prominent families of the region.

Marish

MATHOM-HOUSE See RULERS > MAYOR

MICHEL DELVING. See RULERS > MAYOR

MILL THE. Of Hobbiton.

The mill of Hobbiton. Located on the Water. Run towards the end of the Third Age by the Sandymans.

During Lotho Sackville's control of the Shire, the mill was torn down and replaced by a brick building that polluted both air and stream. This in turn was torn down after the death of Saruman.

Also called OLD and NEW MILL. --SANDYMANS MILL.

Mill owned by the Sandyman family in Hobbiton. The Mill was on the north bank of the Water by the bridge. The Mill had a large water-wheel and a yard was located behind it. Sandyman the Miller owned the Mill and operated it with the help of his son Ted. The Mill was used for grinding corn.

Lotho Sackville-Baggins bought the Mill sometime before he moved to Bag End in Hobbiton in September 3018 of the Third Age. After Frodo Baggins and his companions left the Shire, Lotho had the Old Mill knocked down and built the New Mill in its place. The New Mill was an ugly red-brick building with a tall chimney. It was bigger than the Old Mill and full of wheels and strange contraptions to increase production. The New Mill straddled the Water and poured pollutants into the stream.

The New Mill was operated by Men and Ted Sandyman stayed on to help them. When Saruman came to the Shire in September of 3019, the Mill was no longer used for grinding corn. Instead it was used for some industrial purpose and loud noises, smoke, and filth issued from it.

After Saruman was killed and the Chief's Men were defeated at the Battle of Bywater, the New Mill was removed.

Old Mill

MITHE.

In the Shire. At the Mithe, the outflow of the Shirebourn into the Brandywine River, was a landing-stage, from which a lane ran to Deephallow and so on to the Causeway road that went through Rushey and Stock.

Mithe

-MITHE STEPS. The landing-stage at the Mithe.

Mithe Steps

NEEDLEHOLE.

Village in the Shire. Needlehole was located in the northern part of the Westfarthing. It was on the Water north of Rushock Bog. East of Needlhole was Bindbole Wood.

Needlehole

NEW ROW. See BAGSHOT ROW

NEW MILL. See MILL

NEWBURY. The word bury means "village" in Old English.

Village of Buckland north of Crickhollow.

Newbury was located in the northern part of Buckland. A branch of the road from the Brandywine Bridge led to Newbury. Crickhollow was south of Newbury.

Newbury

NOBOTTLE. Old English "botl" is related to "build". No- is derived from "new" and -bottle is from the Old English botl meaning "dwelling." There is a village in Northamptonshire in England named Nobottle. The related name Newbold is also common.

Tolkien tells us that there is a town named Nobottle in Northumberland.

Village in the Westfarthing. Located on the Water. North of Rushock Bog.

The name has the meaning of "large dwelling" or "hard dwelling", because the dwellings were of stone.

The Northfarthing was very rocky. The name is not at all connected with "bottle" (glass container).

Village in the Shire. Nobottle was in the northern part of the Westfarthing to the west of Needlehole.

Nobottle

NORBOURN. The name Norbourn means "north stream." A bourn is a small stream or brook.

River in the Shire. The district of Greenfields - where the Battle of Greenfields was fought in 2747 - was between the Norbourn and the Brandywine. The Norbourn does not appear on any maps and its course is not known. It may have been a tributary of the Brandywine.

Norbourn was a river in the Northfarthing of the Shire. Between it and Brandywine River streched Greenfields, where the Battle of Greenfields was fought. Norbourn is only mentioned in the detailed index Tolkien was preparing for the Lord of the Rings, but which was eventually left unfinished. In the partial map of the Shire published within the Lord of the Rings an unnamed river flows from the north to the Bywater Pool. It might be Norbourn, though it is also possible that Norbourn flowed straight to Brandywine more in the north.

Norbourn

NORTH MOORS.

North Moor(s). Moors in the Northfarthing. Halfast of Overhill saw an Ent in the moors in 3A3001.

Moors on the northern border of the Shire in the Northfarthing. The North Moors were the lower slopes of the Hills of Evendim. The Water may have sprung from the North Moors. The Hobbits of the Shire sometimes hunted in the area. The North Moors were usually the only part of the Shire where snow fell heavily.

Sam Gamgee's cousin Halfast Gamgee claimed to have seen a Tree-man walking on the North Moors. Whether this Tree-man was a wayward Ent or Entwife, a Giant, some other creature, or a figment of Hal's imagination is unknown.

-MOORS OF THE NORTHFARTHING.

North Moors

NORTHFARTHING.

Northfarthing of the Shire

One of the Four Farthings of the Shire. In this country the barley for the Shire's beer was grown.

Only in the Northfarthing was snow common in the Shire. It was also the site of hunting.

Its soil tended to be rocky. The name is also spelt North Farthing.

NUMBER 3 BAGSHOT ROW. See BAGSHOT ROW

OATBARTON. The name Oatbarton is a combination of the grain oat and the word barton meaning "grain farm" from the Old English beretun where bere means "barley, corn" and tun means "enclosure." The name probably refers to the crops grown in the area. Barley for brewing beer was grown in the Northfarthing.

Village in the Northfarthing of the Shire. Oatbarton's precise location is not known. A road led north to Oatbarton from the Great East Road.

Oatbarton

-CATBARION. Error on the Map.

OLD GRANGE.

A prominent building in Hobbiton. A large building that stood on the western side of the road from Hobbiton to the Hill. It consisted of a two-storey building on the road itself, connected to a series of wings that enclosed a yard. A 'grange' was traditionally used as a storehouse of grain, and though the Old Grange was much grander than a simple barn, it seems to have partly retained this connection (in his illustrations of Hobbiton - seen in J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator - Tolkien showed the Grange surrounded by large haystacks).. This perhaps implies a connection with the Old Mill, which stood just a little to the south of the Grange on the Water.

Whatever the Old Grange's purpose, it came to an end during the War of the Ring. At that time it was demolished, and in its place a series of sheds were erected.

Granary in Hobbiton. The Old Grange was located on the west side of the path leading from the Water to the Hill. The Old Grange was probably used to store the grain for the Mill nearby. During the War of the Ring, the Old Grange was torn down and replaced by rows of tarred sheds.

Granary in the Shire on the west side of the Hobbiton Road, north of the Water. Its was torn down by the Chief's Men during Lotho's control of the Shire.

The Old Grange was located on the west side of the path leading from the Water to the Hill. The Old Grange was probably used to store the grain for the Mill nearby.

Old Grange

The Old Grange by J.R.R. Tolkien

OLD MILL. See MILL

OVERBOURN MARSHES. A bourn is a small stream or brook. The Overbourn Marshes may have been so named because they were across the Shirebourn from the most populous part of the Eastfarthing. Or the first element may come from the Old English ofer meaning "border, riverbank."

Marshes in the Shire. The Overbourn Marshes were in the Southfarthing south of the River Shirebourn where it flowed into the Brandywine River.

Overbourn Marshes

OVERHILL.

Overhill was located in the Westfarthing just north of Hobbiton on the north side of the Hill. A road ran from Hobbiton around the Hill to Overhill. Sam Gamgee's uncle Halfred of Overhill lived in the village and Halfred's son Halfast worked for Mr. Boffin in Overhill.

Overhill

-NORTHOPE.

PINCUP.

Village in the Southfarthing of the Shire. Pincup was located in the Green Hill Country and was at the westernmost edge of the Woody End. A road led south from Pincup, possibly to Longbottom, one of the main villages in the Southfarthing.

In a letter to a Dutch translator, Tolkien wrote that the first element pin is from pinnuc or pink meaning "finch" or "sparrow" while hop means "recess, retreat."

Pincup

POOL OF BYWATER. In the Shire. Wide pool in Bywater, part of the Water. Another stream, flowing from the north, joined the Water in the Pool.

Pool The Pool Bywater Pool

Also called Bywater Pool and the Pool.

Pool formed by the Water. The Bywater Pool was located in the village of Bywater in the Shire. Another stream from the Northfarthing also fed the Bywater Pool. Sam Gamgee used to swim in the Bywater Pool with Rosie Cotton and her brothers. When he was parched with thirst in Mordor, he remembered the sparkling waters and cool mud of the Pool.

There were Hobbit-holes in the north bank of the Pool with gardens that ran down to the water. The Bywater Road ran close to the bank along Pool Side, the southern side of the Pool. It was shaded by an avenue of trees. During the War of the Ring, the trees along Pool Side were cut down and replaced with ugly new houses and the Hobbit-holes in the north bank were abandoned and neglected.

POOL SIDE. The portion of the Hobbiton Road next to the Pool of Bywater. A row of ugly

brick houses was build there during Lotho Sackville Baggins' control of the shire.

QUARRY. In Eastfarthing. Village near Scary.

RUSHEY. Rushey is dervived from Rush-isle, meaning an area of dry land in among the fens of the Marish. The ending-ey or -y is frequently used in English place-names to denote "small island." A rush is a plant commonly found in marshes.

Rushey is misspelled Rushy on the Map of "A Part of the Shire" in The Fellowship of the Ring.

A village in the Marish Eastfarthing , located on the Causeway. It is spelt Rushy on the Shire-map. Rush-isle, in the sense of small island, riverside-land, water-meadow.

Village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Rushey was located in the Marish, a region on the west bank of the Brandywine River. It was south of the village of Stock.

The Causeway running south from the Brandywine Bridge passed through Rushey. There was an inn in Rushey. The people of Rushey were friendly with the people of Buckland across the river and they acknowledged the authority of the Master of Buckland.

Rushey

-RUSHY. Error.

RUSHOCK BOG. The name Rushock is composed of rush - a plant commonly found in swamplands - and hassock or "coarse grass."

Bog in the Westfarthing on the Water, south of Needlehole.

Bog in the Shire. Rushock Bog was in the Westfarthing south of the village of Needlehole. The bog was located along the Water at a point where the river branched into two streams.

Rushock Bog

SCARY. The name may be supposed to contain the English dialectal scar "rocky cliff". Related to skerry "a low rock in the sea".

Scary was located in the northern part of the Eastfarthing. The village was at the southern foot of the Hills of Scary. A road ran south from Scary to cross the Water at Budge Ford and join the Great East Road at Whitfurrows. There was a quarry to the east of Scary. During the War of the Ring, provisions were stored in the quarry by the Chief's Men, and after the Scouring of the Shire the Hobbits were able to use these stores of food and goods for the Yule holiday.

Scary

SHARKEY'S END = BAGSHOT ROW

SHIREBOURN. A bourn is a small stream or brook. The element shire is apparently not from the Shire but instead from the Old English scir meaning "bright, clear." The river Sherbourne in England was sometimes spelled Shirebourn.

Mithe is dervied from "mouth, river-mouth" in Old English.

River in the Shire. The Shirebourn began in the Green Hill Country. It flowed south and then curved east to join the Brandywine. The outflow of the Shirebourn into the Brandywine was called the Mithe. There was a landing stage there called the Mithe Steps from which ran a lane to Deephallow and on to the Causeway.

The Overbourn Marshes were located around the mouth of the Shirebourn. The Thistle Brook, which also sprang from the Green Hill Country, joined the Shirebourn near the village of Willowbottom.

River in the Eastfarthing. Its source was in the Green Hills.

Shirebourn

The Mithe was its outflow. The lower Shirebourn formed part of the boundary between the Eastfarthing and the Southfarthing.

SMIAL, SMIALS.

The word smial is derived from the Old English smygel meaning "retreat, burrow." The actual Hobbit word was trn. Also called Hobbit-holes.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort". (Hob1). Smial is not a Westron word. Peculiar to Hobbits.

Meaning "burrow". The same element appears in Gollum's real name "Smeagol". Smials were the large tunnels inhabited by well-to-do Hobbits of the Shire. Smials had rounded walls and many branches. Bag End was a smial. Some smials, like Great Smials at Tuckborough and Brandy Hall in Buckland, were very large and had room for a hundred or more Hobbits. The name is from smygel "a burrow", "place to creep into".

Hole dwellings used by Hobbits. A smial was composed of a tunnel or tunnels and rooms dug into the ground. Hills and banks were the most suitable locations for smials.

The tunnels of a smial were generally tube-shaped with round doors and round windows. The simplest smials had dirt walls and floors, while the better smials had panelled walls and tiled floors. Some smials were very small, while others had several branches and rooms. Brandy Hall and the Great Smials were mansions with numerous tunnels and rooms where many members of an extended family lived. Bag End was an example of a large, single-family smial that had many rooms on either side of one main tunnel.

Hobbits had lived in smials for as far back as they could remember. The people of Rohan remembered legends from when they lived in the North of the Halflings who lived in holes in sand dunes. After the Hobbits settled in the Shire, the custom of building smials remained, but Hobbits also began to build houses and other buildings above ground. By the end of the Third Age, it was generally the poorest and richest Hobbits who still dwelled in smials.

-HOBBIT-HOLES. Hobbit-holes

-TRAN (H),

-TRAHAN (R).

-SMYGEL (OE).

SMIALS, THE = GREAT SMIALS. See RULERS > THAIN

Smials

-HOBBIT-HOLES.

-TRAN. The actual Hobbit word was trn.

SOUTH LANE.

Lane in Bywater in the Shire. The South Lane branched southward from the Bywater Road in the center of the village of Bywater. The farm of Farmer Cotton was at the end of the South Lane. Road in the Westfarthing.

The way to the home of the Cotton family.

South Lane

SOUTHFARTHING.

Southfarthing of the Shire

One of the Four Farthings of the Shire. This country was the warmest and the farthest south. In this farthing pipe-weed was grown. During the WR this farthing was the first area of the Shire to fall under the control of Lotho Sackville-Baggins. 3A2953: Saruman kept agents here.

-SOUTH SHIRE.

STADDLE. See MEN OF BREE

STANDELF. Standelf is from the Old English stan-gedelf meaning "stone quarry." Stonydelph in the English county of Warwickshire is also derived from this word.

Standelf was located in the southern part of Buckland, where the distance between the High Hay and the Brandywine River became fairly narrow. The village was on the main road that ran through Buckland from the Brandywine Bridge.

Founded after the settlement of the Shire in 3A1601 in southern Buckland, across the Brandywine from Rushey.

Meaning: 'Stone quarry'

The southernmost major village of Buckland, between the Brandywine and the Hedge as Buckland narrowed towards Haysend. It was reached by a road that ran southwards for some ten miles from the main settlement of the Bucklanders around Bucklebury and Buck Hill. The name 'Standelf' comes from the Old English for a stone quarry, implying that the village had grown up around such a quarry.

It might be hard to avoid noticing the word 'Elf' in the name 'Standelf', but in fact the village's name has no connection with Elves at all. It comes from Old English stan delf, 'stone quarry' (or possibly 'cut from stone'); compare 'Dwarrowdelf' ('Dwarf-delving') the Mannish name for the great underground Dwarf-city of

Khazad-dm (Moria).

STOCK. Stock is from the Old English stoc meaning "settlement, hamlet, farm."

Village in the Eastfarthing, at the north end of the Marish. South of the Brandywine Bridge. In Stock one could find the Puddifoots, who were house-dwellers.

Stock was located in the Marish on the Stockbrook near where it flowed into the Brandywine River. It was a large village by Shire standards. Two main roads passed through it: the Stock Road that came east from Tuckborough and the Causeway that ran south from the Brandywine Bridge.

Many of the inhabitants of Stock were house-dwellers, like most Hobbits in the Marish. The Puddifoots were one of the prominent families in Stock. The farmers around Stock acknowledged the authority of the Master of Buckland across the Brandywine.

The finest beer in the Eastfarthing could be found at the Golden Perch in Stock.

GOLDEN PERCH THE. See INNS.

Stock

STOCKBROOK. Also Stock-brook.

Stream in the Eastfarthing, flowing from its source in the Woody End through Stock and then into the Brandywine.

The Stockbrook began in the Woody End at the eastern end of the Green Hill Country. It flowed northeast and joined the Brandywine near the village of Stock in the Eastfarthing.

On September 25, 3018 of the Third Age, after parting company with Gildor and the Elves, Frodo decided to take a shortcut to the Brandywine through the Woody End. The Hobbits became entangled and disoriented in the thickets and undergrowth until Pippin realized that the stream they were following was the Stockbrook. He determined that they should cross it and bear right to get back on course.

Stock-brook

STOCK ROAD. Road leaving the Great East Road west of Bywater and running through the Green Hills and the Woody End to Stock. Frodo and Sam met the Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings in Woody End on the Stockroad.

Road in the Shire. The Stock Road ran west to east from Tuckborough to Stock. It was south of and parallel to the Great East Road. There was not much traffic on the Stock Road and it was difficult for carts.

East of Tuckborough, the Stock Road rolled up and down as it skirted the Green Hill Country. The road then flattened out and ran through the northern edge of the Woody End. A lane branched off the Stock Road to Woodhall. The Stock Road then curved north and east through the lowlands of the Yale. At Stock, it met the Causeway which ran south from the Brandywine Bridge.

Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, and Pippin Took travelled along the Stock Road as they began their journey in September 3018 of the Third Age. On September 24, Khamul pursued the Hobbits down the Stock Road. The Hobbits hid from the Nazgl until he passed. They turned off the main road down the lane leading to Woodhall. Khamul almost caught the Hobbits again at dusk but he fled as a company of Elves led by Gildor Inglorion came down the lane.

After the War of the Ring in September of 3021, Frodo and Sam took the Stock Road to the Woody End. There they met Elrond, Galadriel, and other Elves and together they went to the Grey Havens.

Stock Road

THE YALE. See YALE THE.

THE WATER. See WATER THE.

THISTLE BROOK.

Brook in the Eastfarthing flowing into the Shirebourn near Willowbottom.

The Thistle Brook began in the Green Hill Country. It flowed southeast and joined the River Shirebourn near the village of Willowbottom. The Shirebourn then flowed into the Brandywine.

Thistle Brook

THREE-FARTHING STONE. Stone on the Great East Road marking the place where the Eastfarthing, the Southfarthing, and Westfarthing met. The Stone more or less marked the centre of the Shire.

Road marker in the Shire. The marker stood about 36 miles from the Brandywine Bridge and was considered to be at the center of the Shire. While replanting the Shire after the War of the Ring, Sam Gamgee stood at the Three-Farthing Stone and cast soil from Galadriel's garden into the wind.

Three-Farthing Stone

TIGHFIELD. The name Tighfield derives from the Old English tgan meaning "tie, bind" and tag meaning "rope, cord."

Village in the Westfarthing, the home of the Gamwiches, the Gammidges, and the Ropers. A rope-walk, probably the one which the Ropers worked in or operated, was located in Tighfield.

The location of Tighfield is not known. It was somewhere near the village of Gamwich. Tighfield was known for rope-making. There was a rope-maker's yard in Tighfield called a "rope-walk" because of the way the ropes were stretched out over trestles as they were prepared.

Samwise Gamgee's brother Hamson Gamgee went to work with their uncle Andwise the Roper in Tighfield. Andwise had inherited the rope-walk from his father Hobson, who was called Roper Gamgee. Hobson's father Hob Gammidge was also a roper, and his father Wiseman Gamwich had been the first of the family to move to Tighfield from Gamwich.

Tighfield

TOOKBANK. Village in the Westfarthing of the Shire, located in the western Green Hills.

Tookbank was located in the Westfarthing at the far western end of the Green Hill Country. It was part of Tookland, and was west of the main village of Tuckborough.

Tookbank

TOOKLAND. Also Took-land. Folkland of the Tooks. Located in the Westfarthing and the Southfarthing in and around the Green Hills. Most of the Tooks still lived there at the time of the WR.

Tookland

Region in the Shire; home of the Took family. Tookland was located in Westfarthing south of the Great East Road and including the western part of the Green Hill Country. The main village in Tookland was Tuckborough, where the Thain - the head of the Took family - lived in the Great Smials. Tookbank and Whitwell were two other villages in Tookland. Most of the Tooks in the Shire lived in Tookland.

During the War of the Ring, Tookland was heavily guarded by the ruffians who occupied the Shire. The Tooks had set up defenses in their deep holes and had killed three Men who had trespassed on their land. The Men prevented anyone from entering or leaving Tookland after that, until Peregrin Took arrived on November 2, 3019 of the Third Age, to rally the Tooks. Peregrin's father Thain Paladin II then mustered his troops and drove off the Men guarding Tookland while Peregrin led a company of Tooks to the Battle of Bywater.

The main village in Tookland was Tuckborough, where the Thain - the head of the Took family - lived in the Great Smials. Tookbank and Whitwell were two other villages in Tookland. Most of the Tooks in the Shire lived in Tookland.

During the War of the Ring, Tookland was heavily guarded by the ruffians who occupied the Shire. The Tooks had set up defenses in their deep holes and had killed three Men who had trespassed on their land. The Men prevented anyone from entering or leaving Tookland after that, until Peregrin Took arrived on November 2, 3019, to rally the Tooks. Peregrin's father Thain Paladin II then mustered his troops and drove off the Men guarding Tookland while Peregrin led a company of Tooks to the Battle of Bywater.

Tookland

TOWER HILLS. Also called Emyn Beraid in Sindarin. The word emyn means "hills" and beraid means "towers."

Tower Hills (Emyn Beraid)

Hills in Eriador west of the Shire. The three White Towers were built in the Tower Hills by Gil-galad for Elendil, and the tallest, Elostirion, housed the palantir of Elendil that looked west across the Sea.

In the year 31 of the Fourth Age, the Tower Hills became the western border of the Shire when the lands between the hills and the Far Downs were added to the Shire by a gift of Aragorn, King Elessar. This region was called the Westmarch. In the year 34 of the Fourth Age, Samwise Gamgee's daughter Elanor and her husband Fastred of Greenholm - the Warden of Westmarch - moved to Undertowers in the Tower Hills. Their descendants came to be called the Fairbairns of the Towers.

Hills in Eriador. Later (4A0031) in the Westmarch of the Shire.

Tower Hills

-EMYN BERAID. (S). "To