The Shire is the homeland of the Hobbits in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
The Shire is a settled region in the northwestern part of Middle-earth, known for farmland, villages, lanes, gardens, and a largely peaceful rural society. Most of its inhabitants are Hobbits, including Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee. Hobbiton and Bywater are among its best-known settlements.
Tolkien modeled aspects of the Shire on the English countryside and on memories of rural Worcestershire. Its ordinary customs—meals, gardening, local gossip, and birthday parties—contrast sharply with the dangers of Mordor and the political conflicts of the wider world.
The Shire is not an independent planet or a synonym for all Hobbit lands. It is one particular territory within Middle-earth. The Bree-land, for example, is a neighboring region where Hobbits and Men live together. At the end of The Lord of the Rings, the Scouring of the Shire shows that even this apparently sheltered homeland cannot remain untouched by the War of the Ring.