TheFour Shire Stone is aboundary marker that marks the point where theEnglish counties ofWarwickshire,Oxfordshire,Gloucestershire, andWorcestershire once met. Since 1931, when the Worcestershire exclave ofEvenlode was transferred to Gloucestershire, only three counties have met at the stone.^[1]

The Four Shire Stone is not a single stone, but a nine-foot high monument, built from the localCotswold stone. It is in theEnglish midlands at the northern corner of aT junction on theA44 road, a mile and a half east of the small town ofMoreton-in-Marsh (which has the closest railway station), at51°59′15″N1°39′57″W / 51.98750°N 1.66583°W /51.98750; -1.66583 (Four Shire Stone), grid reference SP2301432023. The existing structure was probably built in the 18th century, and is a grade IIlisted building.^[3] There was an earlier "4 Shire Stone" on or near the site in 1675, almost certainly that illustrated in 1660.^[4][5]Thomas Habington'sSurvey of Worcestershire mentions "the stone which toucheth four sheeres, a thing rarely scene".^[6]

Five (formerly seven)civil parishes meet at the stone:^[7]

• Moreton-in-Marsh to the west, in Gloucestershire;
• FormerlyBatsford to the northwest, also in Gloucestershire, until Batsford/Moreton-in-Marsh boundary change in 1987;^[8]
• FormerlyLower Lemington to the north, also in Gloucestershire, and which merged into Batsford in 1935;^[9]
• Great Wolford to the north, in Warwickshire;
• Little Compton to the northeast, also in Warwickshire;
• Chastleton to the southeast, in Oxfordshire;
• Evenlode to the south, now also in Gloucestershire;until 1931 it was adetached part of Worcestershire.

The J. R. R. Tolkien Society claims that the Four Shire Stone inspired the "Three-Farthing Stone" inJ. R. R. Tolkien's bookThe Lord of the Rings. In that work,the Shire, the homeland of thehobbits is divided into four farthings, three of which meet at the "Three-Farthing Stone".^[10][11]

The failing state of this unique bit of local history inspired James Hayman-Joyce, a local, semi-retired chartered surveyor, to do what he could to restore it. He formed the Four Shire Stone Restoration Committee with the aim of raising £20,000 to restore the Four Shire Stone to its former glory. The project comprises restoring and repairing the stonework, replacing the railings and enhancing the engravings on all four sides of the pillar.^[12]

• Quadripoint
• Three Shires Oak, marking the meeting point of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire
• No Man's Heath, Warwickshire, meeting point of Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire
• Dow Bridge, meeting point of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire

• Pictures of the Four shire stone.
• Four Shire Stone Restoration Project

• Boundary markers
• Quadripoints and higher
• Cotswold District
• West Oxfordshire District
• Stratford-on-Avon District
• History of Worcestershire
• Monuments and memorials in Gloucestershire
• Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire
• Monuments and memorials in Oxfordshire
• Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire
• Monuments and memorials in Warwickshire
• Grade II listed buildings in Warwickshire
• 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom
• Monumental columns in the United Kingdom
• Moreton-in-Marsh
• Geography of Warwickshire
• Geography of Oxfordshire
• Geography of Gloucestershire
• Geography of Worcestershire

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1: long volume value
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Use British English from March 2025
• Coordinates on Wikidata