Æthelbald would retain the western shires ( i. e., traditional Wessex ), and Æthelwulf would rule in the east.

The system of shires which was later to form the basis of local administration throughout England ( and eventually, Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well ) originated in Wessex, and had been established by the mid-eighth century.

After Mercia was annexed by Wessex in the early 10th century, the West Saxon rulers divided it into shires modelled after their own system, cutting across traditional Mercian divisions.

The first mention of the office of ealdorman in Wessex, and the first references to the shires they led, occur during Ine's reign.

In southern England more widely, shires emerged from earlier sub-kingdoms as part of the administrative structure of Wessex, which then imposed its system of shires, boroughs ( or burhs ) and ealdormen on Mercia after it came under West Saxon control during the 9th century.

During the 10th century Edward the Elder of Wessex reorganised western Mercia for defensive purposes into shires based around the fortified burhs established by his sister Æthelflæd.

The thirteen historic counties of Wales were fixed by Statute in 1539 ( although counties such as Pembrokeshire date from 1138 ) and most of the shires of Scotland are of at least this age.

In 1634, it became part of the first eight shires of Virginia, as Charles City County, one of the oldest in the United States, and is located along Virginia State Route 5, which runs parallel to the river's northern borders past sites of many of the James River Plantations between the colonial capital city of Williamsburg ( now the site of Colonial Williamsburg ) and the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia at Richmond.

New towns with protective castles were established at Caernarfon and Harlech, the administrative centres of the first two shires, with another castle and walled town built in nearby Conwy, and plans were probably made to establish a similar castle and settlement near the town of Llanfaes on Anglesey.

Dumfries, the county town, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquhar are royal burghs ; Dumfries forms a sheriffdom with the shires of Kirkcudbright and Wigtown, and there is a resident sheriff-substitute at Dumfries, who sits also at Annan, Langholm and Lockerbie.

The sheriffs would buy food at a set price in the shires and the sellers had to sell at the government price.

Although the name " shire ", today implies some kind of county status, hundreds in some English counties often bore the suffix ' shire ' as well ( e. g. Salfordshire ), but where English shires were split into hundreds each having their own constable, Cornish hundreds had constables at parish level.

Since there are currently no " shires " in Virginia, and there have been none since the terminology was changed to " county " within a few years of their creation in 1634, all could be considered lost to posterity, at least in name.

Then, the various sheets from all the shires were piled together and affixed together at the top, and the resulting document would be rolled into a tight roll resembling a pipe.

This was also the first parliament at which both knights ( representing shires or counties ) and burgesses ( representing boroughs ) were present, thereby substantially broadening representation to include new groups of society.

Zhang was a capable and very popular administrator locally, so he was assigned to one of the shires in Nanzhong when the residents rioted after Liu Bei suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting.

The shires of the Highlands were completed only in the reign of King Charles I.

During the reign of William Rufus many sheriffs were severely overworked ; Rufus eased the burden by appointing local justiciars in some shires.

King David I more consistently created shires and appointed sheriffs across lowland shores of Scotland.

In 1634, eight " shires " were created in the Virginia Colony by order of Charles I, King of England.

In 1634, by order of King Charles I, the colony was divided into the Eight shires of Virginia.

Warwick County was one of the eight original shires of Virginia, formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I, in 1634.

In 1634, the King of England ordered the colony, which numbered about 5, 000 settlers, to be divided into eight shires, or counties.

That same year, by order of King Charles I of England, the Virginia Colony was divided into the 8 original shires of Virginia by the House of Burgesses, one of which was Henrico County, which included the future land of Colonial Heights.

* Present-day Henrico County was established by order of Henry's younger brother, King Charles I, in 1634, as one of the original eight shires of Virginia.

Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order of the King of England.

" elder man "; plural: " ealdormen ") is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut.

In 1209 King John's officials established twelve shires or counties in Leinster and Munster, one of which was Tipperary, covering areas of English settlement such as Roscrea.

It was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires ( or counties ) formed in 1634 in the colony of Virginia by direction of the King of England.

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires ( or counties ) in the colony.

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires ( or counties ) in the colony of Virginia.

New Norfolk County was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires ( or counties ) formed in 1634 in the colony of Virginia by direction of the King of England.

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires ( or counties ) in the colony of Virginia.

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires ( or counties ) in the colony of Virginia.

By 1634, by order of the King of England, Charles I, eight shires of Virginia were formed with a total population of 4, 914 settlers.

In 1634, by order of Charles I, King of England, eight shires or counties with a total population of approximately 5, 000 inhabitants were established in the colony of Virginia.

However, of the eight shires of Virginia created by the Virginia House of Burgesses ( predecessor to the Virginia General Assembly ) and King Charles I of England in 1634, five still exist in their original political form as counties in Virginia as of 2006, though all have lost some area and some have endured name changes.

Most shires were visited by a group of royal officers ( legati ), who held a public inquiry, probably in the great assembly known as the shire court, which was attended by representatives of every township as well as of the local lords.

This document was divided into sections based on the shires, and listed all the landholdings of each tenant-in-chief of the king as well as who had held the land before the conquest.

Thus the warden's duty in this respect was similar to that of the sheriff who received the writs for distribution to the barons in the shires.

The Domesday Book also mentions a Durand Malet, who held land in Lincolnshire and possibly some neighboring shires.

The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1747 revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced.

Thus the warden's duty in this respect was similar to that of the sheriff who received the writs for distribution to the barons in the shires.

The longest and most important of them are the mock poems On the Expedition of the Highland Host who came to destroy the western shires in winter 1678 and On the clergie when they met to consult about taking the Test in the year 1681.

In England, it fell to a handful of newly promoted " ealdormen " or " earls ", who ruled a shire or group of shires on behalf of the king.