Westfarthing of the Shire

The Westfarthing of the Shire (slightly conjectural¹)

The western farthing of the Shire encompassed the land between the Far Downs and the Three-Farthing Stone. Much of the landscape of the Westfarthing consisted of a hilly country of chalk, especially its central White Downs, on which the town of Michel Delving was built. Towards its northern and eastern borders the land became lower, and the valley of the small river known as the Water ran along the northeastern edge of the farthing.

Politically, the Westfarthing seems to have been the most important of the Shire's four farthings. It not only contained Michel Delving, the chief town of the Shire, but also the seat of the Thains at Great Smials in the Tookland, and the important town of Hobbiton, home of the Baggins family.