No, that’s a metropolitan county, not a ceremonial one. The ceremonial county is just Yorkshire ? No—ceremonial Yorkshire is split into four: West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire. But only North Yorkshire counts as a shire. The others are metropolitan or unitary. He groaned.
He stopped. His pen hovered. Hampshire . It has the sound, the history, the letters… but wait. The official name is Hampshire , derived from Hamtunscir . The suffix is embedded. Yes, it counts. Tick.
Home of a sheriff, naturally. Tick.
The land of cheese and black-and-white houses. Tick.
“Oliver,” she said, adjusting her spectacles. “We need a clean data set. Find out how many counties end in ‘shire.’”
