Four shire stone

Four shire stone

The Four shire stone at the meeting point of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and formerly also Worcestershire
Coordinates	51°59′14.96″N 1°39′56.65″W / 51.9874889°N 1.6657361°W / 51.9874889; -1.6657361
Material	Stonework
Height	9 feet

The Four shire stone is a boundary marker that marks the place where the four historic English counties of Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire once met. Since 1931, with a change to the boundaries of Worcestershire, only three counties have met at the stone.

It is not a stone, but a nine-foot high monument, built from the local Cotswold stone. It is in the English midlands, a mile and a half east of the small town of Moreton-in-Marsh, at 51°59′15″N 1°39′57″W / 51.98750°N 1.66583°W / 51.98750; -1.66583 (Four Shire Stone)Coordinates: 51°59′15″N 1°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 II listed building. There was an earlier "4 Shire Stone" on or near the site in 1675.

From the stone, you could go west into Gloucestershire, east into Warwickshire, south-east into Oxfordshire, or south into a small exclave of Worcestershire. Most of Worcestershire is to the north-west of the stone. Thus the order of the four counties around the stone was different from what one might expect from a map of England.