Here is where the story gets characteristically English: confusing, layered, and sentimental. In 1974, a rationalizing government tried to modernize local government. It created new "metropolitan counties" like Merseyside and Greater Manchester, and it butchered some of the old shires. , England's smallest historic county, was absorbed into Leicestershire. Avon appeared, carving up the ancient boundaries of Gloucestershire and Somerset.
Before 1888, the shire counties were ancient entities. They were not "created" all at once but evolved over centuries. They formed the basis of local government for over a thousand years.
The archetype of "The Shire" in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was directly inspired by the West Midlands and Worcestershire, where Tolkien grew up. It represents an idealized, pastoral England of sleepy villages and winding lanes.

