Warwickshire, county (1991 pop. 477,000), 975 sq mi (2,525 sq km), central England. The county seat is Warwick. The terrain is gently rolling, with outcroppings of the Cotswold Hills in the south. The Avon, flowing southwesterly, is the chief river. There are vestiges of the ancient Forest of Arden. The region is a varied one, largely given to agriculture (wheat and other grains, dairying, sheep and cattle grazing). Some light industry is practiced. There are deposits of limestone and fireclay; coal is in the northeast. One of England's most known public schools is at Rugby. Numerous traces of the Roman occupation remain, such as the abbeys of Merevale and Stoneleigh and the ruins of the castle at Kenilworth. Warwick Castle is largely intact. The county is rich in literary associations as well. Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford-on-Avon, with the Globe Theater, is one of England's most popular literary attractions. In 1974, Warwickshire was reorganized as a nonmetropolitan county.

Administrative (pop., 2001: 505,885) and historic county, central England. As an administrative and geographic unit, the county dates from the 10th century, with the historic county town of Warwick lying roughly at its centre. In Saxon times Warwickshire formed a border zone between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. During the Middle Ages two major centres grew up in the county, at Warwick and Kenilworth. Historical structures surviving in the area include Norman and early English churches, along with buildings at Stratford-upon-Avon associated with William Shakespeare. The Battle of Edgehill (1642), the first serious clash of the English Civil Wars, was fought in Warwickshire near the Oxfordshire border. Farming, dairy farming, fruit growing, market gardening, and coal mining are important economic activities.

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