Warwickshire

County in central England, in the Midlands; drained by River Avon and headwaters of River Cherwell; comprises coal measures, woodlands, and meadows; evidence of prehistoric and Roman occupation; Roman road, Watling Street still forms part of county border; mostly agricultural, especially dairying and fruit-growing; county lost its more industrial northwestern area, including Birmingham, Coventry, and Solihull, to the West Midlands under local government reorganization in 1974.