Buckland

Buckland, later known as the Eastmarch, was a small colony of Hobbits lying in between the Old Forest and the Brandywine River, which separated the region from the Shire. Although Shire-hobbits colonized it, it was not formally a part of the Shire until early in the Fourth Age, hundreds of years after it was founded.
== History ==
Buckland was settled around TA 2340 (SR 740) by Gorhendad Oldbuck, an ancestor of Meriadoc Brandybuck. Gorhenhad thus became the first Master of Buckland. He renamed himself Brandybuck, which remained his family's name after that.
Because Buckland was east of the Brandywine, it was not part of the land given to the Hobbits by King Argeleb II of Arthedain. Therefore it was not formally part of the Shire until the beginning of the Fourth Age when King Elessar officially granted the land to the Shire.
== Geography & villages ==
Buckland was located east of the Brandywine River. The hobbits living in Buckland grew a hedge to protect themselves against any evil that may have snuck through the near Old Forest, which bordered Buckland to the east. This "wall" was named the High Hay. Buckland was bordered in the north by the Hay Gate, the only entrance to Buckland near the Brandywine Bridge. In the south, the borders of Buckland follow the High Hay until the Withywindle joins the Brandywine near the village of Haysend. The most notable settlement of Buckland is Bucklebury, where Brandy Hall is located. Brandy Hall is the home of the Master of Buckland, one of the chief officials of the Shire.
An important landmark is the Bucklebury ferry, a raft-ferry used as the second main crossing point of the Brandywine river from the Shire to Buckland (the first being the Brandywine Bridge, which is twenty miles further north). It is left unmanned to be used by hobbit travelers as needed. In route to the new house at Crickhollow, Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took crossed using the Ferry just before the arrival of a Black Rider, who was forced to go around to the Brandywine Bridge as there were no boats kept on the western bank of the river. (In the film version by Peter Jackson, the encounter is more immediate.)
== Culture ==
The Bucklanders were a prudent hobbit breed, and their preparations for danger made them less naïve than Shire-hobbits. Each night they would close the Hay Gate and their front doors, prepared to rush to arms when the Horn of Buckland blew. Most Bucklanders were originally of Stoor stock, and they were the only Hobbits known to use boats.