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Tolkien's Oxford House

Top ways to experience Tolkien's Oxford House and nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Tolkien's Oxford House - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• (0.04 mi) Oxford Linton Lodge Hotel, BW Signature Collection
• (0.09 mi) 100 Banbury Road Oxford
• (0.22 mi) St Margarets Hotel
• (0.37 mi) Galaxie Hotel
• (0.21 mi) Rawlinson Road 10A - Stylish two bedroom ground floor apartment in a quiet side
• (0.28 mi) Cherwell Boathouse Restaurant
• (0.43 mi) Spice Lounge
• (0.76 mi) Jude the Obscure
• (0.63 mi) Mamma Mia Pizzeria
• (0.43 mi) Gee's

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• J.R.R. TOLKIEN & HIS WORKS
• COLLECTING TOLKIEN BOOKS
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• NEWS HEADLINES
• TOLKIEN BOOK SHOP
• Tuesday 28 July 2015 - Tolkien Calendar 2016: Illustrated by Tove Jansson
• Monday 27 July 2015 - The Amateur Lord of the Rings
• Friday 17 July 2015 - J.R.R. Tolkien a writer of note
• Friday 17 July 2015 - Why tolkien's books are so popular Among the Students
• Thursday 16 July 2015 - The world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien,The Story of Kullervo
• Thursday 11 June 2015 - Rare The History of Middle Earth, all 3 Limited Deluxe Editions in Publishers Slipcase
• Saturday 6 June 2015 - Signed copy of the Hobbit sells for record at auction
• Sunday 3 May 2015 - On the shores of the shoreless sea
• Sunday 19 January 2015 - New Collector Profile added - Giulio Torlai
• Saturday 29 November 2014 - Back to the past - Simon J. Cook on Tolkien and History
• Tuesday 7 October 2014 - Will we ever see The Silmarillion on the big screen?

Fifteen Places Tolkien Fans should Visit before they Die (29.08.12 by Imogen Reed) - var disqus_shortname = 'tolkienlibrary'; (function () { var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = 'https://' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/count.js'; var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = 'https://tolkienlibrary.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('HEAD')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('BODY')[0]).appendChild(s); }()); Comments

JRR tolkien's books and works continue to inspire. Thanks to the huge success of Peter Jackson's film franchise, a completely new generation have discovered the fantasy and magic that Tolkien created. However, what was it that inspired Tolkien, a university professor and academic, to conjure up the incredible imagery of Mordor, the Shire, the Forest of Mirkwood and the towers of Barad-dûr and Orthanc? What better way to find out than to visit the places where Tolkien lived, grew up, and worked. Many of these places inspired his creation of Middle-earth, and for any Tolkien fan, there are fifteen places you must see if you want to try to understand the mind of the true master of high fantasy.

Sarehole Mill

Perrott's Folly

Edgbaston Waterworks

New Zealand

The Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland

tolkien's Home in Oxford

Merton College

Exeter College

Addison's Walk

tolkien's Tree University Botanical Gardens

The Eagle and Child

The Bodleian Library

tolkien's resting place

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Tolkien's Oxford House

Top ways to experience Tolkien's Oxford House and nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Also popular with travellers

TOLKIEN'S OXFORD HOUSE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

• (0.04 mi) Oxford Linton Lodge Hotel, BW Signature Collection
• (0.09 mi) 100 Banbury Road Oxford
• (0.22 mi) St Margarets Hotel
• (0.37 mi) Galaxie Hotel
• (0.21 mi) Rawlinson Road 10A - Stylish two bedroom ground floor apartment in a quiet side
• (0.28 mi) Cherwell Boathouse Restaurant
• (0.43 mi) Spice Lounge
• (0.76 mi) Jude the Obscure
• (0.63 mi) Mamma Mia Pizzeria
• (0.43 mi) Gee's

Home > Articles > Enjoying Oxford

Free Self-Guided Tour: Tolkien’s Oxford

Here’s a self-guided walking tour inspired by J.R.R Tolkien and his incredible literary journey. 

Duration : Approximately 2-3 hours

Tolkien's Oxford Free Self-Guided Walking Tour

It’s time to embark on a journey through the enchanting city that inspired one of the greatest fantasy writers of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien. From his academic pursuits to the landscapes that fueled his imagination, let’s explore the places that shaped Tolkien and his legendary works.

The itinerary below shows the most significant locations linked to J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings in Oxford. If you want to read about these places in some more detail, please refer to the following article: J. R. R. Tolkien at Oxford – Hobbits, the Inklings, and the University .

Exeter College : Our journey begins at Exeter College, where Tolkien spent much of his academic career as a student and later as a professor of Anglo-Saxon literature. Wander through the college grounds and imagine young Tolkien strolling along the corridors, drawing inspiration from medieval architecture and scholarly atmosphere.

The Eagle and Child : Next, we venture to The Eagle and Child, a historic pub where Tolkien and fellow writers, including C.S. Lewis and the Inklings literary group, gathered for lively discussions and shared readings of their works. Step inside this cozy establishment and raise a toast to the creative camaraderie that flourished within these walls.

Merton College : Our tour takes us to Merton College, where Tolkien served as a professor of English Language and Literature. Explore the tranquil courtyards and gardens of this picturesque college, reflecting on Tolkien’s academic legacy and his contributions to the study of literature.

Botanic Garden : As we wander through the Botanic Garden, take in the sights and scents of the lush flora that inspired Tolkien’s vivid descriptions of Middle-earth’s landscapes. From towering trees to delicate flowers, let your imagination soar as you envision the enchanted forests and gardens of his mythical realm.

University Parks : Our journey concludes in the serene surroundings of University Parks, where Tolkien often took leisurely strolls and found solace in nature. Follow the winding paths along the riverbanks and under the shade of ancient trees, reflecting on the themes of friendship, courage, and adventure that permeate Tolkien’s stories.

As we bid farewell to this Tolkien-inspired walking tour of Oxford, may you carry with you the spirit of creativity, imagination, and fellowship that defined the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Until we meet again on our next adventure, may your journeys be filled with wonder and discovery. Safe travels, my friends!

Learn More About Oxford and Tolkien

Discover the rich tapestry of Oxford University that shaped the lives and friendships of two literary giants, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and delve into the academic and social landscapes of Oxford during their time.

The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and Their Circle

Tolkien: How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote The Hobbit

The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary

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This Tolkien Tour Of Birmingham Takes Lord Of The Rings Fans There And Back Again

Follow the steps of a young J. R. R. Tolkien on a tour of Birmingham that inspired Middle Earth.

The Tolkien Tour of Birmingham is an absolute must walking tour for any Middle Earth enthusiast. Although Tolkien’s family were Birmingham natives, the fantasy author lived in South Africa until he was three years old. When his father died, his mother relocated the family to Sarehole in Worcestershire, which is now Hall Green in Birmingham . The family lived at 5 Gracewell Cottages—now 264 Wake Green Road—until Tolkien’s mother died when he was 12 years old. Tolkien then went to live at The Oratory in Edgbaston and was educated at King Edward’s School .

As Tolkien describes it in a 1966 interview with The Guardian , ‘I was brought up in considerable poverty but I was happy running about in that country. I took the idea of the hobbits from the village people and children.’

Both the natural environment of Birmingham and its buildings inspired the world of Middle Earth . There are different approaches to visiting these spots. But they are concentrated in the areas of Hall Green and Moseley , plus Edgbaston and Ladywood . You can try and see it all in one day. Or break it up between two areas. A couple of afternoons would be well spent, marvelling at the places that inspired the intricate and amazing works of The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion .

Hall Green and Moseley

Starting the trail at Sarehole Mill, walking to Tolkien’s childhood home of 264 Wake Green Road, and onto Moseley Bog, will give you a feeling of being in Hobbiton .

1. Sarehole Mill

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Sarehole Mill inspired The Old Mill in The Hobbit . In the original version of The Hobbit, before it had been printed, The Old Mill was the rendezvous point for Bilbo and the company of Thorin. However, as this meeting point was changed to The Green Dragon before printing, Bilbo actually rushes past the mill on his way to start the long journey to The Lonely Mountain.

On arrival at the mill, its similarity to The Old Mill is immediately apparent. Flour is still ground there, using the attached water wheel, the likes of which were still very common in Tolkien’s time. With such an abundance of water-ways in Birmingham, mills using water wheels were very important and useful. The mill is now a museum , so you can learn a lot there about its history and also about the ways in which it inspired Tolkien. As any Tolkien fan knows, hobbits are pretty averse to mechanised methods of production. However, the wheel represents the utilisation of nature in a way that is clean and idyllic. Sarehole Mill really captures the essence of life in Hobbiton — beautiful yet practical and conducive to a slow, steady pace of life.

There is a tea shop here and plenty of Tolkien-related stuff to get nerdy about. Entry is £6 per adult and they run loads of different events.

2. 264 Wake Green Road

From Sarehole Mill, it’s only a few minute’s walk to Tolkien’s childhood home , and his first home in England. He lived here from the ages of 4-8 and the house was previously 5 Gracewell Cottages. The house is obviously inhabited by a different family now so you can’t go inside, meaning that this will be more of a passing visit than anything else. However, it gives you an idea of the proximity in which Tolkien lived to Sarehole Mill and also to your next destination — Moseley Bog.

3. Moseley Bog

Moseley Bog is a beautiful place to visit, and it just so happens that this beautiful place inspired The Old Forest . Bilbo encounters The Old Forest on his way out of the Shire and, at the very edge of the forest lives Tom Bombadil . It is a mysterious place, where the company is trapped by Old Man Willow. The hobbits believe that the trees in The Old Forest are alive. It is a place that became wild due to Sauron’s destruction of it during his attack on the elves in the second age.

The mysterious magic of The Old Forest is all too real in Moseley Bog. Although we are quite clearly in Birmingham rather than Middle Earth, as you walk around the feeling of magic that nature can elicit creeps over you, as it clearly did with Tolkien. Sometimes there are events held here, often related to Tolkien’s time spent in the area. Find out more over on the website .

Edgbaston and Ladywood

Edgbaston and Ladywood contain a wealth of locations related to Middle Earth in one way or another. Beginning with Edgbaston Waterworks Tower and heading to Perrot’s Folly , you can see the inspiration behind Minas Morgul and Orthanc . Not far from there is The Oratory , where Tolkien lived as a teenager — and you’ll spot a plaque commemorating his time in the area. The nearby Plough & Harrow pub also bears a plaque, because Tolkien visited as an adult.

1. Edgbaston Waterworks

Edgbaston Waterworks tower is supposed to have inspired Minas Morgul . It was the home of The Witch King in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He attacks Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring . However, at the end of the third book, the tower becomes Minas Ilith, as it was known before The Witch King took it.

The waterworks tower is not lit with a menacing glow and surrounded by Nazgul. You can imagine that the height of it would have made quite an impression on a young Tolkien, however. At the turn of the century, when Tolkien was a teenager, the city was not full of the high-rise buildings we are used to seeing now. The same applies to your next destination, which is just a few minutes down the road from here.

2. Perrott’s Folly

Even the name of this place is interesting and, supposedly, it inspired Orthanc, home of Saruman . It’s an incredibly striking building, built from red brick but with the strange appearance of a battlement or castle. Perrott’s Folly is a grade 2 listed building and it may have been used originally to survey the estate or search for animals to hunt. It is somewhat imposing in its stature and it is easy to imagine Sauron standing at the top, looking down upon a decimated land. You can’t enter the tower but it’s fun to imagine you’re one of the Ents, kicking off and destroying Saruman’s tower. (But maybe don’t grab stuff and start throwing it about — you’re probably not an Ent.)

3. The Oratory

Tolkien’s mother converted to Catholicism when he was a child. When she was dying, she asked The Oratory to look after Tolkien. She wanted him to have a Catholic education and he spent a great deal of time here. The Oratory is still a functioning church that holds masses and, as with most Catholic churches, you can go inside the building. They still have one of the trunks, brought to England by Tolkien’s mother when she thought they were only visiting. It reality, they were relocating from South Africa.

4. Plough & Harrow

The Plough & Harrow pub is now part of the Best Western franchise and has changed quite a lot since Tolkien visited it. However, there is a blue plaque outside and you can enjoy a nice pint inside at the end of your Tolkien tour. Tolkien stayed the night here with his wife, days before he was sent to France with a British Expeditionary Force. You can imagine the anticipation and dread that Tolkien must have felt here. He knew that he would soon be shipped off to fight in The Great War , where so many had been killed already.

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Tolkien Tourism: 10 Places Fans Of The Lord Of The Rings Should Visit

Fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy will mightily enjoy these ten destinations that played a pivotal role in the making of the movie and books.

J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium has inspired hundreds of thousands of dedicated fans in the 80-plus years since  The Hobbit  was first published. Over the decades, as the epic Middle-earth saga,  The Lord of the Rings,  and subsequent tales and legends were published, Tolkien became famous. The books shot to fame in the 1960s, when pop culture borrowed elements from its world and "Frodo Lives!" became a popular slogan for the counterculture movement.

The Lord of the Rings  is one of the best selling novels ever written, and along with its prequel, have influenced six multi-billion-dollar films. But perhaps even more compelling is its own tourism industry, known as Tolkien Tourism, in which fans travel to locations related to the books and films. Maybe you can't walk into Mordor, but you can walk into the places that inspired it.

10 The Black Country

West of the city of Birmingham, in the Midlands of England, is an industrial area known as the Black Country. Growing up in Birmingham, the young Tolkien spent time among the growing industrialization of England around the turn of the century, and would have been familiar with the black, billowing clouds of the coal factories in the Black Country.

Although Tolkien never explicitly stated that this was the inspiration for Mordor , descriptions of the hellish land match to contemporary reports of the Black Country. Mordor, in the fictional Sindarin language, translates to "Black Land," and represents Tolkien's longstanding distaste for industrialization.

Tolkien lives in Oxford for 50 years, studying, teaching, researching, and writing. It was here that he penned his famous novels, and  Lord of the Rings  pilgrims will find dozens of sites that the author loved.

RELATED: 10 Movie Museums Every Film Fan Should Visit

You can stroll the Botanic Gardens, where Tolkien would often wander and think, or browse the Bodleian Library, where his original manuscripts and illustrations are kept. Maybe you fancy a pint at Tolkien's favorite pub, the Eagle and Child, where he, C. S. Lewis, and other members of the Inklings literary group would meet and discuss writing.

8 Northern France

After studying at Oxford, Tolkien enlisted in the British military when World War I broke out. Lieutenant Tolkien was sent to France, where he participated in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Tolkien was not a warrior, and the war front took a huge mental and physical toll on him. He mourned for years for his two childhood friends who were killed in battle, plagued by guilt for still living. The conditions in the trenches were dismal, and in November of 1916, Tolkien succumbed to trench fever and was sent back to England. The horrors he witnessed in battle inspired the conflicts in his novels, and it's said that the Somme battlefield resemble the Dead Marshes.

7 Birmingham

The Tolkien family is rooted in Birmingham--though the author was born in South Africa, he always considered himself a Birmingham man. His mother moved her two children there when Ronald (as he was known in childhood) was four. He adored playing among the fields and forests outside the city, and it was during these early years reading lots of books that Tolkien's fascination with myth was born.

The Birmingham Tolkien Trail highlights all the must-see areas for Tolkien Tourists, from the  two towers  of Edgbaston Waterworks and Perrott's Folly, to the Shire-like Sarehole Mill, and even his aunt's farm, Bag End.

6 Moseley Bog

Moseley Bog is a nature reserve in Birmingham, where Tolkien spent hours playing as a child. He lived in the Moseley area of the city, close to Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog, and made up all sorts of fantastical games with his brother and friends in the wooded area.

Tolkien was very open about discussing his affection for Moseley Bog, and it having inspired the ancient forests of Middle-earth, like Fangorn, home of the Ents . It directly inspired the setting of the Old Forest, where Tom Bombadil lives.

5 Lauterbrunnen

Tolkien took a school trip to the European mainland in 1911, where he hiked through Switzerland from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It doesn't take a distinguished author (as Tolkien was not at this time) to realize that the untouched Alpine mountains and valleys are laden with otherworldly beauty.

For this reason, Tolkien sketched images from Lauterbrunnen, which became the first incarnation of the Elvish valley, Rivendell, founded by Lord Elrond and where the Fellowship of the Ring was established. There is a striking resemblance between photos of Lauterbrunnen and illustrations of Rivendell.

4 Lydney Park

The skeletal foundations of a Roman fort at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire are about as inspiring a a sack of potatoes, to us literary laypeople, anyway. However, Tolkien participated in an archaeological dig at the site in 1929, and later wrote a paper about it.

The site was laden in Romano-Celtic myth, but it is said that after the Romans left and the fort crumbled, local people forgot and thought the ruins were the construction of dwarves and hobgoblins, earning the site the name Dwarf's Hill (sound familiar?). At the time of Tolkien's research here, he was excited about myth and legend, and the correlations between his writings here and description of the Shire are uncanny.

3 Malvern Hills

Southwest of Birmingham is a natural hilly area called the Malvern Hills, resembling small mountains. Tolkien visited the hills in 1952, and passionately compared them to his own fictional mountain range, the White Mountains that separate Rohan and Gondor.

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The horse-riders of Rohan are often said to be inspired by the Anglo-Saxons by Tolkien scholars, but the author himself only loosely compared the two. He would lightheartedly say that Rohan is based on Anglo-Saxon culture only in that Rohirrim are a simple people lived in the shadow of a sophisticated civilization.

2 Cheddar Gorge

In 1916, just a few months before Tolkien was sent to battle, he took his new wife, Edith, to Cheddar Gorge for their honeymoon. They stayed in the seaside town of Clevedon, enjoying the time they had before Tolkien would be gone. The two were deeply in love, and the affection they had for each other spanned about 60 years of marriage.

It's clear that Tolkien would have been very present in the moment on his honeymoon, and the spectacular scenery probably helped. Tolkien wrote later in life that this trip to Cheddar Gorge inspired Helm's Deep and the caverns in the White Mountains.

1 New Zealand

Of course, no fan of  The Lord of the Rings  could complete their pilgrimage without seeing the incredible, dramatic landscapes that brought Middle-earth to life in Peter Jackson's trilogy. You can take extensive and thorough LOTR tours across the country, where over 150 locations were used in filming.

You can visit the Shire in Matamata, where the Bag End set still exists, or the real-life Rivendell at Kaitoke Regional Park. The bravest adventurers can even hike across Tongariro National Park, which became Mordor, and climb Mount Ngauruhoe, the closest you'll get to Mount Doom.

NEXT: Lord Of The Rings: 25 Things Most People Don't Know About Where It Was Filmed

12 things to see on the Tolkien Trail in Birmingham, England

If you’re a fan of Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit or maybe the latest TV series the Rings of Power then perhaps you’ll be inspired to see some of the real life places that inspired the books. (And no, I don’t mean New Zealand. Yes that’s where everyone thinks Hobbiton is but it actually had it’s roots in Birmingham!)

If so then you have to come to the city of Birmingham in England where there’s a Tolkien Trail that you can explore and see some of the locations that were prominent in JRR Tolkien’s, or Ronald as he was known as a child, formative years.

The Tolkien Trail is a collection of sites that are relevant to JRR Tolkien’s life in Birmingham. The area is where much of Tolkien’s early life took place and where many ideas formed that would later come forth in his books!

My daughter and I have been reawakening our love for the Tolkien books and films a lot lately. When I realised that there were a tonne of things to see nearby where my husband and I were recently traveling to we had to go and explore! The Tolkien Trail in Birmingham is an actual thing I didn’t even know existed before this year!

While we didn’t manage to see everything on our short trip (we weren’t too lucky with the weather and then we headed off to see some more Tolkien sites in the Cotswolds ) we thoroughly loved all the bits we did see and I’ll be bringing my daughter next time for a nerdy trip!

Edit – instead my daughter and I took ourselves off to Oxford to see some Tolkien sites . She’s still badgering me to take her to see Birmingham!

Are you ready for an adventure?

‘ You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to. ‘ Bilbo Baggins

Let’s go!

A note from the writer: Hey! I’m Kirsty and I’m a UK travel expert. Although I live here I still travel around England as a tourist every year – there’s so much to see! Shout (or comment below) if you have any questions about your trip and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

This article probably contains affiliate links. This means that if you buy or book after clicking, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

Table of Contents

Sites on the tolkien trail in birmingham.

The Sarehole area is the first place we visited on our own Tolkien Trail. I was enamoured by the idea of it being where The Shire was inspired from! There are a few different sites in this area to check out:

1. Sarehole Mill & Village

The first place to visit for any Tolkien fan when in Birmingham is Sarehole. This is where Tolkien lived as a young boy when he first moved to England from South Africa.

It’s weird to explore this area and think of it as the inspiration for the Shire but apparantly it was!

In the early 1900s when he lived there this area would have been an idyllic village location but as Birmingham has grown over the years it definitely doesn’t have that feel now! The place is full of houses, roads and traffic but there are some clues to the past that you can see.

The first is Sarehole Mill which is an old watermill that would have been active when Ronald was a child. Apparently he would spend his days running around the grounds with his young brother and getting into all sorts of mischief!

There are many stories about this time but I love the one about the miller’s son who chased them away and would earn the nickname ‘the white ogre’!

The mill is open to the public and is free to go around. There’s a small exhibition inside about Tolkien and his past in the area here and you can also go on guided tours of the mill as well.

Don’t miss the small models of the ‘two towers’ that are also on the Tolkien Trail and plenty of carvings of mythical creatures around.

It’s worth parking up at the mill and then taking a walk to some of the other places on this list – 2, 3 & 4 are all nearby.

2. Tolkien’s Childhood Home

The actual house where Ronald moved to in 1896 and spent many years is still standing in the Sarehole area of Birmingham. It’s just across the road from the mill and you can see it if you’re walking towards Moseley Bog.

I didn’t take a picture as it’s actually a residential house and wanted to respect the privacy of those currently living there but you can see it on Google Streetview above.

You can see how close it was to the mill and the Moseley Bog area and imagine how, when there were less roads, Tolkien would have had this amazing place as his play area! He said these were some of his happiest years and I love that the Shire came from that happy time!

Needing second breakfast? If you’re walking past the roundabout near Sarehole Mill check out the cafe called The Hungry Hobbit. It actually says Hungry Hobb now because they had legal battles about the name.

3. Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood

Again, not far from the mill is the Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood nature reserve. It’s where Ronald would play with his brother and have many adventures!

When it came to his later writings the bog would show itself as the Old Forest where Tom Bombadil lived!

We only had a short walk around the place as it was cold and raining (welcome to England!) but in summer or on a nice day it would be a great place to have a picnic and really explore.

4. The Shire Country Park

Finally in this part of Birmingham, before moving on, we have this country park which has been named after Tolkien’s creation.

In Tolkien’s time it would have been just part of a greater countryside around the village but of course now it’s surrounded by the suburbs of the city.

The country park can be accessed from next to the mill and again would be a great place to enjoy on a warm day! It’s full of nature with a small river running through it.

We’re moving away from the Sarehole area now to Edgbaston which is to the east of the city. Number 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are all in this small area. It’s quite built up and residential but you should still be able to park up on waterworks road and explore.

It feels a lot different here – much more of an industrial heritage than Sarehole!

5. The Oratory

This is the church that Tolkien’s mother went to when she converted to Catholicism and after they moved to the area.

It’s also where Tolkien and his brother were taken into the guardianship of one of the Father’s there when their mother died. Father Francis Morgan looked after the boys and were lifelong friends.

If you want to visit the inside of this church you can do by appointment – check their website here .

6. Perrott’s Folly

Perrott’s Folly is one of the two towers on the same road right in the heart of where Tolkien grew up and would have spent time exploring.

Many people say they were perhaps inspiration for some of the many towers that appear in the Lord of The Rings books – perhaps Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul or many others.

I’d actually read somewhere prior to visiting that someone argued that they weren’t inspiration for the towers in the books but on visiting the area they are such iconic landmarks that I really can’t see how to a young boy these would have been amazing aspects of stories he was creating! Just my opinion!

So, back to this one – Perrott’s Folly. It’s a 30m tall tower that was built in 1758 by a local landowner. It fell into disrepair in the 1970s but has since been restored since it’s such a historic site with it’s Tolkien connections.

You can’t visit inside it but you can see it well from the outside.

7. Edgbaston Waterworks

Just down the road from Perrott’s Folly is the other tower – the old waterworks.

This tower dates a little later, almost 100 years after Perrott’s Folly was built, in 1870. It would have been only around 30 years old when Ronald was stomping around the place!

Nowadays it’s still part of the more modern water authority buildings there and there’s no access for tourists. Again you can see it from the road.

8. 4 Highfield Road

Another of Tolkien’s homes was on Highfield Road. It was where, after his mother died, that he and his brother were lodgers to a Mrs Macsherry. This was also after he had met Edith Bratt, who was to become his future wife. His guardian, Father Morgan had moved the boys here after wanting the relationship to end.

The building has a blue plaque outside showing the historic significance, but it’s now a children’s nursery so not somewhere it’s really appropriate to hang around and take photos of!

9. Plough and Harrow Hotel

So I just mentioned that Tolkien eventually married Edith and this next site on the Tolkien Trail relates to that relationship.

They were married in the Spring of 1916 and, possibly when on embrakation leave, they spent a night at this hotel in June of the same year.

You can actually stay at the hotel as it still functions as one now. Some of the more standard rooms are in a newer extension of the hotel, but some are in the older building like Tolkien would have stayed in.

(Just be aware that despite the old country look of the hotel it’s on a busy road leading into the city centre!)

There’s also a blue plaque here to mark that Tolkien stayed here.

10. King Edwards School

This is the school where Tolkien went to when it was located in New Street – unfortunately not where the building is now.

While the original building, which was designed by the man who designed the Houses of Parliament – Sir Charles Barry, was demolished in the 1930s a small part of a corridor was saved and brought to this new building. It was rebuilt into the school chapel.

You can go on guided tours of the chapel on Fridays at 2pm in term time – you must contact them to check availability .

11. University of Birmingham

While Tolkien didn’t go to the University of Birmingham to study, it’s part of the Tolkien Trail because in the First World War it was used as a military hospital.

After Tolkien’s part in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 he was brought here and was diagnosed with having trench fever and stayed for 6 weeks to recover.

Interestingly the university also has a tower that could have inspired his stories – the Chamberlain Tower. This one has a clock at the top which is lit in the evening. Perhaps an early idea for the eye of Sauron came from it?

The great hall – the area used as the military hospital is open to the public during office hours.

12. Library of Birmingham

Finally we have the Library of Birmingham which is quite a modern building in the centre of the city but does have some connections to Tolkien.

The main one is the blue plaque outside the building which is dedicated to a local surgeon and his name will be familiar to anyone who likes the Lord of The Rings books – Dr J Sampson Gamgee!

It’s thought this is where Tolkien got the idea of Samwise’s name. Some fun facts – the surgeon’s widow lived opposite Tolkien’s aunt so perhaps he heard of him there? Gamgee Tissue is also a local name for cotton wool so definitely a word he’d have heard of.

Will you visit the Tolkien Trail in Birmingham?

I have to say that I was so surprised by the wealth of sites that are around in Birmingham to see. I wish we’d had better weather to enjoy the outdoor bits a little more but hey, that’s England!

What a privilege it was to see the places he grew up and where inspired that wonderful Middle Earth location – The Shire!

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YES! I always recommend people take travel insurance when exploring the world!

Check Travel Insurance Master for quote comparisons from different providers.

Do I need a car for visiting England?

YES – If you’re wanting to explore England fully then a car is worthwhile. It will get you to all the small villages, countryside sights and all on your own timetable

I recommend DiscoverCars to compare car rental prices in England

How to book accommodation in England?

For hotels I recommend Booking.com

For apartments and cottages check out VRBO

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Perhaps – it depends if you have roaming enabled and beware this can be an expensive way to use your phone.

If you need a SIM for use in the UK I recommend GiffGaff which you can get and set up before traveling.

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I really like the Lonely Planet Guidebooks

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Many countries don’t need a visa for visiting England as tourists (USA, Canada, Aus, NZ and Europe) – it’s always best to check first though .

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D I S C O V E R

T O L K I E N

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973): writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings , Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

‘The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water’

W R I T I N G

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns — love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride — giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

P A I N T I N G

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion , The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly

‘Mithrim’

‘hringboga heorte gefysed’, Beowulf , line 2561 (‘Now was the heart of the coiling beast stirred’)

S C H O L A R S H I P

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf , illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

L E T T E R S

Tolkien lived in an era when letter-writing was the main form of communication. His thoughtful and carefully crafted letters provide rich insights into a wide range of topics: scholarly, personal and authorial. He never wrote an autobiography and his letters now provide the most direct means of discovering his personal opinions as well as his hopes and fears throughout a long and productive life.

Family on holiday in Weston-super-Mare, 1940

Family on holiday at Weston-super-Mare

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

J.R.R. Tolkien in the grounds of Merton College, Oxford, 1968. © BBC.

A U D I O – V I S U A L

As a young man, Tolkien enjoyed performing in family plays at Christmas, and as an adult, his academic lectures were a type of performance, intended to capture the attention of weary students. In his readings from his own works, we can hear his dramatic aptitude as he takes the part of different characters including a hissing Gollum, a down-to-earth Sam Gamgee and a weary but determined King Théoden. Following the success of The Lord of the Rings he was much sought after by interviewers and was a natural and engaging presence, both in front of a microphone and on camera.

“ All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. ”

The Fellowship of the Ring

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A Campaign to Preserve J.R.R. Tolkien’s Oxford Home Is Being Led by Sir Ian McKellen

By Andrea Park

Fans of Lord of the Rings may no longer have to travel all the way to Middle-earth (that is, New Zealand ) to pay homage to J.R.R. Tolkien if a celebrity-led nonprofit group gets its way, The New York Times reports . “Project Northmoor” launched a campaign on December 2 to raise at least the $5.4 million necessary to purchase the Oxford, England, home in which the author resided with his family while writing The Hobbit and the bulk of the LOTR trilogy between 1930 and 1947.

A bright bathroom in the home.

Funds raised beyond the purchase price would allow the group to restore the house and garden to all of its former glory and begin to host residential courses there, establish a program to fund low-income Tolkien fans’ pilgrimages to the home, and, if the total goal of $6.45 million is reached, add a hobbit house and other LOTR accoutrements to the property. The group’s overarching aim is to create “not a dry museum, but a homely house of continuing creativity, inspiring new generations of writers, artists, and filmmakers,” according to its website.

Project Northmoor’s “Fellowship of Funders” is led by Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films. Other famous faces rallying around the fundraising effort include McKellen’s costars Martin Freeman and John Rhys-Davies, and singer Annie Lennox, in addition to several scholars, authors, and other Tolkien obsessives.

The building boasts one of the blue plaques that mark notable sites across England.

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The home, located at 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford, went on the market last year, per the NYT , but the listing was recently withdrawn to accommodate Project Northmoor’s three-month effort. The six-bed, four-bath house was built in 1924 and boasts a sizable backyard in which Tolkien planted several trees, a few of which still stand—and which could be the future home of an elven treehouse “flet” if the group reaches its maximum fundraising goal.

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JRR Tolkien House could become a literary museum

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Photography: Breckon and Breckon

Fans of J R R Tolkien’s fantasy literature have launched a crowd-funding campaign to buy the author’s former home and turn it into a museum and literary centre in Oxford.

Project Northmoor is being led by British author Julie Golding and seeks to convert the Grade II-listed home – built in 1924 – into a centre for the studies of Tolkien’s literature. JRR and Edith Tolkein lived at the six-bedroom home from 1930-1947 during which Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

According to The New York Times , the current owners of the two-storey Oxford property bought it in 2004 for £1.6m – the same year it was granted Grade-II status. They listed it earlier this year for £4.7m with Breckon & Breckon before lowering the price and withdrawing it from sale in order to give the Project Northmoor group time to organise funds to buy the home.

Celebrities including Annie Lennox and Gandalf actor Sir Ian McKellan have appeared in a video backing the initiative, which aims to raise £4.8m to buy the house (priced at £4m). The remainder will be spent on starting up the foundation, converting the home for its new role and constructing a hobbit house in the garden. Find out more about the fundraising initiative, dubbed the ‘Fellowship of Funders’ .

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Did JRR Tolkien write Lord of the Rings in the Cotswolds?

The Lord of the Rings wasn’t entirely based in the Cotswolds. However, the Birmingham-based author JRR Tolkien did visit the Cotswolds often. As a result, real places in the Cotswolds undoubtedly inspired some of the mythical locations in his books.

You can visit some of these locations if you join one of our guided tours !

Tolkien’s connection to the Cotswolds

Although Tolkien never lived in the Cotswolds, he had family not far away in the Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire. In fact, Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit house ‘Bag End’ was named after Tolkien’s aunt’s home in the Worcestershire village of Dormston.

From there, Tolkien and his family would take day trips into the Cotswolds, and some of the places they visited inspired his later writing.

Lord of the Rings in the Cotswolds: The Bell Inn, Moreton-in-Marsh

Moreton-in-Marsh is a pretty market town in the northern Cotswolds. As one of the few Cotswold towns with a train station and a direct link to London, Reading and Oxford, it’s also one of the places we can pick you up for our guided tours !

Tolkien also frequented Moreton-in-Marsh, and was particularly fond of a pint of beer in The Bell Inn. The Bell Inn is acknowledged to be Tolkien’s inspiration for The Prancing Pony pub from his books. So much so, that a branch of the Tolkien Society awarded the pub with a blue plaque to commemorate the link.

If you take one of our guided tours , why not stay the night in Moreton-in-Marsh, or at least linger a while before taking the train back to London? Follow in Tolkien’s footsteps by having a beer in The Bell. You’ll easily be able to spot ‘Tolkien’s chair’ – it’s the one right underneath the huge print of Middle Earth on the wall!

Lord of the Rings in the Cotswolds: St. Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-Wold

On our ‘ Cotswolds in a Day ‘ tour, we stop for over 1 hour in the market town of Stow-on-the-Wold. This gives you plenty of time to explore the highest town in the Cotswolds, which is a place JRR Tolkien was also fond of visiting. As you can see from the photo, we also showed travel writer and presenter Rick Steves around here!

We’ll never really know, but it’s widely rumoured that the North door to St. Edwards Church inspired Tolkien’s fantasy world. The two ancient yew trees on either side of the door could easily have been the inspiration for the Door of Durin, the gateway to the elven kingdom of Moria. Have a look at this clip from The Lord of the Rings and see what you think!

Lord of the Rings in the Cotswolds: The Red Lion Inn, Chipping Campden

The beautiful town of Chipping Campden is another one of the stops on our Cotswolds in a Day tour . It’s a pristine example of a small working Cotswold town, with medieval architecture, quaint cottages and boutique shops. There is plenty to see and do during your free time here on our tour!

JRR Tolkien liked to visit Chipping Campden too. His personal letters show that he stayed at The Red Lion Inn many times with his son Michael. He also signed a copy of The Lord of the Rings for the pub’s landlord back in the 1950s.

Ready to book your tour of the Cotswolds to see these Lord of the Rings locations for yourself? Click here!

Prefer a private tour or need group transport? Check out our private tours and minibus hire options.

Not quite ready?  Sign up to receive our newsletter  and we’ll send you our news and offers, so you can keep Go Cotswolds in your mind.  Sign up here.

Photo of The Bell Inn and Blue Plaque : © Embrace Historia, CC-BY-2.0

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Campaign to buy JRR Tolkien's Oxford home fails

The appeal, backed by Ian McKellen, to raise £4.5m to convert 20 Northmoor Road into a permanent Tolkien centre fell short of its target

An appeal to the public to raise £4.5m to buy JRR Tolkien’s former home in Oxford has failed.

Project Northmoor launched a crowdfunding campaign in December to raise money to acquire Tolkien’s former house at 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford, before it was put on to the market. Backed by names including Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen, who played Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf in adaptations of Tolkien’s novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the campaign said it wanted to turn the Grade II-listed property into “the first literary centre in the world dedicated to Tolkien”, and that it needed £4.5m to do so.

The Tolkien Society distanced itself from the project , after being approached for support by organisers, saying that the house “would not be a museum and would not be open to the public”, and that given the property is a listed building and already has a blue plaque celebrating the author, it is “well protected under the law and not in need of rescue”. The Tolkien Society was also concerned that plans it had seen for the property included “spiritual retreats” , that the charity’s “business model includes running a bed and breakfast, with a full-time resident warden”, and that its “primary intention appears to be to run creative workshops, rather than educational programmes about Tolkien”. It was also critical of the fact that “no prominent members of the Tolkien community – be they writers, academics, artists etc – are directors of the company”.

Now Project Northmoor has announced that it was not able to “find a route to fund the purchase of the house before the vendor chose another party”. Instead, the charity now hopes to set up a literary centre elsewhere in Oxford that would “promote the appreciation of JRR Tolkien’s works”. It has said that it has already been offered an “alternative home … in a very suitable venue in the heart of Oxford” for this centre, which would offer “in-person courses and a base for tours visiting the locations that inspired Tolkien”.

According to Project Northmoor’s website last week , it had raised 17% of the $6m it needed, or $1.02m. An unsuccessful Kickstarter had seen backers pledge £198,637 of the £500,000 goal . Kickstarter backers are not charged for their pledges unless the project is successful. Those who donated through PayPal or JustGiving to Project Northmoor will be able to choose whether they want to fund “the work of the centre” or ask for their donation to be returned, said the charity. Project Northmoor said that the money given by those who donated through the Christian fundraising platforms Stewardship in the UK and The Signatry in the US “has to be used for a charitable purpose and so we will be writing to those donors with more options”. Other donors were asked to follow “further announcements on this website”.

“We are sorry we couldn’t get there faster but we gave it our all. We’ve been entirely staffed by volunteers so thank you to everyone who helped run the campaign,” said the charity in its announcement. “The story is not at an end. This news means we will set up the literary centre elsewhere in Oxford (more on this to come). You will still be able to visit Tolkien’s city and the places that inspired his writing once the world starts travelling again. The first online course begins on April 20th so the work of the centre is already underway.”

The three objectives of Project Northmoor, as stated in its governing document at the Charity Commission, are “to preserve 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford as the former home of JRR Tolkien and where The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were written; to advance the public knowledge and appreciation of the life, faith and works of JRR Tolkien and the Inklings; to advance education in the arts and crafts including the arts of literature and language”.

Founder and author Julia Golding told the Guardian in December that “the Charity Commission have said that whether or not the house is secured for posterity, the charity can pursue its other educational and literary aims.”

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Lord of the Rings star John Rhys-Davies explains why J.R.R. Tolkien's house should be saved

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

J.R.R. Tolkien changed the course of fantasy literature. His epic three-part novel The Lord of the Rings spawned countless imitations during the second half of the 20th century, and when director Peter Jackson adapted it into three blockbuster films in the first years of the 2000s, a whole new generation was inspired by Middle-earth. But although fans of LOTR can take a trip to New Zealand (when the pandemic’s over, that is) to see the still-standing film sets of Middle-earth locations like Bag End, there isn’t one location where fans of Tolkien’s writing can gather. Many of the actors who starred in Jackson’s film adaptations of Tolkien, including Ian McKellen and John Rhys-Davies , want to change that.

Project Northmoor was launched earlier this month in the wake of the news that Tolkien’s home in Oxford, England at 20 Northmoor Road — the very place where he wrote The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit , and likely most of what became The Silmarillion — has gone up for sale. The goal of the initiative is to raise enough money to purchase the house and renovate it so that “the guest can experience what it would have been like to call on the Professor in 1940,” Project Northmoor’s website explains. One could become a guest by booking a spot in the “retreats, writing seminars and other cultural events” that would be planned. Given that this initiative was conceived during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are also plans for virtual events.

“There is no focal point for Tolkien fans throughout the world. Right at the moment, the object is to secure one,” Rhys-Davies, who played the dwarf Gimli in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, tells EW. “If people had the chance of buying Jane Austen's house 20 years after she died, or John Milton's house, and missed the chance, today we would all be saying, didn't anyone realize at the time what was happening? This is an extraordinary opportunity. If you are a Tolkien fan, it would be awful nice to be able to go and see where he sat down. I'm sure we can recreate his study.”

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Tolkien was a student of mythology; he taught Beowulf at Oxford and found his initial inspiration for Middle-earth in a fragment of Old English poetry. His goal with his Middle-earth stories was to create an ancient mythology for England, inspired by epics like the Finnish Kalevala . He appears to have succeeded. The way latter Tolkien works like The Silmarillion were posthumously edited together by his son Christopher even resembles the way mythologies are often collated from a variety of sources and traditions.

He was trying to recreate a history, a pre-Arthurian history," Rhys-Davies says. "There are still some silly people who say ‘oh, he’ll be forgotten in 200 years anyway.’ Yeah, I’m sure they said that about Giraldus Cambrensis too, and the myth of Arthur. I will lay money that Tolkien, of all the contemporary writers we've had, will be remembered in 1,000 years. Although we will know it’s not history, those pre-Arthurian myths will be part of our mythology in the way that the myth of Arthur is part of our history. Strong societies depend on the legends and the mythology that they have."

You can read more about the effort to preserve Tolkien's home (and make a donation) at Project Northmoor's website .

Related content:

• The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit stars want to save J.R.R. Tolkien's house from being sold
• New collection of J.R.R. Tolkien's writing coming next year
• Eminent Tolkien nerd Stephen Colbert stuns the world, declares The Hobbit is 'meh'
• How the late Christopher Tolkien preserved his father's Middle-earth writings

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Ian McKellen and other celebrities campaign for Tolkien’s home to become a creative center

Dec 4, 2020 • 1 min read

Ian McKellen is supporting a campaign for Tolkien’s home to become a creative center © Mike Marsland/WireImage for Pride in London

English actor Sir Ian McKellen is urging support for a fundraising campaign to raise £4.5m ($6.1m) to buy J.R.R.Tolkien's house so it can be turned into a literary center. Project Northmoor aims to transform the Oxford dwelling into a house of continuing creativity, inspiring new generations of writers, artists and filmmakers.

McKellen tweeted a video of his support for the initiative, which is led by author Julia Golding. He was joined in the video by well-known people like Martin Freeman, John Rhys-Davies and Annie Lennox to urge Tolkien fans to contribute to the project. It aims to purchase 20 Northmoor Road, the house where Tolkien and his wife Edith resided with their young family in 1930. The author wrote The Lord of the Ring s there as well as The Hobbit , which started off as a bedtime story for his children.

According to Project Northmoor, there is no center devoted to Tolkien studies anywhere in the world – a remarkable fact considering the writer’s importance and continuing popularity. If the house is secured for Tolkien fans, it will be renovated so that guests can experience what it would have been like to call on the professor in 1940. The bedrooms upstairs would be designed to reflect the cultures he invented and the garden would be also restored. Guests could book into its program of retreats, writing seminars and other cultural events, or join in virtually with its online program.

Further information is available from Project Northmoor's website here.

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