The Fellowship of the Ring, released on December 19th, is the first filmic
instalment of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy book trilogy, The
Lord of the Rings.
Inspired by the film, our Tolkien Trail features upcoming exhibitions, Tolkien-related places of interest like the Bodleian Library, above, plus the best websites.
The trail will transport you to Tolkien's Middle
Earth - a world of hobbits, wizards, evil
sorcerers, orcs, elves, goblins, and many other weird
and wonderful inhabitants. So take up the quest, or be forever banished to the black land of Mordor!
Our epic journey, oddly enough, starts in the Midlands. The new
movie contains some jaw-dropping scenery. A fine
example of this is the beautifully rendered Hobbiton
location, which features a picturesque mill. Though
the movie itself was filmed in New Zealand, the
original inspiration behind this mill is Sarehole Mill
in Birmingham.
In the late 1890s Sarehole was the childhood haunt of
Tolkien. The village of Sarehole is said to have been
the model for the Shire, first introduced as the home
of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.
Christina Williamson, curator of Sarehole Mill, says of Tolkien:
"He used to play around here with his brother Hilary.
They were totally in awe of the area, just completely
fascinated with the whole environment."
Sarehole Mill is the last surviving mill of more than
fifty water mills that existed in Birmingham at one
time. Birmingham City Council now runs it as a
museum.
When the Hobbits return from their adventures in The
Lord of the Rings they find the old mill in Hobbiton
has been torn down and replaced by an ugly new one
spewing smoke.
The Hobbits then set about returning
the Shire to its former glory. This storyline almost
certainly reflects Tolkiens' own thoughts on the
effects of the industrial revolution on the city of
his childhood.
Tolkien would doubtless be delighted
to see Sarehole Mill now fully restored and thriving
as a museum.
The mill is normally only open to visiting hobbits
from April to October and to school parties
throughout the year. However, in celebration of the
new film, the mill will also be opening its doors on
the 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th of December - from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is FREE.
Sarehole Mill Sarehole Mill, Colebank Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B13 0DB, West Midlands, England
Our next port of call is Hall Green, not far from
Sarehole. The library at Hall Green is putting on a
Tolkien exhibition to coincide with the release of the
Lord of the Rings film, from December 17th. The
exhibition will be running for a couple of months and
will feature a display of Tolkien- related books and
maps.
We head from the safe haven of Hall Green to an
altogether more forbidding place. Tolkien often
lamented the encroachment of civilisation upon his
childhood home in the countryside.
Woods and forests are a constant feature in Tolkien's Middle Earth. The ancient forest of Fangorn, the
magic land of Lothlorien home of the wood elves, and
the terrifying Old Forest all form the backdrop to key
passages in The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien also vividly described marshlands. Sam Gamgee
is nearly eaten alive by the Neekerbreekers at the
Midgewater Marshes. Another episode sees Sam and
Frodo guided by Gollum through the Dead Marshes
outside Mordor.
In reality there was one area where Tolkien and his brother Hillary used to
play that civilisation missed: Moseley Bog. Birmingham City Council now preserves the bog's nine hectares of dense, damp woodland as a nature reserve.
Moseley Bog's greatest claim to fame is that it is
widely understood to be the inspiration for the Old
Forest in the The Fellowship of the Ring.
Visitors experiencing its unique atmosphere will understand
why. As one of the hobbits observes in The Fellowship
of the Ring: They do say the trees can actually move,
and can surround strangers and hem them in.
Those who manage to evade Sauron's spies and make it
through Moseley Bog alive should use as their next
landmark two distinctive towers rising into the sky
above the Edgbaston area of Birmingham.
Edgbaston was the home of Tolkien's aunt, with whom he lived for
four years after his mother died in 1904.
The first of these two towers is Perrott's Folly,
built in 1758 by John Perrott. It is one of
Birmingham's oldest, and certainly oddest,
architectural features.
It may have been an
observatory or, more likely, somewhere Perrott could
entertain his friends.Near to Perrott's Folly is the tower of Edgbaston
Waterworks, built in Victorian times.
The pair are
said to have suggested Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith
to Tolkien, the two towers in the title of the second
book of The Lord of the Rings.
Perrotts Folly can be visited on Sundays and Bank
Holidays between 2 and 5 pm, during the summer months
only.
Our trail now takes the road south to Oxford, where
Tolkien pursued his day job as the Universities' Merton
Professor of English. It was at Oxford that Tolkien
met C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia stories.
Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and other friends formed a group
in Oxford called the Inklings. Their most famous
meeting place during the 1930s and 40s was the Eagle
and Child pub, known locally as the Bird and Baby. The pub is a cosy hostelry on St. Giles, a stone's throw from the Ashmolean Museum.
There is a plaque inside remembering the Inklings.
More importantly, for our purposes, the pub provides
an ideal opportunity for those on the trail to rest
their weary feet.
Enjoy a beer in a setting that may well have been the inspiration for The Prancing Pony
Inn in the Fellowship of the Ring. Sit back, relax
and try to forget about the Black Riders for a while.
Once refreshed, what better place to continue the
trail than at the Museum of Oxford? From
December 7 to March 31 2002 the Museum will be holding a
FREE exhibition, Journey into Middle Earth: The Life
and times of JRR Tolkien.
This exhibition celebrates the life and works of Tolkien and includes
many original photographs, sketches, letters and
artefacts.
Museum of Oxford St. Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1DZ, Oxfordshire, England
From the museum make your way to the university, where Tolkien spent many years. One of
the famous Bodleian library buildings is called the
Radcliffe Camera.
Tolkien once remarked that this
building resembles Sauron's temple to Morgoth on
Numenor.
Numenor was eventually to be swallowed by
the sea and, rumour has it, is now the legendary land
of Atlantis. Radcliffe Camera still stands, though,
and is well worth a visit.
The Bodleian library is in possession of some of Tolkien's
original manuscripts which are, unfortunately, not
accessible to the general public. Other valuable
documents can, however, be seen - including C.S.
Lewis' original Narnia manuscripts.
While at the university head for the English Faculty
Library on Manor Road. The library boasts an
impressive bronze bust of Tolkien, sculpted by Faith
Tolkien. The bust is traditionally placed in the
window of the library each September in celebration of
Oxenmoot, the annual meeting of the Tolkien Society.
The next destination should be considered strictly for
the most loyal and dedicated Tolkien trailers only, as
there is very little of note to behold.
Tolkien lived at 76 Sandfield Road, in the Headington area of the
city, from 1953 until 1968. At first glance there is
nothing to see here - it's a private house, not open to visitors.
Closer inspection of the area
above the front door, though, reveals a picture of
Smaug the greatest dragon of the Third Age.
Visitors should take great care to avoid the arrows of
Bard the Bowman
Those wishing to pay their respects to the great man
can visit Tolkien's final resting place. He died in
1973 and is buried, with his wife, at Wolvercote
cemetery in north Oxford.
The simple gravestone
reads: EDITH MARY TOLKIEN LUTHIEN 1889 1971 JOHN
RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN BEREN 1892 1973. The grave
lies along the western side of the cemetery in the
Roman Catholic section, amongst the Polish immigrants.
The grave has been treated with reverence - followers occasionally leave an offering.
Those who undertake the final voyage of our Tolkien
trail are worthy of the great wizard Gandalf himself!
From Oxford we risk an encounter with the black ships
of Umbar and cross the Atlantic Ocean, to the city of
Milwaukee in the USA.
Milwaukee's university, Marquette, possesses the
original manuscripts for both The Hobbit and The Lord
of the Rings.
The universities' director of libraries,
William B. Ready, purchased the manuscripts from
Tolkien in 1956.
Ready had recognised The Lord of the
Rings as a masterpiece soon after its publication, and
long before the work and its author had gained
widespread popularity.
At the time, no other
institution had expressed an interest in Tolkien's
literary manuscripts. The £1500 paid for the
manuscripts was undoubtedly one of the best business
deals of the century.
The manuscripts were microfilmed in 1983, and
researchers are now only permitted to use microfilm in
order to preserve the originals. An exhibit of
manuscripts featuring The Lord of the Rings is,
though, available for public viewing.
Tolkien exhibitions: there's a free exhibition of Tolkien manuscript letters and editions at the British Library, Euston Rd, London until the end of January 2002.
Of course, the vast majority of hobbits are
home-loving creatures. Not all 24 Hour Museum readers
will want to undertake our trail, a voyage many
consider as perilous as the Quest of Mount Doom.
Thankfully, there is an easier, less dangerous
alternative.
The world of Middle Earth can be accessed via the
internet. There are countless websites devoted to all
things Tolkien and we have picked out some of the
best.
A good starting point is www.lordoftherings.net. This
is the official movie site and features music from the
film, trailers and screen savers among other things.
In fact, just about everything you could wish to know
about the movie.
The Tolkien society has an incredibly comprehensive
website at www.tolkiensociety.org. A veritable Tolkien
shrine.
www.tolkien.co.uk is the official Harper Collins Tolkien site, including information on all Tolkien titles, fim books, original artwork, video and audio interviews with the author.
Visitors to
www.jrrtolkien.org.uk will find a comprehensive site about Tolkien and his life.
Chat room addicts who wish to pass the time of days
discussing all things Middle Earth should visit
www.minastirith.com.
Those who struggle with their French or Spanish
speaking every summer can now see if they fare any
better at elvish at www.elvish.org/ The site is
devoted to the scholarly study of the invented
languages of Tolkien.
Cited as the best non-official site by fans,
www.theonering.net is constantly updated with all the
latest information.
Hobbits from outside the UK frustrated by all of the
English language websites will be delighted with
www.tolkienworld.com. Not only is it a great site,
but it also has a number of foreign language portals.
Finally, for a fantastic visual experience, pay a
visit to www.thereandbackagain.net. This is a
beautifully presented and lovingly prepared fan-based
site that takes the form of an old book.
We hope you enjoy our trail. Before we leave you,
though, we offer a final word of advice from Gandalf:
"Be careful of what you say, even to your closest
friends! The enemy has many spies and many ways of
hearing."
All Moseley Bog pictures were taken by Peter Gamble of Virtualbrum and were reproduced with kind permission. Other Sarehole, Perrot's Folly and Edgebaston Waterworks pics also courtesy Virtualbrum. Visit Virtualbrum's 'Tolkien in Birmingham' site at www.virtualbrum.co.uk./tolkien.htm
IMPORTANT NOTE: The copyrights in the works of J R R Tolkien are owned by the Tolkien Estate. 'TOLKIEN' is a registered trade mark of The J R R Tolkien Estate
Limited and is used on this site with kind permission. The trail is not,
however, endorsed or approved by the Tolkien Estate and the views expressed
in describing it are those of its author.
This site is in no way endorsed by/affiliated with Tolkien Enterprises, the Saul Zaentz Company, or New Line Cinema.
When he is not fighting off orcs for the 24 Hour
Museum, Simon Rose is an NCTJ student at the Brighton
Centre For Journalism. National newspaper editors,
and Empire and Four Four Two magazine, can contact him
at simongrose@yahoo.com.
St. Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1DZ, Oxfordshire, England
T: 01865 252761
Open: Tues-Fri 1000-1700 Last entry 1630
Sat 1200-1700 Last entry 1630
Sun 1200-1700 Last entry 1630
Closed: Mondays
British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, England
T: 020 7412 7332
Open: Mon, Wed-Fri 0930-1800
Tues 0930-2000
Sat 0930-1700
Sun and English Public Holidays 1100-1700
Closed: 24 - 28 December 2007
1 January 2007
Closing at 17.00 23 and 29 - 31 December 2007
Visit our City Heritage Guides for more
trails around and about Birmingham, or London
