Birmingham Tolkien Trail FOR WEB

Further informationWebsitesBirmingham Visitor Information:www.visitbirmingham.comBirmingham Museums Trust:www.birminghammuseums.org.ukBirmingham City Council:www.birmingham.gov.uk/tolkienBooksThe Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (George Allen & Unwin, 1937)The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien(Published in three parts, George Allen & Unwin 1954-55)The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle Earth,Robert S. Blackham (Tempus, 2006)Sarehole Mill Guide, Shena Mason(Birmingham Museums, 2001)CreditsOriginal text researched by Chris Upton,Revised by Kristina Williamson, 2001 and Chris Rice, 2013TOLKIEN is a registered trademarkof ‘The Tolkien Estate Limited’.Images courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust,Birmingham Libraries, University of Birmingham,Chris Rice and Robert S. BlackhamCover photograph of J.R.R. Tolkien as a young manreproduced by kind permission of Mr. Oliver Suffield.J.R.R. Tolkien at King Edward’s School reproduced bykind permission of the King Edward’s Foundation Archive.Produced by www.davewalshcreative.co.ukInformation contained in this guide is correct at the time of publishing

J.R.R. TOLKIENAND BIRMINGHAMProfessor J.R.R. Tolkien in 1972J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the best known authors in theworld. His epic work The Lord of the Rings (published1954-55) was voted the most popular book of thetwentieth century. His children’s story The Hobbit (1937)is equally famous, and the two works have been translatedinto dozens of languages worldwide.Tolkien lived in nine homes in the south of Birminghamduring his formative years from 1895 to 1911, when heleft to study at Exeter College, Oxford. Although he neverlived in the city again, he referred to Birmingham as hishome town and to himself as a ‘Birmingham man’. Laterin life he explained that he drew inspiration for his writingfrom the people and landscapes of the city and thesurrounding countryside.John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892in Bloemfontien, now in South Africa. His parents, Arthurand Mabel Tolkien, were originally from Birmingham buthad emigrated to further Arthur’s career in banking. In1895 Mabel took Ronald and his younger brother Hilaryto Birmingham to see their grandparents for the first time.Whilst they were visiting her parents in Kings Heath,Mabel received news that Arthur had contractedrheumatic fever. Sadly, he died before she was able toreturn to South Africa.With no desire toreturn to South Africa,the family settled inthe hamlet of Sareholewhere they lived forfour years. In 1900they moved to ahouse on the AlcesterRoad in Moseley fromwhere Ronald couldtake a tram to KingEdward’s School, thenlocated in New Streetin Birmingham citycentre.The family soonmoved again toWestfield Road inKings Heath andthen to LadywoodWatercolour of Sarehole Millby Heike Vajenand a house (now demolished) in Oliver Road, in orderto be near the Catholic Oratory church. Mabel, a recentconvert to Catholicism, drew strength from her newfaith. Diagnosed as diabetic, she died in 1904 whileconvalescing at the Oratory’s retreat near Rednal.Following their mother’s death, the boys remained inthe Ladywood/Edgbaston area. They originally lived withtheir aunt in Stirling Road, but they were not happy andmoved to lodgings in Duchess Road. Four years laterthey moved to their last Birmingham address inHighfield Road, where Ronald learnt that he had gaineda place at Exeter College, Oxford. With the exceptionof army service, a spell as a lecturer in Leeds andretirement in Poole, Tolkien was to live and work inOxford for most of his life.Tolkien died on 2 September 1973, aged eighty-one.Kings Heath High Street

The Birmingham Tolkien TrailHagleyHighfield RoadBlue PlaqueEdgbaston & LadywoodHighfield Road6DudleyHagley Road (A456)859B4532HandsworthSoho RoadRoad (A457)Highfield Rd B4532Priory Rd B4217BristolSoho HillWinson Green7Hamstead RoadIcknield StLadywood MdwyEdgbastonVilla RoadMiddlewayRoad (A38)SalisburyLozellsNew John St WestLadywoodRoad10Birchfield Road(A34)B4127PerryBarrAstonCityCentre(A456)Road (A435)AlcesterA41Lichfield Road (A5127)Middleway(A4540)StratfordBalsallHeathMoseleyWake Green Rd31DuddestonBordesleyRoad2(A34)Cole Bank RdNechellsSparkbrook4HallGreenYardley Wood RoadYardley Wood RoadEdgbastonWaterworksTowerWindermereStirling RoadYardley Wood RoadHagleyWindermereRoadEntranceMoseleyBogEntranceWake Green RoadEntranceSwanshurst Lane B4146RoadEntranceMoseleyBogEntrancePerrott’sFollyWaterworks RoadRoadThirlmere DrivePensby ClosePensby CloseOratorySwanshurst Lane B4146Green RoadWake Green RoadHighfield RoadBlue Plaque264 Wake GreenRoadHall Green & MoseleyWake Green RoadEntranceThirlmere DriveMonument Road B4124B4532SareholeMillRiver ColeCole Bank RoadGreen RoadWake Green Road264 Wake GreenRoadPlough& HarrowA456 Hagley RoadHighfield RoadShireCountryParkSareholeMillRiver ColeSarehole RoadSarehole RoadCole Bank RoadShireCountryParkSarehole RoadSarehole RoadA4540Stratford Road A34 Stratford Road A34Ladywood MiddlewayA456CityCentre4 milesStratford Road A34 Stratford Road A34Green RoadFordCityCentre1 mileA4540CityCentre4 milesYardley Wood RoadPlease note: these maps are only an approximate guide to the relative sites.For public transport information contact Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 or visit www.networkwestmidlands.com

Gracewell Cottagesc.19051 264 Wake Green Road 2Sarehole MillIn 1896 the Tolkienfamily moved to 5Gracewell Cottages(now 264 Wake GreenRoad) in the hamletof Sarehole. At thetime the area wascompletely rural andTolkien said that thetimes he spent herewere the happiestyears of his youth.Sarehole is said tohave been the modelfor “The Shire”, thehome of the Hobbits, and memories of this countrychildhood were to colour much of his later writing.Please note that 264 Wake Green Roadis a private residence.Ronald and his brother Hilary spent many hoursexploring the grounds of Sarehole Mill and beingchased off by the miller’s son, whom they nicknamedthe ‘White Ogre’. In the 1960s Tolkien contributedto the public appeal to restore the Mill as a museum.Today Sarehole Mill is part of Birmingham MuseumsTrust. As well as being a working watermill,the museum features the Signposts to Middle Earthexhibition which tells the story of Tolkien’sconnections with Sarehole and the surrounding area.Opening TimesApril-October, Tuesday-Sunday 12.00noon-4.00pm.Closed Mondays except Bank Holidays.November-March, Weekly guided tours on Fridaysat 11am or by appointment.Cole Bank Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B13 0BDTelephone: 0121 348 8160Website: www.birminghammuseums.org.uk

Watercolour of MoseleyBog by Heike Vajen3Moseley Bogand Joy’s Wood4The Shire Country Parkand Cole ValleyTolkien later lamented the encroachment of thesuburbs upon his former home but there is oneplace that ‘civilisation’ missed: Moseley Bog.The Bog was an ideal place for Tolkien’s childhoodadventures. It was once a storage pool for SareholeMill, and is also the site of two Bronze Age ‘burntmounds’.The Bog is recalled in Tolkien’s description ofthe ‘Old Forest’, last of the primeval wild woods,where ‘Tom Bombadil’ lived. It is now preservedas a Local Nature Reserve managed by theBirmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust.The Shire Country Park follows the attractive and variedvalley of the River Cole as a green ribbon for some fourmiles from Small Heath to Yardley Wood. It was namedin 2005 to reflect Tolkien’s links with the local area.The park contains wetland, grassland, woodland andheath, and supports a wealth of animal, plant and insectlife. Herons, mallards and moorhens are a commonsight, and if you are lucky you may spot a kingfisherhunting for fish along the meandering river.The ford at Green Road (formerly Green Lane) is oneof the few remaining fords along the Cole Valley andwould have been very familiar to the young J.R.R. Tolkien.The Bog is a short walk from Sarehole Mill via ThirlmereDrive and Pensby Close. The site can also be accessedfrom the entrance on Yardley Wood Road or fromWake Green Playing Fields via Windermere Road.Telephone: 0121 454 1199Website: www.moseleybog.org.ukThe Birmingham Parks Ranger Service and The Friendsgroup run a range of events and activities in The ShireCountry Park.For more information telephone 0121 675 0937or visit The Shire Country Park Friends website:www.shirecountryparkfriends.org.uk

5 The Oratory6Perrott’s Folly andEdgbaston Waterworks TowerWhen Tolkien’s motherconverted to Catholicismin 1900, the familyworshipped at St Anne’sChurch in Alcester Street,Digbeth.After moving to Edgbastonin 1902, Mabel and theboys attended Cardinal Newman’s Oratory on theHagley Road. The family lived nearby in Oliver Roadand, for a time, Ronald was enrolled at St Phillip’sSchool, at that time located in the same street.The friendship of Father Francis Xavier Morgan, whobecame the boys’ guardian, was a source of strengthduring Mabel’s illness and subsequent death.Visits by appointment.Telephone: 0121 454 0496Website: www.birminghamoratory.org.ukWhilst living in Edgbaston the young J.R.R. Tolkienwould have been very familiar with two distinctivelocal landmarks.The extraordinary 96ft (30m) Perrott’s Folly isnamed after John Perrott who had it built in 1758.The crenelated gothick tower was originally part ofa hunting lodge. In the 19th century it became oneof the first weather recording stations in the country.Along the road at Edgbaston Waterworks stands alater Victorian chimney tower. The tower was part ofa complex of buildings designed by J H Chamberlainand William Martin around 1870.The pair are said to have suggested Minas Morguland Minas Tirith, the Two Towers of Gondor, afterwhich the second volume of The Lord of the Ringsis named.The Tolkien brothers lived with their aunt in nearbyStirling Road between 1904 and 1908.

Plough & Harrow Hotelc.1910Tolkien at King Edward’s School, 1910Below: New Street buildingHighfield Road and thePlough & Harrow Hotel7 8King Edward’s SchoolWhilst living in lodgings in DuchessRoad, Tolkien had met and fallenin love with nineteen year oldEdith Bratt. He was only sixteen atthe time and his guardian FatherMorgan attempted to put an endto the relationship by moving thetwo boys to Highfield Road. It was Tolkien’s lastBirmingham address.In 1913, aged 21, and whilst still at Exeter College inOxford, Tolkien re-established contact with Edith andtheir romance was rekindled. They were married inthe Spring of 1916 in Warwick and in June of that yearspent a night in Birmingham at the Plough & HarrowHotel. Ronald was most likely on embarkation leaveprior to his departing for France as an officer in theLancashire Fusiliers.Telephone: 0121 454 4111Website: www.ploughandharrowhotel.co.ukTolkien attended King Edward’s School in New Streetbetween 1900 and 1911.He proved to be a good all-rounder. As well aspursuing his academic studies he was an enthusiasticsportsman, actor, librarian and secretary of thedebating and literary societies.The school moved to its present site in Edgbaston in1935. Sadly, the New Street building, designed bySir Charles Barry and AWN Pugin, was demolishedin 1936. However, a whole corridor was saved andrebuilt in Edgbaston as the new school chapel.Guided tours of the chapel are available on Fridayafternoons at 2pm during term-time. Please telephonein advance to check availability.King Edward’s School, Edgbaston Park Rd,Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2UATelephone: 0121 472 1672Website: www.kes.org.uk

Hospital beds inthe Great HallThe University9 of Birmingham10Library of BirminghamDuring the First World War the University ofBirmingham was requisitioned by the army as the1st Southern Military Hospital. Various parts of thecampus were used as temporary wards, includingthe Great Hall.In November 1916 Tolkien was brought to thehospital from the Somme after being diagnosed withtrench fever. He stayed in the hospital for six weeksand although he gradually recovered his health overthe next 12 months he never returned to France.The Chamberlain Tower, the university’s most familiarlandmark, may have been another source ofinspiration for The Lord of the Rings. At night, thetower’s brightly illuminated clockface is thought tohave provided Tolkien with the idea for the terrifyingEye of Sauron.The Great Hall is open to the public during office hours.Telephone: 0121 414 3344Website: www.birmingham.ac.ukThe striking new Libraryof Birmingham holds avariety of original materialrelated to Tolkien in the Archives& Heritage section on Level 4.Next door to the library,a blue plaque on theBirmingham RepertoryTheatre commemorates Dr J. Sampson Gamgee,a local surgeon and founder of the BirminghamHospital Saturday Fund.Tolkien used the name ‘Sam Gamgee’ for Frodo’sfaithful companion in The Lord of the Rings. ‘Gamgeetissue’ was the local name for cotton wool and thesurgeon’s widow lived opposite Tolkien’s aunt inStirling Road so he would have been very familiarwith the name.Telephone: 0121 242 4242Website: www.libraryofbirmingham.com