Tolkien's Birmingham

J R R Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, spent much of his childhood in Birmingham. The places he knew as a boy are thought to have inspired some of the most famous landscapes in fantasy literature, and many can still be visited today.

A childhood in Birmingham

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, in what is now South Africa, in 1892. After his father died, his mother, Mabel, brought him and his younger brother, Hilary, back to England. In 1896 they settled in Sarehole, then a hamlet on the edge of Birmingham.

Tolkien later remembered his years at Sarehole as some of the happiest of his life. The countryside around the village, with its mill, meadows and woods, stayed with him forever.

Sarehole Mill

Sarehole Mill, a water mill in Hall Green, was a favourite place for the Tolkien brothers. They were chased away by the miller's son, whom they nicknamed the White Ogre. The mill is now a museum run by Birmingham Museums Trust, with displays about Tolkien, and it is thought to have inspired the mill in Hobbiton.

Moseley Bog

Nearby, Moseley Bog is a wild patch of wet woodland that the brothers explored as children. Many believe it inspired the Old Forest in The Lord of the Rings. Today it is a nature reserve with boardwalks through the trees, and it feels a world away from the city.

Edgbaston and the two towers

After his mother died in 1904, Tolkien and his brother were cared for by Father Francis Morgan, a priest at the Birmingham Oratory in Edgbaston. They lived in lodgings nearby.

Two towers stand close to the Oratory: Perrott's Folly, an 18th-century tower, and the Victorian tower of the Edgbaston Waterworks. It is often suggested that they inspired The Two Towers, although there is no firm evidence of this.

King Edward's School

Tolkien was a pupil at King Edward's School, then on New Street in the city centre. There he formed a close group of friends, the Tea Club and Barrovian Society, whose friendship shaped his life. Several of them were killed in the First World War.

Meeting Edith

In Birmingham, Tolkien met Edith Bratt, who also lodged in Edgbaston. They later married, and she inspired the character of Lúthien in his stories.

Leaving Birmingham

In 1911, Tolkien went to study at Oxford, where he later became a professor and wrote his famous books. But he never forgot Birmingham, and the landscapes of his childhood run through his work.

Visiting Tolkien's Birmingham

A trail links many of the sites, including Sarehole Mill, Moseley Bog, Perrott's Folly and the Oratory. Birmingham has also held Tolkien festivals celebrating his connection with the city.

A visit to these places is a chance to see the city through the eyes of a young boy who went on to create Middle-earth.