Tolkien Center Seeks To Be Established by Purchase Of Author’s Home

The home of J.R.R. Tolkien, the legendary author of the The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, will be sold.  The famed author was not only talented author, but a faithful Catholic who used his imagination to spread the faith.  His home will be put up for sale and a non-profit seeks to purchase it before the listing is public.

Establishment Of The Tolkien Center

Award winning author Julia Golding and many Hollywood luminaries started a crowdfunding campaign to purchase the late author’s home.  The initiative is called Project Northmoor, and they are seeking to set up a literary center in honor of Tolkien.  According to the press release,

The initiative, Project Northmoor, aims to purchase the house and set up a literary center in honor of Tolkien, one of the most beloved literary writers of the Twentieth Century. Tolkien, a devout Catholic whose faith influenced and penetrated his writings, is best known as the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Preserving his legacy and the importance of his works is a priority for Catholics who value the great literature influenced by Tolkien’s Catholic faith.

Celebrity Involvement

J.R.R. Tolkien had an influence on many people.  As a result many celebrities are also involved with the initiative.  The celebrities collaborated on a video to kickstart the crowdfunding campaign.  Project Northmoor states,

Appearing in the video are Emmy Awarding-winning actor Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy), music legend Annie Lennox (who wrote and performed the Oscar winning theme “Into the West,” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), actor John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Sir Derek Jacobi (Tolkien, Farmer Giles of Ham), and illustrator John Howe (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit). Other notables include Lord Rowan Williams of Oystermouth (a former Archbishop of Canterbury), Joseph Loconte (author of A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and the Great War), and Cliff Broadway (aka Quickbeam, TheOneRing.net).

About The Tolkien House

The Tolkien house is located an hour from London.  It has been pretty much unchanged since 1924 and is in need of some renovations.  The home consists of one bedroom on the first floor, sic bedrooms on the second, and a beautiful garden.

The cost of the home is not cheap as the funding target is $6 million.  Approximately $5.3 million will be used to purchase the home.  The remaining funds will be used for much needed renovations and to establish literary programs.  Once these are done the project will be fully self sustaining.  The project seeks to not only promote Tolkien’s work, but to be a place where fantasy writers and other artists can come together to write.  For those not able to travel there will also be an online component available.

Help The Project

Fans may donate to the Project Northmoor crowdfunding campaign at: www.projectnorthmoor.org through March 15, 2021. If the campaign to purchase the house is successful, donors will have an array of benefits: from having their name listed in the Red Book of funders that will sit in Tolkien’s study, to being invited to VIP events and even overnight stays – depending on the level of donation.

Watch the video here to learn more.