THREE RINGS for the ELVEN KINGS

When we examine the maps of Middle-earth that appear in Tolkien’s books, and compare them to a modern map of Europe, we find that the major geographical features fall into place very neatly – though it must be borne in mind that the maps in Tolkien’s published works were actually drawn by his son Christopher, so we can afford to stretch them a little here and there if necessary. Tolkien did indeed draw maps of his own, but these were mere sketches that were adapted, sometimes incorrectly, by his son.

The Oera Linda Book tells of a great cataclysm of nature in 2194 BC, which continued for three years (see Chronology for a more detailed analysis). Mountains sank into the earth and sea, and others were raised. Whole countries were submerged, and rivers changed their courses. It has long been thought that such an upheaval would be necessary to produce the familiar shape of Europe as we know it today, but it need not have been so great at all, because the map of Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings corresponds very closely to that of north-west Europe, when rotated 90 degrees. The clue is in Tolkien’s statement that all maps in Middle-earth were drawn with west at the top, the direction of the Undying Lands. So if we take a modern map of Europe and label the top as west, then rotate it so that this is on the left, everything fits.

(Oera Linda Book, Ch. 21: This stands inscribed upon all Citadels)

As for Hobbiton itself, there are some who suppose that this should lie in the same position as Oxford, England – based on a rather vague remark in one of Tolkien’s letters. After studying the evidence, however, it is clear that we should look some 60 miles to the north-west, to Tolkien’s childhood home of Sarehole, in order to find its true inspiration. The Open Street Map (below, centre), shows Sarehole as it is today. When Tolkien lived there, during the 1890s, it was a tiny hamlet in Worcestershire, but since 1911 it has been part of the City of Birmingham.

The house that Tolkien lived in as a child, 5 Gracewell Cottages, is today numbered 264 Wake Green Road. It lies opposite to, and a little to the north of, Sarehole Mill – acknowledged by Tolkien as the inspiration for Sandyman’s Mill at Hobbiton. For comparison, on either side of the modern map of Sarehole are the two detailed maps of Hobbiton from Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle-earth, closely based on Tolkien’s own maps, paintings and descriptions, and showing its layout before, and after, the Scouring of the Shire (above, left and right).

Ignore for the moment the smaller suburban roads on the modern map, mostly dating from the 1930s. Running west to east across its southern part is a much older road, which goes by a variety of names along its length – Swanshurst Lane and Cole Bank Road, for example, and here also follows the 11A/11C Outer Circle bus route. This is Tolkien’s Bywater Road. Sarehole Mill and its Mill Pond are situated at the junction of this ancient route and Wake Green Road – itself an old trackway heading north, then north-west. The No. 5 bus route, marked here in red, turns right into Springfield Road heading towards Sparkhill, which is therefore Tolkien’s Overhill, and in doing so crosses the No. 1 bus route, heading left along College Road towards Moseley Village – passing, on the way, the imposing Gothic edifice of Spring Hill College, part of Moseley School, built in the 1850s atop the highest hill in the area. Spring Hill College is famous locally for its mysterious tunnels, one of which is said to run from directly beneath the tower, under the middle of the college’s cricket pitch (at the far end of which once stood an obelisk inscribed with the words DUX FEMINA FACTI), and down the hill to Sarehole Mill. The hill on which the college stands therefore corresponds to The Hill at Hobbiton, into which Bag End was tunnelled. Tolkien visited Spring Hill College as a child for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, an event that may have inspired his description of Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday party. While all the original roads in Sarehole are laid out in the same configuration as those in Hobbiton, the River Cole, on the other hand, runs from south to north, whereas The Water at Hobbiton lies parallel to the Bywater Road. The much smaller Coldbath Brook, however – feeding the Mill Pond from Moseley Bog – is located in the correct position, corresponding to The Water.

Despite endless speculation to the contrary, Sarehole – with its now-famous water mill – is the only place ever acknowledged by Tolkien as being an inspiration to him. In his Foreword the the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings (1965), he wrote:

The following year, 1966, in an interview with Guardian journalist John Ezard, Tolkien said:

Hobbiton model village at Sarehole Mill. In 2012 and 2013, with a large financial grant from Birmingham City Council, Sarehole Mill underwent extensive renovation, and is now in full working order.