Literary Ribble
The village - and the wider area - came to have a big influence on both his life and his writing; the mill in The Lord of the Rings is widely held to be Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog is said to make an appearance in The Hobbit.
However, recent findings have challenged this long-established notion, and there is now strong evidence that Tolkien's most famous trilogy was inspired by the green landscape of the Ribble valley.
Tolkien visited the green fields of Clitheroe on many an occasion throughout the 1940's, when his eldest son, John, was studying at what is now Stonyhurst College. He loved both woods and walking, and found pleasure in roaming the verdant river valley. The landmarks, the places he visited, the woods and even the river can - it is argued - be found in The Lord of the Rings.
The case is as follows:
1) Middle Earth boasts the village of Hobbiton, the River Shirebourne and the River Brandywine. The Ribble valley boasts the village of Hurst Green (which also has a Shire Lane), the River Ribble and the River Hodder.
2) The River Shirebourne could, potentially, have been named after the local Shireburn family who built the Stonyhurst estate.
3) Frodo takes the Buckleby Ferry to the Old Forest. Back in the 1950s, a ferry used to cross the Ribble at the point at which it is met by the Calder and the Hodder (which became the River Brandywine in Tolkien's imagination).
4) Tolkien could have based the Old Forest on Clitheroe's Mitton Wood.
5) Similarly, Brandy Hall could be based on the Elizabethan Hacking Hall.
6) During his visits, Tolkien often stayed at an Edwardian guest house by the name of New Lodge - a grey-stone building which bears marked resemblance to Tom Bombadil's home.
Convinced? There is also, of course, the alluring, atmospheric and often mist-covered Lancashire landscape to consider - although, admitedly, this does not live up to the unbounded romance of New Zealand.
Other claims to fame
Landmarks and locations up and down the country have clamoured for recognition as Tolkien's 'muse'. Among the most convincing are:
The Two Towers - also known as Perrot's Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks.
Two towers, which rise into the Birmingham sky above Edgbaston, are said to have been the inspiration for Tolkien's eponymous Two Towers. The first is Perrot's Folly, one of Birmingham's oldest architectural features and first used as an observatory. The second is no less than Edgbaston Waterwoks which date from the Victorian era.
The Misty Mountains - also known as North-west Scotland.
Scotland is often omitted from the list of potential settings. However, after brief consideration, it seems perfectly sensible that Scotland, with all its wild, desolate hills, windswept valleys and eerie mists, should have provided the inspiration for Middle Earth. Tolkien is also said to have visited Scotland in the 1930's, just before starting work on The Lord of the Rings.
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