A village community centre is moving heaven and Middle Earth to pay tribute to Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien. A blue heritage plaque in his honour will be unveiled in April at the Gedling Youth and Community Hub, based at the village’s old train station.
In late September 1914, Tolkien arrived at this very destination to visit his Aunt Jane Neave’s home, Phoenix Farm, in Arnold Lane. It was here he wrote ‘The Voyage of Earendel the Evening Star’; a poem which was to be the start of his voyage into mythological literature where hobbits and fairies dwelled in distant lands such as Mordor, Middle Earth and Rivendell.
The Phoenix Farm was demolished in 1954, however its name lives on in the nearby ‘Phoenix Farm Estate’. Aunt Jane is believed to have been the real-life inspiration for Gandalf the wizard, immortalised on the big screen by Sir Ian McKellen alongside Hollywood actor Elijah Wood as Frodo in the Lord of The Rings trilogy, which grossed $2.9 billion at the box office.
