The six-bedroom house was Tolkien’s home from 1930 until 1947 and is believed to be where he wrote much of The Hobbit and LOTR books.
Martin Freeman, who played Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy, and John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli in LOTR, are also backing the venture. In a video posted on Twitter, Mckellen, Freeman, and other actors from the films backed the project.
Unlike other writers of his stature, there is no centre devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien anywhere in the world. Yet. @ProjNorthmoor https://t.co/pzMg8Yk2t2 pic.twitter.com/jx2r5MVbcw
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) December 2, 2020
“We cannot achieve this without the support of the worldwide community of Tolkien fans, our fellowship of funders,” McKellen said.
Golding acknowledged the challenge of raising the money, but struck an optimistic note. “We need only to look at Frodo and Sam’s journey from Rivendell to Mount Doom,” she said, “which took that same amount of time — and we are inspired that we can do this too.”
You can learn more about Project Northmoor and donate online. 