Crowdfunder needs £4.5m to turn Tolkien's Oxford house into museum

A crowdfunder has been launched to buy the Oxford house where JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Author Julia Golding launched Project Northmoor in a bid to raise £4.5 million to buy the house and turn it into a literary museum, celebrating Tolkien's work.

The project is supported by actors including Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in the film adaptations of Tolkien’s books, John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli, and Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins.

Tolkien and his wife Edith moved into the house in 1930 with their young family. It was there that Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, which began as a bedtime story for his children.

Project Northmoor would turn the house into a literary centre, reimagining some of the rooms as location from Tolkien's fantasy worlds.

The Grade II-listed house does not belong to the Tolkien estate which manages Tolkien’s property and copyright. Julia Golding has negotiated a 3 month fundraising window with the current owner before the house is put on the market.