Living Language

JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) wrote "I love Wales and especially the Welsh language". His study of Welsh heavily influenced The Lord of the Rings. One of the inspirations for this epic lies in the Usk Valley at Buckland, and Tolkien may have borrowed generously from the area in the earliest map of The Shire. Local names, perhaps remembered from a boyhood holiday in 1905, may have been adapted into his story: Crickhollow from Crickhowell, Bucklebury from Bwlch; the character Fredegar from his guardian’s Tredegar Morgan family name. Brandywine Bridge may have been inspired by nearby Llangynidr Bridge, which dates to 1700. Buckland Hall may have inspired Brandy Hall, the residence of the Brandybuck Hobbits. It does, as the book describes, “lie on the east of the river”. Buckland Hall is a private venue, but you can follow the many public footpaths to Buckland Hill, which offers stunning views across a place which may have made an indelible impression on the young Tolkien.

Photographs - copyright John Briggs / Literature Wales