J.R.R. Tolkien’s home in Oxford, England will soon be for sale, the very house where Tolkien wrote “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit.” And the actors who starred in the movie adaptations of these beloved novels have launched a campaign to buy it and turn it into a literary center dedicated to his works.

The crowdfunding campaign titled “Project Northmoor” aims to raise $6 million in three months, with $5 million being dedicated to purchasing the home and the rest used to renovate it and establish a nonprofit organization to operate the literary center. Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who portrayed Gandalf in the movies, along with costars Martian Freeman who played Bilbo in The “Hobbit” and John Rhys-Davis who played Gimli in “The Lord of the Rings” appeared in a video, asking Tolkien fans and readers, dubbed “our fellowship of funders” by McKellen to donate what they can, and establish various tiers to the fundraising project like restoration of Tolkien’s garden and creating a lair for the dragon Smaug.

The literary center will be the first-ever created to honor Tolkien’s legacy and serve to host literary programs for fantasy writers and fans alike.
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













