A POOLE bungalow once the home of JRR Tolkien is to be demolished.
The bungalow in Lakeside Road was where Tolkien retired with his wife
Edith in 1968 after his two best-known works, The Hobbit and the Lord of
the Rings trilogy, had already made him famous.
An application by Cranbrook Homes (Southern) Ltd for outline planning
permission for two four-bed family homes on the site breezed through
planning at Poole council on Monday.
James Dean, director of Cranbrook Homes said he was not aware of the
building's history.
He said: "It's going to be replaced with two superb contemporary houses.
In the light of what you've just told me, perhaps one of them should be
called Tolkien."
Tolkien lived in the three-bed bungalow, which backs onto Branksome Chine,
until his wife's death in 1972 when he moved back to Oxford. Although no
real evidence of his ownership remains, the beams which formed part of his
study are still visible.
It came on the market for £1 million in November, sold by the person who
bought it from Tolkien himself. The author, who died in 1973, is said to
have found respite from his growing fame there and at the Miramar Hotel,
Bournemouth, which he and his wife frequently visited. A commemorative
plaque can be seen on the front of the hotel.
from rec.arts.books.tolkein
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