JRR Tolkien’s four-bedroom house in Warwickshire is on the market for just £285,000 – the Lord Of The Rings author’s haven with Edith Bratt
Celebrated fantasy author's four-bedroom Edwardian terrace house is up for sale for the first time in 54 years
A HOME once owned by Lord of The Rings author JRR Tolkien is up for sale for the first time in 54 years.
The celebrated author once lived in the Warwickshire home with his wife, Edith Bratt, after she broke off her engagement to marry the author instead.
The four-bedroom Edwardian terrace house, built in 1906, is on the market for just £285,000.
Despite being famous for his timeless fantasy novels such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings — and the blockbuster hits that followed them — Tolkien came from very humble beginnings.
The star author was raised at an orphanage in Birmingham, where he first met his future wife, Edith Bratt, at just 16 years of age in 1908.
He fell in love with Edith, who was three years his senior, straight away but was kept away from her by his legal guardian until he was 21.
By this point, Edith had moved to Cheltenham and promised her hand to another man, but on his 21st birthday, Tolkien wrote his sweetheart a letter declaring his love, prompting Edith to break off her engagement.
Edith then moved to Warwick to set up a home at 15 Victoria Street and it became a happy meeting place for the young lovebirds who endured years apart while Tolkien lived in Oxford, reading English.
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The pair married in 1916, at St Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Warwick.
By the time the two married Britain was at war and Tolkien was enlisted in the army.
Unable to bear being apart, Edith sold the house and moved to Staffordshire to be near to her husband's camp.
The house has barely changed since the pair sold it, with the original terracotta tiles still in the hallway.
The current owner of the property, Sue Bromwich, was just nine when she moved in with her family in 1961 and had remained there ever since.
Sue, 65, said: "We only found out around 3 years ago about the Tolkien owning the house.
"My friend came across an old picture and was sure it looked exactly like our house.
"I then did some research myself and found out about the house's history.
"Another friend of mine they found the marriage certificate and gave it to me as a present."
Sue, who is a fan of Tolkien's books, said: "It's amazing as I'm a fan and a very romantic story.
"Two people from Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, from Norway, tracked our house down and were taking picture outside one day.
"We were completed confused until we spoke to them and they said they were in the UK for a Lord of the Rings convention.
"I think Tolkien may have been inspired by the local area and it's quite and emotional sale.
"This house has a lot of sentimental value."
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