A crowdfunding campaign to buy the house where Lord of the Rings creator JRR Tolkien once lived has failed to reach its goal.
The campaign, dubbed Project Northmore, hoped to raise £4.5m (€5.26m, US$6.2m) to purchase the house and turn it into a literary centre dedicated to the author.
“Sadly, we weren’t able to find a route to fund the purchase of the house before the vendor chose another party,” said a statement from Project Northmore.
“We are sorry we couldn’t get there faster but we gave it our all. The story is not at an end.”
Project organisers added that they will now be seeking to open a cultural centre dedicated to Tolkien elsewhere in Oxford.
The bid, which reached only 17% of its target, was backed by actors Sir Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman, who starred as Gandalf the Grey and Bilbo Baggins respectively in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of Tolkien’s stories.
Other celebrity backers included musician Annie Lennox, who wrote and performed an Oscar-winning song for the soundtrack of The Return of the King, as well as actors Sir Derek Jacobi and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli).
The Tolkien Society, however, didn’t support the campaign, stating that the property was “well protected under the law and not in need of rescue”, as well as concerns that the centre would not be open to the public.
Tolkien and his family lived at the property for seventeen years, between 1930 and 1947. He’s believed to have written both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings during this time.
Located on Northmoor Road in Oxford, UK, the six-bedroom room house has remained largely unchanged since it was built in 1924. In 2004 it was bought by a private buyer for £1.5m (US$2.05m, €1.75m), and achieved Grade II-listed status shortly after.
Tolkien lived at the property between 1930 and 1947 CREDIT: BRECKON & BRECKON
Tolkien is one of the most celebrated fantasy authors of all time
