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Martin Freeman and Sir Ian McKellen back bid to turn JRR Tolkien’s house into cultural centre

Actors call on a ‘fellowship’ of fans to help raise £4.5m to fund the house’s purchase and start a programme of events.

Sir Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman have portrayed Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins respectively

Sir Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman have backed a bid to buy the former home of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, with the hope of turning the property into a cultural attraction for fans of the author’s famous works.

McKellen, who played Gandalf in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises, has thrown his weight behind the £4.5m (US$6m, €5m) crowdfunding campaign, which seeks to buy the home in Oxford, UK. Freeman, who played Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, has also pledged his support.

The campaign was set up by author Julia Golding with the intention of preserving the six-bedroom house - which has remained largely unchanged since its construction in 1924 - for future generations. The house is thought to be the location where Tolkien penned both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He lived there between 1930 and 1947.

“We cannot achieve this without the support of the worldwide community of Tolkien fans”, said McKellen. “We will only succeed if we all do this together - as a Fellowship.”

Called Project Northmoor, the crowdfunding campaign has received significant backing from a number of performers with ties to the Tolkien’s works.

Among these names are musician Annie Lennox, who wrote and performed an Oscar winning song, Into the West for The Return of the King; John Rhys-Davies, known for playing Gimli in The Lord of the Rings; and Sir Derek Jacobi, who plays Professor Joseph Wright in Tolkien - a biographical drama based on the author’s life.

“There is no centre devoted to Tolkien studies anywhere in the world - a remarkable fact considering the writer’s importance and continuing popularity,” said Golding. “This is the perfect house to set this right.”

If the funding is secured, the house will be renovated to be as it was in 1940. Upstairs, bedrooms would reflect cultures at the time and the garden would be restored “to a beauty of which the inventor of Sam Gamgee would be proud”. In a video announcing the project, Freeman even suggested building a Hobbit Hole.

To visit, guests will have to book into a programme of retreats, writing seminars and other cultural events, which will be complemented by an online programme for people to join in virtually.

The house will be restored to look like it did in 1940 - Credit: Project Northmoor

More than £250,000 has already been raised for the project. For more information and to donate, click here.