#wolvercote cemetery

[cliozaur]

That's adorable. Someone even brought an elvish pin

[authorgraves]

J.R.R. Tolkien

(Jan. 3rd 1892 - Sep. 3nd 1973)

Brief Bio:

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa and moved to England when he was three. Orphaned at twelve, he and his brother were taken in by a family friend. He was raised Catholic and showed an early keenness for languages at school. His courtship and marriage to Edith Bratt, a Protestant three years his senior, scandalized both their families. In 1915 he was reluctantly commissioned to serve in WWI. He contracted trench fever at the Somme and spent the remainder of the war in hospital. He took up an academic career, teaching and tutoring at various colleges. It was at Pembroke College in Oxford that he befriended C.S. Lewis, a co-founder of The Inklings, and wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His knowledge of language enabled him to serve as a codebreaker in WWII. It was after his retirement that he saw increased fame and funds from his books, gradually becoming a literary cult figure. He died 21 months after his wife of a bleeding ulcer and chest infection.

Notable Works:

The Hobbit (1937)

The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)

The Two Towers (1954)

The Return of the King (1955)

The Silmarillion (1977 posthumous)

Beowulf (posthumous 2014)

The Grave:

Tolkien is buried with his wife in Wolvercote Cemetery in Oxford. Maps are available at the office, and signs point the way to the grave, which bears the names of Beren and Luthien.

447 Banbury Rd Oxford, OX2 8EE United Kingdom

Surrounding Area:

The cemetery is reached by bus from Oxford City Centre. One may walk around Oxford and explore many of Tolkien’s local haunts, such as The Eagle and Child pub.

Further Reading:

Tolkien Project Gutenberg

Tolkien Estate website

The Tolkien Society website

“End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.”

[on-holidays-by-mistake]

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and his wife Edith Mary’s grave, Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, UK

April 2017

[morelikefundon]

22 May 2016

My sister is a huge Tolkien fan, and my other sister and I are casual Tolkien fans, so of course a trip to Oxford was in the cards for us. We took the train and then a bus to Wolvercote Cemetery to visit his grave. Then we wandered around the university campus, visiting the Radcliffe Camera area, Merton College and Exeter College. We also walked to the Eagle and Child, where Tolkien and others like C.S. Lewis would meet. We walked a LOT but also had a blast!

(PS I guess Oxford students unwind by playing croquet and not frisbee golf)