Odd... When I saw the title of this post, I immediately thought of South Africa, where Tolkien was born. Gated communities were (maybe still are) very popular there. It's where the rich people lived as a way of living in security from the unwashed masses. These literally had gates around them, to prevent anyone unwanted from coming near their neighbourhood. I know this happened during the Apartheid period, but I wouldn't doubt their existence beforehand.
Now I know that he moved back to England shortly after his birth, but he might have been told something, and the concept might have filtered through. The only gates to towns nowadays are tollbooths and customs.
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