Seaside Tolkien Home For Sale - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Mithalwen · 11-08-2006, 02:42 PM

Sorry I would have replied sooner but this links into something that I have been thinking about since I finally bought the letters at Oxonmoot and I needed to look one up. BTW Lal, I would never have the nerve to be timewaster.. even if I could pull off the eccentric millionaire with bad back facade (how else to explain driving an ancient Fiat and wanting to buy a bungalow at my relatively tender age?).

Letter 279 was written at the end of 1965 to Grandson Michael, and discusses his financial situation and states that flats and bungalows in sight of the sea were selling for thousands even up to £15,000+ . The average house price then was £4,000 now it is £190,000....

However the Tolkiens' bungalow, ugly as it is, is not average and wouldn't have been then. I would think that where it is was then, is it is now, in the most expensive area to have a seaside home since it is just up the road from Sandbanks ( for Americans I imagine the equivalent would be the Hamptons, or Boca Raton?) . I imagine they would have had to pay the best part of that £15K

As a comparison my parents bought their house, an older chalet bungalow, for about £5,000 in 1968. Now it is of comparable size overall, maybe on a larger plot, as close to the sea, and in a good but far less exclusive and expensive area (though with more amenities closer) a few miles along the coast. It is still worth about a third of the Lakeside Road property.

So the Tolkiens' could have got the sea views and a comparable house for literally a fraction of the price, so I wonder why they didn't. While their house has a lovely setting it is not a practical location for frail and elderly non drivers. There is no corner shop or post office, Westbourne is a mile and a half uphill and it is the other side of town from their beloved Miramar. Everywhere would be a taxi ride.

I also discovered that Tolkien's surviving schoolfriend Christopher Wiseman retired to the next village to us, Milford on Sea. This is a delightful village with even now a good range of proper shops, small hospital, a catholic church, and the journey to the Miramar would be only 15-20 minutes longer .

The advantages of the Bournemouth location, apart from slightly quicker access to main transport links and medical facilities, is the anonymity. A famous author would be far more conspicuous in the villages and privacy seems to have been a major concern. In an exclusive area where everyone is rich and generally has made their own money, they would have been much more able to keep a lower profile. And there would be less of the snobbery that was (and to a lesser extent still is) a feature of the Lymington area (cough*Argos*cough) .

Finally there may well have been tax advantages of putting as much money as possible into their home.

PS Another letter is an enquiry from someone who picked up one of his old book in a Salibury bookshop...

Lalwendë · 11-23-2006, 11:49 AM

Well after saying how you can get books owned by Tolkien or his family, it's come true. davem was after a set of Gibbons' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire after enjoying the easily available abridged version; he was looking at a full set of paperbacks in Blackwell's in Oxford but didn't buy them. We since found out that a dealer had a set which came from Michael Tolkien's library, and he's bought them. They are a lovely set of books, and they will not just be put on a shelf but will be read and enjoyed. They were actually bought by Tolkien himself and given as a birthday gift to his son - they have bookplates in each volume.

I find it a bit weird to hold books that had been bought by Tolkien, books he'd chosen and handled. Looking at the bookplates it struck me how Tolkien was not just a mythic name, a personality to be dissected, he was as real a person as I am. He'd also leafed through the very same pages...Kind of a spooky sensation...

Bêthberry · 11-23-2006, 05:03 PM

I don't suppose Michael or even Tolkien pere was the sort to leave pencilled marginalia? Now wouldn't that be fun to find!

Tell davem I'm glad he got the books he wanted. Were there any other of Michael's books which he choose not to buy?

Once upon a time I lived near the shore of this side of the Atlantic. I recall summers spent almost constantly in fog, with no bird song but the constant drone of the foghorns. This English fascination for the sea is a bit beyond me--all that lapping, sloshing sea like nausea in the stomach. Give me a forest or mountain any day or even a river.

signed,
hewer of wood, drawer of water

Child of the 7th Age · 12-22-2006, 02:00 AM

Is there anyone out there who found the 1 million pound price tag on this seaside house a bit high, but are still searching for an alternative? For a mere fraction of the cost, you could add this fireplace to your holiday list:

Quote:

J. R. R. Tolkien Memorabilia
~ Original Tolkien Fireplace ~

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973).

This original tiled fireplace surround from the former Master Bedroom of J. R. R. Tolkien's home at: 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford, UK is for sale.

Books published whilst J. R. R. Tolkien lived here include:
'The Fellowship of the Ring' (1954), 'The Two Towers' (1954), and 'The Return of the King' (1955).

Wow! This beautiful, original, fireplace surround is a one off that can never be repeated.
It can only be copied!
What would you give to have this original in your lounge, where it would rightly fascinate your friends?

Price: $250,000

For a picture, see this C.S. Lewis website.

Wonder what JRRT would have thought of paying a quarter of a million for the honor of owning his fireplace? Some of that money would surely have helped when he was strapped doing extra tutoring and exams in order to pay the medical bills instead of having time to write. The little ironies of life...

Lalwendë · 12-22-2006, 06:19 AM

If anyone buys that at that outrageous price then they ought to go and get some therapy. An old tiled fireplace whether its from Tolkien's house or not is not worth that amount of money! The amusing thing is, the 'master' bedroom, meaning the largest, is at the front of the house, while Tolkien will have likely not used that room as a bedroom anyway, as Sandfield Road was extremely noisy during his time there. He complained at one point that some of his neighbours were practising as a 'beat group' and making a lot of noise.

11-08-2006, 02:42 PM	#1
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,460	Sorry I would have replied sooner but this links into something that I have been thinking about since I finally bought the letters at Oxonmoot and I needed to look one up. BTW Lal, I would never have the nerve to be timewaster.. even if I could pull off the eccentric millionaire with bad back facade (how else to explain driving an ancient Fiat and wanting to buy a bungalow at my relatively tender age?). Letter 279 was written at the end of 1965 to Grandson Michael, and discusses his financial situation and states that flats and bungalows in sight of the sea were selling for thousands even up to £15,000+ . The average house price then was £4,000 now it is £190,000.... However the Tolkiens' bungalow, ugly as it is, is not average and wouldn't have been then. I would think that where it is was then, is it is now, in the most expensive area to have a seaside home since it is just up the road from Sandbanks ( for Americans I imagine the equivalent would be the Hamptons, or Boca Raton?) . I imagine they would have had to pay the best part of that £15K As a comparison my parents bought their house, an older chalet bungalow, for about £5,000 in 1968. Now it is of comparable size overall, maybe on a larger plot, as close to the sea, and in a good but far less exclusive and expensive area (though with more amenities closer) a few miles along the coast. It is still worth about a third of the Lakeside Road property. So the Tolkiens' could have got the sea views and a comparable house for literally a fraction of the price, so I wonder why they didn't. While their house has a lovely setting it is not a practical location for frail and elderly non drivers. There is no corner shop or post office, Westbourne is a mile and a half uphill and it is the other side of town from their beloved Miramar. Everywhere would be a taxi ride. I also discovered that Tolkien's surviving schoolfriend Christopher Wiseman retired to the next village to us, Milford on Sea. This is a delightful village with even now a good range of proper shops, small hospital, a catholic church, and the journey to the Miramar would be only 15-20 minutes longer . The advantages of the Bournemouth location, apart from slightly quicker access to main transport links and medical facilities, is the anonymity. A famous author would be far more conspicuous in the villages and privacy seems to have been a major concern. In an exclusive area where everyone is rich and generally has made their own money, they would have been much more able to keep a lower profile. And there would be less of the snobbery that was (and to a lesser extent still is) a feature of the Lymington area (coughArgoscough) . Finally there may well have been tax advantages of putting as much money as possible into their home. PS Another letter is an enquiry from someone who picked up one of his old book in a Salibury bookshop... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace Last edited by Mithalwen; 11-21-2006 at 02:16 PM.

11-23-2006, 11:49 AM	#2
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Well after saying how you can get books owned by Tolkien or his family, it's come true. davem was after a set of Gibbons' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire after enjoying the easily available abridged version; he was looking at a full set of paperbacks in Blackwell's in Oxford but didn't buy them. We since found out that a dealer had a set which came from Michael Tolkien's library, and he's bought them. They are a lovely set of books, and they will not just be put on a shelf but will be read and enjoyed. They were actually bought by Tolkien himself and given as a birthday gift to his son - they have bookplates in each volume. I find it a bit weird to hold books that had been bought by Tolkien, books he'd chosen and handled. Looking at the bookplates it struck me how Tolkien was not just a mythic name, a personality to be dissected, he was as real a person as I am. He'd also leafed through the very same pages...Kind of a spooky sensation... __________________ Gordon's alive!

11-23-2006, 05:03 PM	#3
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	I don't suppose Michael or even Tolkien pere was the sort to leave pencilled marginalia? Now wouldn't that be fun to find! Tell davem I'm glad he got the books he wanted. Were there any other of Michael's books which he choose not to buy? Once upon a time I lived near the shore of this side of the Atlantic. I recall summers spent almost constantly in fog, with no bird song but the constant drone of the foghorns. This English fascination for the sea is a bit beyond me--all that lapping, sloshing sea like nausea in the stomach. Give me a forest or mountain any day or even a river. signed, hewer of wood, drawer of water __________________ I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away.

12-22-2006, 06:19 AM	#5
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	If anyone buys that at that outrageous price then they ought to go and get some therapy. An old tiled fireplace whether its from Tolkien's house or not is not worth that amount of money! The amusing thing is, the 'master' bedroom, meaning the largest, is at the front of the house, while Tolkien will have likely not used that room as a bedroom anyway, as Sandfield Road was extremely noisy during his time there. He complained at one point that some of his neighbours were practising as a 'beat group' and making a lot of noise. __________________ Gordon's alive!

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