Yew-bound doorway, St Edward's, Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire, England
N 51° 55.814 W 001° 43.426
30U E 587748 N 5754047
A very old English village church door with yew trees (probably as old as the church) growing around and into the masonry. The thousand-year-old building was reputed to have inspired author Tolkien who lived in nearby Oxford.
Waymark Code: WMYRB3
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/16/2018
Views: 8
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The present-day edifice fuses various architectural styles. There are bits of Norman masonry and Early English types of arches and columns. Distinctive as well is the nave clerestory, a testimony to the late Gothic architectural twist.
While all of these authentic features are of interest in their own right, one that might have fueled the imagination of a famous writer is the church’s north door, flanked by two ancient yew trees. Rumor has it that this was the door that sparked J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Doors of Durin,” the west gate of Moria that appears in a scene in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Nevertheless, this is still just a rumor, and nobody has so far authenticated it.
A very old English village church door with yew trees (probably as old as the church) growing around and into the masonry. The thousand-year-old building was reputed to have inspired author Tolkien who lived in nearby Oxford.