JRR Tolkien.

Tolkien's links to Lancashire.

Did J R R Tolkien's visits to Lancashire inspire him when he was creating The Shire? It was whilst J R R Tolkien spent time at Stonyhurst College in the Ribble Valley that he penned the long awaited follow up to The Hobbit. Jonathan Hewat from St Mary's Hall School at Stonyhurst College says: "Some of the most dramatic and vivid chapters were written during the war years - from Gandalf's fall into darkness in Moria, written in 1941, to the long, painful journey of Frodo and Sam into Moria, which occupied much of 1944." During these years, Tolkien visited his eldest son, John, who was studying for the priesthood. John had been evacuated with the English College in Rome, to the Jesuit seminary at St Mary's Hall, which is now the preparatory school for Stonyhurst College. Tolkien's name appears in the Stonyhurst College visitors' book many times, along with that of his wife, daughter and sons.

Jonathan says: "Tolkien was renowned for his love of nature and wooded landscapes and the countryside around Stonyhurst College and St Mary's Hall is richly beautiful. The area is dotted with names that are familiar from The Lord of the Rings - Shire Lane in Hurst Green, for instance, or the River Shirebourn. Perhaps named after the Shireburn Family who had built Stonyhurst and owned the estate in the 16th and 17th centuries. The green countryside is dominated by the dark shape of Pendle Hill, famous for its association with witches, sorcery and black magic in the 16th century surely inspiration for Middle Earth's Misty Mountains or The Lonely Mountain?" But the Tolkien family link with Stonyhurst College does not end there. Another of Tolkien's sons, Michael, taught Classics at Stonyhurst College and St Mary's Hall in the late 1960's to the early 1970's. Tolkien's love of trees continued throughout his life and he persuaded his son, Michael, to plant a copse in the garden, evidence of which can still be seen today. Brierfield is a small town (population approx. over 9,000) situated in Lancashire, England, in the district of Pendle. It is located two and a half miles north-east of the town of Burnley, one mile southwest of the town of Nelson, and half a mile north-east of Reedley. The town is served by Brierfield railway station. There are three primary schools, and one secondary school in Brierfield. The primary schools are Reedley Road, Walter Street and Holy Trinity. The secondary school is Marsden Heights Community College.

The town's war memorial features a large pewter lion roaring. The town is well known for its part in the Quaker movement. A Friends meeting house can still be found in Brierfield. The town's small cinema was replaced by a branch of Dixy Chicken. The cinema is now a double glazing outlet, with Dixy Chicken further down the road in a new unit. The town is home to a cyber cafe, which is a part of the Brierfield Action In The Community initiative which aims to improve the social and economical wellbeing of Brierfield residents. The town is also home to a gym, a number of churches and a mosque. History The building of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Blackburn to Addingham Turnpike road and the railway line from Preston to Colne led to the town of Brierfield developing during the early 19th

century. Before these new transport links were constructed, there was just a scattering of farmhouses forming part of the township of Marsden, which also covered what was to become Nelson. The construction in 1832 of the first cotton mill, just off Lob Lane (now Clitheroe Road) close to the Marsden coal pit, led to the massive growth of the settlement during the mid-1800s. New mills were quickly established along the banks of the canal and people flocked to the area to work in the cotton industry, many coming from the mining areas of the North Riding of Yorkshire as the lead seams were worked out. The cotton industry continued to be the main employer until well into the 1960s, and it was only in 2006 that BSN (formerly Smith & Nephew) finally ceased production of woven cloth at Brierfield's mills.

Mordor, the evil land in The Lord of the Rings, was reportedly based on the town of Brierfield. J. R. R. Tolkien would often visit the small neighbouring town of Fence, where there is a clear aerial view of Brierfield. At the time he was writing the book, Brierfield would have been covered by a large amount of thick, black smoke coming from the factory chimneys. He realised that this was how he envisaged Mordor, and therefore based it on Brierfield.