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marseilles
marseilles
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Tolkien's Grave

  • April 24, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by marseilles from Metro Manila, Philippines
Tolkien's Grave

We spent Saturday in Oxford, managing to get a £4 early-bird fare each way on the rail—the fare is usually £16). The train left at 8:52am and arrived around an hour later at the Oxford Rail station.

The first place we went to when we arrived was Wolvercote's Cemetery, to pay homage to Professor J. R. R. Tolkien at his grave. We found out from Internet research that most people take a taxi to Wolvercote Cemetery, but we found a much easier, and cheaper, way to get there. So, for people looking for Tolkien's grave, here are the directions: from the city centre, take any bus number 2 (2A, 2B, or 2C). Get off at the Five Mile Drive stop, which is just after the roundabout. Walk ahead just a few steps. The cemetery is on the left. Once inside, there are markers on ground level all along the main path on ground level to tell visitors how to get to Tolkien's grave.

Tolkien shaped my husband's imagination when he was a child; The Lord of the Rings, introduced to him by his mother, was one of his favorite books. So we had been rather excited to visit Tolkien's grave. We were surprised about how moving it was to see the professor's grave. Tolkien and his wife were buried in the same plot, their Elven names inscribed under the real names. The plot was decorated with beautiful flower bushes, and fans had left trinkets, stuffed dolls, and, of course, several rings among the bushes. We took pictures, then sat down on the grass to compose a short letter to Professor Tolkien, thanking him for his literary legacy. We left the letter among the flowers before leaving.

We wandered a little around the cemetery before heading out. We were moved to see an old man who had come, watering can in one hand, fresh flowers in another, to tend the plants on his wife's plot; from afar we could see that his wife had died 30 years ago.

In the Jewish section of the cemetery, we accidentally stumbled upon the grave of philosopher Isaiah Berlin. We took pictures of that too before heading out to catch the number 2 bus back to the city centre.

Any true admirer of Tolkien who finds himself in Oxford ought to make the trip to Wolvercote cemetery. There is no entrance fee to the cemetery, of course, and the bus ride is cheap. A 24-hour Oxford bus pass is £3.40 per person; £3.00 per person if you're traveling as a group, and a pair constitutes a group.

From journal A Week in England

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