One recurring feature of Tolkien’s Hobbit tales is the tavern called The Prancing Pony in the fictional town of Bree. The tavern forms part of an important scene in the first of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings films, being where Frodo and his friends first encounter Aragorn, who is sitting there in a hooded coat smoking a pipe.
While living in Oxford, Tolkien used to frequent the Cotswolds town Moreton-in-Marsh to meet up with his London-based brother. The brothers got together at the Bell Inn, a honey-coloured stone pub in the town’s main street, and this is believed to be the inspiration for the Prancing Pony. A local branch of the Tolkien Society has had a blue plaque placed by the entrance to commemorate the pub’s connection to Tolkien and his work. The inn was a popular stopover for horse-drawn coaches in the days before the arrival of the railway, and the arched entrance used by the coaches matches the arch in Tolkien’s description of the inn.
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| Bell Inn Moreton in Marsh back in time. Photo by Ian Alexander, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Map of the area.
