Sarehole () is an area in

Hall Green Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency of Birmingham City Council, managed by its own district committee. Historic counties of England, Historically it lay wit ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. Historically in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, it was a small hamlet in the larger parish, and manor, of Yardley, which was transferred to

in 1911. Birmingham was classed as part of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

until 1974, and since then has been part of the West Midlands. W. H. Duignan's ''Worcestershire Place Names'' conjectures that the name derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''Syrfe'', "

Service tree Service tree can refer to: * ''Sorbus domestica'', service tree or sorb tree * ''Sorbus latifolia'', service tree of Fontainebleau * ''Sorbus pseudofennica'', Arran service tree * ''Torminalis glaberrima'', wild service tree See also

* Service ...

", and ''hyll'', "Hill". Sarehole gave its name to a farm (now built over) and a mill. It extended from the ford at Green Lane (now Green Road), southwards for about a mile, along the River Cole to the Dingles. Birmingham City Council has named the segment of the path along the Cole southwards from Sarehole Mill the '' John Morris Jones Walkway'' after a local historian.

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

lived here as a child in the 1890s. The area influenced his description of the green and peaceful country of the

Shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

in his

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

s. The nearby

Moseley Bog Moseley Bog and Joy's Wood Local Nature Reserve, formerly The Dell, is a Local Nature Reserve in the Moseley area of Birmingham, England, with an area of about 12 ha (29 acres). Along with the nearby Sarehole Mill, and a number of other sites, ...

(now a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

) may have been the inspiration for the Old Forest. Tolkien stated: According to local legend, the hill on which Spring Hill College stands is criss-crossed with secret tunnels and could easily have become Tolkien's

Bag End Bag End is the underground dwelling of the Hobbits Bilbo Baggins, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From there, both Bilbo and Frodo set out on their adventures, and bot ...

Sarehole Mill Sarehole Mill is a Grade II listed Watermill, water mill, in an area once called Sarehole, on the River Cole, West Midlands, River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham Museums Trust. It is known fo ...

, which also influenced the young Tolkien, is a water-driven

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

, now a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, within the Shire Country Park. During the 18th century the mill was leased by

Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the par ...

, one of the pioneers of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and leading figure of the

Lunar Society The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophy, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly b ...

, for scientific experimentation.

References

Sources

* ''Hall Green and Hereabout'', John Morris JONES, ed. Michael Byrne 1989,
Birmingham Libraries Catalogue
* '' Here and Then - The past of Our District'', John Morris JONES,
Birmingham Libraries Catalogue

External links

John Morris Jones Walkway
{{lotr Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands