Tolkien's inspiration to create the tower of Minas Tirith in the Lord of The Rings

in #tolkien8 years ago

According to local stories , the local inspirational writer JJRTolkien used his imagination of the two towers near Edgbaston Reservoir , to create the tower of Minas Tirith in the Lord of The Rings, probably whilst he lived for a short time at nearby Sterling Road.

Perrot's Folly on the Waterworks Road , a 30m tower part of a hunting lodge for the estate of John Perrot

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and further along the road The Water Pumping Tower.
The waterworks was constructed around the 1870's to supply the growing population of Birmingham with fresh water , is actually a chimney for the enormous steam pumping engine which was used to pump the water up to the reservoir.

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both buildings are on the same road and the streetscene was probably more open than today
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another view from across the adjacent Edgbaston Reservoir , the towers are on the left side of the picture

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Further readings ;



http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/birminghams-hidden-spaces-perrotts-folly-6443429 http://www.birminghamconservationtrust.org/our-projects/bct-finished/perrotts-folly/ http://visitbirmingham.com/files/2014-06-23/BirminghamTolkienTrailFORWEB.pdf