Another Hobbit House
Tolkien Fan Builds His Own Hobbit House Just To Store His Collection
12.17.12
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CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. — Worlds away from the Shire, a stone cottage tucked into the Pennsylvania countryside would make Bilbo Baggins feel like he was back home with his Hobbit friends in Middle-earth.
And while a country drive to see the cottage after catching the newly released Peter Jackson film "The Hobbit," might be a nice outing, don't expect to find it.Inside the small dwelling are curved arches and rafters of Douglas fir, a fireplace finished in stucco and accented with thin slices of clay tile, and plenty of shelves and ledges for the owner's library and displays of Hobbit figurines, Gandalf's staff, hooded capes, chess sets, chalices – and of course, The One Ring. The rustic structure cleverly hides its thoroughly modern heating, cooling, electrical and security systems.
12.17.12
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. And in Chester County, Pennsylvania, there lived a lucky S.O.B. who built his own hobbit house. He hired architect Peter Archer to build the 600-square-foot guest building near his home as a storage and display repository for his J.R.R. Tolkien memorabilia. Yes, this guy has an awesome hobbit house in his 16-acre yard just to store his Tolkien collection. I want to go to there.
The house was built using stones from a collapsed 18th-century wall running through the property, with additional features custom-built to match Tolkien’s drawings.
The 54-inch diameter Spanish cedar door – naturally with a knob right in the center just as Tolkien described – opens with a single hand-forged iron hinge. Several craftsmen said they couldn’t hang the 150-pound door on one hinge but a Maryland blacksmith “succeeded on the first try,” Archer said. A Delaware cabinet-maker built the mahogany windows, including the large arched “butterfly window” – its Art Nouveau-ish flourishes inspired by Tolkien’s own drawings. [...] The roof is covered with clay tiles handmade in France. Inside the small dwelling are curved arches and rafters of Douglas fir. [...] The rustic structure cleverly hides its thoroughly modern heating, cooling, electrical and security systems. [HuffPo]
For obvious reasons, the owner wished to remain anonymous and keep the location of his hobbit house a secret. That’s not going to stop us from wandering around Chester County attempting to find it. It will be an unexpected (for him) journey which will probably still involve less walking than is shown in all three Hobbit movies.
More pictures available at HuffPo.
'Hobbit' House In Pennsylvania Would Make Bilbo Baggins Feel At Home
CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. — Worlds away from the Shire, a stone cottage tucked into the Pennsylvania countryside would make Bilbo Baggins feel like he was back home with his Hobbit friends in Middle-earth.
Nestled in a part of Chester County dotted with picturesque barns and rolling fields surprisingly close to Philadelphia, this Hobbit house belongs to a lifelong fan of author J.R.R. Tolkien who wanted a worthy – and private – repository for the rare books and Tolkien-inspired memorabilia he has collected in 30 years of travel in the U.S. and abroad.
The 600-square foot building is a short walk from his main house, on a flat stone path and through an English-style garden.
"We wanted a single structure, a relaxing place that was diminutive in scale, for the owner to come and hang out and just be in solitude with his collection," said architect Peter Archer, speaking on the owner's behalf.
Hundreds of houses inspired by Tolkien's books have been built in the U.S. and abroad. But Archer said, "This isn't something that you can recreate on a suburban cul-de-sac; it was made for this specific location and it wouldn't work anywhere else."
Archer worked with a team of craftsmen to create the fantastical abode. They used stones taken from a long-collapsed section of an 18th-century low wall running through the center of the 16-acre property. Built up against a stone retaining wall of the same vintage, the Hobbit house looks like an original feature of the property.
"We weren't going to do a Hollywood interpretation. We wanted it to be timeless," Archer said. "It was built in 2004 but looking at it, you could think it was from 1904, or 1604."
The 54-inch diameter Spanish cedar door – naturally with a knob right in the center just as Tolkien described – opens with a single hand-forged iron hinge. Several craftsmen said they couldn't hang the 150-pound door on one hinge but a Maryland blacksmith "succeeded on the first try," Archer said.
A Delaware cabinet-maker built the mahogany windows, including the large arched "butterfly window" – its Art Nouveau-ish flourishes inspired by Tolkien's own drawings. The name comes from the window's appearance when open, with the two halves pushed outward from a center hinge. The roof is covered with clay tiles handmade in France.
And while a country drive to see the cottage after catching the newly released Peter Jackson film "The Hobbit," might be a nice outing, don't expect to find it.Inside the small dwelling are curved arches and rafters of Douglas fir, a fireplace finished in stucco and accented with thin slices of clay tile, and plenty of shelves and ledges for the owner's library and displays of Hobbit figurines, Gandalf's staff, hooded capes, chess sets, chalices – and of course, The One Ring. The rustic structure cleverly hides its thoroughly modern heating, cooling, electrical and security systems.
Concerned that his rural tranquility could turn into an unwanted tourist attraction, the owner has taken steps to ensure it remains under the radar. He does not want the location of the site revealed, and used a pseudonym the rare time he gave an interview, on-camera last year.
Archer, who declined to divulge what it cost to build the Hobbit house, said his team is currently working on a similar project in Tasmania.
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Online:
Hobbit house: http://bit.ly/QVenU0
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