Hobbits, Tolkien & The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh – Did this Pub Inspire Bree’s Prancing Pony?

If you have ever felt like escaping to Tolkien’s Legendarium of Middle Earth, you only need to visit the Cotswolds in the UK.

Many believe that The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh, was the inspiration for The Prancing Pony in the town of Bree. 

This is one of Middle Earth’s most popular inns featured in The Lord of the Rings.

You may not find any halflings awaiting Gandalf or curious Rangers keeping watch in the corner.

But you will find a cosy pub with a corner dedicated to Tolkien. As a huge LOTR fan, I loved my visit.

So, here’s a complete Hobbit guide for The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh and everything you need to know about the Tolkien connection.

The Bell Inn Tolkien Connection

It’s known that J. R. R. Tolkien was a resident and academic at Oxford.

As a professor of English Language and Literature, he would tutor students at both Pembroke and Merton College. 

As an author and literary enthusiast, he would become part of the ‘Inklings’ literary discussion group. 

They would gather in ‘The Eagle and Child’ pub in Oxford. Here, they would discuss the value of fiction and fantasy narratives in the 1930s and 1940s.

His fellow ‘Inklings’ included the likes of C.S. Lewis, who would become a close friend.

What is not so commonly known is that Tolkien’s brother lived in Evesham.

A small market town in Worcestershire and the ancestral home of Tolkien’s mother, Mabel Suffield.

Unlike his brother, Hilary Tolkien’s interest was in agriculture rather than academia. So, he bought a small orchard in Evesham in 1922. 

J. R. R. Tolkien and his family visited his farm and stayed many times.

According to him, ‘Worcestershire was more like home than any other part of the world’.

On many occasions, while he was an academic at Oxford, Tolkien would arrange to meet his brother Hilary in Moreton-in-Marsh. 

It was the perfect meeting point as it was located halfway between the homes of the two Tolkien brothers.

They would meet up at The Bell Inn and have a lengthy catch-up over a pint in a tiny corner of the pub. 

Tolkien’s Corner at The Bell Inn

The two Tolkien brothers almost always sat at the same table. Today, The Bell Inn has immortalised this little corner. 

It’s very easy to spot as soon as you walk inside. You’ll instantly spot a huge map of Middle-Earth against the back wall.

Just to the left of that map, you’ll find a little snug with curved seating and a round table tucked away in the corner. 

If you are a Tolkien fan, this is the best seat in the house. You can follow in his footsteps and have a pint where he would have sat. 

Above the table hangs a hotchpotch of photos of J.R.R Tolkien, his family, and other Cotswolds locations that inspired The Lord of the Rings.

Many people say that this very pub inspired a small part of his legendarium. Tolkien was known for using ‘real-life’ places as a muse.

The Bell Inn is thought to be the inspiration for The Inn of the Prancing Pony in the town of Bree.

Is The Bell Inn the inspiration for the Prancing Pony?

There is no evidence or record from Tolkien to suggest that The Bell Inn inspired The Prancing Pony.

But it is generally agreed that this cosy Cotswolds pub was an inspiration.

A local Tolkien Society Group called The Three Farthing Stones Smial awarded the pub with a blue plaque.

It hangs proudly outside the pub as an indication that this pub was the inspiration for The Prancing Pony in The Lord of the Rings. 

Although many would disagree, according to the Smial, there are too many comparisons between this pub and the one in Middle Earth to ignore.

What are the similarities & connections?

So, why do Tolkien fans feel that The Bell Inn is the inspiration for The Prancing Pony at Bree? 

There are many factors to consider, including the similarities and the layout. Also, how much Moreton-in-Marsh is like the town of Bree.  

Here are some of the main similarities between The Bell Inn and The Prancing Pony as described in Tolkien’s works:

Moreton-in-Marsh is similar to Bree

When Tolkien first introduces the town of Bree, he writes; 

“The village of Bree had some hundred stone houses of the Big Folk”

Which is very similar to Moreton-in-Marsh. Typically, most of the houses on Moreton’s main High Street are built in traditional Cotswold stone. 

But there is also a connection between the two towns in having a curfew tower. 

In The Lord of the Rings, Bree is described as a curfew town that is controlled by a gate:

“The gates were closed at nightfall; but just inside them were small lodges for the gatekeepers.”

Moreton also has an eerily similar 16th-century bell tower across the road from the pub known as the ‘Curfew Tower’.

Traditionally, this monument would have played a major role in the town years ago.

It’s thought to have been a lock-up for drunks and criminals who would spend the night here.

Both towns are built near a ‘meeting of ways’

Just like Bree, Moreton is built on a major road and is near a crossroad:

“For Bree stood at an old meeting of ways; another ancient road crossed the East Road just outside the dike at the western end of the village”

The Prancing Pony was close to Eriador’s major crossroads outside the town.

This crossroad was a meeting place of the Great East Road and the Greenway.

Similarly, Moreton-in-Marsh is based on the ancient Roman Road of Fosse Way, which runs from East to West.

This Roman Road then meets the roads from Oxford and Worcester, which run North to South. So, Moreton is also a place where four shires meet.

They are both coaching inns with a courtyard

As the Hobbits approached the inn at Bree, they were taken aback by its size; 

“The houses looked large and strange to them. Sam stared up at the inn with its three stories and many windows”

This is similar to The Bell Inn, which is also made of traditional stone for the “Big Folk”. It has three large stories and many windows.

Another similarity is that The Bell Inn also used to be a coaching inn years ago.

In the courtyard, you can still see the stables, where the horses were kept overnight. 

As you approach the pub, you’ll see a large archway to the right of the front door that leads to a courtyard.

This is similar to The Prancing Pony description; 

“There was a wide arch leading to a courtyard between the two wings, and on the left under the arch there was a large doorway reached by a few broad steps.”

However, the entrance door to The Bell Inn is located at the front of the building nowadays.

Years ago, when Tolkien used to visit, the entrance could only be accessed via that archway. 

You’d walk through the tunnel and enter the pub via a door on the left by walking up some steps. 

There are also two wings at either side of the arch, like at Bree, which are now the hotel’s accommodation wings.

The two pubs have ‘Hobbit rooms’ to book

Talking of accommodation, you can book your very own room here for the night. Similar to The Prancing Pony.

If you remember in Lord of the Rings, the landlord Barliman Butterbur talks to Frodo and the Hobbits about rooms; 

“If you wer en’t hobbits, I doubt if we could house you. But we’ve got a room or two in the north wing that were made special for hobbits, when this place was built. On the ground floor as they usually prefer”

They didn’t actually end up sleeping in their rooms due to the Ringwraiths who were searching for them. Aragorn, fortunately, came to the rescue.

However, just like in the books, The Bell Inn has its very own accommodation you can book for a getaway. There are even rooms on the ground floor. 

They are not tiny at all and very much made for “Big Folks”.

Why not escape to Middle Earth?

Those are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to similarities between Bree and Moreton-in-Marsh. 

But they are certainly enough to convince me that this gorgeous pub was Tolkien’s inspiration for The Prancing Pony.

Although the landlord wasn’t Barliman Butterbur, he was a lovely person who I had a quick chat with about it, and it really made my visit. 

As a huge Tolkien fan, having a pint here was the perfect end to my road trip in the Cotswolds. 

If you’re also a fan of Tolkien or love The Lord of the Rings, I would highly recommend visiting.

It’s a great way to escape the everyday and a portal to Middle Earth. You could even have a second breakfast with their delicious pub menu.

Where is The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh?

If you fancy stopping in Bree, you only need to visit Moreton-in-Marsh. This is in the county of Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds.

It’s around a fifteen-minute drive from the popular town of Bourton-on-the-Water. Or a 45-minute drive from Oxford.

There is plenty of free parking off the main road of the town. Pretty much the whole High Street will have parking spaces outside the shops.

It’s actually quicker (and more economical) to get the train, and there is a direct railway service from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh.

You can find The Bell Inn on the main road in the town.

Lord of the Rings in the Cotswolds

As well as The Bell Inn, there are plenty of locations in the Cotswolds that are thought to have inspired Tolkien’s legendarium.

Just down the road is the Four Shire Stone on the A44. This is thought to be an inspiration for a similar stone marker in the books.

Or, why not head down the road to Stow-on-the-Wold? The church there has a door that is supposedly the inspiration for the Doors of Durin.

The ancient stone circle of the Rollright Stones is thought to have inspired the Barrow-Downs. But many say this is also Wayland’s Smithy. 

Even the famous Broadway Tower has been compared to Amon Hen Watchtower.

Lastly, who could forget Oxford? You could spend a whole day chasing Tolkien locations and connections in the city.

Read more of my Cotswolds guides

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A guide for Upper Slaughter

Places to visit in Bibury

Is this the prettiest street in UK?

Why you must visit Castle Combe

The legend of Painswicks Yew Trees

A guide for Burford

Places to visit in Tetbury

Visit the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall

The Most Instagrammable places in Gloucester

Harry Potter filming locations in Gloucester Cathedral

Save The Bell Inn Moreton-in-Marsh for later