In a ceremony
organised by Leeds Civic Trust, the plaque for one of our area’s most famous –
and most beloved – literary residents was revealed on Monday morning, 1
October, on the red brick wall of 2 Darnley Road. It was unveiled by Dr Kersten
Hall, graduate of St Anne’s College, Oxford and Visiting Fellow to the Faculty
of Arts at the University of Leeds.
J.R.R. Tolkien,
graduate of Exeter College, Oxford, was Reader in English language at the
University of Leeds, his family moved to Leeds residing briefly at 5 Holly
Bank, Headingley and then leasing a house in St Mark’s Terrace. In 1924 Tolkien
bought the semi-detached property in Darnley Road. He went on to be made
Professor of the English Language at the university. The family lived there for
over a year before Tolkien’s election to the Rawlinson and Bosworth chair of
Anglo-Saxon saw them return to Oxford in 1926.
During his time at the University of Leeds Tolkien was instrumental in shaping the English Language syllabus at the university; some aspects of this were still present sixty years later. He also worked with E.V. Gordon to produce an edition of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was published in 1925.
In only-too-brief conversations
with transient friends, it was established that some Tolkien Society members
had come up to Leeds from many miles away - for example Dr Lynn Forest Hill, who had travelled from Southampton.
In letters to Allen and Unwin in
1961, the great man emphasized his gratitude for his time in Leeds: “I was
devoted to the University of Leeds, which was very good to me, and to its students, whom I left with regret.”
The event followed campaigning by the
Tolkien Society and its members. Here is part of the Society’s informative statement
for the event:
J.R.R. Tolkien,
graduate of Exeter College, Oxford, was Reader in English language at the
University of Leeds, his family moved to Leeds residing briefly at 5 Holly
Bank, Headingley and then leasing a house in St Mark’s Terrace. In 1924 Tolkien
bought the semi-detached property in Darnley Road. He went on to be made
Professor of the English Language at the university. The family lived there for
over a year before Tolkien’s election to the Rawlinson and Bosworth chair of
Anglo-Saxon saw them return to Oxford in 1926. During his time at the University of Leeds Tolkien was instrumental in shaping the English Language syllabus at the university; some aspects of this were still present sixty years later. He also worked with E.V. Gordon to produce an edition of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was published in 1925.
Members of Headingley LitFest’s
organizing committee were there, as might be expected, accompanying others in
the crowd to the nearby Stables Bar for a reception. Speakers included Rory
McTurk, Emeritus Professor of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds, who
contributed to the LitFest programme in 2009. Included in his brief talk were
references to a ‘completed’ translation by Tolkien of the story of Sigurd and
Brynhildr - and also a Tolkien version of Beowulf,
which might just be released for publication next year.
In only-too-brief conversations
with transient friends, it was established that some Tolkien Society members
had come up to Leeds from many miles away - for example Dr Lynn Forest Hill, who had travelled from Southampton.
In letters to Allen and Unwin in
1961, the great man emphasized his gratitude for his time in Leeds: “I was
devoted to the University of Leeds, which was very good to me, and to its students, whom I left with regret.”
Pictured below: Second Lieutenant J R R Tolkien during the First World War. To qualify as a signals officer, he attended a signals school run by the army's Northern Command at Farnley Park, Otley, which he left in May 1916. He did not see the full intensity of the Battle of the Somme, but he did experience the horror of trench warfare. In November 1916, he was invalided back to England with 'trench fever' and temporarily posted to Hornsea in East Yorkshire. His recovery from this was sporadic and , having relapsed, he was admitted to a Harrogate sanatorium. He also spent time at the Brooklands Officers' Hospital in Hull. (from the booklet produced by Leeds Civic Trust)
