Far From the Shire, A Real Hobbit Home! |
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, P
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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mardi 30 septembre 2014
Far From the Shire, A Real Hobbit Home!
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