'Lord of the Rings' stars campaign to have Tolkien's home turned into a museum

Several stars from the 'The Lord of the Rings' films are campaigning to turn the former home of author J.R.R. Tolkien into a museum. (Photo courtesy Breckon and Breckon)

TORONTO — Several stars from the "The Lord of the Rings" films are campaigning to turn the former home of author J.R.R. Tolkien into a museum.

The Oxford, England home is where the late fantasy author wrote the majority of both series from 1930 to 1947.

Actors from the film adaptations, including Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, and Martin Freeman, who stared as Bilbo Baggins, are calling on fans to help a charity organization purchase the property to create a literary centre dedicated to Tolkien.

"We cannot achieve this without the support of the worldwide community of Tolkien fans, our fellowship of funders," Ian McKellen said in a video for the campaign.

The organization, called Project Northmoor after the street on which the house is located, has secured a three-month window to purchase the house from its current owners before it will be put on the market, according to a press release.

The campaign was launched by British author Julia Golding on Dec. 2 and will run until March 15, 2021. The non-profit group's fundraising goal is £4.5 million ($7.8 million), but only £4.5 million ($6.8 million) is needed to purchase the house.

Project Northmoor said in the release that the remaining funds raised will be used to update the home to "promote Tolkien's work, allow a diverse range of fantasy writers and artists to come together to write, learn and create, and preserve the fascinating house for future generations to enjoy."

The organization notes that the upstairs bedrooms would be renovated to "reflect the cultures [Tolkien] invented" while the garden would be restored "to a beauty of which the inventor of Sam Gamgee would be proud."

"To raise six million dollars in three months is a huge challenge," Golding said in the release. "However, we need only to look at Frodo and Sam's journey from Rivendell to Mount Doom, which took that same amount of time -- and we are inspired that we can do this too!"

If the organization surpasses its fundraising goal, Project Northmoor said it will be able to fund bursaries for those from "low-income backgrounds" to attend creative writing courses and other events at Tolkien's house.

If Project Northmoor is able to raise more than £4.8 million ($8.3 million), the group will be able to build a hobbit house at the end of the garden, a flet in Tolkien's tree and Smaug's lair for pipe smokers.

The initiative has also been backed by actor John Rhys-Davies, who portrayed Gimli and Treebeard in Peter Jackson's film adaptations of Tolkien's books, as well as singer Annie Lennox, who sang the Oscar-winning track "Into the West" from the "Return of the King" soundtrack.

Sir Derek Jacobi, who appeared opposite Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins in last year's Tolkien biopic, also appears in the video asking fans to donate.

The organization says those who donate will have their name listed in the "Red Book of funders" that will sit in Tolkien's study and, depending on the level of donation, be invited to VIP events and even overnight stays at the house.

Fans can donate to Project Northmoor here.