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| Christ Church College, Oxford. Dining Hall. Inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall. |
Oxford:
Bodlein Library (Divinity School and Duke Humphrey Library): The Bodlein Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. It is the second-largest library in Britain after the British Library. It houses the largest collection of original Tolkien manuscripts and drawings in the world. In the first film, The Divinity School served as Hogwarts' infirmary, where Harry recovers after his first confrontation with Voldemort. In the "Goblet of Fire" film it is the rehearsal room where Professor McGonagall teaches Ron how to dance for the ball. The Duke Humphrey Library is named after Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, who donated 281 books after his death in 1447. It was used as the Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter films. When Harry goes looking for answers in the restricted section of Hogwarts' library, he uses his invisibility cloak to wander through the stacks unseen, only to be terrified when Hogwarts' caretaker Argus Filch hears him rummaging about.
Christ Church College, Oxford: The college's famous staircase was used in numerous scenes in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Harry, Hermione, Ron, and others walk to the top of the staircase to meet Professor McGonagall in "Sorcerer's Stone." In the second film, after Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express train and have to get to Hogwarts in the Weasleys' car, the duo ascends these stairs only to find Argus Filch, Hogwarts' grumpy caretaker. The staircase is also where a flashback scene shows Tom Riddle chatting with Dumbledore in "Chamber of Secrets." The Gothic cloisters can be seen in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" as a hallway at Hogwarts where Harry sees the trophy his father won as a seeker in Quidditch (the wizarding world's favorite game). It's here that Hermione explains to Harry that being a seeker is in his blood. The dining hall served as inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall. The eagle lectern was the inspiration for the Dumbledore's Golden Owl lectern.
Wayland Smithy/Barrow Downs: An Early Neolithic chambered long barrow located near the village of Ashbury in the south-central English county of Oxfordshire often visited by Tolkien, said to be the model for the Barrow Downs, where Frodo Baggins and the hobbits were captured by an evil barrow-wight. Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series features a supporting character named Wayland Smith, and deals greatly with English lore and legend. Radiohead recorded a music video here for their non-album single Pop is Dead. Barrows like this are featured prominently in the Anglo-Saxon dragon-slaying epic Beowulf.
White Horse of Uffington: White Horse Hill, home to the Uffington White Horse, a 110-metre prehistoric hill figure formed from deep trenches filled with crushed chalk, was familiar to Tolkien and his family. The author went on a hiking tour to visit the Bronze Age figure in 1912, returning many times throughout his years in Oxford.
Dragon's Hill/Weathertop: Opposite White Horse Hill, is Dragon Hill, which Tolkien’s son Christopher believed to be the real Weathertop, the windswept ruin where Frodo is stabbed by a Ringwraith. Dragon Hill is also where, according to legend, Saint George slew the dragon. A bare patch of chalk upon which no grass will grow is purported to be where the dragon's blood spilled.
Faringdon Folly: This unique 100ft tower is said to be the primary inspiration for Sarumon's dark tower Orthanc, the center of Isengard. It's the last major folly to be built in England. It sits on Folly Hill, within a woodland of splendid Scots Pine, some more than 200 years old.
Radcliffe Camera: houses Oxford's science library. Said to be the inspiration for Sauron’s temple to Morgoth on Númenor.
Narnia Door/Narnia Lamppost: Nicknamed the Narnia Door or Aslan's Door. An embellished wooden door halfway down St Mary’s Passage that looks like a portal to another world. Flanked by two gold fawns that bear more than a passing resemblance to Mr. Tumnus and a lavish wooden carving on the front that looks like the Lion Aslan. Just beyond it, you can see an old oil street lamp said to have inspired Narnia's indelible lamp post.
Bridge of Sighs: The Hertford Bridge connects two halves of Hertford College. Ever since its opening in 1914 it has been referred to as the Bridge of Sighs because of its resemblance to that famous bridge in Venice over which prisoners were led to the site of their execution.
The Bell Inn/Prancing Pony: One of England's oldest and most famous coaching inns on England's historic Great North Road. Believed to be the inspiration for The Prancing Pony, where Gandalf meets Thorin Oakenshield, setting off the quest to Erebor in The Hobbit, and where Frodo Baggins puts on the One Ring, attracting the attention of Sauron's spies and an attack by the Black Riders. On many occasions, while Tolkien was an academic at Oxford, Tolkien would arrange to meet his brother Hilary in Moreton-in-Marsh (said to be the basis for Bree), as it was halfway between their homes. They would meet at The Bell Inn, always sitting in the same corner. Fun fact: Hillary Tolkien had a dog he called Bilbo when good and Baggins when bad.
Stow-on-the-Wold/Doors of Durin: The church has a yew tree-flanked door that is supposedly the inspiration for the Doors of Durin in the Mines of Moria.
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| House of Frankenstein, Bath. 9 ' creature, built to Shelley's exact specifications. |
Bath:
The House of Frankenstein: an award winning, immersive multi-sensor museum charting Mary Shelley’s unconventional life and the lasting legacy of her infamous creation. While famously starting the story in a house on lake Geneva, Shelley wrote most of Frankenstein while living in Bath. The House features an 8' animatronic creature, authentically reproduced for the first time exactly as Shelley described. The House features four flours chock-a-block with all things Frankenstein, a small screening room, and, for braver visitors, a horror walkthrough.
Stonehenge: An ancient stone circle of known around the world, surrounded by myths, folklore and speculation.
Glastonbury: Said to sit on a knot of ley lines, the town is notable for myths and legends often related to Glastonbury Tor, concerning Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, when it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn.
Glastonbury Tor: It's said that beneath the hill there's a hidden cave through which you can pass into the fairy realm of Annwn. There dwells Gwyn ab Nudd, the lord of the Celtic underworld, with the Cauldron of Rebirth. It is also believed the Holy Grail lies here, brought by Jesus' uncle, Joseph of Arimathea.
The Chalice Well: Christian mythology suggests that the Well marks the site where Joseph of Arimathea placed the chalice that had caught the drops of Christ's blood at the Crucifixion, linking the Well to the wealth of speculation surrounding the existence of the Holy Grail. The red of the water is also said by some Christians to represent the rusty iron nails used at the Crucifixion. According to local lore, the waters from this well have three attributes in common with human blood: the waters are red; the water coagulates as does hemoglobin; and the water is warm. In winter, roses near the well bloom when other plants and flowers further away do not. Indeed, the Holy Thorn Tree, also known as the Glastonbury Thorn blooms in the Chalice Well garden every Christmas. The local legend says that this tree took root when Joseph of Arimathea drove his staff into the ground near the well. The two interlocking circles on the Well lid constitute the symbol known as the Vesica Piscis. A spear or a sword bisects these two circles, a possible reference to Excalibur, the sword of the legendary King Arthur, believed by some to be buried at the nearby Glastonbury Abbey. Foliage represents the Glastonbury Thorn. The Well lid was an inspiration for the Eye of Elena in Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series.
Glastonbury Abbey: Monastery ruin. From at least the 12th century, it has been associated with the legend of King Arthur, a connection promoted by medieval monks who asserted that Glastonbury was Avalon and that Arthur and Guinevere were buried there. Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. In 1191 monks allegedly discovered the tomb of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's tomb. A search in 1216 led to the discovery, at the depth of 16 feet, of a massive hollowed oak trunk containing two skeletons. Above it, under the covering stone, according to Giraldus, was a lead cross with the unmistakably specific inscription Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arturius in insula Avalonia ("Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon").
Glittering (Gough) Caves & Cheddar Gorge: Said to have inspired the jeweled caverns behind Helm's Deep under the three peaks of the Thrihyrne in the northwestern arm of the White Mountains. The Glittering Caves extended deep under the mountains, with many passages, stairs, halls, and chambers.
Gimli called them one of the marvels of the Northern World, while Legolas was left speechless after visiting them, one of the few times that a dwarf has bested an elf with words. In Peter Jackson's film The Two Towers, the appearance of the Caves was determined by the artwork of Alan Lee, who we'll meet for lunch in Devon.
Lacock: Lacock is one of the oldest villages in England. Many period dramas (including Downton Abbey) have used Lacock as a filming location. Three of the Harry Potter films were shot here (and, more recently, Fantastic Beasts). The most notable location is Lacock Abbey, which often served as the interior for Hogwarts School (Hogwarts' Corridors, Snapes' Classroom, Quirrel's Classroom, Mirror of Erised scenes), but also Harry Potter's Parents' House, Horace Slughorn's House, and Budleigh Babberton, where Horace Slughorn hides from the Death Eaters.
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| The Cotswold town of Lacock aka the "Harry Potter Village"; three films (& Fantastic Beasts) were shot there. |
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Pubs:
The Bear (Oxford)
Turf Tavern (Oxford)
The Lamb and the Flag (Oxford)
The Raven (Bath)
The Star Inn (Bath)
The Coeur de Lion (Bath)
The Old Green Tree (Bath)
Garrick's Head (Bath)
Restaurants:
The White Rabbit (Oxford)
The Bell Inn (Moreton-on-Marsh)
The Trout (Oxford)
George and Pilgrim's (Glastonbury)
Mason's Arms (Devon)
The Sign of the Angel (Lacock)
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Also suggested (though not included): Oxford Prison, the Oxford Museum of Natural History, Jane Austen Center, Bath Abbey, Roman Baths
