What is the 'Tolkien door' in Stow-on-the-Wold?

The 'Tolkien Door' at Stow on the Wold

The north porch of St. Edward's Church in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire, is home to a wooden door which looks like something from a fairy story. Indeed, rumour has it that the door was the inspiration behind J.R.R. Tolkien's Doors of Durin, the west gate of Moria that appears in a scene in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The door is made of dark wood with studded panels, and it has an old oil lamp hanging above it. The door is quite small, and it is said that only a hobbit could fit through it.

Tolkien was known to visit the area while he studied at, and later became a professor at, Oxford University (Merton College). Much as we'd love to believe that the door was instrumental in the creation of the Doors or Durin, the claims have never been authenticated.

The north porch of the church was built about 300 years ago and young yew saplings were planted to enhance its entrance. Today these trees are now part of the architraves for the door and make this one of the most photographed doors in the Cotswolds!

St Edward's Church is just a short walk from the Market Square and the magical yew tree door and stained glass windows are well worth visiting.