Kinver Rock Houses...or perhaps Bag End?
As we drift down the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal to the west of Birmingham we arrive at the delightful village of Kinver which was first recorded in 736AD as “Cynibre” which means “Great Hill”. To the southwest of the village are lofty cliffs now known as The Edge, composed of sandstone, and containing a huge outcrop called Holy Austin Rock wherein exist the last troglodyte dwellings occupied in England. These Holy Austin rock houses were inhabited until the 1960s but are now owned by the National Trust. Nearby are the remains of an early iron age hill fort dating back, they say, to at least 200BC. Enter now Mr Tolkien of rings and things who lived in this area. At one time the surrounding countryside was destroyed to fuel the Birmingham industrial revolution, perhaps the inspiration for Mordor. Of course the rock houses could have housed Hobbits in his imagination.
The façades of rock houses
and a restored interior
A starter unit for first time burrowers?
Toposcope on the iron age fort
giving directions to the local features
“a guide to Middle Earth”
Kinver Rock Houses...or perhaps Bag
End?
As we drift down the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal to the west of Birmingham we arrive at the delightful village of Kinver which was first recorded in 736AD as “Cynibre” which means “Great Hill”. To the southwest of the village are lofty cliffs now known as The Edge, composed of sandstone, and containing a huge outcrop called Holy Austin Rock wherein exist the last troglodyte dwellings occupied in England. These Holy Austin rock houses were inhabited until the 1960s but are now owned by the National Trust. Nearby are the remains of an early iron age hill fort dating back, they say, to at least 200BC. Enter now Mr Tolkien of rings and things who lived in this area. At one time the surrounding countryside was destroyed to fuel the Birmingham industrial revolution, perhaps the inspiration for Mordor. Of course the rock houses could have housed Hobbits in his imagination.
The façades of rock houses
and a restored interior
