To mark the channel surpassing the one million subscriber milestone, I thought it would be fun
to take a look at all the places in Middle-earth where we could share a celebratory pint or song.
So today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the Inns and Pubs of Middle-earth.
While unsurprisingly, we will spend most of our time in the Shire today, we will first look to the
realm of men. There is a very brief mention of an inn within the city of Minas Tirith in the pages
of The Return of the King. Beregond tells Pippin that should he like a merry guide about the city,
seek his son Bergil at the Old Guesthouse in the Rath Celerdain. The Rath Celerdain,
or Lampwrights’ Street, was located on the lowest tier of Minas Tirith. Pippin makes for the street,
named for the fabricators of the city’s lamps, finding the inn and a unique sight:
“He came at last by arched streets and many fair alleys and pavements to the
lowest and widest circle, and there he was directed to the Lampwrights’ Street,
a broad way running towards the Great Gate. In it he found the Old Guesthouse,
a large building of grey weathered stone with two wings running back from the street,
and between them a narrow greensward, behind which was the many-windowed house,
fronted along its whole width by a pillared porch and a flight of steps down on to the grass.
Boys were playing among the pillars, the only children that Pippin had seen in Minas Tirith…”
While no doubt there are many other inns and pubs to be found not only in Minas Tirith,
but throughout Gondor, Rohan, Dale, Erebor, or other civilizations,
the remaining 8 named locations are, perhaps fittingly, either within or near The Shire.
One of the most well-known Inns throughout the Middle-earth tales is of course,
the Prancing Pony in Bree. The village of Bree was an important location not for
any historical or political reason, but simply because it lied at the crossroads
of the Great East Road, which ran from the Grey Havens to Rivendell,
connecting to paths leading beyond to places like Erebor and the Greenway - the road that
once ran from the Arnorian city of Fornost in the north all the way to Minas Tirith in the south.
The Prancing Pony was run by the Butterbur family for years beyond reckoning. And even though the
northern realm of Arnor would fall, the Prancing Pony remained a popular gathering place for men,
hobbits, and dwarves, and would see many notable events occur within its walls.
In 2670 TA, Tobold Hornblower was a hobbit of the Shire who visited Bree and very likely,
the Prancing Pony. It was from Bree that he acquired samples of a plant which he
would go on to grow in the Southfarthing of the Shire - giving birth to Old Toby. It is
also possible that the Prancing Pony was the meeting place of Gandalf the
Grey and Thorin Oakenshield - a meeting that would lead to the Quest of Erebor.
While we are not explicitly told in the published Hobbit, it is also possible that Bilbo and the
dwarves of Thorin’s company may have stayed in the Prancing Pony on their way to Rivendell. Indeed,
when Tolkien began a complete rewrite of The Hobbit in 1960 to make it more
similar in scale to The Lord of the Rings, he specifically mentions the
company having their last comfortable night for many days to come in the Prancing Pony.
In September 3018, Frodo and his fellow hobbits would arrive at the Prancing Pony
also while en route to Rivendell. There they would meet the forgetful proprietor,
Barliman Butterbur, as well as two of his hobbit employees - Bob and Nob.
The hobbits would drink, sing, and stay in the Prancing Pony,
and after a fateful meeting with Strider and a close call with the Nazgul, would continue
on their great adventure. Nearly a year later, in October 3019, Gandalf and the hobbits would
return to stay at the Prancing Pony once more. Barliman is dismayed to learn that the ranger
Strider is now the High King of the Reunited Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. For his part,
the barkeep would update the travelers on the troubles of Bree over the previous year,
yet joyfully, he would reveal to Samwise that Bill the Pony had returned safely to Bree.
But there is another inn mentioned within the borders of Bree-land,
known as the Forsaken Inn. We don’t know anything about it’s history, only that it
lies a day’s journey East of Bree and that it was likely abandoned by 2941 TA, when Bilbo
goes on his adventure. The Company comes across a deserted building where they make camp. Indeed,
this is once again something Tolkien brought up in his abandoned 1960 expansion of The Hobbit.
It is here where they find the Last Inn, which is deserted. It is said they made camp there
on May 3, 2941 after traveling just 20 miles that day, being too depressed to
travel further. This Forsaken Inn serves as both a mysterious and eerie location,
but also a sign of the desolation which had grown in the world east of Bree.
Turning now to the West of Bree, we find the remaining six named inns located within the
Shire. While some would have a long history and feature heavily in the tales of Middle-earth,
others are only briefly mentioned. One such inn is the All-Welcome Inn, which lies just
west of Frogmorton where the Northway meets the Great East Road. It is also only mentioned in
the 1960 rewrite of The Hobbit, meant to be one of the stops of Thorin’s Company.
Nearby, we find The Floating Log, located within the village of Frogmorton itself. Also situated
on the East Road, this inn was close to the midway point between Hobbiton and the Brandywine River.
It is only mentioned in the closing chapters of The Return of the King, where it is revealed
that when Saruman and his ruffians took over the Shire, they shut down the inn. Presumably,
it would be reopened in the days of restoration after Sharkey and his men are overthrown.
Also lying within the Shire’s Eastfarthing is an inn called The Golden Perch. Rather than
referencing a stand where a bird might rest, the Golden Perch refers to the type of fish. Pippin
mentions The Golden Perch during the chapter A Short Cut to Mushrooms, saying that it has
the best beer in the Eastfarthing. Despite Pippin’s wish to make their way to the Inn,
Frodo replies saying “short cuts make delays, but inns make longer ones” and resolving to keep
Pippin away from the Golden perch at all costs. Fittingly, this pub, named for a type of fish is
mentioned in Hammond & Scull’s Reader’s Companion as a likely favorite of local anglers of the area.
On the West side of the Brandywine Bridge, we find the Bridge Inn. While the earlier Floating
Log was only shut down by Sharkey’s men, the Bridge Inn would be destroyed completely. It
is torn down by the ruffians and replaced with a Guard house, and it is here where Frodo,
Sam, Merry, and Pippin are declared under arrest by the shire shirriffs. It is unknown
whether the Bridge Inn would be rebuilt in the restoration of the days to come.
Our next inn is found on Bywater Road and known as the Ivy Bush. We find it
mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring as a favorite watering hole of Hamfast Gamgee,
Sam’s dad. It is here that the Old Gaffer spoke with other hobbits such as Ted Sandyman and Daddy
Twofoot about Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and the rumored treasure of Bag End.
In the real world, it is believed that Tolkien
named his fictional Ivy Bush after a very real establishment in Birmingham, England.
Finally, we have the most well known of Inns in the Shire - the Green Dragon. Located in Bywater,
it is the nearest establishment to Hobbiton - one mile south-east from the bridge leading
to Bag End. This would lead it to be a popular location for hobbits of both Bywater and Hobbiton.
In 2941 TA, The Green Dragon is the starting point of the Quest of Erebor. When Bilbo arrives,
he finds the dwarves packed and ready to depart. We next see the Green Dragon in the
Fellowship of the Ring. Samwise reveals that like his father at the Ivy Bush,
he had been engaged in a good amount of gossip in the establishment. It is here that Sam would
talk about the mysterious tree-men seen on the North Moors by his cousin Halfast.
We also find Ted Sandyman in this scene, though here we find him mocking Sam’s tale.
The Green Dragon would, like the others, find trouble in the days of Sharkey’s reign. When,
on November 2, 3019, the four hobbits arrive in Bywater, they see the Green Dragon is closed. It’s
called lifeless with broken windows, with half a dozen ruffians lounging against the inn-wall.
After the men insult Frodo, the hobbits drive the men away. After reclaiming the Shire,
no doubt this pinnacle of perrianath pubs was restored,
ringing in many future happy days of hobbits drinking and singing merrily
in their beloved Green Dragon, one of the great inns of Middle-earth.
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Thanks so much for watching and subscribing, and we’ll see you next time on Nerd of the Rings.