A local horticulturist, Chris Evans, has created a tribute to Tolkien’s Farmer Maggot near his home in Bamfurlong, Gloucestershire.
It is not known whether Tolkien ever visited the farm, but he does confirm in the “Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings” that Bamfurlong is a genuine English place-name alongside Buckland (also in Gloucestershire) and Bag End (his aunt’s farm in neighbouring Worcestershire).
Chris Evans said:
Like a lot of teenage boys I read the book when I was about 15 and I’ve never forgotten the mention of Bamfurlong. As far as I know this is the only rural splace in the country named Bamfurlong and, like the book, the area is low lying and wet.
The surrounding fields are known as the mushroom fields and all the people living in the area next to us belong to the Buckland family who have been here for generations. It seems inevitable that Tolkien came here at some point.
Original story, and picture credit: “Tribute to Tolkien’s Hobbit farmer Maggot at Bamfurlong” at the Gloucester Citizen