Talk:Perrott's Folly

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Is the Tolkein inspiration true? - DavidWBrooks 14:32, 8 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Yes the Tolkien (not Tolkein) inspiration is true. He lived round the corner from the tower for many years and would pass it on a daily basis.

Regarding the name - I believe it is actually Perrott's Folly (Note: double t). There are appear to be both spellings on the web, but when referring to the family Perrott it is spelt as such.

I recently visited the Tolkien weekend at Sarehole Mill and went on a tour to Perrott's Folly, I will be writing up what I know about the tower and contributing to the article in the next few days. GregRobson 22:23, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

• But the article as no sources to back what is being said. It has weasel words Local lore has long held that Perrott's Folly, along with a nearby tower for Edgbaston Waterworks, were the inspirations for The Two Towers... see: Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words --Francisco Valverde 11:41, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Removed Two Towers claim to here:

Tolkien lived within a few hundred yards of the tower for much of his childhood. Local lore has long held that Perrott's Folly, along with a nearby tower for Edgbaston Waterworks, were the inspirations for The Two Towers, after which the second volume of The Lord of the Rings is named. The windows down the side of Perrott's Folly are similar to Tolkien's sketches of Orthanc, and the waterworks tower has a small section rising above the parapet similar to Tolkien's representation of Minas Morgul.

Oosoom 18:02, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Upgraded from stub

Taken some knowledge from my visit there as part of the Tolkien weekend, knowledge taken from local historians, so largely should be fact. This article has been renamed from Perrot's Folly as I've made the assumption that the name of the tower was taken from its owner. GregRobson 17:06, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Birmingham sites consistently make the 'two towers' connection, but link the towers to Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. Unfortunately, Minas Tirith was not one of 'two towers' of Tolkien's book. Orthanc and Minas Morgul were the two. That said, Minas Tirith/Anor and Minas Morgul/Ithil WERE related to each other in Tolkien's stories, but neither of the Birmingham towers bears much resemblance to Tolkien's sketches of Minas Tirith. They DO look somewhat like Orthanc and Minas Morgul, but only in minor details. It should also be noted that Tolkien considered many possible combinations (though never Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul together) before settling on Orthanc and Minas Morgul being the 'two' mentioned in the title.

It might be helpful to cite the >basis< for this bit of local lore because no statement of connection to the Birmingham towers appears in Tolkien's writings and the confusion about WHICH towers in the title makes the identification less than certain. Is it based on appearance, local legend, or what? CBDunkerson 12:41, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

So, when was it built, 1739 or 1758? -- Kjlewis 22:25, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've changed it to 1758. All the Web references to the 1739 date seem to point back to the Wikipedia article. Shantavira 08:22, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

Does anyone have a photograph of the tower? If not, I live relatively near and could get one done for the article. SandalsMan 21:51, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I've been meaning to for a while, but I've either been busy or the weather has been dull. Feel free to post one up! Greg Robson 20:39, 30 September 2005 (UTC)