Tolkien memorial takes shape in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner

Westminster Abbey announced plans to honor J.R.R. Tolkien with a memorial in Poets' Corner, where C.S. Lewis was commemorated in 2013. Artist Stephen Broadbent is creating a sculptural tree inspired by Tolkien's own drawing, the Tree of Amalion, which Tolkien called his Tree of Tales. The finished piece will be inlaid into a stone pillar in the south transept, standing 2.5 meters tall and constructed primarily from native British woods. The memorial will incorporate wood from a black pine at Oxford's Botanic Garden that Tolkien cherished so deeply people referred to it as "Tolkien's tree"—the tree was felled in 2014. The dedication is scheduled for spring 2027, marking the 90th anniversary of The Hobbit and the 50th anniversary of The Silmarillion. The idea originated from Lord Alton, chairman of the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst, with support from the Tolkien Estate. Dean of Westminster David Hoyle praised Tolkien as "a master storyteller, a scholar, a man with a Christian imagination and a writer who helped some of us understand that a commitment to life and virtue might be costly and courageous." Tolkien and Lewis were longtime Oxford colleagues who read each other's drafts and debated theology, stories, and philosophy throughout their friendship.

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Source: Relevant Magazine — https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/j-r-r-tolkien-is-getting-a-memorial-beside-his-old-friend-c-s-lewis-in-westminster-abbey/