Exploring Middle-Earth: Sandyman's Mill

It cannot be said that Mr. Sandyman, the old and always opinionated miller, is the most liked Hobbit in all the Shire, but the mill in Hobbiton run by generations of the Sandyman family, including Sandyman's son Ted, is nonetheless an important part of the tightly-knit community. Located on the north banks of the Water, the meandering river running its way through Hobbiton, "the Mill" as it is commonly (and simply) known, provides ground corn for the local Hobbits, as well as a pleasant place to sit along the gentle banks to enjoy a relaxing hour or three at the Water's edge.

It is commonly known that Professor Tolkien based much of the tranquil Shire on his childhood memories of the Birmingham countryside of his youth. Old Sandyman's Mill in Hobbiton was no doubt inspired by the Sarehole Mill in this region of England, a simple brick and wood structure, still located to this day on the banks of a tranquil pool. While the Mill found in the Shire is much more centrally located in Hobbiton than the country mill that inspired it, Professor Tolkien's reverence for the place, along with its sense of peace and tranquility, was a feeling the Turbine team felt compelled to capture when creating the Mill for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The gently turning wheel is, naturally, its most prominent feature, and the Mill also includes an ample yard for players to meet and converse, as described in the pages of The Fellowship of the Ring.