20, Northmoor Road

20 Northmoor Road is a private house built in 1924, designed by Fred E Openshaw for Basil Blackwell, the owner of Blackwell's Bookshop in Broad Street. From 1930 to 1947, it served as the home of Professor J R R Tolkien.

The house features roughcast brick with a brick plinth and a plain tile roof with brick stacks. It is a double pile range with the service end to the north and has two storeys. The wooden mullion windows are fitted with leaded casements.

The street front has a recessed center flanked by projecting gabled wings. To the right of the recessed center is a plank door, with 5-light mullion windows on either side. Above, there is a central 3-light window flanked by 4-light windows in the projecting gables.

Inside, the layout remains largely unchanged, except for the removal of the wall between the former study and drawing room, which Tolkien did to enlarge his workspace. The original doors, door handles, and window catches feature an elaborate heart motif. The open well staircase has both wide and narrow splat balusters, and there are two arched brick fireplaces. The house also includes built-in bedroom cupboards, an airing cupboard, and a built-in meat safe in the larder.

This house is historically significant as it was the home and workplace of Professor J R R Tolkien during a crucial period in his writing career, where he completed The Hobbit and much of The Lord of the Rings.