The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Established after the foundation of the Shire in III 1601 (year 1 by the Shire-reckoning); certainly in existence by III 2670 (S.R. 1070)
Location
In the Southfarthing of the Shire
Race
Culture
Family
Associated with the Hornblower family
Meaning
'Long valley'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 19 April 2022
  • This entry is complete

Longbottom

The birthplace of pipe-weed in the Shire

Map of Longbottom
Map of Longbottom (partially conjectural)1
Map of Longbottom (partially conjectural)1

A village or town in the Southfarthing of the Shire. Its name means 'long valley', and we know that the village and its surroundings were sheltered from the elements, probably by the valley's sides.

Longbottom entered history in about III 2670 (1070 by the Shire-reckoning), when a certain Tobold Hornblower introduced a new herb there. The valley's sheltered aspect, and the relatively warm climate of the Southfarthing, made the region around Longbottom ideal for growing this new plant, pipe-weed, which rapidly became the centre of a thriving industry. Longbottom Leaf remained one of the most famous varieties of the weed.


Notes

1

No map shows precisely where Longbottom lay, but the map of the Shire included in The Lord of the Rings shows two roads converging to the south, one of which is marked 'To Longbottom'. On that basis, the town cannot have stood far from the location indicated on the map above.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 19 April 2022
  • This entry is complete

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