One bid to rule them all: Tolkien’s reputed ‘Dark Tower’ heads to auction

A piece of literary history is set to go under the hammer for a bargain price. 

The property is a traditional mill house in Holderness, a quiet agricultural pocket of the United Kingdom. 

In the backyard is a mysterious ruined tower built from black bricks and choked by ivy. 

It might not look like much, but some people speculate the tower was the inspiration behind Sauron’s fortress in The Lord of the Rings.

Author J. R. R. Tolkien was stationed two kilometres away from Black Mill during World War I. 

At the time, the tower was a major local landmark that rose to double its present height. 

A short distance away is a 39-metre-tall lighthouse in the town of Withernsea. 

The two looming structures – one black and one white – are thought by some fans to have inspired the Two Towers of Barad-dûr and Isengard.

Now Black Mill has hit the market for the same price as a one-bedroom unit in Sydney. 

The four-bedroom mill house and tower are going to auction with a guide price of £200,000 to £250,000 ($401,000 to $501,000). 

The listing by Dee Atkinson & Harrison warns the property will require significant renovations. 

“The property will require extensive work to upgrade it, but we believe it offers an exciting opportunity for the discerning buyer to create a wonderful home in a lovely rural location close to the East Yorkshire coast,” the listing reads. 

The L-shaped cottage has a warren of sitting rooms and eating areas arranged on the ground floor. 

Upstairs are three double bedrooms and one single. 

The home is decked out in old-fashioned wallpaper and carpet from the previous owner, who lived there for 40 years. 

The property will go to online auction from 1 to 3 December 2025. 

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