North doors of St Edward’s Church is a 13th-century church of the Medival period of England, United Kingdom, Stow-on-the-Wold, flanked all around by trees. The north doors of the St Edwards church are the most beautiful and stunning attractions in the world.
Walking around the churchyard towards the north porch, one surely will stumble upon the locally known entrance of the church called ‘The Yew Tree door’ or ‘The Hobbit door’. It’s no secret that Britain’s ancient and magical yew trees have guided us for centuries and are shrouded in an air of mystery.
In the churchyard of the St. Edwards Church, we will find some most ancient yews as they have a sacred status. The tree’s ability to regenerate from “deadwood” represents life, death, and resurrection, which strongly echoes chapters of Christian texts.
With those ancient yews in the churchyard, having lifespans of over 3,000 years, who knows how old these trees are that wrap themselves around this doorway? Although it could never be proven, they have stood here throughout the town’s historical moments. We know that the wooden door was placed between them around the 13th century.
Looking at the stained glass windows above it and the oil lamp, it is possible that it was ‘revamped’ in the Gothic Revival style during JL Pearson’s renovations. Whatever the case, it is just like something from the pages of a fantasy novel! You could almost imagine opening the door and entering the portal into another world.
A local legend says that J. R. R. Tolkien visited Stow-on-the-Wold on his many tours of the Cotswolds while he was an academic at Oxford. Many say that J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by this door and used it to create the western entrance to the Mines of Moria and Doors of Durin.
