The Castleford Smial: Local branch of The Tolkien Society.

The Tolkien Society is an educational charity, literary society, and international fan club, devoted to promoting the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Registering in England (charity no. 273809), the Society was founded in 1969 and received the blessing of Tolkien himself when he agreed to become the Society’s president; he remains the Society’s president to this day. His daughter, Priscilla, is our Vice-President in perpetuo.

Although based in the UK, the Society has hundreds of members in dozens of countries around the world who hold local events in their areas and who all receive the Society’s journals Amon Hen and Mallorn. What binds all members together is a shared passion for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Smials (named after the word Tolkien uses for hobbit-holes) are local branches of the Tolkien Society. Although affiliated to the Society, they are independent organisations and run entirely on a voluntary basis.

The Castleford Smial is quite new, formed early in 2024. 
We meet first Tuesday of the month (2.00pm - 3.00pm) at Castleford Library. 
We have a core group of 5 regular attendees currently, but with registration on the Tolkien Society website we are hoping to attract new people (not that there’s anything wrong with being small – ask a Hobbit!). Our attendees have quite a wide range of knowledge of The Tolkien Legendarium, from complete beginners to lifelong devotees.

There is no requirement to join the Tolkien Society to attend our meetings which are free.                                                           Currently the format of a typical meeting includes discussion of:
Tolkien related news from media around the world.
Our ongoing book club style review of Lord Of The Rings (one chapter per month).
A detailed focus on one Tolkien/Middle Earth character, event or incident.
'Mathom Corner' which is a focus on a particular collectible or item of ephemera (Mathom is a hobbit word for a trinket on no immediate use, but one you are unwilling to throw away...)
Our monthly quiz – just for fun. Only 10 questions and it’s multi-choice so you always have a 25% chance of being right...
Sampling the latest Middle Earth inspired goodies baked by one of our members! Maybe not second breakfast but we always have snacks…

We are a friendly group, so why not join our quest?