'The epic "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was compiled over the course of some 16 years, and finally published in 1954/55. J.R.R. Tolkien, his wife and other children, regularly stayed at a guest house in the grounds belonging to Stonyhurst College. Their son, John, who was studying for the priesthood at the English College in Rome, was evacuated to the Jesuit seminary at St. Mary’s Hall (now the preparatory school for Stonyhurst College) during the Second World War. J.R.R. Tolkien spent much of his time writing, both at the guest house and in the College itself.'