J.R.R. Tolkien to Join C.S. Lewis in Memorial at Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner
Two close friends who shared a deep Christian faith and transformed modern literature will soon be honored together at Westminster Abbey’s famed Poets’ Corner.
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," will be honored with a new memorial alongside his friend and fellow writer C.S. Lewis, whose own memorial was dedicated there in 2013.
Tolkien’s memorial, inspired by his “Tree of Tales,” will be unveiled in Spring 2027 — the 90th anniversary year of "The Hobbit" and the 50th anniversary year of "The Silmarillion."
The 8-foot-tall memorial will depict a tree within a forest and will be built vertically into a stone pillar in the Abbey’s south transept. Made primarily from native British woods, it will even contain a piece of the black pine known as “Tolkien’s tree,” a favorite of the author during his years at Oxford University.
Tolkien played a critical role in leading Lewis to Christ. Their conversations about faith were part of the 2021 movie "The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis."
Lewis is best known for "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, but also wrote "Mere Christianity" and numerous other works of Christian apologetics and fiction.
“I am delighted both that there will be a memorial to J.R.R. Tolkien in the Abbey and that the memorial will be a thing of beauty,” said David Hoyle, the dean of Westminster Abbey. “'The Hobbit' was read to me when I was a boy; when I was a little older, I read 'The Lord of the Rings,' and then I read it again. We will remember here a master storyteller, a scholar, a man with a Christian imagination and a writer who helped some of us understand that a commitment to life and virtue might be costly and courageous.”
For centuries, Poets’ Corner has drawn visitors to Westminster Abbey to honor some of Britain’s most celebrated literary figures. More than 100 writers and poets are buried or memorialized in the Abbey’s south transept, including such renowned figures as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Charles Dickens.
Neither Tolkien nor Lewis is buried at Westminster Abbey.
Photo Credit: Right: ©C.S. Lewis Foundation Left: ©Wikimedia
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published September 25, 2026.
