A firefighter has decided to turn his love of Middle Earth into a business venture – by setting up his own company building hobbit houses.
Matt Wright, 32, built a Lord of the Rings-inspired hobbit house in his own garden and decided to start his own business after receiving lots of positive feedback.
He built the structure in the summer, which took around five weeks to complete and now uses it as an outdoor bar.
The starting price for a bespoke adult-size house is £7,995 with each price varying depending on what the customer wants with a replica of Bilbo Baggins’ Bag End costing around £50,000.
Mr Wright, who has been a firefighter for seven years, lives in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, with his fiancée Jules Ling, 30, and plans to use his own hobbit hole as a bar on the wedding day.
He even proposed to his fiancée on Christmas Day 2015 by giving her riddles based on a scene from The Hobbit.
Matt Wright, 32, built a Lord of the Rings-inspired hobbit house in his own garden and decided to start his own business
Mr Wright built the structure in the summer, which took around five weeks to complete – and now uses it as an outdoor bar
The starting price for a bespoke adult-size house is £7,995 with each price varying depending on what the customer wants
Mr Wright lives in Forest Town, Mansfield, Notts with his fiancée Jules Ling, having proposed to her using Hobbit lyrics
The ‘modular system’ means there is no limit to the shape or size of the design – and different modules can be used to make T, Y or X-shaped layouts, available within four to six weeks.
Mr Wright said he learnt his carpentry skills from a five-year stint as an engineer in the army before he became a firefighter.
He said: ‘I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial – from a business sense that’s been in the back of my mind.
‘The combination of being a craftsman as well as the love for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films is where the idea came from.
‘When I get an idea in my head I roll with it and I wanted something that looks quirky and really different and eye-catching – but it is really durable and innovative.
The firefighter said the structure will last 125 years which was out of the world in comparison with anything else in the market’
Mr Wright’s business will build it in our workshop which will be in Mansfield and then transport it on site and install it
The homes can be hooked up to electricity and water supply and can have real grass roofs to make them blend in
Mr Wright said he built the structure for his own enjoyment, as a bar for his wedding day and as a ‘man cave’
‘The whole structure will last 125 years which is out of the world in comparison with anything else in the market. It’s eco-friendly as well as an added bonus – we can make the environment a better place as well as making pretty cool spaces.’
He said: ‘Both myself and my fiancée are big fans of the films – when I actually proposed to her, I used the riddles between Gollum and Bilbo.
‘The final riddle is, ‘what is in my pocket?’ – and that was what I did for Jules, like a treasure hunt around the house and different riddles. ‘She obviously knew the answer was the ring.
‘One probably takes four to six weeks. We offer a design consultation, we will go to a customer’s house and give free design consultation to ensure access is okay for us to install it.
The structures are considered ‘permitted developments’ and, barring a more extensive structure, planning permission is not required.
They can be hooked up to electricity and water supply and can have real grass roofs to make them blend in with their surroundings.
Mr Wright said: ‘It’s fairly technical, not something anybody could probably do because its such a unique material, it’s not something a DIYer could do.
The Hobbit House website said they could be permanent houses, garden offices, classrooms, hot tub rooms or playhouses
Hobbit House Ltd launched around two weeks ago and have had their first inquiries which they hope will become orders
Mr Wright said the homes are structurally sturdy, strong enough to be built into a hillside, or even underground
‘I made it for my own enjoyment, with us getting married in July we are going to be using it as a bar and it’s a bit of man cave for myself.
‘It’s so nice and relaxed in there, when the sun comes out. We have horses, ducks and chickens in our garden and we can sit in there with a gin and tonic and just relax, we also have a TV in there.
‘There’s a few wooden structures out there but not able to have real grass roofs and have a short life span, maybe 20 years tops, whereas this will outlive Bilbo Baggins!’
The Hobbit House Ltd website reads: ‘Our hobbit homes have an extremely wide range of uses, from camping/glamping pods, permanent houses, garden offices, classrooms, hot tub rooms, playhouses, man caves and much, much more.
‘Our homes are structurally sturdy, strong enough to be built into a hillside, or even underground.
‘If you have something in mind, you’re welcome to get in touch and discuss your ideas with us.