A campaign to bring a rare J.R.R. Tolkien letter to Crickhowell has won the auction battle – but organisers are still raising funds to complete the purchase.

The letter, which includes Tolkien’s own words linking the fictional place name Crickhollow to Crickhowell, was successfully bid for at auction after local business owner Frank Ady launched an appeal to keep the historic document in the town.

Mr Ady placed the winning bid of £15,000 at Christie’s auction, after the fundraising campaign had already raised more than £9,000 from supporters.

However, with auction house commission added, the total cost of securing the letter has risen to £19,800.

Mr Ady has now renewed his appeal for further donations, saying he could not let the document potentially leave the area.

He said: “As many of you will now know, we were successful in bidding for the Tolkien letter which quotes him as saying that Crickhowell was an inspiration for some of his writings.

“So the wonderful news is that this letter will be coming to live in its rightful home right here in Crickhowell for both locals and visitors to see.”

He continued: “Although together, we raised the considerable amount of over £9,000, the bidding started on the day at £12,000.

“I just couldn’t let the letter drift off into the ether and potentially the other side of the Atlantic when it seems such an important thing for our town.”

The letter, written in 1966 to reader Jenny Hall, was listed by Christie’s with an estimated value of between £5,000 and £7,000.

In the correspondence, Tolkien responded to questions about place names in The Lord of the Rings, writing: “I have been in most parts of Wales, but the place names I use are made up from English models or borrowed from books, though Crickhollow was actually meant to resemble Crickhowell.”