What was the name of the literary society J.R.R. Tolkien helped form at Oxford in 1911?

J.R.R. Tolkien helped form the Tea Club and Barrovian Society at Oxford in 1911.

The group was created by Tolkien and several school friends at King Edward’s School in Birmingham. Its members met for tea and conversation, including meetings in the school’s Barrow’s Stores. The society’s name combines that meeting place with the group’s tea-centered activities.

The society mattered because it gave Tolkien an early community for discussion, reading, performance, and creative ideas. Its members shared an enthusiasm for literature and languages before their university and adult careers took different paths.

The group is often confused with the Inklings, the later literary discussion group associated with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at Oxford. The Inklings formed in the 1930s, while the Tea Club and Barrovian Society dates from Tolkien’s school years. They were separate groups with different memberships and histories.