New-town

The houses of New-town stand on the higher slopes of the hill above Old-town. New-town is home to most of Bree’s Hobbits. Some streets in New-town are Hobbit-sized and exceedingly narrow, especially where the Hobbits live in houses instead of holes. Houses are much more popular among Bree-hobbits than Shire-hobbits for several reasons. First, the Bree-hobbits learned stoneworking from the Men and the Dwarves, and so are better at building snug, warm, sensible homes above ground. Second, and perhaps greater, Bree-hill’s south-eastern slope is already so riddled with bore-holes, cellars, Hobbit-homes and tunnels that it’s impractical to dig any more holes in the slopes near Bree.
The Big Folk of New-town are, in the main, less wealthy than their neighbours around the hill. Most are farmers who labour in the fields outside the village.
Notable locations in New-town include the school and the smithy. The school is the pride of Bree. Children, Big and Little, attend it for a few years when their families can spare them, and are taught their letters, arithmetic and other useful vocational skills (little of pure scholarly worth is taught, as such pursuits are deemed unnecessary by most for a happy life in the Bree-land).
The other villages do not have schools, although some children come to Bree and board with relatives in order to attend lessons for a few years. The Schoolmistress of Bree is one of the most important people in the town, on a par with the Innkeeper or the Chief Warden.
The smithy in Bree makes horseshoes, nails, farm implements and other common goods. Adventurers seeking weapons or armour must wait until a market-day, or until there is a Dwarf-smith in town who can make such things.

NPC's

• Anna Wintermoss 
• James Clover 

Type

Neighbourhood