Despite Tolkien's much-publicised dislike of allegory, he admited (only grudgingly) that the transformation of the Shire from rural idyll to industrial wasteland was an alegory of what Tolkien viewed as the destruction of the English countryside by the steady creep of industrialisation.
The transformation of the Shire from rural idyll to industrial wasteland was an alegory of what Tolkien viewed as the destruction of the English countryside by the steady creep of industrialisation. This was what he admited (only grudgingly) despite Tolkien's much-publicised dislike of allegory.