A planned power line project in the United Kingdom was rerouted to avoid disturbing a memorial to the fictional character Dobby from the Harry Potter series. The decision came after fans expressed concerns that the underground cable would run near "straight through Dobby's grave."
Project manager Jonathan Ludlam described the situation in a BBC interview, recounting a colleague's alert about the nature of the calls received. "Apparently we're going to go straight through Dobby's grave," Ludlam recalled being told. Initially dismissive, he was informed of the seriousness of the fan reaction.
"I said 'Dobby, who's Dobby? I don't know Dobby?' I said 'he's a fictitious character in a fictitious book, the whole thing is fictitious what are you talking about?' " Ludlam said. "[The colleague] said 'no it's very, very serious'."
Following discussions with planners, the cable route was adjusted to steer clear of the site. "A lot of people were very happy about that, and the project is now going [ahead] and Dobby's happy," Ludlam added.
The area near the proposed cable route was identified in Pembrokeshire council planning documents as potentially containing Bronze Age remains. Trenches dug near the original cable path uncovered the rim of an inverted pottery vessel, described as a Bronze Age collared urn dating from approximately 1700-1500 BC, which is typically associated with human burials.
This is not the first time "Dobby's grave" has prompted action. In 2022, the National Trust permitted the memorial to remain in place after a consultation but requested that visitors refrain from leaving souvenirs. Fans were asked not to leave items such as socks, which are associated with Dobby's character in the books, on the mock grave due to the beach's environmentally sensitive nature. The memorial itself is constructed from pebbles with messages written on them, topped by a wooden cross.
