Strawberry Field is a Salvation Army property and visitor attraction in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. It operated as a children's home between 1936 and 2005. The house and grounds had originally been built as a private residence in the Victorian era, before being acquired by the Salvation Army in the 1930s. The house was demolished in 1973 due to structural problems and replaced with purpose-built units. After being closed as a children's home, the site has continued to be used by the Salvation Army for other purposes.
The location gained worldwide fame following the release of the Beatles' 1967 single "Strawberry Fields Forever". The song's writer, John Lennon, had grown up nearby and played in the grounds of the home as a child. In time, the old red-painted entrance gates on Beaconsfield Road became a place of pilgrimage for Beatles fans. In 2019, Strawberry Field was opened to the public for the first time, with an exhibition on its history, cafe, and shop, alongside a training centre for young people with special educational needs.
The gates were stolen on 11 May 2000, allegedly by two men in a transit van. The gates were sold to an unsuspecting antiques dealer who never realised they were the actual gates from Strawberry Field. He returned them to the police upon request, and they now stand in the grounds of Strawberry Field.
The earliest reference to the Gothic Revival mansion Strawberry Field dates from 1870, when it was owned by wealthy shipping magnate George Warren. On an 1891 Ordnance Survey map, the building and its grounds appear as the plural Strawberry Fields, although this had changed by the 1905 survey. In 1912, it was transferred to another wealthy merchant whose widow sold the estate to the Salvation Army in 1934. It opened as a children's home on 7 July 1936 by Lady Bates in the presence of General Evangeline Booth, daughter of Salvation Army founder William Booth. With a capacity of up to 40 girls, boys under the age of five were introduced in the 1950s. Later, older boys also became resident.
The name of the home became famous in 1967 with the release of the Beatles' single "Strawberry Fields Forever", written by John Lennon, who had grown up at nearby 251 Menlove Avenue. Beaconsfield Road, where Strawberry Field is located, is a side street from Menlove Avenue. One of Lennon's childhood treats was the garden party that took place each summer, on the grounds of Strawberry Field. Lennon's Aunt Mimi recalled, "As soon as we could hear the Salvation Army Band starting, John would jump up and down shouting, 'Mimi, come on. We're going to be late.'" [1]
Strawberry Field was recognised by Nikolaus Pevsner in his 1969 survey of the buildings of South Lancashire. [2] However, by then, the building was increasingly unfit for purpose. By 1973, structural problems such as dry rot meant that it was more cost-effective to demolish the building and replace it with a purpose-built children's home. This new home provided three family units, each accommodating 12 children. [3] The driveway entrance to the building was moved further west along Beaconsfield Road so the gateposts bearing the name of Strawberry Field were no longer used. Throughout the 1970s and beyond, the disused entrance and its gates became a mecca for Beatles fans from around the world. As a result, the gates continued to be painted bright red; the painted nameplates were also maintained.
The children's home closed in January 2005, and the building was used by the Salvation Army as a church and prayer centre. The famous gates marking its entrance were removed and replaced with replicas in May 2011. [4] The Salvation Army opened Strawberry Field to the public for the first time in September 2019, allowing visitors to explore the grounds. Incorporated in the grounds is a training centre for young people with special educational needs and a new exhibition space dedicated to the story of the place, together with a cafe and shop. [5]
"Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. The lyrics refer to Penny Lane, a street in Liverpool, and make mention of the sights and characters that McCartney recalled from his upbringing in the city.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented a departure from the group's previous singles and a novel listening experience for the contemporary pop audience. While the song initially divided and confused music critics and the group's fans, it proved highly influential on the emerging psychedelic genre. Its accompanying promotional film is similarly recognised as a pioneering work in the medium of music video.
Strawberry Fields is a 2.5-acre landscaped section in New York City's Central Park, designed by the landscape architect Bruce Kelly, that is dedicated to the memory of former Beatles member John Lennon. It is named after the Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields Forever", written by Lennon. The song itself is named for the former Strawberry Field children's home in Liverpool, England, located near Lennon's childhood home.
251 Menlove Avenue is the childhood home of the Beatles' John Lennon. Located in the Woolton suburb of Liverpool, it was named Mendips after the Mendip Hills. The Grade II listed building is preserved by the National Trust.
Woolton is a suburb of Liverpool, England. It is an affluent area located southeast of the city and bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921.
Cynthia Lennon was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon.
St Peter's Church is in Church Road, Woolton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Liverpool South Childwall, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is one of the largest parish churches in Liverpool, and its bell tower stands at the highest point of the city. The church also has connections with The Beatles.
Anfield Cemetery, or the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is located in Anfield, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It lies to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is bounded by Walton Lane to the west, Priory Road to the south, a railway line to the north, and the gardens of houses on Ince Avenue to the east. The cemetery grounds are included in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II*.
"Glass Onion" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
"I'll Get You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and released by the Beatles as the B-side of their 1963 single "She Loves You". The song was initially titled "Get You in the End".
Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house set in 72 acres off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot and over the parish border into Sunningdale, both in the English county of Berkshire. It was famously the home of musicians John Lennon and Yoko Ono from the late summer of 1969 until August 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and family from 1973 until 1988. Starr sold the property to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, in 1989.
Kenwood is a house on the St George's Hill estate, Weybridge, Surrey, England. Originally called the Brown House, it was designed by architect T. A. Allen, and built in 1913 by Love & Sons, a local building firm. The estate was constructed around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed in 1912 by Harry Colt.
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith was a maternal aunt and the parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi Stanley was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, the oldest of five daughters. She became a resident trainee nurse at the Woolton Convalescent Hospital and later worked as a private secretary. On 15 September 1939 she married George Toogood Smith who ran his family's dairy farm and a shop in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool.
George Toogood Smith was the maternal uncle, through marriage, of John Lennon. Smith operated his family's two dairy farms and a retail outlet with his brother, Frank Smith, in the village of Woolton, Liverpool. The farms had been in the Smith family for four generations, but after the start of the Second World War, they were taken over by the British Government for war work.
Julia Lennon was the mother of English musician John Lennon, who was born during her marriage to Alfred Lennon. After complaints to Liverpool's Social Services by her eldest sister, Mimi Smith, she surrendered the care of her son to her sister Mimi. She later had one daughter after an affair with a Welsh soldier, but the baby was placed for adoption after pressure from her family. She then had two daughters, Julia and Jackie, with John "Bobby" Dykins. She never divorced her husband, preferring to live as the common-law wife of Dykins for the rest of her life.
Alfred Lennon, also known as Freddie Lennon, was an English seaman and singer who was best known as the father of musician John Lennon. Alfred spent many years in an orphanage with his sister, Edith, after his father died.
Christopher Nigel Walley is an English former golfer and tea-chest bass player and manager, best known for his association with band The Quarrymen, the precursor of The Beatles which included John Lennon. His surname has often been spelt incorrectly as 'Whalley' in numerous books and on web pages.
The Casbah Coffee Club, officially Casbah Club, was a rock and roll music venue in the West Derby area of Liverpool, England, that operated from 1959 to 1962. Started by Mona Best, mother of early Beatles drummer Pete Best, in the cellar of the family home, the Casbah was planned as a members-only club for her sons Pete and Rory and their friends, to meet and listen to the popular music of the day. Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about The 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho where several singers had been discovered.
Julia Baird is a British retired teacher and author. She is the younger half-sister of English musician John Lennon, and is the eldest daughter of his mother Julia Lennon and John 'Bobby' Albert Dykins. She also has an older maternal half-sister, Ingrid Pedersen. Her younger sister is Jacqueline 'Jackie' Dykins.
Ince Blundell Hall is a former country house near the village of Ince Blundell, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. It was built between 1720 and 1750 for Robert Blundell, the lord of the manor, and was designed by Henry Sephton, a local mason-architect. Robert's son, Henry, was a collector of paintings and antiquities, and he built impressive structures in the grounds of the hall in which to house them. In the 19th century the estate passed to the Weld family. Thomas Weld Blundell modernised and expanded the house, and built an adjoining chapel. In the 1960s the house and estate were sold again, and have since been run as a nursing home by the Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus.