3 Savile Row: 1962 - 2009.

Above, 3 images of 3 Savile Row's exterior. On the left is how the building looked in the years before housing Apple. At that point (the picture is ca.1962), the building was known as Hylton House, Jack Hylton being a hugely successful bandleader and theatrical impresario who had number 3 as his headquarters. The Beatles bought the lease from his estate in June, 1968.
The middle picture dates from 1976; the building, though still owned by Apple, lies empty, having just undergone extensive renovation and reconstruction (more on this soon). The final image is from this year - and the exterior looks remarkably similar.
Below, 3 images of 3 Savile Row's interior. Today, thanks to multiple subsequent makeovers, much of the indoor area would be unrecognisable to the various waifs, strays, loonies and chancers (your Stockys and "Adolf Hitlers") who flocked to, and in some cases actually lived in 3 Savile Row at the height of the Apple era. However, there are exceptions; the following conference room looks much the same in 2009 as it did in June 1968, when it was the venue for a couple of the earliest interior Apple building photos; John, Yoko, Paul, Derek et al lounge on the floor, pre-furniture, and pre-"fear":


Thanks to Julian Carr. The black and white exterior shots are reproduced by kind permission of the City of London: London Metropolitan Archives.

Kenwood: 1913 - part 4.

The final part of T A Allen's 1913 plan for Kenwood (click on it) is a cross-section of the house, which shows the two-level design. Kenwood is built on the crest of a hill, and the split-level approach was also used on the first floor. In the attic, the raised section to the right corresponds to the tank room, where John's cats were housed. This is actually behind the top floor room with the large window, where, of course, the studio was situated.
I've done a bit more digging on Mr Allen. The Kenwood (or Brown House) job was relatively local, as at that time he was living in Surrey, in the village of Normandy, occupying a house called Lynethorpe. Allen was actually the son of another architect, also called Theophilus Allen. There are records of him being employed by Norman H Johnson (who originally commissioned the plans for Kenwood) prior to 1913, so it's quite likely there is another house in the area designed by Allen for Mr Johnson.
There are a few other buildings that are known to be Allen designed, eg the Worthing Dome, and, most interestingly to those of a Kenwood bent, Oak Hall in Haslemere which dates, according to the plans I've seen, from 1911. You can read a potted history and see interior photos HERE, and if one of these pics in particular doesn't immediately make you think "living room at Kenwood", then you haven't been paying attention at the back. Allen clearly had a thing for panelling.
In the register of Architects at RIBA, he is listed close to another such, who happened to live on Merseyside...somewhere called Mendips. (True! But not that Mendips.)

Kenwood: living room, part 1 - world o' shelving.

Whilst it is true that John spent much of his time at Kenwood in either the sunroom, the attic studio, or the bedroom, the impression given by many Beatles books is that the other rooms were never used; which is not true. Cynthia was often to be found in the den, the dining room would be used when the Lennons were entertaining guests - and so would the main living room. This room is well documented, but the corner to the left of the large fireplace has been a bit of a mystery up to now. What was to be found there? The answer, and I am sure you are going to be astonished by this, was...shelving.
The Beatles Book reports that in June 1967, "on one side of the fireplace were three turntables. On the shelves near the record player were arranged several of John's gold discs". Sure enough, blog reader Eric Nernie has sent in a small picture of the shelves, taken at the end of 1968.
By that point, the living room looked (superficially, at any rate) very different from the John & Cynthia era. When finally vacating the house, Cynthia and her mother emptied the room of all furnishings and decoration. John & Yoko then moved back in, and used the space to house various items previously exhibited by one, other or both of them. The large white disc from the "you are here" exhibition obscured the grand fireplace, which might suggest that Cynthia had also appropriated the colour television previously housed there. The shelving and the "you are here" disc can be glimpsed in the December '68 footage from the living room, on either side of Yoko's white chess set.
The living room dates, of course, from the original construction ca. 1913, and retains a lot of original features - the wooden floor, the roof beams and side panelling were all there in the beginning, and are still there now. The one major bit of renovation occurred, inevitably, in the mid-90s, when the shelving area was demolished and knocked through to construct a parallel entrance, with steps leading up to the front hall:


With the shelving gone, and the fireplace exposed, it is almost impossible to relate the December '68 images of this area to the '06 shots, but nevertheless this is where it was:

Duke Street: Robert Fraser Gallery, 1 July - 3 August 1968; you are here.

Having just moved out (and not for the last time) of Kenwood, John and Yoko held one of their first media events at the Robert Fraser Gallery, then situated at 69 Duke Street. The newly public (not to mention pubic) pair marked the opening of John's exhibition, titled "you are here", by releasing, in the spirit of "Happening", 365 helium-filled balloons with the words, "I declare these balloons high":


Tags with the name of the exhibition were attached to the balloons. These also invited finders to write c/o the gallery, and any who did so got a letter and a badge from John. (Apparently replies from "ballooners" ranged from all good wishes to racist abuse directed at Yoko). John got the idea for the balloons from a childhood memory - he had found something similar as a boy:


The exhibition itself fitted right in with much of John's artistic endeavour that summer, being whimsy tinged with a hint of something sinister; a large white disc inscribed in the centre with a tiny "you are here", and a collection of charity boxes, seeking money for victims of polio, homeless canines etc. Jars of free badges with the name of the exhibition were also laid out.
The gallery was on two levels, with a small spiral staircase beside the front door leading down to the basement. For John's exhibition, the upper floor was (apparently) largely empty, with the exhibits displayed on the lower level.
However, the real point of the exhibition was hidden: Secret cameras filmed the reaction of attendees, with the resulting footage intended to form a film (never completed, though John had clearly viewed the footage when, on the Frost show in August, he humorously discussed the covert grabbing of as many badges as possible by certain exhibition-goers).
John also put out a hat, looking for a little personal charity:


Some students from Hornsey Art College donated a rusty bicycle, with a sarcastic note stating that John had clearly forgotten to include it; naturally, out on display the bike went, together with an example of John's footwear and the words "I take my shoes off to you":


A media frenzy ensued on opening day. Journalists were more interested in John's new paramour than any art. Kenneth Anger, the underground film maker, occultist and associate of Manson family member Bobby Beausoleil, appeared with sparklers and used them to pop as many balloons as he could.
Other more sympathetic souls were also in attendance, including the man who had introduced John and Yoko in the first place, John Dunbar, seen here on the right. He and Robert Fraser were, of course, frequent visitors at Kenwood.


The building and space which housed the gallery are still there, though now, inevitably, being used for something much more prosaic.
It's probably also worth remembering that at this point, according to the orthodox view, John & Yoko had only been together for little over a month. In that time they had produced Two Virgins (film & album), Film No 5 (Smile), collated the Four Thoughts and you are here exhibitions, done (for want of a better word) the Acorn Event at Coventry Cathedral, and completed Revolution 9. John had also worked on other White Album tracks (most notably the recently "released" (and utterly wonderful) long-form Revolution 1), and contributed to the theatrical adaptation of In His Own Write.
Plus they moved house.

Ad Lib: Leicester Place - 1964 & 2009.

A fascinating black and white image showing Leicester Place, home of the Ad Lib club, as the Beatles et al would have known it in 1964, and the same vantage point, virtually unchanged in 2009. The club was housed on the top floor of the building on the right at the end of the street - home also to the Prince Charles Theatre (as it was in '64 - now the Prince Charles Cinema).
The sterling research of Julian Carr has shown that there were clubs under various guises located in the same space right up until the end of the 1970s. Still no picture of the interior, however, though the fact of subsequent incarnations make it much more likely that photos exist somewhere, of one era or another.
According to contemporary newspaper reports concerning complaints by local residents about noise, the walls of the Ad Lib were "fur lined". (Good God!) Several books have Ad Lib anecdotes about John, the general theme, pre-dentist, being muchos scotch and coke, followed by a spot of snarling at people. Traditional fun, in other words.
Many thanks to Julian for the new information and the 2009 pic. The 1964 image is reproduced by kind permission of the City of London: London Metropolitan Archives.

Kenwood: a little light reading, part 3 - IT.

If you are anything like me, you'll long have wondered just what John was reading that day in June, 1967: a copy of the International Times, obviously, but what were the contents? Well, here they are (if you click on the images they are more or less readable).


This is the first edition of IT that I've actually read. Though back issues are easy to find on UK eBay, this particular copy is a rarity - I've only seen it for sale once, and then at a greatly inflated price. So I was very pleased when Chip Madinger kindly emailed me these scans. The cover states that it is the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream Read-In issue - and I'd naturally assumed that there would be material on the similarly named event at the Alexandra Palace in London, which John had attended. However, beyond the cover, there is no mention of it. What there is, though, is an unparalleled snapshot of the counter-culture at that time, which shows how closely connected John was with it all. On these pages, there are mentions and profiles of such people as pirate radio supremo Ronan O' Rahilly, whom John took to visit Dorinish in 1968 in order to discuss his becoming business manager at Apple, and Dick Gregory who became friends with John and Yoko during their bed-ins. Financial contributions towards the founding of the Arts Lab are invited - and it's quite possible that John did give some money. (He and Yoko were to hold an exhibition there between June 2 and June 9, 1968, entitled Four Thoughts. Interestingly, Yoko's name crops up again and again in the pages of IT from its inception in 1966, through 1967 and beyond, and John would have seen the various ads and listings for her events).
There is also a guide to some more or less obscure hallucinogens, including toadskin snuff(!), and possibly dubious advice regarding which orifices are to be used for its ingestion (clue - the mouth isn't one of them):


There is another extremely druggy profile of Tangier, which John was to visit at the end of the year in the company of Cynthia and Victor Spinetti:


Finally, amongst other things, there is a fairly amusing small ads section, which features the hopelessly optimistic "Wanted - two dollies, twentyish, to look after two undomesticated blokes. Call after 6. Flat 1, 185 North End Road, W14":


Many thanks to Chip for sharing his copy with the rest of us.

Kenwood: December 26, 1967.

As adults, John and his father (the "ignoble Alf", though I reckon he has probably been unfairly maligned over the years) only had one Christmas together - at Kenwood, in 1967.
Christmas Day had been spent in the traditional fashion, exchanging gifts (Alf got a lighter from Julian, who was apparently fascinated by Alf's single) and getting drunk on "ales". John was, by all accounts, in a good frame of mind the following day, understandably pleased to be able to quiz his errant father over family history, and also looking forward to the evening, when Magical Mystery Tour, sandwiched between Frost Over Christmas/the News and a Norman Wisdom film, was to receive its premiere on BBC1.
In the afternoon came a knock at the door...some fans, looking to meet himself. Here's what one of them remembers:
"I went to John Lennon’s house in St. Georges Hills, Weybridge on 26 December 1967 with my brothers and sister. My older brother had discovered its location and had spoken to John Lennon’s gardener, he bored us all silly telling us about it time and time again. We decided to check out the veracity of his tale. When we arrived I was dared to knock on the door, which, with great trepidation, I did. To my amazement John Lennon answered the door, he was VERY charming and, after a 15 minute chat, gave me his autograph."
John signed a diary page, reproduced above. Incidentally, at the time of writing this very autograph is for sale from the good folk at TRACKS. Asking price? £1400.

Kenwood: more back wall, June 1967.

Tammy has uncovered a new June 29, 1967 variant - John sitting on the lawn by the back wall beneath the sunroom...so that's another one to add to the ever growing tally.

EMI Studios: 30 July, 1968.

Nothing whatsoever to do with Kenwood, aside from the fact that they are about to make a stab at Hey Jude, written, as even people who have never heard of the Beatles know, by Mr Macca on his way down to St George's Hill to visit Cyn and Julian. The footage from Experiment In Television: Music! is fascinating, if over familiar - presumably a new verite (not to mention lucrative) version could be compiled from all the existing film stock, assuming it does. At any rate, this is how they were arranged, left to right, in studio 2 that evening - something that is unclear from the footage itself. Interestingly (or not), George is present and correct, though in the documentary he is up in the control room, generously offering "two crates if you do Twist and Shout" (or something like that). "Sources" (infallible) say he had absented himself "from the body of the kirk" following yet another barney with JPM over the merits of using answering phrases on the guitar throughout the verses. Presumably, if that is true, this image was pre-"rumble".

Kenwood: 2006 & 1967 - back wall.

Another shot from 2006, showing the pool area. In 1967, this was a lawn, and John was pictured sitting in front of the arch evident on the '06 pic. It's clear that part of the back wall was demolished and re-built to accomodate access to the new pool in 1995 - compare with the section over John's shoulder in the June '67 photo; and a great deal of earth must have been shifted in order to level the old, raised pool space.

Kenwood: December, 1968.

Another large scale photo session took place on December 1, 1968, from which these photos, taken immediately outside the sunroom overlooking the grounds, are drawn. Kenwood, of course, was practically empty by this point. Cynthia and her mother had spirited away most of the fixtures and fittings when they finally moved out shortly before the divorce was finalised. Much of this was sold by Cynthia in the early 1990s over the course of 3 auctions at Christie's in London.
According to Les Anthony, John's chauffeur, when John and Yoko moved back in at the end of November '68, they retreated to the 1st floor bedroom and spent much of the time there. He says that a small kitchen was constructed upstairs to facilitate the general lack of movement. Well, maybe so. Albert Goldman claimed that "for decor they stuck up their nude photos framed in a couple of condoms filled with piss"...shurely shome mistake?!

Sunny Heights: for sale - January, 1969.

And after all that nonsense, back to this: Sunny Heights, as advertised for sale in the pages of Country Life magazine, January 23, 1969. "Recently the subject of very considerable expenditure"...you are not joking, mi amigo!
John was ostensibly living here at this time, as Kenwood had just been sold. Or had it? I've recently seen pictures of Kenwood labelled April, 1969, which have John's white Roller outside the front entrance. When exactly was the place sold, and when did John stop living there?
Anyway, Sunny Heights didn't find a buyer for at least a year - and in fact, Ringo returned in September, 1969 for a brief period, before moving to Highgate in London on December 5.
I think this pic is also from inside Sunny, ca. 1968:


Many thanks to Sentimentalist for these.

Kenwood: June 29, 1967 - overview part 2.

The afternoon has begun to shade into evening. Following a complete change of wardrobe for John, who is now also wearing the badge last seen on gorilla head, the group decamp to the upper regions of Kenwood. John is pictured in three attic locations - the "living" room, the studio and in one of the recessed windows overlooking the eastern portion of the grounds. In his studio, he spends some time demonstrating the various weird and occasionally less-than-wonderful noises that can be made. After a few minutes messing around with the Mellotron, he shifts seats and picks up his old Gibson acoustic J-160, recently given a swirling paint job by Simon and Marijke. Staring into the camera, he hits the strings and turns the pegs, roughly tuning before bashing out part of a song. After some time, everyone heads out of the studio, back through the small living room, and into the short corridor containing the stairs:


Upon a landing below the attic, John has placed a rocking horse. He stops, climbs onto it with Julian, and several more images are captured. They go into one of the first floor bedrooms. The decor, in common with much of Kenwood, is heavily floral. On the bed lie two large stuffed toys, including the panda given to John by a fan before a concert in Manchester some years previously. Leslie Bryce jams some fresh film into his camera, and reels off a few more photos.
By now, word of the draconian jail sentences handed down to Messrs Jagger, Richards and Fraser will have filtered through. As evening draws on, and with the light beginning to fade, a final set of pictures is taken in the drive. John's Rolls has been moved out of the garage. He stands beside it, and then walks round to the front. Kneeling, he looks back at the camera, and then suddenly places his glasses on the ground and lies sprawled, body half underneath the car. With that, Bryce packs his camera up, thankyous and goodbyes are exchanged, and the session draws to a close:


Here endeth the Jackanory. In the Beatles Book monthly account, the "jacket" photos by the pool, clearly taken in broad sunshine, are identified as the last shots of the day. However, in the attic photos the light outside seems to be fading, and this is even more marked in those subsequently taken in the drive with the Rolls (see HERE), so I think they are probably the final ones. But I could be wrong about that.
The precise number of photos taken on June 29, 1967 is unknown. Apparently, the various colour transparencies were made as one-offs, and sent out to contemporary magazines; it's quite possible more will come to light as time passes.

Incidentally, the coloured shirt sported in a lot of these pics made at least two more public appearances (in addition to the AYNIL session); John wore it on the Maharishi express to Bangor over the August Bank Holiday weekend, and it is also to be seen in MMT, notably as part of John's Eggman ensemble:

Kenwood: June 29, 1967 - overview part 1.

The following is an attempt to recreate circumstances surrounding the extensive photographic session at Kenwood on June 29, 1967, and is based on various contemporary sources. It is written in the present tense for the hell of it. For reasons which I'll go into in the next post, the story of the visit in the Beatles Book monthly does not seem to tally exactly with the photographs taken that day. The photos in this post are simply meant to be a representative sample to illustrate events; most of the others are elsewhere on these pages, for those that might want them.

Thursday June 29, 1967 dawns mild over St George's Hill, the promise of a very warm day to come, with wispy clouds in the upper atmosphere.
Mid-morning Mr. J. W. Lennon Esq. rises to breakfast with family and house guests Simon and Marijke; these two members of art and design collective the Fool are currently engaged on the week-long task of painting a favourite piano, an upright Bechstein model reportedly procured from his Aunt Mimi. The three are attired much in keeping with time and place: John in black trousers, trainers and multi-patterned shirt, together with ever-present talisman necklace, Simon in white sweat-shirt emblazoned "Jesus Saves" (John will soon be spotted in Greece sporting a similar t-shirt), Marijke with long orange and green striped dress; in the case of the latter two, these are work clothes, covered in paint due to the ongoing job in hand. The day to come is discussed.
John is to take part in a photo shoot around house and grounds, and a French tailor will arrive to fit him with new, custom designed clothes.
Elsewhere, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Robert Fraser are all to be sentenced, having just been found guilty of various drug related misdemeanours. Of the three, Fraser is a regular visitor at Kenwood, usually in the company of John Dunbar: The pair of them constitute John's main "acid buddies" these days, along with Terry Doran and George; endless time in the grounds staring at trees, or up in the attic, listening to the tapes and laughing. Other items in the news (John is a voracious consumer of newspapers) include unrest in the Middle East, and the ever present war in Vietnam. It is possible that radio reports concerning the death of actress Jayne Mansfield (with whom John had a momentary dalliance a few years previously) are in the air.
Come the early afternoon, and Beatles Book editor Johnny Dean together with photographer Leslie Bryce arrive at the spray-painted front door, having been led to Wood Lane by Pattie and George following a chance encounter on Esher High Street. Julian appears in the hall, and decides that he is going to be part of proceedings. As they move through the house, John plays records, alternating albums of "noises" with the recently recorded All You Need Is Love. At one point, Cynthia prepares a meal of ham, sweet corn and trifle, which is served in the dining room.

An initial set of photos is taken in the den; using a design based upon John and Cynthia's star signs and the tarot, Simon and Marijke decorate the piano, whilst in the opposite corner furniture is swathed in protective white sheeting. John films proceedings on a small cine-camera, before adding stickers to the casing of a television sitting in the middle of the room. Passing through the lounge, where an odd gorilla-headed timepiece (complete with "I Still Love The Beatles" badge) is captured on film, the group continues on to the north-west extension (actually a huge garage and home to John's newly psychedelicised Rolls Royce) overlooking the swimming pool. A number of shots are taken before everyone walks back through the house, and outside to the pool itself; John perches on a small diving board immediately above his Eye Of Knowledge mural, and plays with the water filter whilst Julian runs around:


Moving back indoors, he nips upstairs to change clothes, donning the same (probably Fool designed) none-more-1967 shirt worn the weekend before at EMI studios for the Our World broadcast of AYNIL. The talisman necklace is joined by a distinctive triangular pendant. John initially sits outside the sunroom, occupying his favourite perch atop a wall overlooking the extensive gardens, before moving to the lawn just below:


Following the same path seen in Joe Baiardi's video, everyone heads to the foot of the hill past a bird-table, where two outbuildings are situated - a greenhouse and a potting shed, in and around which John is then photographed:


Whilst all this has been going on, the French girl arrives with John's new clothes. The party return to the house, where John lies on the sunroom couch perusing a recent copy of International Times; inside is coverage of the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream event, held at London's Alexandra Palace on 29 April 1967, which he himself attended. The seamstress sits opposite putting the finishing touches to a black jacket. John jumps up and tries it on in front of the bric-a-brac strewn shelving set against the north sunroom wall:


Because it is such a pleasant afternoon, John, Julian, Johnny Dean and Leslie Bryce immediately go back outside and down the steps, where more photographs are taken, this time on the near side of the pool.
Another change of clothes is decided upon, and on the way to the first floor bedroom, with its large dressing room, John and Julian are pictured sitting in a bath chair in one corner of the dark, book-lined entrance hall:



Part 2 follows...

St George's Hill: part 2 - 19th century v. 1964.

Two maps of the Hill (click on them for a better look). The one on the left dates from the 19th century, when the land was divided into plots; there appear to have been only around 4 houses at that point, and obviously, pre-Tarrant, these would have been nothing like the grand residences of nowadays. The map on the right dates from ca. 1964, the year John moved into Kenwood. It's hard to match one with the other, until you rotate the 19th century one:


Kenwood is situated in the middle of what was plot number 13. It's clear why Old Avenue is so called - it corresponds to the long tree-lined road on the older map. The other item of non-Beatle related interest is how Camp End Road got its name - because there was a Roman Camp in that part of St George's Hill.
(Btw Sunny Heights is on the outer curve of South Road nearest South Ridge, which would put the site somewhere near the edge of the forest on the 19th century rendering.)

St George's Hill: part 1 - Cavendish Road entrance.

Several people have written to ask if it is possible to get into the estate where Kenwood is situated. Unless armed with an invitation, or on business of some kind, then the answer is almost certainly not!
This is the entrance nearest to the house. If you are a resident, or member of the local golf or tennis fraternities, then you have a pass which gets you straight through the security gates. Anyone else has to speak to the guard - and, whilst friendly, they don't tend to look favourably on ambulatory requests, Beatles-related or otherwise...


...which is all plus ca change; St George's Hill's earliest claim to fame rests on the fact that proto-hippies and free the land types the Diggers attempted to establish a commune here in 1649, only to be seen off after a few months of legal to-ing and fro-ing by local landowners. In recent times, there have been concerted efforts to open the Hill up to public access, thus far unsuccessful.
In the 1960s, however, security was more lax; there were no gates at the entrances, and, whilst you might be challenged by local residents, it was quite possible to walk onto the estate - hence the various fan photos of the house.

Kenwood: dining room, 1965.

The location of the 1965 family shots of John, Cynthia and Julian can now be definitively established, thanks to the above, uncropped photograph. Although it's not perfect quality, the two framed pictures can be seen clearly enough to establish the identity of the right hand one; compare with the following, sold at auction in 1996:


In fact, both of the reproductions in the first photo were sold by Cynthia in the same auction as a job lot. They are in the style of Basilus Besler, and, obviously, have a botanical theme. Here's a closer look at the visible portion in comparison - clearly the same picture:


We can pinpoint this as the dining room thanks to the note from Cynthia which accompanied the lot, stating that the pictures (which are actually colour) were originally bought by Ken Partridge, and were hung in the dining room. Estimate in 1996? £150-250.
Many thanks to Jeannette and Lynn Mayes for tracking the uncropped picture down.

Ken Partridge plans: 1964, part 4 - entrance area.

The final section of these 1964 Ken Partridge plans - and the reason they were filed; to get planning permission for the entrance canopy, familiar from many fan photos taken just outside the front door.
Ron de Bruijn has sent the following shot, which gives the best view of this area thus far; note the Sgt Pepper cutout of Stuart Sutcliffe has found its way to Kenwood:


I've previously questioned whether the familiar shots of John and Julian sitting in the bath-chair were taken in the entrance hall, mainly because the following fan shots, taken a good 6 months or so apart, show identical details which the bath-chair photos don't share. However, the Partridge plan makes it clear why - the entrance hall was quite spacious, and so the area covered in the bath-chair photos cannot be seen in these pics:


Instead, the bath-chair shots were taken in the far corner:


Thanks again to Ron for sharing his great archive.

May 1967: part 2.2 - Hille House & yet more sunroom detritus.

Speaking of odd coincidences - the above photo of the Beatles at Hille House, Brian Epstein's private office, taken in May 1967 (though not, I think, on May 18). Mark Lewisohn has been in touch, and he reckons the picture in the previous post was also taken in this location. That makes sense, so I dug out the above photo to illustrate - and realised that this was the very one that Ken "BZ" Wood was referring to in his comment on the TeenBeat post.
Thus, this also provides a closer look at another bit of John's sunroom junk.

May 18, 1967: part 2.

Another photo from May 18, 1967; John, George and Ringo either just before setting off to meet Paul for their stroll round the Serpentine, or, obviously, just after the Hyde Park session had finished. It was quite possibly taken at Sunny Heights or Kinfauns if the former, and it could be Cavendish Avenue if the latter. (It might even be Kenwood, though nothing looks familiar.)

Kenwood: TeenBeat magazine - April, 1968.

Ron de Bruijn has sent in some more material, this time from a 1968 fan magazine: TeenBeat. The cropped, lo-res colour sunroom shot is familiar, but it's great to finally see a good quality scan. (The phrase "Kenwood porn" would be a vulgarism, and not one I would use):


Of course, I couldn't resist comping both of the above to gain the widest perspective:


The pick of the pics has to be the following, however. I'd never seen this poolside variant before - and I'd guess that since its publication in April 1968, and with the obvious exception of those fortunate enough to own a copy of the magazine in question, no-one else has either:


It's another fantastic shot, and begs all the usual questions. (Again, these are all quite hi-res, so click on them for the big picture.)
Many thanks to Ron for his generosity in sharing this material with the rest of us.

Kenwood: Pepper sleeve/ sunroom detritus.

One of the most obvious objects on view atop the sunroom shelves in June 1967 was what appears to have been an ornate candle holder of some kind. Blog reader Sergey has sent an email pointing out that this very item is part of the Pepper sleeve, situated on the ground to the left of the Rolling Stones doll, and he's sent the above to illustrate.
And so it is! I certainly hadn't spotted it before. In fact, that little corner of the sleeve has at least 3 Kenwood related articles: the "candle holder", the portable television and the statue. Lewis Carroll's head (not literally) also ended up gracing the entrance hall bookshelves...


...and at least one other cutout found its way to Kenwood too, which I'll deal with in a forthcoming post.
Amazing how you stop really seeing the over familiar. Thanks to Sergey.

Tittenhurst Park: part 2 - Weeping Blue Atlas etc

Sentimentalist has forwarded some intriguing shots of the grounds at Tittenhurst. The above photos show the famous Weeping Blue Atlas cedars on the front lawn; there are also a few people, presumably included to give a sense of scale.
To be serious, though, I don't know who the non-Fab element are in these shots. I'd guess at Ringo-era, however, as in the following that certainly looks like one of the Sunny Heights lions:


Errr...


Muchas gracias to Sentimentalist for sharing these photos.

Tittenhurst Park: part 1 - Three Virgins.

As the name of the blog might suggest, Tittenhurst isn't really my "thang". However, I've recently received some related material that is of interest. First the above; a great shot of John and Yoko in the room that, I think, went on to become one half of the "Imagine" room, following renovation in 1970. (A partition wall was knocked down to make one larger space).
Plenty of Kenwood detritus is spottable, not to mention endearing evidence of the pair's "Let It All Hang Oot" policy (are those lithographs of an erotic nature hanging there?).
Speaking of which: Who was the Third Virgin?; the identity of the figure seen standing beside John and Yoko above the fireplace has been posited as Peter Brown, and even Macca. In fact, Yoko herself cleared this one up in an interview (not with me, I hasten to add)...
YO: "(Regarding) the 'Two Virgins' photo with another person standing beside us. The only one I know is the one that a professor sent to us at the time, saying he liked the Two Virgins photo idea so much that he joined in. He was standing naked in the picture next to us! John thought it was funny, I didn't like it that much. The professor looked just as 'au naturel' as us, meaning, you knew he came from the preGym generation! Other people probably must have done it, too. This one the professor sent us was a huge photo -the size of a large poster- with a decent frame around it. I don't know where it went. We lost it."

I also have another pic of the same room as above, this one taken, I think, before John and Yoko bought Tittenhurst; it is interesting to compare. (There is a marked lack of full frontals, for one, or possibly several, thing(s)).


Many thanks to Ron de Bruijn for the first photo, and the Yoko quote.

Kenwood: a little light reading, part 2.

I've long been puzzling, off and on (mainly off), over the identity of the left-hand volume (seen above on display in the sunroom). It does seem to have been placed there deliberately; John was never a man to let an opportunity for a plug go by, and so the fact that the other book, a contemporary U.S. edition of his collected works, is on display mid-photo session is hardly surprising.
But what was the left-hand one? I thought it may have been something to do with calligraphy (given the cover, and the fact that John (not even ostensibly) and Cyn (actually) both studied lettering at art school), but then Ron de Bruijn sent me a very hi-res scan of the above photo. We blew up that corner, and after much squinting (and a moment when the title appeared to be something to do with perverts), there it was: Proverbs For Daily Living, published in 1967 by the Peter Pauper Press:



It's a collection of aphorisms, arranged according to date, from January to December. To illustrate, here is the page which corresponds to John's birthday:


As ever, odd coincidences are there for those who wish to find them:


So, there we have it. Apparently, he also had illustrated adages of a similar type hanging on the walls of the kitchen. (I still have no real idea, however, why John chose to highlight this particular book, assuming he did. At a wild guess, it may have been something to do with Mimi; a lot of the proverbs in the book have a Mimi-esque feel to them).

34 Montagu Square: then & now.

34 Montagu Square; home, though obviously at different times, to Ringo & Maureen, Jimi Hendrix, Lil Powell, and John & Yoko, of course. Sentimentalist has sent me some fascinating shots ca. 1965. In the following set of photos, you can see the ground floor living room in that year, and the same area in 2002:



These were taken in the basement, in a room opposite the kitchen:



The same area in 2002 HERE.
And some more shots taken in the kitchen, and upstairs:



There is a very interesting set of photos taken inside the flat in 2002, available HERE.
In particular, THIS one, as the room shown past the hall was the location of the Two Virgins sleeve photo.
Planning permission is currently being sought to affix a blue plaque to the exterior - with only John getting a mention. Many thanks to Sentimentalist, who runs the Little Willow & It's Only Love sites (links under Friends & Neighbours).

Kenwood: the French seamstress.

Not this "frickin'" photo again...even I am saying it. And yet, let's face it, the whole point of this blog (and I realise there may well not really be one) is obsessively picking away at these artefacts in an attempt to see what is really there.
This photo is the most familiar remnant of Lennon-era Kenwood; it's been seen a hundred times in a hundred books, and whenever a picture editor needs a photo to illustrate John's "torpor" during the Kenwood years, this is the one he/she/it goes for. (To be fair, they don't really have a lot of choice in the "illustrating John's torpor at Kenwood" department.)
And yet, whatever it is, it's not that. (Quite the opposite, in fact.) The woman sitting on the left there turns out to be...the French seamstress. Ron de Bruijn has spotted that the footwear matches. I thought it might have been Cyn, or Marijke, but it's not - it's our Gallic tailor. And you can see John's black jacket there too.
So what is happening here is as follows: John on the couch flicking through International Times, waiting for the tailor, sitting on the chair opposite, to finish his jacket, so he can get on with the photo session. As soon as the jacket was fitted, photos were taken in the entrance hall, and by the swimming pool.


Thus, this pic actually gives the lie to the consensual view that John was just sitting on his arse at Kenwood. (Though I think the songs he wrote are a better, and more obvious, illustration...he may not have been happy, but he was certainly productive, active and any other word which means something similar.)
I am, now and then, surprised that it's possible to see something new in a very familiar photo...and there will be more to come regarding this particular pic.

Kenwood: sunroom - June 29, 1967.

June 29, 1967 was a busy day chez Lennon. Not only was he playing host to Simon and Marijke and being fitted with new clothing courtesy of a French seamstress (or rather "een jonge Franse modeontwerpster"), but he also, as any fule noe, had the Beatles Book monthly round to record all this and more, photographically; and praise be to the church of your choice that he did, for otherwise there would really be no visual record of Kenwood's interior at that time, give or take the odd fan photo of the sunroom.
What we have above is another fantastic scan from the Dutch magazine PEP, ca 1967. I'd never seen this particular photo before, and it's surprising (and surprisingly good) that "new" shots from this session continue to surface.
While I'm about it, I may as well also include the following - comped, imperfectly, from two images in an attempt to gain a whole wall perspective; which didn't exactly work, but nevertheless...


Huge thanks again to Ron de Bruijn for the first photo.

Kenwood: north-west end - layout, part 2; the Yard.

Particularly back in the day, Kenwood, as has been noted at some length, was an eccentric structure...and no part illustrates that better than the section built beyond the sunroom. The original 1913 plan, as seen above, shows a yard pegged onto the north-west end. I'd assumed that this would have been built over when the place was extended; yet another schoolboy error, as it turns out.
The aerial shots that have surfaced looked odd to me - that portion appears to be a mess - half finished, with a large hole in the roof:


Yet that hole is there in both the above photos, one of which dates from the '60s, the other from the '90s. I didn't really give this much thought before now; it just seemed like one more item for the ever expanding Weird Kenwood Thang list.
I also assumed that the door evident to the left of the sunroom must have led to the kitchen. Wrong again - as can be seen, it actually led to that strange uncovered bit:


What was that (to again use the technical term) "strange uncovered bit"? It turns out to have been, as the '90s plan shows, the very yard evident on the 1913 plan - still there over 80 years later.
It's very odd, however. You would never have been able to tell at ground level, that the highlighted part of the house was exposed to the elements, or that the door there led to a "yard" in the middle of that end.
I have no idea why this was done; maybe the idea was to have a kind of courtyard. Who knows? But there it is...


The '95 renovation, of course, finally put paid to the yard - that section is now part of the much expanded kitchen.

Kenwood: north-west end - layout, part 1.

Many details are still unclear, naturally, but in recent weeks most of the big questions regarding the Lennon-era layout of Kenwood have been answered, thanks to the 1964 Ken Partridge plans, and one or two "new" uncropped photos. The biggest remaining mystery concerns the north-west end of the house, as seen above; it constitutes (or constituted) a fair chunk of real estate, but what exactly did it contain?
The answer (or at least what could well be the answer) might just surprise you. First, let's remind "us-selves" of the changes this section underwent during the '95 renovations. The whole area from the sunroom on was demolished and re-built.
Compare the following:


Notice also the comparative sizes of the old, Tarrant built, and new, '95-era garages above. Next, take a look at this, very familiar, picture:


"So what?" I hear you mutter, "This was taken in the garage, right?"
Well, yes and no. The old garage looks too small to accommodate a Roller and a Mini, and it occurred to me that some other details didn't quite fit, either; eg where is the canopy that can be seen in the John photo? So I had a look again at the colour aerial shot...and sure enough, there is a canopy attached to the north west extension...


The clincher would seem to be this '95 plan (pre-renovation), which does what the Partridge plan doesn't - namely, shows the sunroom (albeit the '95 version) and the north-west extension (ditto), canopy in place, and labelled "GARAGE":


So what might well have lain behind that window overlooking the swimming pool was one or other of John's automobiles. This would make sense, for several reasons; John, at that point, had a weakness for cars - at any one time he owned at least 3, including the Rolls. Cynthia also had at least one. It's possible the big extension housed John's "wheels", and the much smaller old garage was home to Cyn's. It might also explain why this part of the house doesn't show up on the Partridge plans - because, applying Occam's razor, it simply didn't exist at that point. John could have had the extension built precisely because he needed more storage space for his cars, the unenvironmentally sound little moptop that he was. (UPDATE - The account of the June '67 visit to Kenwood in the Beatles Book monthly has this to say at one point: "John led the way to the massive double garage at the right hand side of the house". That has to refer to the north-west extension; the old Tarrant garage is clearly very small.)
It would also explain why the Tarrant garage was demolished and rebuilt in '95 - because what had been the main (extension) garage was being converted to a games room, thus making the construction of a bigger "external" garage necessary.
As to when the original sunroom and extension were constructed, it's hard to say - but presumably during the huge round of renovation that accompanied John's initial purchase of the property; late 1964/early 1965. More on this bit, inevitably, to follow...

7 Leicester Place: Ad Lib (& lift thereof).

7 Leicester Place - the entrance to what was, for a relatively short period in the mid-60s, the Ad Lib club. The doorway didn't really look like that back then - the whole front "porch" section was added in the 1980s.

The club itself was up on the 4th floor, overlooking the adjacent Lisle Street. Though I've yet to track down any photos of the interior, it was, apparently, all panelled wood, low tables, chandeliers; dark, anonymous; musical policy - exclusively soul/blues/r&b. Strictly for the "movers" and the "shakers", the Beatles had their own table, and the Ad Lib was one of the relatively few places that John felt he could go without being unduly bothered.
This is probably why the participants in the Dental Experience (™) came here on that evening in 1965 (allegedly). One of the most told bits of one of the most told anecdotes centers round the lift, of course:
GEORGE: We went up into the nightclub and it felt as though the elevator was on fire and we were going into hell (and it was and we were), but at the same time we were all in hysterics and crazy. Eventually we got out at the Ad Lib, on the top floor, and sat there, probably for hours and hours.
JOHN: We finally got on the lift. We all thought there was a fire on the lift; it was just a little red light - we were all screaming...
RINGO: I was actually there in the club when John and George got there shouting, "The lift's on fire!"


The building (and the 4th floor) are now home to offices; blog reader Eric Nernie had an appointment there a few months back, and took these photos of the very elevator in question. (Apparently, it's the original...though it will, doubtless, have been subject to major renovation/replacement of fixtures and fittings etc in the interim.)


Strangely enough, accounts differ as to why the Ad Lib finally closed in 1966. Some say this was down to the fickle nature of fashion - newer clubs moved into the spotlight, pushing the Ad Lib out of favour. Others claim, however, that the reason it shut was due to...you guessed it - a fire.

*UPDATE*: Julian Carr has just sent me some fascinating information about the club; to wit...there was a fire there, but it happened on November 5, 1964, leading to its temporary closure for repair and renovation due to extensive damage. Now that's interesting, because the date generally ascribed to the Dental Shenanigans (™) is April 8, 1965. The club would not have been long re-opened at that point, and the Beatles would certainly have known about the fire, of course. Hence, coupled with their chemical intake, this was probably the source of red-light related paranoia!
And there's more - the club closed again in January 1966, due to a noise prevention order, before re-opening round the corner in Leicester Square, appended to the 400 Club. The old Ad Lib premises in Leicester Place sparked back into life in November 1970, when the club re-opened there under its old moniker. How long it lasted is unclear, but I believe the 4th floor wasn't converted to an office space before the early 1980s. Anyway, many thanks to Julian for the clarifications and new information.

Kenwood: attic layout, 1965-1968.

We have seen the photo of John with his outsize horn before - but, crucially, not uncropped - and it's the extra portion which, at long last, reveals how the attic was laid out, post-renovation, during the Lennon-era; something which has been a puzzle since the inception of this gibberish.
Pauline Lennon, who lived in this part of the house for at least a couple of months at the end of 1967, recalls staying in a bedroom which opened onto a living room. She also mentions the studio, and the upper attic itself, which was where John's felines were housed.
The shape of the window evident in the new photo means it can only have been taken in the attic, facing north - and the Partridge plan confirms this. John is, therefore, seen here with his back to the attic hall corridor, standing in the room next to the studio:


Thus, the layout of the attic would have been as follows:


One of the unmarked rooms above would have been the living room Pauline referred to - probably the room John is seen standing in. Compare with the 1964, pre-renovation layout:



The wall between the kitchen and bath no. 3 was knocked down to form a larger room, which became John's studio. (Incidentally, I also have a plan from 1995, showing Kenwood immediately before the huge round of renovation that occurred at that time, and the attic was still laid out as seen here - with the exception of a small W.C. and wardrobe against the south-east wall of what had been the studio. It's possible that this was part of the Lennon attic, too.)
As chance, a fine thing, would have it, Joe Baiardi's video captures the very spot where this photo was taken. Note that the attic was, of course, gutted at this point; the red lines indicate the position of the wall as seen in the photo of John:


Finally, the window as it looked from the outside in 2008. Notice there are two windows, which were bisected, internally, by a wall during the Lennon-era (and beyond, judging by the '95 plan):


So, there we have it; the layout of the attic, a mystery no more. Many thanks once again to Ron de Bruijn, and, as ever, to Joe Baiardi.

Kenwood: Ken Partridge plans, 1964 - part 3.

The attic area - ca. October 1964; marked on the plan "Left As Existing". This, of course, was where John, Cynthia and Julian lived for 9 months whilst the rest of the house was being renovated (and, in the case of the sunroom and possibly the whole north-west extension, constructed). (Cynthia remembers a friend coming to stay with them during this time, and her being highly amused that they were living in such a huge house - but only occupying a tiny part of it.) The kitchen and bath no. 3 areas were, ultimately, the site of John's studio.
In any case, for those that are interested in this type of thing, the plan is a fascinating document, though it doesn't solve the great mystery of how the attic looked by 1967. According to every account of the matter, as soon as the rest of the house was complete John then ordered a thorough makeover of the attic suite too; how that was is anybody's guess...or so I thought.
But then, Ron de Bruijn sent me a photo that suddenly made the layout clear. The following post will witter on about that.

Kenwood: dressing area.

Cynthia, in her most recent autobiography, specifically remembers the "his and hers" basins in their bedroom suite - and sure enough, there they are on the '64 plan. Richard Hall, in his account of meeting John at Kenwood, recalled seeing John shaving through an upstairs window - so that must have been one of these:


In 2006, this part of the house was being used as a study:


It's also worth recalling that Joe Baiardi's video shows the dressing area, completely gutted, as it looked during renovation at the end of last year (around 07.27).

Kenwood: en-suite bathroom.

Moving on to the bathroom, the Partridge plan identifies the corresponding window, to the south of the house:


I think this also confirms that the December '68 shot of John and Yoko reclining in a bathtub was taken in this room.


Notice how the wall to the left of the tub, as we look at it, is angled - exactly as the plan predicts.


So, it's all, finally, beginning to fall into place. More on this to follow.

Kenwood: master bedroom.

The master bedroom during John's time at Kenwood was really a suite of three - the bedroom itself, a dressing room and a bathroom. Interesting as it is to see the layout, the thing I noticed immediately was the words "sliding doors". This could well (with the usual caveats re. conjecture) finally allow us to nail the position of the famous shot of John plus panda.
I've mentioned in the past that I felt the distinctive panelled "wall" behind John was probably a set of sliding doors - you can see handles, and in other photos taken in the same location, the doors appear to be open, revealing another room behind.


The panda photo must have been taken beside a corner, near a large window - due to the reflection of wall, curtain and window in the panels. (In fact, you can see a reflection from a second window beyond the larger first one too.)
This all fits...


I'd say, therefore, that's it's very likely that this photo was actually taken in the master bedroom, with John's back against the sliding doors detailed on the Partridge plan.

Kenwood: Ken Partridge plans, 1964 - part 2.

Much of what this blog concerns itself with is conjecture, guesswork and, frankly, jibber-jabber; I've been very wrong indeed at least as much as I've been right. So it is pleasing to find a piece of evidence which, for once, answers more questions than it raises. This is a definitive look at the layout of the first floor during the Lennon-era. It confirms the position of the master bedroom, dressing room and en-suite bathroom, and, I'd guess (I never learn) pins down the position of a couple of photos. (I'll get on to this in the following posts.)
Naturally it doesn't answer every question. Which of the other bedrooms was Julian's? Which one was the Blue Room (designated for Pete Shotton's exclusive use)? And which was the one Marijke referred to as being full of John's school mementos? Dunno.
But this is more than enough to be going on with. To wit...

Kenwood: the Den - part 2.

Another fantastic "new" shot of the piano being decorated by Simon & Marijke, courtesy of Ron de Bruijn. This is the best view so far of that corner of the den, and reveals another odd Kenwood accoutrement - the triangular object to the right, which resembles a psychedelic dart board. (And any ideas what Velvet Picturesque refers to?)
More (and more revealing) Ron material to come...so, thanks once again to him.

Kenwood: the Den.

Blog reader Ron de Bruijn has very kindly sent me some scans of Dutch periodical PEP 41, dated October 14, 1967, which has a fascinating two page spread featuring some very rare June '67 Bryce variations. (I'll be posting the highlights in due course.) So, first up we have a new variant on the piano painting session. Have a look at the wider perspective evident above: what this does, in one fell swoop, is confirm where several photos were actually taken. Focus your brain, if ye will, on the Ken Partridge plan from the other day - specifically the den area. The circled portion corresponds to the area seen in the photos of the piano being painted - and also the photo from 1965 showing Julian playing that self-same keyboard.


The clue is the radiator, which is on the wall at right angles to the piano; both walls can now be seen thanks to the new piano pic, thus confirming that these photos were taken by the entrance to the den.


It's now also clear that the following two photos were taken in this room too, at the same time as the above, on the opposite side. Note the small seat to the right of the armchair below. In the first pic, John is in the armchair, in the second he has moved on to that very seat. A sheet covers the furniture and floor because...the piano is being painted. Of course.


And the January '68 family get together was, as we've seen in posts passim, taken against the southern window wall. So, to sum up...


Well, I call it fun, anyway. The other portions of the Partridge plan have more secrets to reveal too, as do Ron de Bruijn's wonderous scans, and it's all on the way.
Many thanks to Ron for his generosity in sharing this stuff.

Kenwood: more autographs - 22nd April, 1968.

Presumably secured at Kenwood, the date on these is interesting - 22nd April, 1968: ie a week after John and Cynthia's return from India, and just under a month before the Two Virgins night. Also unusual in that they feature, apparently, a pawprint from Bernard the dog(!), who was a late addition to the menagerie at Kenwood. Named in ironic tribute to Dot Jarlett's husband, the poor beast succumbed to something or other after little more than a year - just long enough for him to put in one further "public" appearance, sitting on John's lap at Apple as part of the promo films produced ca. spring 1968...

Kenwood: more pool, June 1967.

The uncropped version of this pic, which I hadn't seen before, provides a good view of the original pool area. This was moved, of course, during the mid-90s renovation which saw the whole north-west portion of Kenwood demolished and rebuilt. I believe that it is about to be on its travels once more, being relocated to a covered structure right at the bottom of the garden. The current pool area is set to become an ornamental pond.

Kenwood: Monterey bumper sticker - part etc.

We have seen both of these many times before...and yet...I've comped the two widest perspective shots to give the "best" view thus far, and this is also a better quality scan of the Monterey bumper sticker, and so worthy of another post. Or not. I still reckon Derek Taylor was the source of this and the Safe As Milk sticker. It's possible John never actually heard the Beefheart rekkid in question - which he would have liked, I also reckon. (That's enough rekkenin' for one evenen'.)

Regent's Park Outer Circle, London: 13 April, 1967 & 2009 - part 2.

I've already explained why this is one of my favourite photos, and so I couldn't resist going into it a little more (and possibly a little too) deeply when I found myself in the vicinity of Regent's Park the other day. The location is virtually unchanged since 1967 (give or take a sheepdog/highly psychedelicised songwriter/Aston Martin or two), as can be seen above, and via the Beatle-eye view below...


Assuming they weren't visiting someone, John and Paul would have been taking Martha for a stroll in the park, going in and out via this entrance. Or exit...




... and a tug o' the forelock to the Beatles' London guidebook for originally tracking this location down.

Kenwood: Ken Partridge plans, 1964 - part 1.

Regulars will be familiar with my generally tortuous and laboured attempts to make sense of the layout at Kenwood during the Lennon-era, based, as they have been, upon various plans from long before/after the good ol' Schwingin' Shikshtiesh. Well, one of the "holy grails" (if that's not too ridiculous a way of putting it) has just fallen into my lap (not literally); namely the original "Lennon" plans (click on the above for a better look), dated 23rd October 1964, with Ken Partridge's notes indicating specific renovations...and though it does answer several questions, inevitably it throws up several more.

To start with what is there - we can now see that what was referred to as the den was indeed that room to the left of the living room. The split level nature of the kitchen is now clear as well; I found it hard to visualise what that would have looked like - but there it is. So that window to the right of the entrance was actually the kitchen window during John's time. What's also interesting is how close the ground floor was to the original 1913 layout.

However, and glaringly obviously, where is the sunroom?!? In October '64, it is clear from this plan that it had yet to be built. There don't appear to be records of any further planning applications (I've looked), so the exact date of the construction of the sunroom remains unclear - but it has to be late '64 or early '65. And what about the north-west extension? Well, it's just possible that it was there, but it's not on this plan for a reason - which I'll come onto in a future post. Still, fantastic to have a major piece of the puzzle finally in place.

Knole Park: 1967 & 2009.

On the edge of Sevenoaks lies Knole Park. During a day of torrential rain, I decided to take the train down from London to see what remains of the locations familiar from the SFF/Penny Lane promos. The park is huge and rambling and home to the titular 15th century stately home, many deer, and an 18-hole golf course. Flying golf balls are a hazard, as are irate golfers, because the locale used by the boys over 3 days in late January/early February 1967 happens to be directly adjacent to hole number 7. Deer, sheltering under the trees, seemed to be thinking "What is this poor fool doing stumbling around in the rain?" I must confess there were points where I wondered myself. However...

Firstly the ruined wall; easy enough to find, though it is now fenced off.




The dead oak tree which served as the focus for the SFF film is long gone. Nevertheless, armed with the definitive Beatles' London (Schreuders, Lewisohn & Smith) guide, which states that the ground is scarred where the tree once stood, I managed to find a couple of possible locations. This is certainly the right area, though which of these is the actual bruise (and possibly neither are) I'm not too sure.



The ponds beside which the Beatles "dined" are now completely surrounded by ferns and bracken, which, as is their wont, have overgrown the whole area, thus obscuring the view.



All the Knole locations encircle a house (the Birdhouse), not too far from the stately home itself. Again, these may well not be an exact, or even a partial match. But there we were, and are.

Kenwood: recollections.

As part of the current 09/09/09 frenzy, there have been some more or less interesting programmes on tv and radio here recently. One such, concerning the "Jesus" furore, featured recollections of Kenwood from Cynthia Lennon and journalist Maureen Cleave. (Thanks to Joe Baiardi for the great new shots of the sunroom/dining room and west sides, and to Sara for the Julian pic).

CL: The house was at the top of the hill, and John was thrilled to bits that it was at the top of a hill so we would have a little bit of protection, because at that point the fans were going mad & camping out etc etc. Actually we lived in the top flat - the servants' quarters, as it were, for one year virtually when we moved in while the rest of the place was being totally gutted & changed & redesigned & everything else. We couldn't believe it - we'd sit and look at everything: I mean, it was dead posh, in our terms. Once the builders had gone, and the great gates had been put up, the electric gates, then we had some peace & tranquility.


MC: (St George's Hill) is very woody, and inhabited by rich stockbrokers & the Beatles - a very odd place for them to end up, really. They used to call in on each other all the time, at any hour of the day or night, & they would listen to music, or play tapes & then they'd go off again. And then at about 2.30 in the morning they might decide to go to a nightclub in London, & they'd all get in the car & off they'd go. They were having quite a nice time. They had swimming pools & that kind of thing. And then John bought this gorilla suit, and he was really keen that they should all have gorilla suits and travel round behind the steering wheels of these various cars & visit each other. If you rang him up, he'd always ask what day of the week it was - he was genuinely interested to know...if you're completely marooned in Weybridge, it's quite nice to to have a bit of news of the outside world.



MC(cont.): His sitting room had yellow, tartan wallpaper. It had been done over by somebody, & it was panelled & very mock absolutely everything you can think of, & filled with the most extraordinary objects, like there was a suit of armour called Sydney, there were little boxes of flashing lights, and there was a huge compendium of games from Asprey's that John could open but not shut, & endless recording equipment & lots of books in costly leather covers. The possessions had sort of got the better of him. You just felt somehow that he was being smothered in all these purchases that he couldn't really understand the point of himself.

CL: When he was home (after a big tour) it usually took him about 2 or 3 days to actually come down to earth. It was very hard for all of us, really, because I was on one wavelength and he was on another. I was running a home, taking Julian to school and bringing him home and feeding him - I was doing the normal motherly things, let's put it that way.


(Julian leaving Heath House Infant's School in Weybridge ca. 1967).

CL(cont.): I know that (John) was feeling trapped after the Jesus Christ comments, & he needed to find space in his own mind & imagination. After having LSD put in our coffee when we went out for dinner, John tried it & found it fascinating, so he started taking it virtually daily. It's like living with an alcoholic - when they're sober they're great, but when they're drunk it's very hard to communicate with them.

Kenwood: attic studio confusion - part 498.

The layout and exact location of John's attic studio have proved hard to pin down. However, that "new" photo of John tuning up prompted me to go back and have a look at the other attic photos - and I immediately spotted something which I had previously missed. I was assuming that the photo of John with his foot on the piano must have been taken in a side room, as there is a speaker there which doesn't match the other photos - but then none of the speaker photos actually match - see picture 1 above. This must mean the speakers were movable - and they do seem to be attached to some kind of non-static platform.


It suddenly became clear that elements of the "John with foot on piano" pic were also visible in the photos of John at the left hand side of the studio room - see picture 2 above; you can see the radiator, a detail on the left hand tape recorder, the right hand edge of the small electric keyboard, and part of the stool he's sitting on when playing the guitar. Therefore that's not a side room - it's just a wider perspective on the left hand studio wall.


What this means is it should now be possible to place the location of John's studio more precisely. Again, I got it wrong before - I thought the studio was where the loft storage is in the 2006 plan above. However, it can't be. Comparing the Norman H Johnson 1913 plan (see previous posts), the location of stairs and windows was unchanged between 1913 and 2006. So the window evident in the "foot on piano" pic above must be the south facing one, otherwise there would be a staircase in the middle of the studio wall. Thus, John's studio would have occupied the southern end of the attic, as in the amended 2006 plan above.


This, inevitably, led directly to another conundrum; namely - that being so, where are the west facing windows? The answer must be that John's studio was really quite small - I'd guess that the "tape recorder" wall, evident in these photos, is only, at most, about 14 feet long, and so it comes to a halt before the first window. There is also clearly a wall on the right hand side - as the slightly wider perspective in picture 4 above shows. Therefore, the position and layout of the room would have been as follows:


This would also leave space for the albums, singles, gold records and guitars which various people have noted as being part of the studio - namely, in the space to the left of the piano. It would also explain Pauline Lennon's comment that the loft space itself was used to house John's various cats and their offspring - this would correspond to the small loft storage space. The layout of the other attic rooms remains a mystery - but with this in hand, it is possible to take a stab at how the rest of it might have looked; something for a (much) later post, you'll be relieved to hear. So, is this the last word? Don't be silly...but based on these photos, and the plans, I can't see where else the studio could have been...until the next revision, that is.

Kenwood: attic upgrade.

I recently ordered a magazine with the tantalising front page announcement "John At Home In 1967 - Rare Pictures"; well, how could I resist? However, as I suspected, the rare pictures proved to be oft-seen photos from the June '67 Bryce session. This one, however, is the pick of the pics; seen on these pages before in terrible quality, here it is well nigh perfect - and a genuinely rare shot to boot. On closer examination, some of the other photos do offer something new after all, being uncropped and therefore providing a slightly expanded perspective - I'll post these anon.

Kenwood: August, 1967.

Only a few photos from this day have surfaced, which is possibly a little odd as there were many taken. I have attempted to track down Frank Lawson who is in possession of quite a number, being one of those allowed in to meet "himself" (in Frank's case twice - see Keith Badman's excellent Beatles Off The Record for details) - but so far no banana. And then there is the bedspread photo, presumably taken to illustrate a sale on ebay, from which the above are drawn; below par but the best I could do, given my limited...ability. Only last night someone was saying on television here in Blighty that the Beatles did not give two shits for their fans (I paraphrase) - which is clearly nonsense. Mr Lawson's account of that day in early August 1967, in which fans were let in in small groups to have "items" autographed, and exchange a few words with le Grand Fromage, perched as he was outside the sunroom working on a Christmas card design for "charidee", is only one of at least several examples of the Fabs being much nicer than they needed to be. They paid for it - let them wreck it if they like. Or words to that effect.

Kenwood: then and now, part 1.

In the context of all this jibber-jabber, quite an "important" photo has surfaced - to wit, an image giving a clear view of the north-western end roof and rear of Kenwood, as they were before the enormous renovation of the mid-1990s. Thus we now have an illustration, albeit imperfect, of the original Tarrant-built garage - plus final proof that it was indeed demolished, and that therefore Kenwood now has no remaining connection with the "master builder" himself. The new garage is a much more substantial beast - indeed, it's the size of a small house in and of itself. Many thanks to blog reader Eric Nernie, who found the old photo in his archive and sent it in.