Kenwood: flowers, 1965.

George: cathode radiation?

Is that a television to the left of the fireplace?

Ringo, John & Paul: cathode radiation.

One vital, throbbing debate can now be laid to rest. As these pics prove, Ringo, John and Paul all had the same type of television. I seem to remember reading somewhere that they had prototype colour models, supplied by the BBC. These may be them. I also seem to remember reading that George didn´t own a tv in the 60s. John, of course, had multiple teles, on constantly.

Kenwood: hall bathroom, 2006.

This was where, according to her latest autobiography, Cyn (for want of a better expression) "tripped out" during John´s final attempt to persuade her of the wonders of LSD. She seems to have been almost allergic to the stuff, and the whole thing didn´t go well. At any rate, this was how it looked circa 2006, again, probably nothing like it did in 1967.

Greece: July, 1967.

John had a thing about islands in 1967. He bought one off the coast of Ireland, and then another Grecian one, called Leslo. Apart from the filming for MMT, this trip was the longest he was away from Kenwood during that year. Inordinate amounts of tea were apparently consumed - not that you would know judging by the last pic here. John´s hair was mental too.

Kenwood & Tittenhurst Park: bibliophilia.

Looks like John took all those books with him when he moved to Tittenhurst Park. It was Cyn´s mother who bought most of them originally - John gave her an allowance to buy old books and antiques in order to fill up the miles of space at Kenwood. Thanks to Sara for the Tittenhurst pic.

Kenwood: staff flat 2006.

A photo of the staff flat above the garage. I´m not sure if this was actually there in the 1960s, but if so then it´s possible Dot Jarlett lived here. (I've since discovered that this garage is completely new, having been built in the mid-90s).

Cavendish Avenue: rear stairs.

Kenwood: more horse.

Strawberry Field & the Dakota.

I recently came across this old photo of the Strawberry Field mansion in Liverpool (the first pic here), which needs no explanation. However, I was struck by how closely it resembles the Dakota building - another of these odd coincidences which appear everywhere once you start looking.

Master bathroom: 2006.

I previously thought these must be the same location, but they aren't. What was the master bathroom in 2006 was actually the master bedroom during John's time. The '68 bathroom pic above was from a different location inside Kenwood.(I've changed this post to reflect the fact that it was originally a load of bollocks, so the comments probably don't make sense now).

Kenwood: detritus.

Another interesting photo showing various items from Kenwood gathered together one last time before auction. You can see the hangings from the sitting room wall, John's suitcase (used on every Beatles' tour from 1964-1966), the lamp from Julian's room, an ashtray, plus, of course, the bed. This bed was used at Emperor's Gate, and subsequently taken to Kenwood, though I don't think it was used in the master bedroom there. It may have been in one of the guest bedrooms. Thanks to Sara Schmidt for this.

Sunny Heights: lion shizzle.

Sunroom wall: Dr Lennon.

Recognise it? Thanks to Chris Sileo.

Emperor's Gate & Kenwood: panda action.

Indeed.

Kenwood: grounds - 1965 & 2008.

I just realised that I have got my Bobs mixed up - these shots from the garden aren't Freeman, but Whitaker. Shows how much I know. Anyway, he has, quite artfully, managed to avoid getting Kenwood itself in any of these photographs. We can see from Joe's video how large it looms (that is the same wall, as it turns out), so this was clearly deliberate. I wonder if that was his idea, or if it was John who told him to keep the house out of it for some reason, obvious or otherwise.

Non-Brummer Striving...

I am going away for a few weeks' holiday, and won't be posting as much during that time. I'll check the email address regularly though, and if anyone sends anything of interest I'll put it up. Thanks to all who have written, and especially those who have contributed: it is much appreciated, and not just by me. Aside from the obvious ("new" John-era photos of any description), I'd like to see some more post-John pictures of the house, not to mention pre-John ones. As the above pic proves (thanks to Sara Schmidt), there is more out there somewhere, and I suspect a lot more. Let's hope it turns up....

Magic Alex.

Sometime television repair-man, Popular Electronics subscriber, and (alleged) designer of nothing boxes, artificial suns and DIY flying saucers, Alexis Mardas was a frequent visitor to Kenwood in 1967 and 1968. It was John who dubbed him "Magic", and he was clearly very fond of Alex for a while, showering him with gifts such as his Iso Revolta S4, a rather odd looking custom Vox guitar, and the talisman necklace. You could get the equivalent of about seven Isos for the talisman now - whowouldathunkit back then?

John at home: 1967.

I finally got a copy of the Beatles Book with Part 1 of the John visit. Here is an extract:
“The entrance to John’s estate is marked by a pair of huge wooden gates. We drove through them and up the path which winds around to the front of his house. My first impression was of a large mock Tudor mansion, lots of red brick, white walls and an iron-studded, oaken door. But this door was slightly different. It had been sprayed with paint aerosols in many colours. Over the large knocker was the crest of the Lennon clan.
John opened the door himself. After a quick “Come in,” he led the way into the house.
I was completely overwhelmed with the fantastic collection of instruments, pictures, furniture, antiques, flowers, stickers, models, books, which met my gaze.
On the ground floor there is a large entrance hall, lined with shelves of books stretching from floor to ceiling. To the right it leads to the kitchen, which is situated in the centre of the house, and to the left to two rooms, one very large, one small. The smaller room contained two pianos, one Broadwood, one Bechstein. The mahogany case of the Bechstein was fast disappearing under a psychedelic design, which was being painted on by two Dutch artists, Simon and Marijke. The right hand wall was was covered with a bookcase. In the middle of the room was a television set covered with stickers. The next room was very large with three beautiful, soft sofas in it. In one corner was an extraordinary Chinese screen cutting, and next to it the brass statue with the gorilla’s mask on it, and a pipe stuck in its mouth, upside-down. On one side of the fireplace were three turntables. John is very fond of putting on L.P.’s of noises these days, and one played constantly while I was there, broken only by bursts of All You Need Is Love.
On the shelves near the record player were arranged several of John’s gold discs, statuettes and certificates.
In the centre of the fireplace was a huge colour television.
We next went next door to the dining room. The centre piece was a beautiful antique table surrounded by chairs. The kitchen led off the dining room. There’s a most unusual stove in the middle of the room which consists of a table like surface, built of white tiles, in which are fitted the hot plates for cooking.
Next John took us upstairs to see his music studio. This is only a small room, stuck right at the top of the house. There’s a battery of tape-recorders along one wall; an organ and a piano along another, and on the third is a Mellotron. Then we went downstairs into the garden. On the way down we found a rocking horse. Julian climbed into the saddle, and John got up behind him to give him a ride. Downstairs again to the main lounge, where John flipped a new L.P. of sounds on to one of the turntables, then through the dining room again and into a small room which overlooks the garden terrace. It was full of “things you hang on the walls”, every bit of space was covered with odd caricatures of John, of the Beatles, faded Victorian photos, crosses, statues, you name it, John has already stuck it on a hook on his wall”. © Beatles Book Monthly, 1967.

I think this proves that the ground floor in 1967 was structurally pretty much the same as in 2006. Also, the location of these pics is more certain...




The "small" room I'd say, to the left of the entrance. (This is what Ken Partridge must have been referring to as the "Rumpus Room", not the sunroom). Compare the curtains (always good advice). The Fool-ish piano one also taken in this room, and then there is the pic of John in the bath-chair. This is often referred to as being from his library - but I reckon it could also be the same room - "The right hand wall was covered with a bookcase".




In 2006, this small room was being called the sitting room, and here is how it looked:



The colour pic of John and Julian would have been taken to the left, outwith the range of the 2006 pic, the sofa on the left in roughly the same position as the '68 family shot, the book wall to the right, and the piano wall behind the '06 photographer.

Or not.