Strawberry Field
Coordinates: 53°22′49″N 2°53′2″W / 53.38028°N 2.88389°W
Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army children's home in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool, England.
The earliest reference to 'Strawberry Field' dates from 1870. In 1912 it was transferred to a wealthy merchant whose widow sold the estate to the Salvation Army in 1934. It opened on 7 July 1936. The original house was later demolished and replaced with a smaller purpose-built home for children which opened in the early 1970s.[1] This home provided three family units, each accommodating 12 children. It closed in early January 2005 and is now a church and prayer centre. The famous gates marking its entrance were removed and replaced with replicas in May 2011.[2]
The name of the home became world famous in 1967 with the release of The Beatles single "Strawberry Fields Forever" written by John Lennon. Lennon grew up near the home - one of his 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."'[3] He and his childhood friends Pete Shotton and Ivan Vaughan often played in the wooded area behind the building, which Lennon nicknamed in the plural "Strawberry Fields."[4]
Related Events
The Strawberry Field sign was adapted by the UK band Straw as their logo for 2 years (1998–99).[citation needed]
In 2010, the American studio band Strawberry Walrus released an album titled "Strawberry Field." It contains 14 tracks written about John Lennon and the Strawberry Field home in Liverpool, England.
References
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-13344102
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-13344102
- ^ The Beatles, Hunter Davies, London, 1968, p 9
- ^ Pete Shotton
External links
Media related to Strawberry Field at Wikimedia Commons
