Kenwood, St. George's Hill
Encyclopedia
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 local builders, Love & Sons. The estate was constructed around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed in 1912 by Harry Colt. Kenwood was re-named by manufacturer Ken Wood
when he owned the property.
John Lennon
, of The Beatles
, bought Kenwood for £20,000 on July 15, 1964, on the advice of The Beatles' accountants, Dr. Walter Strach, and James Isherwood. Lennon was resident from the summer of 1964, until the late spring of 1968. Film of the exterior of the house and the gate was included in an ITN programme called Reporting 66, in 1966. Parts of a home movie showing Lennon at Kenwood (1967) were featured in the film Imagine: John Lennon
.
Kenwood is close to Sunny Heights
, the former home of Ringo Starr
, and a short drive from Kinfauns, George Harrison
's former home in Esher
. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million, and was sold in January 2007 for £5.8 million.
style, it is situated on one and a half acres of land. It was designed in 1913 by architect Theophilus Arthur Allen, who had been commissioned by local man Norman H. Johnson. Allen employed a local firm called Love & Sons in the construction of Kenwood. Kenwood is a part of the exclusive St George's Hill estate. This was assembled around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed by Harry Colt in 1912. Many of the original houses on the estate were built by master builder Walter George Tarrant
. However, the only connection Kenwood has with Tarrant is that his firm constructed the original external garage ca.1920 (demolished ca.1995). Kenwood was later re-named by manufacturer Kenneth Wood
(founder of Kenwood Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
) when he owned the property.
and Tom Jones
had earlier bought homes on the St. George's Hill estate. Though reportedly not liking Kenwood (describing it as a "stopover" on the way to something better) Lennon spent twice the original £20,000 (£257,200 today). purchase price on renovations, reducing its 22 rooms to 17, landscaping the grounds and building an outdoor swimming pool. Much of the initial decoration was left to interior designer Kenneth Partridge, whom Lennon employed after being impressed by his design work at a lavish party held by Beatles' manager Brian Epstein
to celebrate the Beatles' departure for their first tour of the USA. However, when Partridge had completed his work, Lennon and then-wife Cynthia
immediately made a number of further alterations which better reflected their taste. Cynthia's mother was given an allowance to fill the shelves of the house with antiques and antiquarian books, and a heavy sliding wooden door was installed at the gate entrance to keep out fans.
Kenwood has three floors: on the ground floor during the Lennon period the front door opened onto an entrance hall, where Lennon placed a suit of armour and a gorilla suit
. Across the hall was a large living room, which had black carpets, two 18-foot sofas and a marble fireplace. To the left of the hall was a toilet, and through the living room was a dining room, where purple, velvet wallpaper was put up. Adjacent to the dining room, at the back of the house, was a small sunroom. This was decorated with various pictures, caricatures and stickers, such as the one from the Safe as Milk debut album (1967) by Captain Beefheart
& His Magic Band, and one advertising the Monterey Pop Festival
. Photos published by The Beatles Book Monthly
show the shelves of the sunroom filled with articles such as a large, ornate cross, a Mickey Mouse
doll and a mortar and pestle, reportedly used by Lennon to mix various combinations of cocaine
, amphetamine
, barbituates and LSD
. There was also a yellow sofa or chaise-longue upon which Lennon would spend much of his time. It was a present from his aunt, Elizabeth Smith
(née Stanley) also known as Mimi. Behind the sunroom was the split-level kitchen where state-of-the-art appliances were installed, so complex that a tutor had to come and give the Lennons lessons in their use.
Completing the ground floor was a smaller lounge, and a large garage. The main staircase to the upper floors was situated in the entrance hall. The house had six bedrooms, with five on the first floor. The giant master bedroom featured a huge double bed, white carpets and an en-suite bathroom complete with sunken bathtub, shower, Jacuzzi
and 'his and hers' wash basins
. Lennon wanted the guest bedrooms to contain works of art by students of the Liverpool Art College. In particular, two drawings by former Beatles' bassist Stuart Sutcliffe
were hung, for what Lennon described as "sentimental reasons". The first floor also had a study. On the top floor was the attic, which Lennon claimed as his own, painting the ceiling one bright colour, then changing to another when the paint ran out, and installing most of his musical equipment there. Outside the house, to the right as you looked down from the sunroom, lay the swimming pool. In 1967, Lennon suggested a mirrored bottom for the pool; being advised that this would be not only impractical and expensive, but potentially dangerous to swimmers, he settled for a large eye mosaic set in the side. The mosaic was based on the Eye of Knowledge
, which was part of the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
.
. Others employed at Kenwood included Lennon's schoolfriend, Pete Shotton, who worked as Lennon's personal assistant in the early part of 1968, and Pauline Jones, who was the girlfriend (later wife) of Lennon's father, Alfred Lennon
. Jones worked as an au pair
and secretary, answering the large volume of fan mail received at Kenwood, during late 1967.
tape recorders. Little was done with them until fellow Beatle Paul McCartney
came over and helped re-install them in sequence, so overdubs could be made. Lennon could thus record his own doubletracked
song demos
. (These demos, and some other, more avant garde sound recordings also made in the attic, have appeared on various bootlegs). The attic also contained a mellotron
, an electric organ
, a piano, a Vox AC30
and several guitars, all of which were used when songwriting. Lennon also wrote on an upright piano in the sunroom.
. When not in the attic, Lennon could usually be found in the sunroom watching television
or reading newspapers. He would also walk in the garden with his black cat on his shoulder (he had ten cats in total). His drug intake, particularly LSD
and hashish
, but also amphetamine
, was high for much of the time he lived at Kenwood. Drugs were taken there in the company of people such as Marianne Faithfull
's ex-husband John Dunbar and art dealer Robert Fraser. At one stage, under the influence of transcendental meditation
, Lennon renounced both meat-eating and drugs, and buried a huge quantity of LSD
in the garden, which had been obtained by representatives of The Beatles at the Monterey Pop Festival
from Augustus Stanley Owsley III
. He later tried to find the LSD, but could not remember where he had buried it. Although no lavish planned parties were ever held, which remained a source of disappointment to Cynthia, various guests (including Monkee
Michael Nesmith
and his wife Phyllis, Bob Dylan
and Peter Cook
) stayed or dined at the house, together with old friends like Ivan Vaughan
and Shotton from Liverpool, or strangers Lennon had met at a party or nightclub, such as the Ad Lib. Cynthia and Lennon were beginning to lead separate lives by 1967, and it was not uncommon for Cynthia to wake up in the morning to find the house filled with people in various states of intoxication that Lennon had met in clubs the night before. Large parts of the house were unused by the Lennons, and visitors remarked that there was frequently a strange atmosphere.
, leaving Lennon at Kenwood with Shotton. After several days of taking LSD
and smoking marijuana, Lennon convened a meeting at the Beatles' business HQ to inform the others that he felt he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Later that day he phoned Ono, whose own husband Tony (Anthony Cox) was in Paris
on business, and invited her to Kenwood. Shotton left the two alone, whereupon Lennon invited Ono (who had also taken LSD
) up to the attic to hear his largely experimental non-Beatles' recordings. For the rest of the night, the two collaborated on what became the Two Virgins
album, and then "made love at dawn", according to Lennon. Cynthia returned early from her vacation, and discovered Lennon and Ono sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring intently into each other's eyes (Ono was wearing one of Cynthia's bathrobes). In a state of shock, Cynthia then left to stay with friends for a few days, although Lennon and Cynthia were reconciled for a time upon her return to Kenwood. It was during Cynthia's next holiday in Italy that Lennon and Ono finally entered into a permanent relationship, and Lennon asked for a divorce. Cynthia, together with Julian and her mother, moved back into Kenwood for the summer, where Paul McCartney
visited her to offer his support. On the journey to Kenwood he composed the song, "Hey Jude
", which eventually became The Beatles' biggest selling single. Lennon and Ono, meanwhile, were without a permanent address for a time. They stayed with McCartney at his house in Cavendish Avenue (where it is alleged that a further breach occurred in the Lennon/McCartney relationship when Lennon discovered a derogatory note written by McCartney) and with Peter Brown
and then Neil Aspinall
, before moving into an apartment leased by Starr at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
in London. They were evicted from this flat by the owner following a raid by the drug squad on 18 October 1968, and subsequent November trial, and so moved back into Kenwood for a short time, which had been vacated by Cynthia. In the new year Ono and Lennon moved into the Dorchester Hotel
in London, leaving Kenwood for the last time.
. This had Lennon in the company of Starr, his son Julian Lennon
and the gardener at Kenwood. It also shows Lennon standing in the sunroom. Lennon and Yoko Ono
were filmed singing the "Everybody Had A Hard Year" section of the Beatles' song "I've Got A Feeling
", at the side of the house, and made two art films in the grounds in 1968: Number 5 a.k.a. Smile
, and Two Virgins. Lennon was interviewed several times on audio tape at Kenwood, by people like Ray Coleman
, and Kenny Everett
. Several photo sessions also took place at Kenwood, the most famous of which provided the cover photo for the Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul
.
" and "Congratulations
". Kenwood has subsequently changed hands several times, and been subject to some major renovation work, such that the interior now little resembles the house that Lennon lived in. The exterior and grounds are still recognisable, although the sunroom has been completely rebuilt. After being displayed at the Liverpool Garden Festival in 1985, the psychedelic eye mosaic was unclaimed, and left in a field. It was rediscovered, and restored by Tom Lorimer, a laboratory technician at the Liverpool John Moores University
. The mosaic was then displayed at the Museum of Liverpool Life
. Items from Lennon's Kenwood period have also appeared for auction, including towels and cutlery, a caviar jar, and the table that sat in the sunroom. Lennon kept the Kenwood house sign after he left, but gave it to Andy Eccles, who was a gardener at Tittenhurst Park, in 1972. It was sold for US$20,400, in 2003. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million, and was sold in January 2007 for £5.8 million. It has been claimed that every owner after the Lennons has sold it due to divorce.
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England. Originally called the Brown House, it was designed by architect T.A. Allen, and built in 1913 by local builders, Love & Sons. The estate was constructed around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed in 1912 by Harry Colt. Kenwood was re-named by manufacturer Ken Wood
Ken Wood (manufacturer)
Kenneth Wood was an entrepreneur and business man who is most famous for the development of the eponymous Kenwood Chef food mixer.- Life and career :Wood was born on 4 October 1916 in Lewisham London, England UK....
when he owned the property.
John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, bought Kenwood for £20,000 on July 15, 1964, on the advice of The Beatles' accountants, Dr. Walter Strach, and James Isherwood. Lennon was resident from the summer of 1964, until the late spring of 1968. Film of the exterior of the house and the gate was included in an ITN programme called Reporting 66, in 1966. Parts of a home movie showing Lennon at Kenwood (1967) were featured in the film Imagine: John Lennon
Imagine: John Lennon
Imagine: John Lennon is a soundtrack album of popular music composed by John Lennon for the 1988 documentary film, Imagine: John Lennon...
.
Kenwood is close to Sunny Heights
Sunny Heights
Sunny Heights, in St George's Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey, England, was the mid-1960s home of Ringo Starr, drummer of The Beatles.Starr purchased his home on 24 July 1965 after bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison had bought houses. Sunny Heights, along with its large house and grounds,...
, the former home of Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, and a short drive from Kinfauns, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's former home in Esher
Esher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million, and was sold in January 2007 for £5.8 million.
History
Kenwood was built in 1913, and was originally called The Brown House. Located on Wood Lane, off Cavendish Road, and built in a mock-TudorTudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
style, it is situated on one and a half acres of land. It was designed in 1913 by architect Theophilus Arthur Allen, who had been commissioned by local man Norman H. Johnson. Allen employed a local firm called Love & Sons in the construction of Kenwood. Kenwood is a part of the exclusive St George's Hill estate. This was assembled around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed by Harry Colt in 1912. Many of the original houses on the estate were built by master builder Walter George Tarrant
Walter George Tarrant
Walter George Tarrant was a builder born in Brockhurst, near Gosport, Hampshire, England. He is best known as a Surrey master builder and developer of St George’s Hill and the Wentworth Estate in Surrey....
. However, the only connection Kenwood has with Tarrant is that his firm constructed the original external garage ca.1920 (demolished ca.1995). Kenwood was later re-named by manufacturer Kenneth Wood
Ken Wood (manufacturer)
Kenneth Wood was an entrepreneur and business man who is most famous for the development of the eponymous Kenwood Chef food mixer.- Life and career :Wood was born on 4 October 1916 in Lewisham London, England UK....
(founder of Kenwood Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Kenwood Limited
The Kenwood Manufacturing Co. Ltd. was founded by Kenneth Maynard Wood as the Dickson & Wood company in 1936 selling, installing and repairing radios and televisions. The company is famous for the food processor Kenwood Chef which was launched in 1950....
) when he owned the property.
Renovation
Lennon bought the house on July 15, 1964, on the advice of The Beatles' accountants, Dr. Walter Strach, and James Isherwood. Cliff RichardCliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
and Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
had earlier bought homes on the St. George's Hill estate. Though reportedly not liking Kenwood (describing it as a "stopover" on the way to something better) Lennon spent twice the original £20,000 (£257,200 today). purchase price on renovations, reducing its 22 rooms to 17, landscaping the grounds and building an outdoor swimming pool. Much of the initial decoration was left to interior designer Kenneth Partridge, whom Lennon employed after being impressed by his design work at a lavish party held by Beatles' manager Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
to celebrate the Beatles' departure for their first tour of the USA. However, when Partridge had completed his work, Lennon and then-wife Cynthia
Cynthia Lennon
Cynthia Lillian Lennon is the former wife of musician John Lennon, and mother of Julian Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. At the age of twelve, she was accepted into the Junior Art School, and was later enrolled in the...
immediately made a number of further alterations which better reflected their taste. Cynthia's mother was given an allowance to fill the shelves of the house with antiques and antiquarian books, and a heavy sliding wooden door was installed at the gate entrance to keep out fans.
Kenwood has three floors: on the ground floor during the Lennon period the front door opened onto an entrance hall, where Lennon placed a suit of armour and a gorilla suit
Gorilla suit
Gorilla suits or ape suits are full-bodied costumes resembling gorillas or other large primates.Gorilla suits have been used both to represent real gorillas in film and on stage, and also as a source of humour...
. Across the hall was a large living room, which had black carpets, two 18-foot sofas and a marble fireplace. To the left of the hall was a toilet, and through the living room was a dining room, where purple, velvet wallpaper was put up. Adjacent to the dining room, at the back of the house, was a small sunroom. This was decorated with various pictures, caricatures and stickers, such as the one from the Safe as Milk debut album (1967) by Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
& His Magic Band, and one advertising the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
. Photos published by The Beatles Book Monthly
The Beatles Book
The Beatles Book was founded in 1963. It was first published in August 1963 and continued for 77 editions until it stopped publication after the December 1969 edition...
show the shelves of the sunroom filled with articles such as a large, ornate cross, a Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
doll and a mortar and pestle, reportedly used by Lennon to mix various combinations of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
, barbituates and LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. There was also a yellow sofa or chaise-longue upon which Lennon would spend much of his time. It was a present from his aunt, Elizabeth Smith
Mimi Smith
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith was the maternal aunt and parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi was born in Liverpool, England and was the oldest of five daughters. She became a resident trainee nurse at the Woolton Convalescent Hospital, and later worked as a private secretary...
(née Stanley) also known as Mimi. Behind the sunroom was the split-level kitchen where state-of-the-art appliances were installed, so complex that a tutor had to come and give the Lennons lessons in their use.
Completing the ground floor was a smaller lounge, and a large garage. The main staircase to the upper floors was situated in the entrance hall. The house had six bedrooms, with five on the first floor. The giant master bedroom featured a huge double bed, white carpets and an en-suite bathroom complete with sunken bathtub, shower, Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
and 'his and hers' wash basins
Sink
A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, for dishwashing or other purposes. Sinks generally have taps that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing...
. Lennon wanted the guest bedrooms to contain works of art by students of the Liverpool Art College. In particular, two drawings by former Beatles' bassist Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was a Scottish artist and musician, best known as the original bass player of The Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career as an artist, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art...
were hung, for what Lennon described as "sentimental reasons". The first floor also had a study. On the top floor was the attic, which Lennon claimed as his own, painting the ceiling one bright colour, then changing to another when the paint ran out, and installing most of his musical equipment there. Outside the house, to the right as you looked down from the sunroom, lay the swimming pool. In 1967, Lennon suggested a mirrored bottom for the pool; being advised that this would be not only impractical and expensive, but potentially dangerous to swimmers, he settled for a large eye mosaic set in the side. The mosaic was based on the Eye of Knowledge
Third eye
The third eye is a mystical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna chakra in certain spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness...
, which was part of the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
.
Staff
The Lennons initially had problems recruiting reliable staff, but eventually employed a cook/housekeeper (Dorothy Jarlett, or Dot) a chauffeur (Les Anthony) and a groundskeeper. Lennon was surprised and impressed to discover that the groundskeeper had "dropped out" of university to pursue his love of horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. Others employed at Kenwood included Lennon's schoolfriend, Pete Shotton, who worked as Lennon's personal assistant in the early part of 1968, and Pauline Jones, who was the girlfriend (later wife) of Lennon's father, Alfred Lennon
Alfred Lennon
Alfred "Alf" Lennon was the father of English musician John Lennon. He spent many years in an orphanage—with his sister, Edith—after his father died. He was known as being very witty and musical throughout his life—he sang and played the banjo—but not as being very dependable...
. Jones worked as an au pair
Au pair
An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use...
and secretary, answering the large volume of fan mail received at Kenwood, during late 1967.
Songwriting
Lennon did much of his songwriting in the attic, where he had several StuderStuder
Studer is a Swiss manufacturer of professional audio equipment, founded in Zurich in 1948 by Willi Studer. It is known primarily for the design and manufacture of analog tape recorders and mixing consoles. Studer also produce other technology solutions, such as telephony management systems and...
tape recorders. Little was done with them until fellow Beatle Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
came over and helped re-install them in sequence, so overdubs could be made. Lennon could thus record his own doubletracked
Doubletracking
Double tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the...
song demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
. (These demos, and some other, more avant garde sound recordings also made in the attic, have appeared on various bootlegs). The attic also contained a mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, an electric organ
Electric organ
In biology, the electric organ is an organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field. The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue...
, a piano, a Vox AC30
Vox AC30
The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound. First introduced in 1958 due to the growing demand for higher-wattage amplifiers, it became an iconic amplifier for British musicians and soon for others....
and several guitars, all of which were used when songwriting. Lennon also wrote on an upright piano in the sunroom.
Recreation
Aside from the mini-studio, the attic contained two other rooms - a small guest bedroom and a games room used for recreation. Lennon filled it with three full sets of the model car racing game, ScalextricScalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...
. When not in the attic, Lennon could usually be found in the sunroom watching television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
or reading newspapers. He would also walk in the garden with his black cat on his shoulder (he had ten cats in total). His drug intake, particularly LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
and hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
, but also amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
, was high for much of the time he lived at Kenwood. Drugs were taken there in the company of people such as Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
's ex-husband John Dunbar and art dealer Robert Fraser. At one stage, under the influence of transcendental meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
, Lennon renounced both meat-eating and drugs, and buried a huge quantity of LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
in the garden, which had been obtained by representatives of The Beatles at the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
from Augustus Stanley Owsley III
Owsley Stanley
Owsley Stanley also known as Bear, was an essential and transitional personality in the development of the San Francisco Bay counter-culture. Spanning the Beat-era years of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters scenes, he was equally pivotal to the explosion of 1960's Psychedelia culture...
. He later tried to find the LSD, but could not remember where he had buried it. Although no lavish planned parties were ever held, which remained a source of disappointment to Cynthia, various guests (including Monkee
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
and his wife Phyllis, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
) stayed or dined at the house, together with old friends like Ivan Vaughan
Ivan Vaughan
Ivan Vaughan was a boyhood friend of John Lennon, and later schoolmate of Paul McCartney at the Liverpool Institute, both commencing school there in Sept. 1953. He was born on the same day as Paul McCartney in Liverpool...
and Shotton from Liverpool, or strangers Lennon had met at a party or nightclub, such as the Ad Lib. Cynthia and Lennon were beginning to lead separate lives by 1967, and it was not uncommon for Cynthia to wake up in the morning to find the house filled with people in various states of intoxication that Lennon had met in clubs the night before. Large parts of the house were unused by the Lennons, and visitors remarked that there was frequently a strange atmosphere.
Lennon, Cynthia, and Ono
In 1968, Cynthia went on vacation to GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, leaving Lennon at Kenwood with Shotton. After several days of taking LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
and smoking marijuana, Lennon convened a meeting at the Beatles' business HQ to inform the others that he felt he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Later that day he phoned Ono, whose own husband Tony (Anthony Cox) was in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on business, and invited her to Kenwood. Shotton left the two alone, whereupon Lennon invited Ono (who had also taken LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
) up to the attic to hear his largely experimental non-Beatles' recordings. For the rest of the night, the two collaborated on what became the Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins is an album released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. The result of an all-night session of musical experimentation in Lennon's home studio at Kenwood, John and Yoko's debut album is known not only for its avant garde content, but also for its cover...
album, and then "made love at dawn", according to Lennon. Cynthia returned early from her vacation, and discovered Lennon and Ono sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring intently into each other's eyes (Ono was wearing one of Cynthia's bathrobes). In a state of shock, Cynthia then left to stay with friends for a few days, although Lennon and Cynthia were reconciled for a time upon her return to Kenwood. It was during Cynthia's next holiday in Italy that Lennon and Ono finally entered into a permanent relationship, and Lennon asked for a divorce. Cynthia, together with Julian and her mother, moved back into Kenwood for the summer, where Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
visited her to offer his support. On the journey to Kenwood he composed the song, "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
", which eventually became The Beatles' biggest selling single. Lennon and Ono, meanwhile, were without a permanent address for a time. They stayed with McCartney at his house in Cavendish Avenue (where it is alleged that a further breach occurred in the Lennon/McCartney relationship when Lennon discovered a derogatory note written by McCartney) and with Peter Brown
Peter Brown (music industry)
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He currently resides in New York City.-The Beatles:Brown was a personal assistant to Brian Epstein and The Beatles during the 1960s. He was a confidant to the Epstein family, and bore some resemblance to Brian in his looks and manner...
and then Neil Aspinall
Neil Aspinall
Neil Stanley Aspinall was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head The Beatles' company Apple Corps....
, before moving into an apartment leased by Starr at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
34 Montagu Square is the address of a London ground floor and basement flat once leased by Ringo Starr during the mid-1960s. Its location is 1.3 miles from the Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded...
in London. They were evicted from this flat by the owner following a raid by the drug squad on 18 October 1968, and subsequent November trial, and so moved back into Kenwood for a short time, which had been vacated by Cynthia. In the new year Ono and Lennon moved into the Dorchester Hotel
Dorchester Hotel
The Dorchester is a luxury hotel in London, opened on 18 April 1931. It is situated on Park Lane in Mayfair, overlooking Hyde Park.The Dorchester was created by the famous builder Sir Robert McAlpine and the managing director of Gordon Hotels Ltd, Sir Frances Towle, who shared a vision of creating...
in London, leaving Kenwood for the last time.
Film/Interview/Photos
Film of the exterior of the house and the gate was included in Reporting 66; a programme produced by ITN, in 1966. Parts of a home movie showing Lennon at Kenwood, in 1967, were featured in the film Imagine: John LennonImagine: John Lennon
Imagine: John Lennon is a soundtrack album of popular music composed by John Lennon for the 1988 documentary film, Imagine: John Lennon...
. This had Lennon in the company of Starr, his son Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
and the gardener at Kenwood. It also shows Lennon standing in the sunroom. Lennon and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
were filmed singing the "Everybody Had A Hard Year" section of the Beatles' song "I've Got A Feeling
I've Got a Feeling
"I've Got a Feeling" is a song by The Beatles, from the 1970 album Let It Be. It is one of the songs on the album from the Rooftop Concert...
", at the side of the house, and made two art films in the grounds in 1968: Number 5 a.k.a. Smile
Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth. The smile can also be found around the eyes . Among humans, it is an expression denoting pleasure, joy, happiness, or amusement, but can also be an involuntary expression of anxiety, in which case it is known...
, and Two Virgins. Lennon was interviewed several times on audio tape at Kenwood, by people like Ray Coleman
Ray Coleman
Ray Coleman was a British author and former Editor-in-chief of Melody Maker known for biographies of The Beatles. Besides Melody Maker, Coleman was a participant with music magazines including Disc, Black Music, and Musicians Only, and a contributor to magazines such as Billboard...
, and Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
. Several photo sessions also took place at Kenwood, the most famous of which provided the cover photo for the Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released in December 1965. Produced by George Martin, Rubber Soul had been recorded in just over four weeks to make the Christmas market...
.
Kenwood after the Lennons
As Lennon and Cynthia were getting divorced, it became clear that Lennon did not wish to keep Kenwood, and Cynthia could not afford to maintain it on her own, so it was sold in December 1968, for a reputed £40,000 ($96,000), to Bill Martin, writer of songs such as "Puppet on a StringPuppet on a String
"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" and "Congratulations
Congratulations (song)
"Congratulations" is a song written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter as the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 on 6 April with Cliff Richard performing....
". Kenwood has subsequently changed hands several times, and been subject to some major renovation work, such that the interior now little resembles the house that Lennon lived in. The exterior and grounds are still recognisable, although the sunroom has been completely rebuilt. After being displayed at the Liverpool Garden Festival in 1985, the psychedelic eye mosaic was unclaimed, and left in a field. It was rediscovered, and restored by Tom Lorimer, a laboratory technician at the Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
. The mosaic was then displayed at the Museum of Liverpool Life
Museum of Liverpool Life
The Museum of Liverpool Life was a Museum in Liverpool, England, part of National Museums Liverpool, that focused on the contribution that the people of Liverpool made to national life...
. Items from Lennon's Kenwood period have also appeared for auction, including towels and cutlery, a caviar jar, and the table that sat in the sunroom. Lennon kept the Kenwood house sign after he left, but gave it to Andy Eccles, who was a gardener at Tittenhurst Park, in 1972. It was sold for US$20,400, in 2003. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million, and was sold in January 2007 for £5.8 million. It has been claimed that every owner after the Lennons has sold it due to divorce.