Eddie Devlin has always supported the various events at St Peter’s Church, and we are proud to consider him our ‘resident’ musician. He will be performing in the Church Hall between 10.30am and 2.30pm, and has written this song in honour of the occasion!
Beautifully Beatle-esque in tone, enjoy “Paul and John” by Eddie Devlin!
We are looking forward to welcoming the world to Woolton Village as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the day that John met Paul and the importance of community!
Some information on travel options is available on our “Useful Links” page, but below are some more specific suggestions. Click on the bus numbers to download timetables or click HERE for the Merseytravel Planner app
There is limited public parking in Woolton Village and we encourage you to use public transport wherever possible. On Saturday and Sunday, one option is to park at Liverpool South Parkway and take the Garston Circular 166 or 266 to Woolton Village (every half hour weekdays/Saturdays; hourly on Sunday)
Woolton Village is approximately 6 1/2 miles from Liverpool City Centre, and taxi prices vary depending on the service you use.
From Liverpool One bus station: No 75 (every 10 minutes weekdays; every 15 minutes Saturdays; every 20 minutes Sundays ) or No 76 (every 30 minutes daily)
From Queen’s Square bus station: No 78 (every 30 minutes daily)
Many mainline train services stop at Liverpool South Parkway (or take mainline services or Merseyrail from Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool South Parkway), and then take the Garston Circular as above
Alternatively take Merseyrail to Hunt’s Cross Station, and take bus No 89 to Woolton Village (every 20 minutes weekdays/Saturdays; every half hour Sundays)
Bus No 89 runs directly from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Woolton village (every 20 minutes weekdays/Saturdays; every half hour Sundays)
As well as the live music, events at the fete, tours, and the opportunity to stand where the Beatles began, visitors to the anniversary events will have the chance to meet people who have a personal connection with the Beatles, or with the events of July 6, 1957, and are happy to share their stories!
Members of John Lennon’s family will be attending the events on July 6, as will the famous 1960s’ photographer, Bill Zygmant, and all of the Quarrymen. Some of the Quarrymen will be at St Peter’s for events from Friday to Sunday, and Richard Langham, the Abbey Road studio engineer who worked on Please Please Me, has promised to be around as much as he can. Bill Zygmant is planning a return visit on Sunday too!
We’re still lucky enough to have people who attended the fete in 1957 as part of the St Peter’s Church family, and some of them will be around to share their stories with visitors too! Pam and Alison were part of the retinue for the Rose Queen, while Jennie attended the fete and dance and has some interesting memories of John to share! David, who auditioned for the Cathedral Choir at the same time as Paul (but David passed the audition!) also hopes to be in the hall from time to time to chat to visitors and share his memories!
We’ve also been contacted by other celebs who are hoping to turn up at some point during the anniversary celebrations. So come along from July 5 – 9! You never know who you might meet!
The grand finale of our five days of anniversary celebrations will take place on Sunday July 9 from 10.30am until (approx) 4pm!
Everyone is welcome to attend a special All-Age Service at St Peter’s with a special Beatles theme from 10.30am! After the service, the Church will remain open until 4pm, with free tours of the beautiful building.
Following the service, our special guests will take part in a rose-planting ceremony in the Churchyard, to provide a permanent marker for this special anniversary.
Research conducted by students in the Department of History & Archaeology at the University of Chester revealed that one of the most popular roses in 1957 was the “Peace Rose” which, of course, links perfectly to the Peace Cross outside St Peter’s and John’s love of peace. When this is added to the vibrant pink colour of the McCartney Rose, then planting a “Pink Peace” rose seemed like the perfect way to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the day that John met Paul at our Church fete.
The rose-planting ceremony has been made possible through the generosity of AIGBURTH HALL NURSERIES and we are extremely grateful for their support. The owners and staff at the nurseries claim that they are “passionate about plants and people” and we agree wholeheartedly! Aigburth Hall Nurseries are active in their support of the local community and many charities, and they understand that “community matters.” We are proud and privileged that they will forever be a part of our celebration of community through their generous donation of the roses!
After the rose-planting ceremony, everyone is invited to the Church Hall where sandwiches and snacks, generously donated by the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, and drinks, generously donated by Tesco Woolton, will be available!
From 12.30pm the BabyFaced Beatles will perform, accompanied for one song by a VERY special guest! Trust us, this is a moment not to be missed as we bring together “past, present and future” and celebrate the true legacy of the day that the Beatles began in our Church Hall.
After a short break, during which the anniversary cake will be cut and served, Rob Clarke and the Wooltones will round off the celebrations with a set of skiffle music, taking us full circle and back to how it all began in 1957!
And don’t miss out on the last chance to buy tickets for the Community Celebration Raffle before the draw takes place from 2.30pm!
We hope you can join us for what promises to be a very special day and a fitting climax to our celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the day that John met Paul at St Peter’s Church, and went on to change the world!
St Peter’s Church Hall will be open on Thursday July 6 from 10am to 3pm as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the day that John met Paul!
We are delighted that we will be joined that day by Eddie Devlin and Catherine Cook who will be playing live from about 10.30am onwards. Both Eddie and Cath are real friends to St Peter’s Church and if anyone can call themselves the resident musicians for the Church Hall where the Beatles began, then they certainly deserve the title!
For a preview of the treats in store for us all next Thursday, check out these videos of Eddie and Cath!
During last year’s International Beatle Week, Eddie was joined by Len Garry for a truly special performance of “In My Life,” and you can see some of Eddie’s original compositions on his youtube channel HERE!
Also, check out this hauntingly beautiful rendition of “It’s For You” written by Paul McCartney for Cilla Black. A lost demo by Paul was discovered last year and sold at the Beatles auction in August, but we love Cath’s version! For more information on Cath, visit her Facebook page – She’s Leaving Home by clicking HERE
The Church Hall will be closing at 3pm so that everyone had head over the road to enjoy the recreation of the fete on what is now the playing field of Bishop Martin CE Primary School. Entry is £2.50 and you can pay on the door! More details HERE!
Our theme for the anniversary events is “A Celebration of Community” and nothing embodies that more than the team from Direct Line Manchester who turned up at St Peter’s Church today to spend several hours doing volunteer work in the Church graveyard.
The team from Direct Line Manchester
Every year the team leave their office in Manchester and spend a day working for a local charity or organisation. In the past, they’ve supported Cancer Research and Cash For Kids, and this year, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the day that John met Paul, and the legacy of that meeting, they came to help the regular team of Church volunteers as they tidied up the graveyard in preparation for the anniversary celebrations next week!
There’s often a lot of banter between Liverpool and Manchester but, when it comes to the important things — like a belief in the importance of community, or coming together in times of crisis such as the tragic events at the recent Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena — the bond between the two cities is plain to see, and will never be broken.
Thank you, Direct Line Manchester, from us all at St Peter’s Church — not only for your hard work today, but also for your ongoing commitment to the community!
A first for Woolton!
The St Peter’s bellringers will be chiming some well known Beatles songs on the tower bells on and off throughout the afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday!
Nick Willasey and fellow ringers look forward to seeing you up in the tower!
And don’t forget that the bell-tower will be open for tours both days too! Learn more about the history of the bells and bell-ringing at St Peter’s, and try your hand at bell-ringing, just as the young John Lennon did.
The ringers standing ready to ring the bells!
St Peter’s Church is blessed with some beautiful stained glass windows. If you’d like to learn more about these, a special tour of the Church focusing on the stained glass windows will take place on Wednesday July 5 at 3pm!
The tour is free and there is no need to book. Meet inside the Church entrance at 2.55pm!
For any fans of the TV series, The Big Bang Theory, here’s an opportunity not to be missed! The latest donation to our raffle prize is a fully signed photo of the current cast!
The image has been cropped for publication here. Please note that the photograph may not have arrived from LA by Sunday July 9; if this is the case, it will be posted to the winning ticket holder!
More prizes are being added all the time! Click HERE for a complete list of prizes and full terms and conditions.
Tickets are only £1.00 each, and are available from The Beatles Shop Mathew Street, the Simon Peter Centre (Hub) at St Peter’s Church, and from the Church Hall and Bishop Martin School throughout the anniversary events from July 5 -9!
#CelebrateCommunity #StPeters60
To support the fund-raising efforts of both St Peter’s Church and Bishop Martin CE Primary School, we are holding a COMMUNITY CELEBRATION RAFFLE as part of the anniversary celebrations from July 5 -9!
The amazing prizes include this print by Bill Zygmant, created especially by Bill for the Anniversary Celebrations and not previously available anywhere!
Tickets only cost £1 each and are available from Thursday June 29 in the following places:
Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organisations in the local community as well as from around the world, we have some great prizes on offer, including a night’s stay at the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, a signed Jamie Carragher LFC shirt, VIP night at the Cavern Club, Liverpool/Beatles tours, restaurant vouchers, beauty vouchers, limited edition prints and photographs, as well as many other great items! We are still receiving donations, and so the list is growing!
A signed Jamie Carragher LFC shirt, framed, and complete with a certificate of authenticity, is another of our star prizes!
For a full list of prizes, as well as full terms and conditions, click HERE
The DRAW will take place in public view in St Peter’s Church Hall on Sunday July 9 from 2.30pm. A full list of winners will be posted in the Church Hall by 4pm on Sunday July 9 and online as soon as possible thereafter. Those winners who are not present in the Church Hall at the time that the winners are announced will be notified by email or post during the week commencing July 10, 2017.
How about this? A print of the first photograph taken of the Quarrymen performing in Rosebery St in June 1957, signed by the photographer, Charlie Roberts, and the Quarrymen.
Where it is practical (eg vouchers), prizes will be posted/emailed to absentee winners. In ALL other cases, it is the responsibility of the winners to collect their prizes from St Peter’s Church (prizes will be stored, free of charge, by St Peter’s Church in the interim).
Another special prize is this floor block from St Peter’s Church Hall (donated by St Peter’s Church)
Want something a bit more unusual? Then this prize, donated by Zip It Liverpool, might tempt you to buy a ticket (or several tickets!) — a set of 3 flying ducks (wall art), themed to the winner’s choice! You could even choose a Coronation Street theme!
Something for the child in us all! A Yellow Submarine (modern) tabletop pinball machine, donated by the Beatles Shop in Mathew Street!
St Peter's Church, Woolton: History and Heritage 