Happy New Year to everyone from us all at St Peter’s!
We look forward to welcoming you back to St Peter’s Church and Church Hall in 2021, and we’ll be adding new items to our online shop soon. All details will be posted here, and on our social media in due course.
In the meantime, take care, stay safe, and here’s to a happy, healthy and peaceful new year!
Happy Christmas to you all from the St Peter’s Heritage Team! We hope that, however you’re spending Christmas, you find some comfort and joy during the holidays. This year may not be what we planned but stay safe and hopefully we can all be together again next year!
Thank you to all the NHS staff, scientists, delivery drivers, teachers and all other key staff who have worked so hard to keep us safe this year, and who are leading the fight against covid. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and here’s to your sucesss, and us all being together again, in 2021! Happy New Year to us all!
Although for us in the UK, the anniversary of John’s death, 40 years ago, will not come until tomorrow, here at St Peter’s we wanted to mark the official anniversary too. This morning, volunteers laid single white roses, representing peace, at some of the places at St Peter’s that were, and are, so important to John.
The roses were laid at the peace memorial, on Uncle George’s grave, on the spot in the choir stalls where John sat and, of course, on the spot in the Church Hall where he met Paul on July 6 1957.
And we took a rose and laid it at the Strawberry Field gates, uniting St Peter’s with our friends and neighbours around the corner who also were so important in John’s life.
We are so proud, at St Peter’s, to be part of John’s story and privileged to be a custodian of his legacy.
John Lennon 1940-1980
They shall grow not old as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
When you go home, tell them of us and say, “for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
We will remember them.
Special Offer on Shipping!
As most of us will be shopping online this Christmas, and to try to help keep costs down, we are offering a discount of £4.95 on shipping costs for ALL orders that total £50 or more!
This applies to ALL orders, wherever you are in the world!
We have a range of merchandise available in our online shop, including some lovely magnets showing the Church in 1957, which slip easily into Christmas cards!
Special Offer on Magnets!
The magnets cost £1.50 each but we have a special offer of 20 magnets for £25.00 (saving £5.00) – quote MAGNET20 when ordering!
We’ve also got our new design of t-shirts — very nice when you’re relaxing around the house …
Or these adorable phone stands — made of a light rubber and perfect for propping up your phone through those zoom meetings or facetime calls!
To see all the items available for sale, and information about how to order, click the shop link here or click on the ‘Shop’ tab at the top of the page!
As with all the items in our online shop, all proceeds go towards the upkeep, maintenance and financial commitments (including the support of various charities) of St Peter’s Church and, in these difficult times, every penny really does count!
Email beatlesstpeters@gmail.com if you have any questions or to place your order!
With so many restrictions on travel at the moment, more of us might be sending Christmas cards this year to keep in touch with our friends and family and show we care.
If you’re one of those people, how about helping out St Peter’s by slipping one of these little magnets inside your Christmas cards! They’re the size of a standard business card — about 9cm x 5cm and less than 1mm thick — so would fit easily into any Christmas card without adding any cost to the stamp!
We have two different designs available: one is an image of the commemorative plaque on the Church Hall, celebrating the day that John Lennon met Paul McCartney at St Peter’s; the other shows the Church in 1957.
Special Offer!
The magnets cost £1.50 each but we have a special offer of 20 magnets for £25.00 (saving £5.00) – quote MAGNET20 when ordering!
How to Order
Please email beatlesstpeters@gmail.com to place your order, stating the number of magnets required and which design(s) you would like. Please also include your location when ordering so that shipping costs can be calculated.
Shipping start at only 99p for one magnet sent within the UK. There is no limit to the number of magnets you can order (stock permitting) and we do ship worldwide! Magnets can also be bought or collected (by appointment) from the Hub (Simon Peter Centre) at St Peter’s Church!
As with all the items in our online shop, all proceeds go towards the upkeep, maintenance and financial commitments (including the support of various charities) of St Peter’s Church and, in these difficult times, every penny really does count!
Email beatlesstpeters@gmail.com if you have any questions or to place your order!
If you’re thinking of buying one of our VERY limited edition signed posters as a treat for yourself or as a Christmas present for the Beatles – or Quarrymen! – fan in your life, you need to hurry!
We only have SIX left!
These posters, based on the commemorative plaque on St Peter’s Church Hall, were signed by Rod Davis, Len Garry, Colin Hanton and John Duff Lowe when they were all at St Peter’s in 2017 for the 60th anniversary celebrations of the day that John met Paul. We thought we had sold them all but, while he was tidying up in preparation for his retirement, the wonderful Graham Paisley found a pile of posters at the back of a cupboard, including some signed by the four Quarrymen!
We had these available for sale during International Beatle Week during the limited hall openings, and the remainder were made available through the online shop.
There are six remaining and it is extremely unlike that we will ever be able to get any more! So don’t delay!
Email us at beatlesstpeters@gmail.com NOW to place your order and avoid disappointment!
You can see a full range of our current merchandise in our online shop by clicking HERE
Remember, too, that we currently have an offer of FREE SHIPPING for every order that totals £80 or more ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! Use code JOHN80 when placing your order!
If you missed today’s live stream of the virtual tour of St Peter’s Church Hall, you can catch up anytime via this youtube link: https://youtu.be/i851gUjLndU
Hopefully next year we can celebrate John’s 81st birthday with a party for everyone in the Church Hall!
But don’t forget, in the meantime, you can bring a piece of St Peter’s home to you via our online shop! Click here for the full range, which includes our brand new design t-shirts! (Limited numbers available until after Christmas so buy now to avoid disappointment if you’re planning a Christmas surprise for someone, or a Christmas treat for yourself!)
Due to the current situation we are unable to welcome visitors to St Peter’s Church, and so we wanted to find a way to bring a part of St Peter’s to you! Today we are delighted to launch our new online shop!
New Design Revealed!
We have a range of items available for sale but we are most excited to be able to finally reveal our new design! Currently this is only available on t-shirts and will be sold exclusively online for the time being. Only 95 shirts are currently available, although we will be restocking in the new year. If you want to be one of the first to wear this exclusive item, place your order now!
To see all the items available for sale, and information about how to order, click the shop link here or click on the ‘Shop’ tab at the top of the page!
Special Offer! Free Shipping!
In honour of John’s 80th birthday we will be offering FREE shipping – anywhere in the world! – for orders that total £80 or more throughout October! Just quote JOHN80 when placing your order!
If you have any questions about the online shop, please email us on beatlesstpeters@gmail.com and we will be happy to help!
We’re absolutely delighted to be sharing exciting news from our friends and neighbours at Strawberry Field! The world-famous piano that John Lennon used to compose and record one of the great peace anthems of the 20th century, Imagine, is on loan to Strawberry Field courtesy of the estate of the late George Michael.
It was always George’s intention that the iconic musical instrument should be enjoyed by the people of Lennon’s home city. “It’s not the type of thing that should be in storage somewhere or being protected, it should be seen by people,” said George to journalists at time of purchase. The upright Steinway piano, purchased by the singer songwriter in 2000, is now one of the most valuable musical instrument in rock ’n’ roll history.
John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird who is now Honorary President of Strawberry Field says, “Bringing John’s piano to Strawberry Field for the first time to mark what would have been his 80th birthday is a wonderful gesture – one that will bring joy to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Liverpool every year to get closer to the history of The Beatles and John’s legacy.”
The piano, which was toured globally by George Michael as a symbol of peace in the early 2000s, has never before been placed in a location so steeped in John Lennon history. One of the most cherished musical instruments of all time, archive film footage from 1971 shows a relaxed Lennon at the piano composing ‘Imagine’ before he turns to his keyboard player to remark : “That’s the one I like best.”
The Estate of the late George Michael comments,
“The George Michael Estate is proud to be associated with Strawberry Field and the work that the Salvation Army do at the centre to help young adults with learning difficulties acquire the skills and experience they so badly need to get employment which work is even more vital today than it was when the Centre first opened . Estate representatives have visited and been shown around the centre and the site, met with the staff and learned a great deal about the work which is done there and did not hesitate to agree to the loan of the iconic John Lennon “Imagine” piano as part of the permanent exhibition they have on site especially as this is just the type of association that George would have wanted for this unique piece. We know that the piano will be a source of hope and inspiration to all who come to see it and to the young people who attend Strawberry Field not only during these difficult times but for many years to come in the same way that it inspired George since he bought it some 20 years ago.”
George Michael, a huge fan of The Beatles and John Lennon, composed on and played the piano which can be heard on the title song of his Patience album.
Strawberry Field has been in the care of The Salvation Army since the 1930s as a place that supports vulnerable young people and a site of spirituality and inspiration. This legacy continues with The Salvation Army’s redevelopment of Strawberry Field in order to give young people with learning difficulties in Liverpool the chance to succeed in realising their career aspirations.
Major Kathy Versfeld, Mission Director for Strawberry Field, says,
“Since The Salvation Army first acquired the property in 1934, Strawberry Field has been a place of refuge and peace for all those who, like John, sought sanctuary beyond its beautiful red gates. We are absolutely delighted to be able to place on display in our exhibition this wonderful ‘instrument of peace’, sharing as we do with its owners an enduring passion for peacemaking and the transformation of communities and individual lives. We are grateful for this generous loan and know that it will make a huge difference to the work that we are able to do within our Visitor Centre, not just with our Steps to Work trainees but also as we offer a place of inspiration and hope to all visitors through the gates.”
St Peter's Church, Woolton: History and Heritage 