Strawberry Field Forever

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Visit the official Strawberry Field website HERE

When the Salvation Army began planning the renovation and reopening of Strawberry Field, I was incredibly honoured that they got in touch with me to ask for some advice. As a result, I was invited on to the grounds in the very early days before it was open to the public and also invited to attend some of the early events and ceremonies.

Some of that journey is presented here.

Early Days

During the earliest planning stages for the redevelopment of Strawberry Field, I was contacted by members of the team who wanted to learn how St Peter’s managed the Beatles visitors when the primary mission at the Church is not tourism. The Strawbs team were keen to follow the same model where Beatles fans would be welcomed and included, and where there might be opportunities for income generation, but without any negative impact on the main purpose for the venue: ie, the Steps to Work programme. I had several meetings with various people, including the fund-raising team, sharing my experiences at St Peter’s and also making key introductions. It was an absolute privilege to be able to help in any small way that I could but, I confess, I was delighted when – as a special treat – I was invited into the grounds on a few occasions.

For various reasons (all quite legitimate!) those visits were not made public at the time and it was a few years before I could share the photos that I took on one of those early visits. It’s fine to share them now, though! These were taken during a visit in June, 2014.

These steps are apparently all that were left of the original building.
The children’s home that was renovated in 1984, thanks to a large donation from Yoko Ono. It closed in 2005.
It was quite exciting seeing the gates from the ‘other’ side!

One of my favourite memories of those early visits came when we arrived at the main gate — which was locked — and the group leader discovered that he hadn’t got the right key with him. I jokingly suggested that we should climb over the wall, because that was what John Lennon used to do! There were some quite important people in that group and I honestly didn’t think that they’d take me seriously, but they all LOVED the idea! So we all channelled our inner ‘John’ and climbed over the wall!

Ground Breaking Ceremony at Strawberry Field

Over the next four years, plans were finalised and the money was raised, and the formal ground breaking ceremony for the new centre took place on July 31, 2018. I was very privileged to be invited along!

Julia Baird, Honorary President of the Strawberry Field project, and Lady Judy Martin and Cliff Cooper, project patrons, led the celebrations, with the legendary Mike McCartney capturing the event for posterity with his trusty camera!

Although not in Mike’s league, some of my photos are here:

The plans on display, and Mike McCartney recording it all with his camera!
Lady Martin and Julia Barid cutting the cake to celebrate the moment.
A special time capsule was buried.

International Beatleweek

Because Strawberry Field was not open to the public for International Beatleweek, I thought it would be great to invite the ‘Strawbs’ team along to St Peter’s Church Hall instead. I wanted the visiting fans to be able to chat to some of the people most involved with the project, see the display showing the current progress and future plans, pick up leaflets on the project, and also show their support by buying some of the exclusive Strawberry Field merchandise!

Indeed, I took some of the St Peter’s merchandise off sale to try to support our neighbours and help them to Open the Gates!

I continued to invite the Strawberry Field team to share St Peter’s Church Hall every time that I opened the hall for visitors, and it was a pleasure and privilege to do so.

Strawberry Field Opens to the Public!

Before Strawberry Field opened to the public, in September 2019, I was honoured to be invited to some of the preview events. You can see my photos of those visits here. If you visit today (and you should!) you’ll probably notice some differences but the beauty and peace will never change.

Work was still in progress in the gardens, but already you could feel the beauty and wonder of the grounds. No wonder John loved playing here as a child!

The cafe is open to all, and serves wonderful food! All the money raised at Srawberry Field, in the cafe or the shop, goes towards the Steps to Work programme, which provides specialist training for young adults that will enable them to live full and independent lives. There is no better cause in my opinion!

The visitor experience tells the story of Strawberry Field, the Salvation Army, and John Lennon’s love for the place.

In the grounds at Strawberry Field are several raised beds growing strawberries … of course!! Strawberry jam can be bought in the shop, and will feature in the yummy products available in the cafe!

The labyrinth is a series of stepping stones laid out in a spiral. Visitors are encouraged to follow the path, walking slowly, thinking and relaxing. As the Fresh Expression Team at Strawberry Field explain, “The labyrinth is a way of allowing ourselves time and space to think about who or what we are following in our own lives.”

There are also stepping stones heading from the path into the woods. These are in the corner closest to where John would have climbed over the wall, so in a way his footsteps are in Strawberry Field forever. It’s also a lovely way to encourage children (and adults!) to leave the path and go and play in the woods.

I love the beautiful print of the original house. It’s on glass, so you can see the new building through it!

More photos from the opening!

All the pathways are fully accessible
Parts of the original building have been incorporated into the grounds
The path from the Gates up to the visitor centre
The original gates were on display by the main entrance in 2019. They later moved to their new home in the grounds.