251 Menlove Avenue

Mendips, Lennon's childhood home. The blue plaque was added as part of the English Heritage scheme.

251 Menlove Avenue, named "Mendips", was the childhood home of John Lennon, singer and songwriter with the Beatles, and is now preserved by the National Trust.

Mendips is a 1930s semi-detached property in Woolton, South Liverpool, England. The house belonged to Lennon's Aunt Mimi and her husband George Smith. The couple took John in at the age of five, after his mother, who was living with her boyfriend, was persuaded that it would be better for Mimi and George to take care of him. He remained at Mendips until mid-1963, when he was 22 years old.

Despite having purchased the childhood residence of Paul McCartney, the National Trust showed no interest in acquiring the Menlove Avenue property, claiming that, unlike McCartney's home, no Beatles' songs had been composed at Mendips. It was eventually bought by Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, who then donated it to the National Trust. After much restoration work to return it to a 1950s style, it was opened to the public on 27 March 2003.

Said Ono, "When John's house came up for sale I wanted to preserve it for the people of Liverpool and John Lennon and Beatles' fans all over the world." (Associated Press, 14 February 2003).

In pop culture

• The house was featured on the sleeve cover for Oasis' single "Live Forever".
• Menlove Ave. is a John Lennon album, posthumously released in 1986 under the supervision of Yoko Ono.

See also

• 9 Newcastle Road: John's first childhood home
• 20 Forthlin Road: A childhood home of Beatle Paul McCartney, another National Trust property.
• 12 Arnold Grove: Childhood home of Beatle George Harrison.
• 10 Admiral Grove - Ringo Starr's childhood home

External links

• Mendips information from the National Trust
• Inside 251 Menlove Avenue – BBC
• The many childhood homes of The Beatles