Strawberry Field
Encyclopedia
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
children's home
Children's Home
Children's Home is a historic building at 427 Robeson Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.The Home was built in 1894 and added to the National Historic Register in 1983....
in Woolton
Woolton
Woolton is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located at the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Hunts Cross, Allerton and Halewood. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 14,836.-History:...
, a suburb of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England.
The earliest reference to 'Strawberry Field' dates from 1870. In 1912 it was transferred to a wealthy merchant whose widow sold the estate to the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
in 1934. It opened on 7 July 1936. The original house was later demolished and replaced with a smaller purpose-built home for children which opened in the early 1970s. This home provided three family units, each accommodating 12 children. It closed in early January 2005 and is now a church and prayer centre. The famous gates marking its entrance were removed and replaced with replicas in May 2011.
The name of the home became world famous in 1967 with the release of the Beatles single "Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
" written by 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...
. Lennon grew up near the home - one of his childhood treats was the garden party that took place each summer on the grounds of Strawberry Field. Lennon's Aunt Mimi
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...
recalled: 'As soon as we could hear the Salvation Army Band
Salvation Army Band
A Salvation Army brass band is a brass band affiliated with a Corps, Division or Territory of the Salvation Army. In society, a Salvation Army band playing in public places during Christian events in the calendar such as Christmas has become a part of seasonal customs particularly in the...
starting, John would jump up and down shouting "Mimi, come on. We're going to be late."' He and his childhood friends Pete Shotton and 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...
often played in the wooded area behind the building, which Lennon nicknamed in the plural "Strawberry Fields."
Related Events
The Strawberry Field sign was adapted by the UK band StrawStraw (band)
Straw were an English pop band that released one album, Shoplifting, in 1999.-History:Straw was formed in Bristol by Mattie Bennett and Roger Power , formerly of The Blue Aeroplanes. Later adding keyboardist Mark "Duck" Blackwell, the group signed to Arista Records under the moniker "Please" with...
as their logo for 2 years (1998–99).
In 2010, the American studio band Strawberry Walrus released an album titled "Strawberry Field." It contains 14 tracks written about John Lennon and the Strawberry Field home in Liverpool, England.