Kenwood, St. George's Hill

Infobox Modern building


caption=South view of Kenwood
name=Kenwood
location_town=Weybridge
location_country=England
architect=Walter George Tarrant
client=
engineer=
construction_start_date=
completion_date=1913
date_demolished=
cost=
structural_system=
style=Tudor revival|

Kenwood is a house on the St. George's Hill estate, Weybridge, England. It was built in 1913, by local developer Walter George Tarrant, and was originally called The Brown House. The estate was built around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed in 1912 by Harry Colt. Kenwood was re-named by manufacturer Ken Wood when he owned the property.

John Lennon, of The Beatles, bought Kenwood (for £20,000) on July 15 1964, on the advice of The Beatles' accountants, Dr. Walter Strach, and James Isherwood. Lennon was resident from the summer of 1964, until the late spring of 1968. Film of the exterior of the house and the gate was included in an ITN programme called "Reporting 66", in 1966. Parts of a home movie showing Lennon at Kenwood (1967) were featured in the film "".

Kenwood is close to Sunny Heights, the former home of Ringo Starr, and a short drive from Kinfauns, George Harrison's former home in Esher. Lennon kept the Kenwood house sign after he left, but gave it to gardener Andy Eccles, who worked at Tittenhurst Park, in 1972. The sign was sold for £10,052 ($20,400) in 2003. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million ($12.3 million), and was sold in January 2007.

History

Kenwood was built in 1913, by local developer Walter George Tarrant, and was originally called The Brown House.cite web |first= |last= |url=http://realestate.propeller.com/story/2006/10/10/john-lennons-home-for-sale |title=John Lennon's Home for Sale |publisher=Propeller |accessdate=2008-03-17] [Personal email from Bill Martin, former owner of Kenwood.] Located on Wood Lane, off Cavendish Road, and built in a mock-Tudor style, it is situated on one and a half acres of land. Tarrant was born on 8 April 1875, at Brockhurst, near Gosport, Hampshire, and became a carpenter; starting a business in Byfleet in 1895. He built houses in Pyrford, West Byfleet, and in Woking, Surrey, as they were a short train journey from London.

Tarrant later created the St George's Hill estate, of which Kenwood is a part, in 1911, after he purchased 964 acres (3.9 km²) on St. George’s Hill from W.F. Egerton.cite web |first=Mavis |last= Swenarton |url=http://www.elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/?Document=300.030.010x1 |title=WG Tarrant: Master Builder and Developer |publisher=Walton and Weybridge Local History Society |accessdate=2008-03-17] The estate was built around the Weybridge Golf Club, which was designed by Harry Colt, in 1912.cite web |first=Stewart |last=Smith |url= http://www.stgeorgeshillgolfclub.co.uk/ |title=St George’s Hill Golf Club |publisher=St George’s Hill Golf Club |date=2004|accessdate=2008-03-17] Tarrant's purpose was to provide "large country retreats for the wealthy gentlemen of London". Many of Tarrant’s bigger houses were built with hand-made bricks and tiles, with tall chimneys and dormer windows in the roof, as was Kenwood. The doors, panelling, ceilings, staircases and floors were expensive, with stonework around the fireplaces and the front door, and some had marble floors in the hallways. A stone tablet can still be seen on some of Tarrant's houses with his initials "WGT", and the date of completion.cite web |first=Mavis |last=Swenarton |url=http://www.elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/?Document=300.030.010x3 |title=WG Tarrant: Master Builder and Developer (page 3) |publisher=Walton and Weybridge Local History Society |accessdate=2008-03-17] Tarrant later employed about 5,000 workmen in the 1920s, with an office staff of seventy. The St. George's Hill estate now has approx. 420 houses. Kenwood was later re-named by manufacturer Ken Wood when he owned the property. [Personal email from Bill Martin, as above.]

Renovation

Lennon bought the house on July 15 1964, on the advice of The Beatles' accountants, Dr. Walter Strach, and James Isherwood. Coleman (2000) p721] cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.itsonlyrocknroll.com/catalog/auction_item.php?prodpa=&unid=36527 |title=John Lennon’s Kenwood Estate Sign |publisher=It's Only Rock n Roll |date=2003|accessdate=2008-03-17] Cliff Richard and Tom Jones had earlier bought homes on the St. George's Hill estate. Cynthia Lennon "John" p199] Though reportedly not liking Kenwood (describing it as a "stopover" on the way to something better) Lennon spent twice the original £20,000 ($40,588) (£257,200 today) purchase price on renovations, reducing its 22 rooms to 17, landscaping the grounds and building an outdoor swimming pool. Hunter Davies - "The Beatles" (2002) p323] Much of the initial decoration was left to interior designer Kenneth Partridge, whom Lennon employed after being impressed by his design work at a lavish party held by Beatles' manager Brian Epstein to celebrate the Beatles' departure for their first tour of the USA. [Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p129] However, when Partridge had completed his work, Lennon and then-wife Cynthia immediately made a number of further alterations which better reflected their taste. Cynthia Lennon "John" p201] Cynthia's mother was given an allowance to fill the shelves of the house with antiques and antiquarian books, and a heavy sliding wooden door was installed at the gate entrance to keep out fans. Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p228]

Kenwood has 3 floors: on the ground floor during the Lennon period the front door opened onto an entrance hall, where Lennon placed a suit of armour and a gorilla suit. Across the hall was a large living room, which had black carpets, two 18-foot sofas and a marble fireplace. [ Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p2] To the left of the hall was a toilet, and through the living room was a dining room, where purple, velvet wallpaper was put up. Coleman (2000) p343] Adjacent to the dining room, at the back of the house, was a small sunroom. This was decorated with various pictures, caricatures and stickers, such as the one from the "Safe as Milk" debut album (1967) by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, and one advertising the (née Stanley) also known as Mater. Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p247] Behind the sunroom was the split-level kitchen where state-of-the-art appliances were installed, so complex that a tutor had to come and give the Lennons lessons in their use. [ Peter Brown and Steven Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p145]

Completing the ground floor was a smaller lounge, and a games room. The main staircase to the upper floors was situated in the entrance hall. The house had 6 bedrooms, with 5 on the first floor. The giant master bedroom featured a huge double bed, white carpets and an en-suite bathroom complete with sunken bathtub, shower, Jacuzzi and 'his and hers' wash basins. Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p235] Lennon wanted the guest bedrooms to contain works of art by students of the Liverpool Art College. [Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p130] In particular, two drawings by former Beatles' bassist Stuart Sutcliffe were hung, for what Lennon described as "sentimental reasons". Miles (1997) p170] Coleman (2000) p344] The first floor also had a study. On the top floor was the attic, which Lennon claimed as his own, painting the ceiling one bright colour, then changing to another when the paint ran out, and installing most of his musical equipment there. Outside the house, to the right as you looked down from the sunroom, lay the swimming pool. In 1967, Lennon suggested a mirrored bottom for the pool; being advised that this would be not only impractical and expensive, but potentially dangerous to swimmers, he settled for a large eye mosaic set in the side. [Coleman (2000) p333.] The mosaic was based on the Eye of Knowledge, which was part of the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Miles 1997 p397]

taff

The Lennons initially had problems recruiting reliable staff, but eventually employed a cook/housekeeper (Dorothy Jarlett, or Dot) a chauffeur (Les Anthony) and a groundskeeper. Giuliano “The Lost Lennon Interviews” (1997) p228] Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p202] Lennon was surprised and impressed to discover that the groundskeeper had "dropped out" of university to pursue his love of horticulture. Shotton and Schaffner "John Lennon In My Life" (1983) p103] Others employed at Kenwood included Lennon's schoolfriend, Pete Shotton, who worked as Lennon's personal assistant in the early part of 1968, and Pauline Jones, who was the girlfriend (later wife) of Lennon's father Freddie Lennon. Jones worked as an au pair and secretary, answering the large volume of fan mail received at Kenwood, during late 1967. Shotton and Schaffner "John Lennon In My Life" (1983) p163] [ Pauline Lennon "Daddy Come Home" (1990) p147] cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.lennon.net/familytree/sub/pauline_lennon.shtml |title=Pauline Lennon |publisher=Liverpool Lennons |date=2004|accessdate=2008-04-02]

ongwriting

Lennon did much of his songwriting in the attic, where he had several Studer tape recorders. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p224] Little was done with them until fellow Beatle Paul McCartney came over and helped re-install them in sequence, so overdubs could be made. [ Christopher Sandford - McCartney (2006) p153] Lennon could thus record his own doubletracked song demos. (These demos, and some other, more avant garde sound recordings also made in the attic, have appeared on various bootlegs). The attic also contained a mellotron, an electric organ, a piano, a Vox AC30 and several guitars, all of which were used when songwriting.cite web |first=Nature |last=Child of |url=http://childofnaturebeatles.blogspot.com/2006/12/johns-music-room-kenwood-june-29-1967.html |title=Watching rainbows: child of nature's Beatles, music and photos |publisher=Google |date=2006-12-29|accessdate=2008-03-17] Lennon also wrote on an upright piano in the sunroom. [ Shotton and Schaffner "John Lennon In My Life" (1983) p121]

Recreation

Aside from the mini-studio, the attic contained 2 other rooms - a small guest bedroom and a games room used for recreation. Lennon filled it with three full sets of the model car racing game, Scalextric. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p223] When not in the attic, Lennon could usually be found in the sunroom watching television or reading newspapers. He would also walk in the garden with his black cat on his shoulder (he had ten cats in total). Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p204] Angela Reardon 2006-Lived Next Door to Kenwood 1960-2000] His drug intake, particularly LSD and hashish, but also amphetamine, was high for much of the time he lived at Kenwood. [ Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p196] Drugs were taken there in the company of people such as Marianne Faithfull's ex-husband John Dunbar and art dealer Robert Fraser. [ Vyner "Groovy Bob:The Life And Times Of Robert Fraser" (1999) p175] At one stage, under the influence of transcendental meditation, Lennon renounced both meat-eating and drugs, and buried a huge quantity of LSD, which had been obtained by representatives of The Beatles at the Monterey Pop Festival from infamous LSD producer Augustus Stanley Owsley III, in the grounds. Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p220] cite web |first= |last= |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/pob41.html |title=John Lennon’s Homes |publisher=NtlWorld |accessdate=2008-03-17] He later tried to find the buried LSD, but could not remember exactly where it was. Although no lavish planned parties were ever held, which remained a source of disappointment to Cynthia, various guests (including Monkee Michael Nesmith and his wife Phyllis, Bob Dylan and Peter Cook) stayed or dined at the house, together with old friends like Ivan Vaughan and Shotton from Liverpool, or strangers Lennon had met at a party or nightclub, such as the Ad Lib. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) pp218-220] Cynthia and Lennon were beginning to lead separate lives by 1967, and it was not uncommon for Cynthia to wake up in the morning to find the house filled with people in various states of intoxication that Lennon had met in clubs the night before. [ Cynthia Lennon "A Twist Of Lennon" (1978) p142] Large parts of the house were unused by the Lennons, and visitors remarked that there was frequently a strange atmosphere. Pauline Lennon - "Daddy Come Home" (1990). p149.]

Lennon, Cynthia, and Ono

In 1968, Cynthia went on vacation to Greece, leaving Lennon at Kenwood with Shotton. After several days of taking LSD and smoking marijuana, Lennon convened a meeting at the Beatles' business HQ to inform the others that he felt he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. [Shotton and Schaffner "John Lennon In My Life" (1983) pp167-168] Later that day he phoned Ono, whose own husband Tony (Anthony Cox) was in Paris on business, and invited her to Kenwood. Shotton left the two alone, whereupon Lennon invited Ono (who had also taken LSD) up to the attic to hear his largely experimental non-Beatles recordings. For the rest of the night, the two collaborated on what became the "" album, and then "made love at dawn", according to Lennon. [Shotton and Schaffner "John Lennon In My Life" (1983) p168] Cynthia returned early from her vacation, and discovered Lennon and Ono sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring intently into each other's eyes (Ono was wearing one of Cynthia's bathrobes). In a state of shock, Cynthia then left to stay with friends for a few days, although Lennon and Cynthia were reconciled for a time upon her return to Kenwood. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p290] It was during Cynthia's next holiday in Italy that Lennon and Ono finally entered into a permanent relationship, and Lennon asked for a divorce. Cynthia, together with Julian and her mother, moved back into Kenwood for the summer, where Paul McCartney visited her to offer his support. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p297] [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p302] On the journey to Kenwood he composed the song, "Hey Jude", which eventually became The Beatles' biggest selling single. [Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p266] Lennon and Ono, meanwhile, were without a permanent address for a time. They stayed with McCartney at his house in Cavendish Avenue (where it is alleged that a further breach occurred in the Lennon/McCartney relationship when Lennon discovered a derogatory note written by McCartney) and with Peter Brown and then Neil Aspinall, before moving into an apartment leased by Starr at Montagu Square in London. [Geoffrey Giuliano "Revolver: The Secret History Of The Beatles" (2005)] [Brown and Gaines "The Love You Make" (1984) p267] They were evicted from this flat by the owner following a raid by the drug squad on 18 October 1968, and subsequent November trial, and so moved back into Kenwood for a short time, which had been vacated by Cynthia. [ Albert Goldman - "The Lives Of John Lennon" (1989) p381] In the new year the Ono/Lennons moved into the Dorchester Hotel in London, leaving Kenwood for the last time. [Cynthia Lennon "John" (2005) p354]

Film/Interview/Photos

Film of the exterior of the house and the gate was included in Reporting 66; a programme produced by ITN, in 1966. Miles "The Beatles: A Diary" (1998) p227] Parts of a home movie showing Lennon at Kenwood, in 1967, were featured in the film "".cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1010415-john_lennon_imagine/?critic=columns |title=John Lennon - Imagine (1988) |publisher=Apple Corps |accessdate=2008-03-17] This had Lennon in the company of Starr, his son Julian Lennon and the gardener at Kenwood. It also shows Lennon standing in the sunroom.cite web |first=Nature |last=Child of |url=http://childofnaturebeatles.blogspot.com/search?q=kenwood |title=Watching rainbows: child of nature's Beatles, music and photos (part 3) |publisher=Google |date=2008-02-09|accessdate=2008-03-17] Lennon and Yoko Ono were filmed singing the "Everybody Had A Hard Year" section of the Beatles' song "I've Got A Feeling", at the side of the house, and made two art films in the grounds in 1968: "Number 5 a.k.a. Smile", and "Two Virgins". [ J Hoberman - The Films Of John And Yoko (The Ballad Of John And Yoko - Rolling Stone 1982). p264] Lennon was interviewed several times on audio tape at Kenwood, by people like Ray Coleman, and Kenny Everett. [Coleman (2000) p365] [ Lewisohn (1996) p279] Several photo sessions also took place at Kenwood, the most famous of which provided the cover photo for the Beatles' 1965 album "Rubber Soul". [ Dorling Kindersley Ltd (2004) p194]

Kenwood after the Lennons

As Lennon and Cynthia were getting divorced, it became clear that Lennon didn't wish to keep Kenwood, and Cynthia couldn't afford to maintain it on her own, so it was sold in December 1968 to Bill Martin, writer of songs such as "Puppet on a String" & "Congratulations".cite web |first=Steven |last=Bowron |url=http://www.sunnygovan.com/GF/M-Q/BillMartin.html |title=Bill Martin |publisher=Sunday Post |date=2004-12-26|accessdate=2008-03-17] Kenwood has subsequently changed hands several times, and been subject to some major renovation work, such that the interior now little resembles the house that Lennon lived in. The exterior and grounds are still recognisable, although the sunroom has been completely rebuilt. After being displayed at the Liverpool Garden Festival in 1985, the psychedelic eye mosaic was unclaimed, and left in a field. It was rediscovered, and restored by Tom Lorimer, a laboratory technician at the Liverpool John Moores University.cite web |first= |last= |url=http://beatlesstory.com/news.asp?key=20&nkey=319&archive= |title=Lennon’s Magic Eye Arrives at Beatles Story! |publisher=The Beatles’ Story |accessdate=2008-04-02] The mosaic was then displayed at the Museum of Liverpool Life.cite web |first=Brown, Chris |last=Batchelor, Will and |url=http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0800beatles/0050news/page.cfm?objectid=12139471&method=full&siteid=50061#story_continue |title=History of musical legends on display |publisher=Liverpool Echo |date=2002-08-23|accessdate=2008-03-17] Items from Lennon's Kenwood period have also appeared for auction, including towels and cutlery, a caviar jar, and the table that sat in the sunroom.cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.itsonlyrocknroll.com/catalog/auction_item.php?prodpa=&unid=36236 |title=John Lennon’s Caviar Jar |publisher=It’s Only Rock n Roll |accessdate=2008-03-17] Lennon kept the Kenwood house sign after he left, but gave it to Andy Eccles, who was a gardener at Tittenhurst Park, in 1972. It was sold for $20400.00, in 2003. In October 2006, Kenwood went back on the market, with an asking price of £5.95 million ($12.3 million), and was sold in January 2007 for £5.8 million.cite web |first=Diedre |last=Woollard |url=http://www.luxist.com/2006/10/10/john-lennons-house-for-sale/ |title=John Lennon's House For Sale |publisher=Luxist |date=accessdate=2008-03-17] It has been claimed that every owner after the Lennons has sold it due to divorce.

Notes

References

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*Coleman, Ray| title=Lennon - The Definitive Biography | publisher=Pan | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-330-48330-7
*
*Giuliano, Geoffrey] | title=Revolver: The Secret History of the Beatles | publisher=John Blake | year=2005 | id=ISBN 978-1844541607
*Giuliano, Geoffrey] | title=The Lost Lennon Interviews | publisher= year=1997 | id=ISBN 978-0711964709
*
*Kindersley, Dorling | title=10 Years That Shook the World| publisher=Dorling Kindersley Ltd | year=2004 | id=ISBN 978-0756606701
*Lennon, Cynthia] | title=A Twist Of Lennon | publisher=Star | year=1978 | id=ISBN 0-352-30196-1
*Lennon, Cynthia] | title=John| publisher= year=2006 | id=ISBN 0-340-89828-3
*
*
*Miles, Barry | title=Many Years From Now | publisher=Vintage- year=1997 | id=ISBN 0-7493-8658-4
*Miles, Barry | title=The Beatles: A Diary| publisher=Omnibus Press| year=1998 | id=ISBN 978-0711963153
*
*
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External links