Beatles in Liverpool: 20 Forthlin Road

The National Trust also owns the home where Paul McCartney grew up. Paul's family moved into the house in 1955 with his mother and father (James and Mary) and brother Mike. Paul was 13 at the time. Jim was a trumpet player and pianist who led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s and encouraged his sons' musical abilities.

Mary McCartney died on October 31, 1956 after a mastectomy failed to stop the spread of cancer. The early loss of his mom gave him a special connection with John Lennon, who also lost him mom during his youth. The National Trust acquired the home in 1995. Taking a National Trust tour is the only way to see the inside of the house.

The woman in the red dress is Sylvia Hall, and she hosts the tours of the home. The four people posing were a part of our tour. This house is called a "council house" because it was built by the Liverpool government in the 1950s to replace housing destroyed in World War II. Council houses were rented to families such as the McCartneys.
Paul's bedroom was directly above the front door and there are stories of him sneaking in using the front door overhang.Notice the strange condition of the bricks around the door. People have chipped of pieces as momentos.

Looking up the street....

Looking down the street...

George Harrison at Forthlin in October 1962. He had been a part of the Beatles since they were a skiffle group called the Quarrymen when George was 15. He also worked for awhile as an apprentice electrician at Blacklers department store when he was 16.

John Lennon in front of Forthlin in October 1962. Jim McCartney used to let the lads practice here. The house was empty since he worked days and his wife had died.

George, John, and Paul just outside the back door of Forthlin that same day. There are tales of Paul and Mike shimmying up the black drainpipe to get into the home late at night by dropping into the upstairs bathroom. Reportedly, Paul and Mike did that again in the late 1960s just to see if they could still do it.

Practicing in the living room at Forthlin.

Paul in the living room at Forthlin.

This is Paul's bedroom with the furnishings also recreated. The flooring however is the original flooring that Paul walked on.

The living room as it exists today. Council houses were built to austere levels. In fact, the living room of the McCartney's house had several styles of wall paper - they kept buying the end of rolls of different styles until they had the room covered. The furniture in this room is not original, but matches closely the furnishings that where here in the 1950s.

John in the kitchen at Paul's house.

Beatles in Liverpool: Fab Four Taxi Tour

 In the afternoon, we took the Fab Four Taxi Tour that we had signed up to take a month before we arrived. This three hour tour costs 50 pounds for up to five people, and I want to say right now that is an absolute bargain. If you are coming to Liverpool to see Beatles sites, I highly recommend signing up with FFTT. True you could drive around on your own, but you'd have to rent a car and you'd miss out on the fantastic stories that the FFTT guide weaves around the sites. You'll thank me when you're done. :-)

And don't think you've heard all the stories just because you've read my posts...I'm only telling you a small fraction!

 Let's start our tour at the corner of Falkner Street and St. Bride. This, according to Kevin is the roof that needed repair as referenced in the song "Fixing a Hole".

 The is 64 Mount Pleasant, the register office where John Lennon and Cynthia Powell were married on August 23, 1962, against the wishes of Mimi. When John found out Cynthia was pregnant, he said "There's only one thing for it Cyn - we'll have to get married." After the wedding, Brian Epstein paid for a dinner of soup, chicken and trifle at Reece's restaurant in Clayton Square - where John's parents had celebrated their own wedding in 1938. On his wedding night, John played with the Beatles at Riverpark Ballroom in Chester.

 This is the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, another stop we made that day. It is noteworthy because this is where as a lad, Paul McCartney failed his audition to be in the choir.

 The church raised quite an uproar in 2009 when it decided to play "Imagine" on the tower bells, a song that expresses anti-religious sentiment and written by the atheist John Lennon.

 Much to their credit, the church decided to play the song anyway in a symbol of acceptance and tolerance for all religious viewpoints, even atheism which is often despised by Christians. I applaud you, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral!

 This is the Empress Pub, which was shown on the cover of Ringo Starr's album Sentimental Journey. This is the closest pub to his birthplace on Madryn. The pub is quite well maintained and is still in use. I have heard that Ringo's mother used to work here as a barmaid.

  A photo of Ringo walking in the small street beside the pub..

 ...and how it looks today.

Most all of the homes in Liverpool, and in the UK for that matter, are duplexes. Most are much smaller than this one, but we happened to stop for a signal at one point so I snapped this photo of one of the larger examples. Oh, and all the photos with me and my wife? Our guide Kevin insisted we take those, though we resisted at first. He said we'd appreciate them later. And he was right. Though they still can seem a little cheesy, we're glad he made us take them. Let's continue our tour!!

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Beatles in Liverpool: Birthplaces

 This is the Liverpool Maternity Hospital where John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 to Julia and Alfred Lennon. Alfred was a seaman who was away at the time of John's birth. He was often away but sent checks home to Julia. He went AWOL in February 1944, and shortly thereafter Julia moved from Newcastle Road to Mendips to live with her sister.

 Alfred did come home six months after that and offered to support the family, but by then Julia was pregnant by another and declined. Julia handed John's care off to her sister Mimi after visits from Social Services (initiated by Mimi). In 1946, Alfred visited Mimi and unbeknownst to her tried to emigrate to New Zealand with him during the visit.

 Julia and her boyfriend followed him, and Julia got into a heated argument with Alfred. Alfred forced 5 year old John to choose between them. John chose Alfred twice, but as is mother walked away in tears he followed her instead.

 This is 9 Madryn Lane where Ringo Starr was born with the name Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940 to Elsie and Richard Starkey, a confectioner. Starr lived here for 3 years.

 Starr was ill much of his youth. When he was six he fell into a coma from complications with appendicitis. At 13, he was admitted into a snatorium for two years with chronic pleurisy. This impacted his education significantly.

 I turned the camera to the right and took a photo up the street.

 Then to the left and took a photo down the street.

The homes on this street are now abandoned and are scheduled for demolition.

 This is the home directly across the street from Ringo's. Ringo's dad had an affair with the woman in this house. Not smart, as that will come out eventually on this tiny street! When Elsie found out, she kicked him out and his father moved across the street. If you look closely, you can see a tribute to his son's success he later embedded into the home's facade.

 They are in deplorable condition and Kevin said the walls actually bowed out, which I attempted to capture in this photo.

 Kevin then took us to Arnold Grove, where George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943. His parents Harold and Louise had lived there since 1930 when they rented it for ten shillings a week.

 I asked Kevin about the sign saying "Unadopted", and he said it means that Arnold Grove is a private street. To this day, this short street (just a couple hundred feet) is eerily quiet. The day we were there, two little kids from across the street came running out to greet us. It was the highlight of their day to say hi to the tourists.

 This is 12 Arnold Grove where the Harrison family, with their four kids, lived. The rooms were all 10x10 ft and there was a single coal fire. The rent continued to rise and the family moved out when George was six.

When George found out he had cancer a few years ago, he brought his son back to see the house. The current owner graciously allowed him in.

We didn't get to tour Paul's birthplace, Liverpool General Hospital (aka Walton Hospital) in northern Liverpool.

Beatles in Liverpool: Childhood Homes

 A part of the Fab Four Taxi Tour is going to the childhood homes of the Beatles members.  This is 9 Newcastle Road. John Lennon lived here with his mother Julia until he was five, when he moved to Mendips. The current owner of this house is not keen on tourists so we just stopped briefly and took a photo out the window. Note the owner has even removed the house number - as if people can't figure it out from the number next door.

 From there, we went to Mendips, discussed in another post. Tours had finished for the day (not that we could have gotten in since the FFTT is not part of the NTT) and the NTT tour guide was no doubt inside busy making dinner (the guide lives there). But we did get a photo in front of the house. John's bedroom window is obscured by the tree leaves.

 Looking west down Menlove Avenue from Mendips. It looks like the fellow next door is tired of tourists parking in front of his house, thus the metal railing.

 This photo was taken while driving on Menlove Avenue...Mendips is a little further up on the left.

 This of course includes the house Paul McCartney grew up in, 20 Forthlin Road, which we've covered in another post. But we did get our pic there without a crowd about.

The only way to get inside is on the National Trust Tour, but we did get the opportunity to shoot the house with no one around.

 And a photo of Paul's room. That window is right above the front door. The linoleum on the floor is original to Paul's time in the house.

 Looking up Forthlin towards the dead end. Supposedly Paul parked down towards the end late one night in the last few years. When approached, he said he was just reminiscing and wondered if he could see inside. Don't recall whether he was able to.

 Note how those in love with Paul have chipped off the brick around the front door. What nuts.

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