Happy New Year With regards my previous posting concerning John’s granddad, I also discovered while researching my book ‘The Making of John Lennon’, some interesting facts concerning John’s song ‘Strawberry Fields’. The photographs posted show Gladstone Hall, a Victorian Mansion, converted to a boy’s reformatory. In the close up photograph it can be seen that there is a bricked up gateway to the left of the building where previously, horse drawn carriages would stop allowing its passengers out into the covered walk way. The new road (second photo) built in the early 1930s resulted in a lack of pavement around the front entrance, instead pedestrians had to walk past the front door. This reformatory was 100 yards from John’s home at Mendips, which is half way up on the left, but yet to be built. John’s Cousin Stanley commented, concerning himself and John, that ‘The bad boys’ borstal intrigued us.’ John could see this reformatory from his bedroom window. John must have had to walk past this covered entrance 1,00s of time to school and elsewhere maybe at times witnessing: ‘youngsters mainly from the inner city, comprising of boys as young as a seven years old who had been convicted of theft, ill-discipline or truancy – the types whose parents couldn’t control them, or didn’t want to. It’s not too hard to imagine John gazing out his box bedroom and catching sight of one of these unhappy, unloved and rejected kids staring back from a barred window and unconsciously recognising a fellow traveller, no matter how wide the distance in background between them. In his 15 years at Mendips it is likely that John would catch sight of boys leaving in their course grey uniforms accompanied by a member of staff, youth officer or even a policeman. It wasn’t just the visual influence of Gladstone Hall that mattered – it was the emotional impact as well.’ ‘pp 72.The Making of John Lennon Gladstone Hall I believe holds part of the inspiration towards ‘Strawberry Fields’ and John’s semi cryptic view that ‘No one I thinks is in my tree.’ The genius of the song’s lyrics brought on by a lost childhood and in sympathy with those ‘residents’ of Gladstone Hall Best wishes, Francis Kenny (Liverpool) (makingofjohnlennon)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 19:35:53 +0000
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