Tourists visiting the city continue to soak up all things The Beatles whilst visiting Liverpool, but for years few have known the story behind one of their biggest hits.
Today, we know Strawberry Field as an award winning new visitor attraction, located at the iconic site immortalised by John Lennon. But decades ago, life behind the famous red gates looked very different.
Purchased by the Salvation Army in 1934, Strawberry Field and the original Victorian house was opened as a children’s home in 1936 after being sold by the widow of a wealthy merchant. From then on, over nearly 70 years, it gave some of Liverpool’s most vulnerable children a refuge.
The original house was later demolished and replaced with a smaller purpose-built home, which opened in the early 1970s. It closed in 2005 and is now a church and prayer centre.
As part of our How It Used To Be series, we spoke to Kathy Versfeld, Mission Director, about transformation of Strawberry Field over the decades. Kathy told the ECHO: "The Salvation Army bought what was a family estate with the intention of opening it up as a home for not orphans, but the Salvation Army discovered there was a need in the Liverpool area for a home for young children who still had parents but for whatever reason couldn't live at home and they couldn't care for them.
"In 1936, they renovated the home they bought so it was suitable to house 40 young girls. The Salvation Army officers were kind of like house parents to small groups of the girls.
"In due course they extended to include young boys as well and that continued until 2005. Since we opened in 2019, we've actually had people come in and say to us I used to work here or oh I used to live here.
"There was a real effort to make life for the children as normal as it could possibly be. It was a traumatic time for some people, for some people it was really hard - but we hear so often the place was filled with love and it was nurturing."
It was on the same grounds that a young John Lennon, before Beatles fame, came to play, later inspiring one of the band's biggest hits. Immortalised in the famous song Strawberry Fields Forever, the site became a jewel in Liverpool’s Beatles’ crown alongside the likes of The Cavern Club and Penny Lane.
Kathy said: "John moved to the neighbourhood, he didn't stay in Strawberry Field, but his aunt and uncle lived basically next door on the back of the Strawberry Field property. The story is John used to climb over the wall and play in the gardens and he also used to love listening to the Salvation Army band who used to play on the grass.
"When he became famous, in 1967 he wrote the song Strawberry Fields Forever which became a hit and from that point on fans of John and The Beatles started to make their way to Strawberry Field and stand at the red gates on the outside looking in."
Kathy said that same year in 1967, a local Salvation Army paper reported how social workers arrived the house of a mother who was in distress and had her three young daughters living there. Trying to figure out the next steps, Kathy said the social worker suggested Strawberry Field as it was a place where "where miracles are happening in the lives of children who go there."
Kathy said: "I just love how when Strawberry Field was made world famous through John and The Beatles, at the same time locally people recognised it was a special place of refuge for young people."
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In 2005, given changing trends in the way children were cared for from the large centres to more smaller family groups, the Salvation Army recognised that it was time to close that chapter of Strawberry Field in terms of the way it served the needs of the local community. Over the next decade, research was carried out looking into local needs and Kathy said their new vision was the learning hub training centre for young adults who had learning disabilities and challenges.
A place for young people to come and learn practical skills, Kathy said in a sense they are still doing the work they were back in 1936, caring and nurturing those involved but in a new modern way. And today, visitors can now come to see the original gates, the gardens, new bandstand, their Ukrainian peace monument, café, shop and more.
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Kathy said: "The gates of Strawberry Field were typically closed to the general public because it was children's home, people couldn't just wander in. It's changed what we do but still at the heart of it is our desire to care for the unique needs of this generation and empower them.
"After John died in 1980, it became even more of a destination where people standing at the gates felt able to connect to John Lennon. Now they can wander in the grounds where he played and see the trees he would have seen. It’s a very special place."
Today, June 25, is Global Beatles Day - an annual celebration honouring the ideals of the Beatles. But for Kathy, the team is also proud of their trainees whop have graduated and gone on to realise their dreams going into employment.
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Kathy said: "When we did open after the lockdowns, we didn't see the international travel trade because they couldn't come, but the locals came and had their lunches and breakfasts in the café and it kept things ticking over. We've just felt the love since we reopened with the new centre.
"We’re so grateful for the ongoing support. As a city we are amazing, I'm an adopted daughter of the city. Is there anything we can't do? - I'd say no. My vision is gates open forever, celebrating the legacy of John and the Salvation Army and doing good.
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