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Tittenhurst Park
51°24′23″N 0°38′04″W / 51.40645°N 0.63452°W Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house in Sunningdale, Berkshire. It was famously the home of musicians John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 until 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and his family from 1973 until 1988. Starr sold the property to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, in 1989.
The present house dates back to 1737, although its fronts are largely c. 1830.
In 1869, the property was owned by Thomas Holloway, philanthropist and founder of two large institutions which he built nearby: Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey, and Royal Holloway College, now known as Royal Holloway, University of London in Englefield Green. About 1898, the house was purchased by Thomas Hermann Lowinsky, the former general manager of the Hyderabad (Deccan) Co coal mines in India. He was an active member of the Royal Horticultural Society and won their gold medal for his rhododendrons, an outstanding collection of which he built up at Tittenhurst, including one he named 'Mrs Tom Lowinsky'. Amongst Lowinsky's children who grew up at the park was his daughter, Xenia Noelle Field, the prison reformer and horticulturist, and surrealist artist Thomas Esmond Lowinsky.
Lennon purchased the property after the sale of Kenwood in Weybridge, Surrey, his earlier home with first wife Cynthia Lennon, because of its resemblance to Calderstones House in Liverpool, where he had spent time as a child. Lennon bought the house for £150,000 from the estate of Ron Blindell who had purchased it from Peter Cadbury in 1964. The estate included gardens, a Tudor cottage and servants' cottages. He and Ono spent twice the purchase price on renovations, transforming the interior of the house to their liking, commissioning a set of hand-woven Asian rugs, and installing a man-made lake without planning permission which they could see from their bedroom window.
In response to a request from George Harrison, Lennon allowed members of the Radha Krishna Temple to stay on the estate before they could move into their London temple. The devotees, who also recorded with Harrison for Apple Records, lived in the former servants' quarters on the property and assisted with renovations. When their leader, Swami Prabhupada, first visited England in September 1969, he also stayed at Tittenhurst Park at Lennon's invitation. A recording of Prabhupada's philosophical discussion with Lennon, Ono and Harrison, held in the recital hall in the grounds of Tittenhurst Park, was later made available as Lennon '69: Search for Liberation, the first publication in the Vedic Contemporary Library Series. Following this meeting, the recital hall became known as "the Tittenhurst Temple".
The last Beatles photo session took place at Tittenhurst Park on 22 August 1969, and the photos were used for the front and back covers of their Hey Jude album (a collection of single sides) early in 1970. Also during that year, and in the wake of the Beatles' break-up, Lennon engaged Eddie Veale to build his own recording studio, dubbed Ascot Sound Studios, in the estate grounds, where he and Ono recorded much of their 1971 solo albums. The matching cover photos of the couple's twin Plastic Ono Band albums were taken at Tittenhurst by the pair, using an Instamatic camera, and portions of the Imagine film-length video, which included selections from the Fly album, were also filmed in the grounds. The interior was also used as the backdrop for the film that was used to promote the single "Imagine", with Ono seen opening the window shutters as Lennon plays a white grand piano.[citation needed]
During 1970 and 1971, Lennon and Ono began to visit the United States, first for primal therapy at Arthur Janov's Primal Institute in California, then for child custody hearings over Ono's daughter Kyoko Chan Cox, in Houston and New York City. Ono had spent her late teens and twenties living in New York (including Scarsdale and Greenwich Village), and preferred there to England. They rented a Bank Street apartment late in 1970 and, on 31 August 1971, the Lennons moved to New York City permanently. John would never return to England.[citation needed]
Tittenhurst was Grade II listed for its architectural merit in March 1972.
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Tittenhurst Park
51°24′23″N 0°38′04″W / 51.40645°N 0.63452°W Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house in Sunningdale, Berkshire. It was famously the home of musicians John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 until 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and his family from 1973 until 1988. Starr sold the property to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, in 1989.
The present house dates back to 1737, although its fronts are largely c. 1830.
In 1869, the property was owned by Thomas Holloway, philanthropist and founder of two large institutions which he built nearby: Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey, and Royal Holloway College, now known as Royal Holloway, University of London in Englefield Green. About 1898, the house was purchased by Thomas Hermann Lowinsky, the former general manager of the Hyderabad (Deccan) Co coal mines in India. He was an active member of the Royal Horticultural Society and won their gold medal for his rhododendrons, an outstanding collection of which he built up at Tittenhurst, including one he named 'Mrs Tom Lowinsky'. Amongst Lowinsky's children who grew up at the park was his daughter, Xenia Noelle Field, the prison reformer and horticulturist, and surrealist artist Thomas Esmond Lowinsky.
Lennon purchased the property after the sale of Kenwood in Weybridge, Surrey, his earlier home with first wife Cynthia Lennon, because of its resemblance to Calderstones House in Liverpool, where he had spent time as a child. Lennon bought the house for £150,000 from the estate of Ron Blindell who had purchased it from Peter Cadbury in 1964. The estate included gardens, a Tudor cottage and servants' cottages. He and Ono spent twice the purchase price on renovations, transforming the interior of the house to their liking, commissioning a set of hand-woven Asian rugs, and installing a man-made lake without planning permission which they could see from their bedroom window.
In response to a request from George Harrison, Lennon allowed members of the Radha Krishna Temple to stay on the estate before they could move into their London temple. The devotees, who also recorded with Harrison for Apple Records, lived in the former servants' quarters on the property and assisted with renovations. When their leader, Swami Prabhupada, first visited England in September 1969, he also stayed at Tittenhurst Park at Lennon's invitation. A recording of Prabhupada's philosophical discussion with Lennon, Ono and Harrison, held in the recital hall in the grounds of Tittenhurst Park, was later made available as Lennon '69: Search for Liberation, the first publication in the Vedic Contemporary Library Series. Following this meeting, the recital hall became known as "the Tittenhurst Temple".
The last Beatles photo session took place at Tittenhurst Park on 22 August 1969, and the photos were used for the front and back covers of their Hey Jude album (a collection of single sides) early in 1970. Also during that year, and in the wake of the Beatles' break-up, Lennon engaged Eddie Veale to build his own recording studio, dubbed Ascot Sound Studios, in the estate grounds, where he and Ono recorded much of their 1971 solo albums. The matching cover photos of the couple's twin Plastic Ono Band albums were taken at Tittenhurst by the pair, using an Instamatic camera, and portions of the Imagine film-length video, which included selections from the Fly album, were also filmed in the grounds. The interior was also used as the backdrop for the film that was used to promote the single "Imagine", with Ono seen opening the window shutters as Lennon plays a white grand piano.[citation needed]
During 1970 and 1971, Lennon and Ono began to visit the United States, first for primal therapy at Arthur Janov's Primal Institute in California, then for child custody hearings over Ono's daughter Kyoko Chan Cox, in Houston and New York City. Ono had spent her late teens and twenties living in New York (including Scarsdale and Greenwich Village), and preferred there to England. They rented a Bank Street apartment late in 1970 and, on 31 August 1971, the Lennons moved to New York City permanently. John would never return to England.[citation needed]
Tittenhurst was Grade II listed for its architectural merit in March 1972.
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