Lennon's childhood home opens
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Lennon: Killed in New York in 1980.
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LONDON, England -- Beatle legend John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool is being opened to the public.
His widow Yoko Ono last year bought Mendips, where the young Beatle lived with his Aunt Mimi from the age of five to 23, after its previous owner died.
She donated the semi-detached house to the National Trust with the wish it be kept as a testimony to her late husband, and the non-governmental body restored it to how it would have looked when Lennon lived there in the 1950s and 1960s.
Ono said at the official opening ceremony on Thursday: "When John's house came up for sale I wanted to preserve it for the people of Liverpool, and John Lennon and Beatles fans all over the world.
"The house resonates with a special atmosphere. It was after all, where some of John's songs that we now hold so dear were born."
The porch of the house is where Lennon formed his first band, The Quarrymen, and later rehearsed with Paul McCartney.
Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the National Trust, said: "John Lennon made a tremendous contribution to 20th century popular culture.
"The National Trust is delighted that, as a result of Yoko's generosity, we have been able to protect Mendips and open it to the public.
"Through his music and words John touched the lives of millions of people and it is exciting for us to be able to present the place in which it all began."
Mendips on Menlove Avenue opens to the public on Saturday.
