BEATLES' FAN PAYS £155,000 FOR JOHN’s MUM's FORMER HOME

Blomfield Road house bought by same fan who purchased George Harrison’s childhood home last year 

The three-bedroom home had been given a guide price of £100,000 but reached £155,000 in a bidding process lasting just over a minute. Auctioneer Adam Partridge described the property as the “ideal” house for those interested in memorabilia and said it was a “real privilege” to be able to offer it for auction. John Lennon’s mum’s former home sold at auction this afternoon for £155,000 to a Beatles fan who last year bought George Harrison’s childhood house.

The semi-detached property on Blomfield Road in Allerton’s Springwood estate, was where Lennon was taught how to play the banjo and where he was given his first guitar by his mum Julia. Winning bidder Jackie Holmes travelled from north London to attend the auction, held in a packed council chamber at Liverpool Town Hall. 

The 47-year-old, who tried to buy John Lennon’s home in 2013 had bought the home where George Harrison grew up for £156,000 last year. Ms Holmes plans to live in the Blomfield Road property and rent out George Harrison’s former home at Upton Green in Speke as a Beatles-themed let. However she added: “I may rent Blomfield Road out for a short while until I sort out moving up here from London.” Asked how much of a Beatles fan she is, Ms Holmes said: “I love them enough to own two of their houses.” In his later teenage years it was at the Blomfield Road house that Lennon’s first band the Quarrymen practised, with Paul McCartney being a frequent visitor. Speaking to the ECHO after the sale, he said: “It’s always hard to predict with houses like this. “It made probably a £50,000 premium for what it was worth compared to other houses on the street because of its connection. 

You never know though, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had sold for £250,000.” The Beatle’s sisters Julia and Jackie lived in the three-bedroom council house with his mum and her new partner John ‘Bobby’ Dykins. Lennon lived with his aunt Mimi in nearby Menlove Avenue and was a frequent visitor to the house, where he would often stay over. Julia Lennon's House on Blomfield Road in Springwood, Liverpool, is due to be auctioned in March with a guide price of £120,000. 

Next door neighbour Thelma Cain remembers John calling round, once with Yoko Ono Neighbour Thelma Cain on the stairs of the house in Blomfield Road Thelma Cain, 82, used to be the next door neighbour of Lennon’s mum on Blomfield Road and still lives in house. Earlier this year she told the ECHO she remembered hearing Lennon and his band mates practicing through the walls. Ms Cain was at today’s auction and said afterwards: “I was a bit nervous about it because it’s the end of a chapter.” She added she was pleased Ms Holmes had bought the house, which is now a stop off point on the Beatles Tour.