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Lennon's home is a place for "beetles"

by Andrew Johnson. Published Tue 24 Jun 2008 14:03
Yoke at Mendips
Yoke at Mendips

Music legend John Lennon's childhood home is the haunt of real-life "beetles" according to examinations being carried out by experts.

The National Trust, which own 'Mendips' in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton has commissioned the research with the aim of protecting the habitat of wildlife at the property.

The semi-detached house, where murdered Beatle John spent his formative years was donated to the National Trust after being bought by his widow Yoko Ono in March 2002.

‘Mendips,’ where John lived with his devoted Aunt Mimi, is the most middle-class of the Beatles’ homes and has been restored to its original 1960s splendour.

Unlike its famous former resident, the house is a fairly conventional affair. It is L-shaped, about 100ft long and dominated by a lawn.

Like many other suburban homes, it has borders with shrubs, roses, rhododendron and laurels. There are some trees at the back of the garden and also a fruit tree.

The fab four species found were the predatory Ground Beetle, the Wasp Beetle, the Garden Chafer and many ladybirds - which are also a type of beetle.

National Trust ecologist Peter Brash discovered a host of beetle species and has introduced methods to protect their living conditions.

He said: "Gardens are really important habitats for beetles and can be home to a whole host of different species.

"It is a rare find to discover different types of beetles.

"They like to lurk behind sheds and in the borders and are particularly at home in a certain type of moss, called rhytidiadelphuf squarrosus.

"The back garden at Mendips has been left undisturbed for years, so we're really excited to find a few species of beetle."

The home is close to the famous Strawberry Field orphanage, where a teenage Lennon used to play in the garden with other youngsters against his strict Aunt Mimi's wishes.

There is also a large cemetery which backs on to woodland - which the researchers believe will also be teeming with insects.

Lennon lived at the house with Aunt Mimi and his Uncle George from the age of five to 23. By then Beatlemania had begun and he moved to London.

It is under this roof that his aunt told him: "The guitar's all very well as a hobby John, but you'll never make a living out of it."

During the survey, ecologists will also set humane traps for moths and butterflies and make a record of the birds seen on the site.

Results from the survey will be published in the autumn and will help inform any future planting in the garden to create refuges for wildlife and attract them into the garden.



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