The ordinary Liverpool semi where John Lennon grew up, kept as it was when his Aunt Mimi ran the house
Open to visitorsa National Trust place — check opening times and admission before you go
Number 251 Menlove Avenue is a 1930s semi-detached house in Woolton, and there is nothing grand about it, which is rather the point. Lennon came to live here in 1945, aged five, taken in by his aunt Mary Smith, known as Mimi, and her husband George when his mother could not cope, and he stayed until the band took off. The National Trust has put the house back to how it looked in the 1950s, down to the wallpaper. The detail people remember is the small glazed porch by the front door: Mimi did not want guitar noise indoors, so John and a young Paul McCartney worked out songs standing in there, making use of the echo. Yoko Ono bought the house in 2002 and gave it to the National Trust, which opened it to visitors the following year. You cannot simply turn up. Access is by pre-booked National Trust minibus only, which also takes in Paul McCartney’s old home at 20 Forthlin Road; tours run from the city centre and from Speke Hall, a Tudor house a few miles south worth a visit in its own right. If you want green space nearby, Sefton Park is a big Victorian park a little to the west.
