A Mad Day Out at Tittenhurst Park

Tittenhurst was the home of John and Yoko from late summer 1969 until August 1971 when they moved to America, and subsequently the home of Ringo Starr. John bought the property for £145,000 and spent more than double that amount on renovations to the property.

The Beatles' very last photo shoot took place here on 22nd August 1969, with one of the many images from that session appearing on the cover of the Hey Jude album (released in 1970 in the US and 1979 in the UK). It was caught by the cameras of American photographer Ethan Russell, veteran Daily Mail man Monte Fresco, and the Beatles' assistant Mal Evans. Some amateurish film footage was also shot on this day. John and George donned wide-brimmed cowboy hats. Yoko Ono Lennon and a pregnant Linda McCartney appeared in some of the photographs too.

Tittenhurst Park Tradesman's Entrance - while Ringo lived here
Photo by Ernie Sutton, 1986

John had a studio built here in 1970, called Ascot Sound Studios. It featured an 8-track recording system and 16-channel mixing console. The first sessions recorded here were for the Plastic Ono Band albums.

John also recorded the classic album Imagine here in 1971, along with Yoko's simultaneous album called Fly.

A little-known fact about Tittenhurst Park is that John and Yoko had separate "his and hers" gold toilets in the en-suite bedroom!

John and Yoko moved to the USA in 1971, but retained the property as a UK base. Sadly John never returned to the UK.

Tittenhurst Park was sold to Ringo Starr in September 1973, who owned the property until the late 1980s.

Tittenhurst Park with wooden fencing - while Ringo lived here
Photo by Ernie Sutton, 1986

Ringo kept the studio and re-named it "Startling Studios". He filmed part of the T.Rex movie, Born to Boogie here.

By the mid 70s, Ringo was spending the majority of his time in the USA.

After John was killed in 1980, Ringo returned to Tittenhurst and lived here with his new wife Barbara Bach. The mid 80s saw Ringo spending more time away from Tittenhurst and the building was slowly deteriorating and becoming unkempt. Indeed the local authority insisted they were given access to the building in 1987 and took Ringo to court to gain access.

Eventually Ringo sold the property to its current owner, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Not aware that Tittenhurst was a listed building, the new owner decided to bulldoze the original building and the estate now resembles a millionaire's complex, with many houses and lodges around the side of the building. There is virtually nothing left of the original buildings that John and Ringo knew there.

Meeting at Sunningdale Station
Photo by Terry Bloxham

Our Mad Day Out commenced at 10.30 with myself (Ernie), Terry Bloxham, Mike Darwood and Joseph & Monserrat Sarda meeting at London Waterloo station. We took the 10.50 train to Sunningdale, arriving at 11.40 to be met by Paul Stearnes and Phil Boylett, who had both made their own way by car. Shortly afterwards Tony Morgan arrived from Bristol and our day out had begun.

After a walk of some 26 minutes through some wonderful country roads, we arrived at the main London Road in Sunninghill. Turning to the right we then saw the massive estate that is Tittenhurst.

When Ringo lived there the boundaries were mostly wooden fencing and gates, now large Iron black and gold gates adorn the front of the building and lodges where security guards spend most of their day are to the two sides to the gate. The guards are certainly not that friendly and even getting a photo proved difficult!

Tittenhurst Park entrance today
Photo by Ernie Sutton

We did manage to get some photos at the site though, and Paul was proving an excellent guide with his local knowledge so we set off to find some refreshment.

On the way Paul took us by the local cemetery and we visited the graves of Diana Dors and Alan Lake.

Diana passed away in 1984 and was a very famous British actress, while Alan Lake sadly took his own life shortly after Diana's death, unable to cope with his loss.

Calling at a lovely country pub, The Nag's Head, first of all for some light refreshment, before we arrived at The Royal Oak where we all enjoyed some lovely cooked food, ranging from sausage and mash, to pasta.

At The Nag's Head for a chat and a meal
L-R: Monserrat Sarda, Ernie Sutton, Paul Stearnes, Tony Morgan, Terry Bloxham, Phil Boylett, Mike Darwood
Photo by Joseph Sarda

We the made our way back to Tittenhurst for a few more photos, before arriving back at Sunningdale station where our day had begun.

All in all a very enjoyable day was had and it was great for some BBFC members to meet up at long last after contact mainly via the Yahoo Group.

A special thank you to Mike Darwood for arranging the event and Paul Stearnes who showed us so much of the area surrounding Tittenhurst.

At the end of our Mad Day Out
Photo by Terry Bloxham

Our next events are still being planned, but visits to Osterley Park, West London, where the front cover to Paul's 1974 Band on the Run album was shot and a trip to Twickenham to see some Help! and Hard Day's Night film locations are hopefully in the pipeline.

We also have the 40th anniversary of the Abbey Road album cover shoot in August, before we head to Liverpool for the annual convention.

Any members interested on joining the mailing list for such events, please contact the treasurer.

--Ernie Sutton

© 2010 British Beatles Fan Club