John Lennon's childhood home opens to public

The home where John Lennon grew up and wrote some of the early Beatles hits was today officially opened to the public by his widow, Yoko Ono.

Ono bought her husband's childhood home, Mendips, last year after its previous owner died. She donated it to the National Trust to be preserved for the public, and it has since been restored to the way it would have looked when Lennon lived there with his Aunt Mimi from the age of five to 23.

Today, she officially opened the semi-detached house on Menlove Avenue, Liverpool, to the public.

"It's so magic to be here," Ono said. "The spirit that changed the world profoundly has been remembered in this familiar place."

Inside, the small first-floor bedroom where Lennon spent hours playing his guitar has been recreated, complete with 45rpm singles by Elvis Presley and a poster of The King on the wall.

But it was in his Aunt Mimi's bedroom that he, along with Paul McCartney, composed The Beatles' first UK number one, Please Please Me.

"John was a uniquely brilliant man," Ono added. "And it gives me great pleasure to see Mendips restored as a permanent memory of a place that formed him and his amazing talents."

Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the National Trust, said it was "extraordinary and exciting" to have Lennon's home finally opened to the public.

"John Lennon is an icon of the 20th century popular culture. Through his music and words he touched the lives of millions... It is exciting for us to be able to present the place in which it all began."

Yoko took the opportunity at the ceremony to attack the current war in Iraq, saying she was sure her husband would have been "totally upset" with the "terrible" situation.

She said: "There's tension in the world with people who believe in solving things through violence and there are other people who are really upset about this."