Ringo’s childhood home: Let It Be rescued says Starr
January 4, 2011 at 6:13 PM Lawrence Hall 4 comments
This is a legacy post from the findaproperty.com blog which is now maintained as an archive within the Zoopla blog. Links have been preserved.
I wonder if housing minister Grant Shapps is scratching his head at the millions of Beatles fans who’ve just learnt his name?
Shapps has come out as the knight in shining armour in the battle to save the Liverpool house where scouse hero and Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was born.
Shapps’ gain has been English Heritage’s lose, however, after the conservation body ruled that the Victorian Terrace at 9 Madryn Street, in which Starr lived for four years after his birth, would not be put under a preservation order despite its association with the Beatles drummer.
Liverpool City Council is planning to bulldoze more than 400 homes, including 9 Madryn Street, early this year as part of a planned housing renewal of the so-called Welsh Streets area of Dingle, which they claim is so run down it cannot be saved.
Fighting the planned demolition is the Save Madryn Street Campaign (SMS), who say Starr’s childhood home is central to the million pound Beatles tourism industry and a key cultural site in Liverpool.
Save Madryn Street Campaign chairman Philip Coppell outside 9 Madryn Street
And they’ve certainly had a win this week when Shapps came out in their support. Now the housing minister has written to Liverpool City Council calling for a temporary reprieve and labelling the house a “culturally important building”.
“That is why, before a single bulldozer rumbles along Madryn Street, I want to ensure that every option has been considered,” Shapps said.
“It is right that the people of Liverpool themselves decide whether they want Ringo Starr’s house to be demolished or to Let It Be.”
Beatles tourism guide and SMS chairman Philip Coppell welcomed Shapps comments, but warned the fight wasn’t yet over.
“We are not home-and-dry yet, but it’s a cause for celebration that the bulldozers will be held-off for the time being so that a fresh look can be taken by all concerned.
“There is no real prospect of building new homes on the Welsh Streets in the current economic climate.
“The money and demand is just not there to make that happen, so it would be absolutely crazy to go ahead and demolish Madryn Street just to grass it over.”
Coppell says there’s the potential for thousands of tourists to visit Ringo’s home every week because of its significance for Beatles fans.
“It is a real asset to the city and much more could be made of it. We envisage a hotel, holiday apartments and a visitors’ centre in Madryn Street.”
Meanwhile the support from dedicated Beatles fans continues to grow, including from the man himself who is quoted on the Save Madryn Street Campaign website calling for the Victorian property to be “done up” rather than knocked down.
A facebook page set up by the campaign is attracting comments from Beatles fans around the world who are agitating for the home to be preserved. One comment from Barry Smith, who recently went on a Beatles bus tour of Liverpool which included Madryn Street said: “It would be madness to demolish this attraction – if it was anywhere else in the world they’d be renovating it and promoting it.”
The childhood homes of John Lennon - Mendips, in Menlove Avenue – and Sir Paul McCartney - in Forthlin Road – are popular tourist attractions run by the National Trust.
George Harrison’s Arnold Grove childhood home remains a private house.
Entry filed under: Architecture & Design, General. Tags: Celebrity, drums, listed, Liverpool, music, New Homes, regeneration, renovation, the Beatles.
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1.
New York Properties for Sale | January 7, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Wow enjoyed reading your post thoroughly! Nice pictures you have attached and I must say the home is really nice, I mean that is what it is meant for. Thanks anyway!
2.
Lorraine | January 15, 2011 at 12:32 PM
I think that Britain’s heritage buildings are of vital importance to the tourist industry and should be preserved wherever possible. Ringo’s house is going to look completely out of context if it is left standing in the middle of a 21st century housing development. Here in the West Midlands we have the Black Country Museum where notable buildings are moved from areas of redevelopment and reconstructed and can be visited and appreciated by future generations. A similar arrangement in Liverpool could perhaps provide a solution to the problem.
3.
Barb Haskell | January 15, 2011 at 5:19 PM
I believe that if the other Beatles homes were saved that Ringo’s should also be!
All Beatles fans have a vested interest in this matter. Also, it might be good for the Liverpool economy, which I have heard is very poor to start with.
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