A quaint cottage beside the banks of the River Dee in Chester had a hidden Beatles connection you may not know about.
The cottage has the interesting name 'Nowhere' and is said to have been a tavern for weary fisherman to gather and enjoy a drink. As reported by CheshireLive, the cottage has left many people wondering why it has such a quirky name, and now we know why.
'Nowhere' sits on the banks of the River Dee in Handbridge, near to the Grosvenor Bridge. There was one famous visitor in particular who visited the property, and that was none other than John Lennon.
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Lennon is said to have visited the property in the Handbridge area of the city as a child, with the visit making enough of an impression to inspire him to go on to write the Beatles classic, Nowhere Man. The cottage is on a quiet road tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city and a cursory glance at it would never give any obvious clues to its rock royalty heritage.
Its name is rumoured to have come in handy for anyone grilled as to their whereabouts when it was a tavern back in the day, with the obvious answer being "nowhere". Chester has a well-known Beatles connection, with the Fab Four having played in the city on a number of occasions, but the connection with one of Chester's quirkier historic properties is perhaps less well known.
Tour guides and historians in Chester talk animatedly of the Beatles connection to Chester and to Nowhere, with John Lennon having a number of links to the city. Lennon's grandmother was born in Chester and he also played in Chester on a number of occasions.
The Fab Four played at the Riverpark Ballroom in the city around 60 years ago on August 30, 1962. The performance was part of a four-week stint across consecutive Thursdays that took place in Chester.
The run of Chester gigs included one on the night of John's wedding to first wife Cynthia on August 23, 1962. Instead of spending the night with her, he headed over to Chester to play the second Thursday show of the booking with the rest of the band.
Chester Green Badge tour guide David Atkinson told Cheshire Live about Lennon's special connection to Chester. He explained that Lennon's grandmother Annie Jane Millward was born at the Bear and Billet pub on Lower Bridge Street.
Annie Jane Millward was born at the historic pub, formerly known as the Bridgegate Tavern, in 1873. At the time it was known as the Earl of Shrewsbury's town house and Annie was said to have lived there until she was in her 20s.
Annie went on to marry George Ernest Stanley and had several children, including John Lennon's mum Julia Stanley. Back in 2004, John's sister Julia Baird told The Chronicle: "Our great grandfather and great-grandmother lived there. Our great-grandfather was the clerk to the earl, because of that he had the freedom to the city of Chester.
"During childhood, we spent a lot of time in Chester, coming over on the train from Liverpool because Chester was the best place to do some clothes shopping. Chester has always been in the family."
David Atkinson, who runs a series of tours around Chester and North Wales, including the Dark Chester tour, explained more about the John Lennon connection to this mysterious property in a quiet corner of the city.
He said: "The story goes that John and his half-sister Julia visited as small kids to see the place where their grandma was born. It's alleged that the walk afterwards took John and his family through Edgar's Field to the lane leading to this house, Nowhere.
"This stuck in young John's mind and later inspired the Nowhere Man lyric from the album Rubber Soul. It means that Chester's history spans 2,000 years from The Romans to The Beatles."
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