We all know of John Lennon’s famous Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band caravan, but where did it come from? And where is it now?
Since 2011, John Lennon’s lavish Rolls Royce has been kept safe in the confines of the Royal British Columbia Museum and many of his well known drawings have long been auctioned, but there was one key piece of Beatles memorabilia that left fans bemused as it remained lost for 40 years.
The Burton design caravan was initially bought by Lennon as a gift for his son Julian’s fourth birthday. He hired the pop art designing trio from Amsterdam who collectively called themselves ‘The Fool’ – consisting of Josje Leeger and Simon and Marijke Koger – to paint his son’s extravagant present with the famous Sgt Pepper motif and the Romany art designs that were so popular amongst travellers at that time.
Lennon also commissioned the trio to paint his famed Rolls Royce with a similar, but more psychedelic pattern as he wanted to be known as “an eccentric millionaire” according to reports at that time.
After the final touches had been added, Lennon, who was living with his first wife Cynthia and their son Julian at the time, had the caravan delivered to the family home in Tittenhurst Park, Ascot on July 24th 1967, while the family were on holiday in Greece. There, it remained in the garden for 7 years – of course, it was taken out for a spin every once in a while, as the family frequently toured Europe in the comfort of their caravan.
Later that year, the hippy Beatle bought the Irish island of Dorinish. Yes, he actually bought an island. After paying £1,900 for the land, and with it being only 15 minutes away from the coast of Ireland, Lennon’s initial plan was to build a house there. And if buying an island didn’t raise enough eyebrows, fans were surprised when he ferried his son’s colourful caravan over to Dorinish too.
Alas, with his busy recording schedule, Lennon didn’t get the chance to visit his island as much as he had wanted to and, by the time 1973 came around, he still wasn’t ready to settle down in Dorinish, so the planning permission for his dream home fell through.
With a long-term absence from Dorinish looking ever more likely, generous Lennon lent the land to Sid ‘King of the Hippies’ Rawle free of charge. Rawle used the land as a retreat for hippies, and together they started a commune, but the group eventually dissipated when they moved to Wales after their tents were destroyed by a fire.
Four years after Lennon was murdered in 1980, Ono sold Dorinish for £30,000 and donated the money to an Irish orphanage. Dorinish is now used as a grazing site for livestock and is sometimes visited by enthusiastic Beatles fans on the anniversary of Lennon’s death.
After the shock sale of Dorinish, caravan enthusiasts and Beatles fans all over the world were left asking what on Earth happened to that caravan? With it nowhere to be seen on the island, it was rumoured that the Sgt Pepper gypsy caravan lay at the bottom of the Irish sea – but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
When fundraising director of the Ascot Lawyers Foundation, Alan Carr, bought former Beatle Ringo Starr’s Longcross residence, he was shocked to discover Lennon’s caravan hidden under polythene sheets in the garden.
It was soon revealed that Starr had acquired the caravan shortly after Lennon’s murder as part of his estate. When he saw the poor condition of his band mate’s pride and joy, Starr called in vintage caravan restorer John Pockett to make some much needed repairs. The caravan was then kept next to Starr’s swimming pool for 40 years, but this was unknown until Carr bought the house.
Upon discovery, Lennon’s gypsy caravan was completely dilapidated and much of the paintwork had been worn off. In fact, only the metal frame, the wheels and a few planks of wood had survived decades of dilapidating dormancy and its pending refurbishment is set to cost around £30,000 – coincidently the same amount of money for which Ono sold Dorinish – a small price to pay for the caravan’s return to its former glory.
Carr, 60, said: “I do not know at the moment quite what I want as I want to sell it to someone close to The Beatles.
“Hopefully it can be sold to somewhere in Liverpool to a cultural memorabilia museum or the cultural division of the band or something. But I will have to balance the interest of the charity very carefully.”
The fate of the gypsy caravan is still to be decided, but for now it lies in the safe hands of Carr, who is looking to have it auctioned or moved to a cultural museum. This has struck controversy amongst Beatles’ fans who think the caravan should be returned to its rightful owner: Julian Lennon.
Carr has since fought back, explaining his reasoning. He said: “I think it’s fine if fans want it to go to Julian but we are determined to raise a specific value so the charity can do as much good as possible.”
All we know is, with Lennon’s tooth being sold for $31,000 (around £20,000), his Rolls Royce being sold for $2.3 million (£1.5m) – making it the most expensive car in history – and the price of standard gypsy caravans retailing at around £10,000, Lennon’s Sgt Pepper vehicle could break caravan and motorhome sale records.
Let us know what you think should be done with this intriguing piece of history once it’s been refurbished to its former glory.
