John Lennon’s childhood home has been sold at auction for £480,000 to an anonymous US buyer.
The red brick house went up for sale at The Beatles legend’s former stomping ground – The Cavern Club on Mathew Street – and sold for almost double that of the highest guide price.
The three-bedroom terraced property on Newcastle Road, just around the corner from the famous Penny Lane, was where Lennon grew up with his mother, grandparents and merchant sailor father until moving at the age of five.
The hammer finally went down as the price reached just shy of the half-a-million mark, after a long drawn-out bidding war between two determined potential buyers, bringing rapturous applause from an enthralled audience.
Stephen Giddins, Regional Sales Director of Merseyside-based selling agent Entwistle Green, said: “We’re surprised and over the moon that we got that price.
“I’m more happy for the client, if I’m honest, because we were keen to make sure the property was out there and got the right publicity and in fairness, I think we’ve surprised everyone with the price we’ve achieved today.”
It seemed for some time that neither would-be buyer was going to yield until Jason Doll-Steinberg, from London, decided to concede defeat to the mystery winner on the telephone in America.
The unfortunate bidder admitted he was an avid Beatles fan threw in the towel after considering the amount of work needed on the property and was worried about overspending on the terraced house.
He told JMU Journalism: “I think who was on the other line is someone who would have kept on going, maybe it’s even Yoko (Ono). I’ve been told it was.”
When asked what urged him to try and buy the house for such a figure, Mr Doll-Steinberg said: “I’m intrigued by people’s homes and when I saw John Lennon, who for me ranks as highly as they can, I was intrigued. So when I saw it in the paper I jumped on the train and had a look and fell in love.”
The previous owner told the Liverpool Echo: “I’ll be sad to leave John Lennon’s first home but I am retired now and would really like a property with a bigger garden.”
Video report by Jack Maguire, JMU Journalism TV