After striking numerous poses on a traffic island in Old Street, north London, The Beatles travelled to St Pancras Old Church and Gardens near Regent’s Park, where some of the best-known photographs of the Mad Day Out were taken.
Firstly, photographer Don McCullin snapped the group as they stood on a small grass knoll to the left of the entrance steps and gates. A nearby flower bed was arranged in a circular array saying “1869 to 1968 NDFS”.
The second location was a bench to the north of the knoll, just south of the central monument marked on the map below. Mal Evans’ son Gary sat on the bench next to John Lennon and Ringo Starr, while Paul McCartney and George Harrison stood behind.
A little further along the path, south east of the monument, was a drinking fountain. The Beatles were photographed here spitting water at the camera lenses.
The fourth location was next to the mausoleum of architect Sir John Soane (1753–1837), which was situated at the eastern part of the gardens. They sat on the grass by the tomb, next to a sign stating: “Please keep off the grass”.
North of Sir John’s grave was St Pancras Coroner’s Court, where they accompanied an elderly man reading a newspaper on a bench. Harrison and Starr sat next to him, and Lennon and McCartney stood behind, but the man appeared oblivious to The Beatles and the photographers capturing the moment.
Location six in the gardens was in a flowerbed north of the monument, situated against the perimeter railings. The Beatles stood with St Pancras Hospital in the background, and were largely camouflaged by the towering hollyhocks.
They then walked to a bench immediately to the north of the monument, directly opposite the bench in location two.
The eighth location was in the church’s imposing arched doorway, where formal portrait shots were taken. While this took place, a crowd of people stood and stared from behind the railings which separated the church from the gardens. Photographer Don McCullin directed The Beatles to mingle with the crowd, resulting in an image which was used in 1973 for the gatefold sleeve of the 1962-1966 (Red Album) and 1967-1970 (Blue Album) compilations.
Also on this day...
- 2012: Paul McCartney closes the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
- 2010: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary
- 2010: Paul McCartney live: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte
- 2008: Rare tape of 1964 Beatles session to be auctioned
- 2001: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, Sterling Heights
- 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Starlite Music Theatre, Latham
- 1989: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Riverfest, Saint Paul
- 1969: Recording: Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location seven
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location six
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location four
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location three
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location two
- 1968: The Mad Day Out: location one
- 1964: The Beatles live: Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
- 1963: The Beatles live: ABC Cinema, Great Yarmouth
- 1962: The Beatles live: Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
- 1961: The Beatles live: Aintree Institute, Liverpool
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I visited the place last year more times. It seems untouched by the time for centuries. It is a good place for meditation, contemplation. The flowers at the St Pancras Hospital are nearly the same as decades ago on the photos. I can understand why the lads chose that gardens.
hi my name is Neil and I am the little boy in the photo next to George, I lived in the park at the time with my grand parents.
I had a fantastic time while I lived there and I just about remember this day, I was only 4 or 5 years old, my brother is next to me and my grandmother is behind us. my granddad was the head gardener and we lived in the house next to the gates. I agree the gardens have a very calming feeling and I have very fond memories of my time there. I have revisited in my adult life and I still can run up the steps from the front gate ha ha, which was a game we always played as kids. I have so many more memories I could be here all night, thought I would share this with you. Neil.
Hello Neil, what amazing memories you must have of that day, I have been playing the 1963-66 Beatles lp on vinyl this afternoon whilst playing table tennis with my daughter and I said to her wouldn’t it be good if we could get some of those children on the photo to sign our album, so that is basically what I would to ask you. I think that would look amazing on the wall, I’ve often said to my daughter (she’s a huge Beatles fan as well) how I wished I had been one of those children in the photograph, as I was 56 last week so I would have been about 4 years old then. Anyway I would greatly appreciate it , I would just send you my lp sleeve with a return stamp addressed envelope, what do you think? Totally understand if you would rather not as it’s a bit of a random thing to ask someone you have never met but I suppose there’s no harm in just asking. Kind regards Christopher.ps you can probably tell by my email I am a bit of a fan !
I managed to visit for the first time this week. A warm July day, so perfect! Most of the locations are still very recognisable – the fountain, the central raised memorial stone, the ornate church entrance. There are even still hollyhocks growing in the flower bed in front of St Pancras Hospital. However, I wasn’t able to locate the exact place where the fabs stood surrounded by the flowers. Maybe the building frontage has been altered. No external fire escapes now!
North Londoners wouldn’t refer to the church as being “near Regents Park” – as it isn’t.
We’d say near St Pancras, or near Mornington Cresent, or way-between the two.
The ‘Hollyhocks’ picture was taken from location here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5360028,-0.1299114,89a,35y,279.18h,45.03t/data=!3m1!1e3
Does anyone know what “NDFS” means in the flower bed?
Thank you
I would guess, based on the 1869 date, that the flowers were to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Deposit Friendly Society (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Friendly).