John Lennon and Yoko Ono buy Tittenhurst Park

On this day John Lennon and Yoko Ono bought their first home together, Tittenhurst Park in Ascot, Berkshire.

The mansion was located on a 72-acre estate on London Road in Sunningdale, Ascot. Lennon and Ono bought it for £145,000 from the estate of Ron Blindell, who had purchased it in 1964 from Peter Cadbury, an entrepreneur and the son of Sir Egbert Cadbury of the chocolate company Cadbury Brothers.

Lennon and Ono didn’t move into Tittenhurst Park until 11 August 1969. They spent twice the purchase price on renovations, including the creation of a lake, without planning permission, which they could see from their bedroom window.

The Beatles’ final photographic session took place at Tittenhurst Park on 22 August 1969. The images were used on the cover of the Hey Jude compilation early the following year.

A recording studio, known as Ascot Sound Studios or ASS, was installed at Tittenhurst in 1970. Lennon’s Imagine album and Ono’s Fly were both recorded there. The sessions were filmed, and footage was later released in the documentary Gimme Some Truth: The Making Of John Lennon’s Imagine.

The couple moved to the United States in August 1971. On 18 September 1973 they sold Tittenhurst Park to Ringo Starr, who renamed the recording facilities Startling Studios.