It was a grey day when Nic and I visited Knole Park, in Sevenoaks, Kent, but there were two things on the agenda. She wanted to photograph the deer in the park; my interest was in The Beatles.
It is 50 years to the day since shooting took place for the video of Strawberry Fields Forever, and I wanted to find the precise location. The tree, no longer there, was already dead when Swedish director Peter Goldmann chose it to be part of the strange musical instrument that features in the film.
It was reportedly blown down in the storm of 1987, and its original location is now disputed. However, lining-up land features in the distance with the original footage - and the proximity of a road that runs through the park, just visible in front of the trees in the middle distance - leads me to believe that this is, indeed, the right place. It's not much to look at now, but it appears that the stump in the right foreground is all that remains of the oak.
The B side (in fact it was a double A-sided single), of the release was Penny Lane, and footage was shot the following day to accompany the music. Again, the area near The Birdhouse in the park was used as a location. In the images above the arch that the band rode through on horseback can still be seen, while the pond where the banquet table was situated still looks very much like it did on that winter's day in 1967.
12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 200
Top: 1/200 second at f/8.
Middle: 1/250 second at f/8
Bottom: 1/250 second at f/8
© 2017
9 comments:
Lovely detail and colors. well done.
Well done for being there on the 50th anniversary!
I'm glad you managed to finally confirm the right stump
Regards
Brilig
Thank you, Bill. :-)
Brillig: Well worth the effort. :-)
Gives me goosebumps seeing that tree stump...wow. 50 years ago, right there, that haunting psychedelic Strawberry Fields Forever film clip...
Thank you for locating these spots. I'll definitely visit when I'm next around the area.
Are the pond and the tree stump in the same general part of the park? When I was there I had no idea where to look, and the park is massive. Any location details would be greatly appreciated.
On another note, I was amazed to see the change in the archway photo - seems like almost an entire wood has simply vanished.
The pond and arch are quite close together (behind me in the arch shot), but make sure you find the right pond as there are two.
The general area can be located by passing to the left of Knole House from the car park and then keeping an eye out for the Bird House, which will be away to the right after a fairly short walk.
All in all, The Beatles didn't walk too far on that day. ;-)
It seems so, based on all the photos. There's a great YouTube clip with many photos from those Knole Park sessions I'd never seen before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMf6Zir0wW4
So where is the tree compared to the pond and arch?
And is your tree stump close to the other one which many people seem to think is the correct one?
http://beatleplace.blogspot.jp/2012/01/knole-park-it-was-45-years-ago-today.html
Standing looking at the arch, with the pond behind you, the tree location is away to the right.
Just went to the park today and saw the arch as well as the tree stump (I think), didn’t get to the pond though since there were golfers around and I did not want to get in their way! The feeling of being where the Fab Four made history was indescribable! I came all the way from Canada to see as much of the Beatles traces as I can! Knole Park did not disappoint, it has phenomenal views as well as having a cool story on its grounds! I couldn’t have found these without your help, thank-you!! :)
You're welcome, Annick. :-) A long way to come, but I know how you feel.
My best friend's mum did work for The Beatles in the '60s - including the Apple Boutique in London - and appears in the film Magical Mystery Tour.
Post a Comment