The Quarrymen and Eleanor Rigby´s Grave

Published: 2009-10-22

Eleanor Rigby's grave in June 2007 (cc) Athanasius

Close-up of the plaque

Memorative Plaque of the meeting between Lennon and McCartney (cc) hddod

The Quarry Men on the 6 July 1957 at St. Peter's Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool (cc) Paul Garland

St Peter's Church where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met

The Beatles - St Peter's Church, Liverpool

St. Peter's Church is a church in the Woolton district of Liverpool. It was opened in 1887 and replaced an earlier church on the site. The church is still active today and is widely known for it's connections with the Quarrymen, the very first band that John Lennon and Paul McCartney played in together.

This is the site of fête where Paul McCartney’s first saw John Lennon performing on the 6th July 1957. McCartney was introduced to Lennon and the other members of The Quarrymen skiffle group by his friend Ivan Vaughan, whilst the Quarrymen took a break between two sets they played at the church dance. The meeting was brief, but long enough for the Quarrymen to be sufficiently impressed to later ask McCartney to join the group.

This is also the site of Eleanor Rigby’s gravestone, it is unclear if this is connected to the Beatles song from 1966 with the same name. Paul claims that the name Eleanor Rigby was made up -- Rigby from the name of a shop and Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron (who was in the Beatles' movie, Help!). This grave was "discovered" in the 1980's, and also a few yards away from it, another tombstone with the last name McKenzie scrawled across it, a name that appears in the songs lyrics. During their teenage years, McCartney and Lennon spent time "sunbathing" there. Many years later McCartney stated that the strange coincidence between reality and lyric could be a product of his subconscious, rather than being a meaningless fluke.

Also in the churchyard is the grave of Lennon’s uncle, George Toogood Smith. When Lennon was five his parents' marriage broke down and he moved in with his Uncle George and Aunt Mimi who lived in this area. His Aunt was a member of the congregation, but Lennon only visited from time to time, though he was a member of the youth group and sang occasionally in the choir at weddings.