In early 1967 , these three Mini Coopers , plus a fourth ,
1967
Three of the Beatles ’ Mini Cooper S cars on display at the London Classic Car Show at Olympia . John Lennon ’ s is missing . were spotted at the top of Knole Lane between Manor House and Claridge House and caused much excitement . The reason being that each car was driven by a member of the Beatles . In those days , these Minis were painted black with darkened windows and caught the eye of every passer-by .
At the time , the Beatles were the most famous group in the world . They were in Sevenoaks to make promotional films for two new songs , ‘ Penny Lane ’ and ‘ Strawberry Fields Forever ’. These promos turned out to be notable milestones in pop history , being early examples of what is now standard practice in the music industry – the music video .
The filming took place in Knole Park for three days , in the vicinity of the Bird House , to the east of Knole ’ s walled garden .
The first two days ’ filming were for the ‘ Strawberry Fields ’ single , around an oak tree dressed to look like a strange musical instrument . The third day completed filming for ‘ Penny Lane ’, with the Beatles riding horses and seated at a dining table being waited on by liveried flunkeys .
Over the years , different stories about the Beatles ’ time in Sevenoaks had developed into varying versions of what happened , which led to some confusion . In an attempt to provide a more definitive account , an appeal for information was made in an OS newsletter . It produced a generous response from readers with their personal memories of the visit .
A lone cross-country runner came across the filming and abandoned his run in amazement . He chatted with the Fab Four and watched Paul McCartney in the branches of the oak tree , as Paul ’ s Old English Sheepdog , Martha , wandered beneath .
Requesting autographs was an obvious reaction to pop celebrity . Back then , when not on school premises , straw boaters had to be worn at all times . The lining of these hats proved very useful for those who didn ’ t have any blank paper to hand , and quite a few ‘ biffs ’, as they were called , were autographed . George Harrison was astonished that they had to be worn compulsorily . As well as getting an autograph , one boy who was curious about the cars was also given a drive around the park by George .
Asking for autographs meant face-to-face conversations with the Beatles . Most descriptions from Old Sennockians say the four were helpful and considerate , although a few ‘ foxtrot oscars ’ were noted when the attention became a bit too much .
Towards the end of filming , the school ’ s headmaster , LC ( Kim ) Taylor , received complaints from the film crew that some boys were interfering with the progress of the shoot . He responded by dispatching his acting Head Boy into the park with a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers by way of an apology , The boy never actually found them , which was probably just as well , given the band ’ s reputation for sardonic humour .
136 OLD SENNOCKIANS