FOR Beatles' fans, Strawberry Fields is as evocative a name as Penny Lane or Abbey Road.
In common with other rock and roll landmarks, it attracts tourists, fans, and the plain curious from all over the world, who make pilgrimages to have their picture taken at the site or scrawl messages on the walls.
Now, nearly 70 years after the building first opened its doors as an orphanage, the Salvation Army has announced that Strawberry Field children's home, in Woolton, is to close.
It was The Beatles who adapted the name and added the letter "s" to the title of their 1967 single, Strawberry Fields Forever, because it was felt it sounded catchier.
But not even the Fab Four can stand in the way of changes sweeping through society. When John Lennon - who lived nearby with his Aunt Mimi, in Menlove Avenue - used to play in the grounds of the home in Beaconsfield Road as a youngster, it was common to house children in large residential institutions.
But the specific kind of care provided by Strawberry Field is no longer in demand. The trend now is to care for children in smaller units, either within foster families or group homes.
Despite the imminence of the closure, no decision has been made yet on what will happen to the world-famous site. The two-year notice period is to allow as much time as possible to find alternative placements for the three children currently being cared for at the home.
Major Marion Drew, divisional leader of the Salvation Army in the North West, said: "There have been no discussions for the use of the building on the site as yet.
"We want to give the best level of care for the children we currently have. We are responding to national trends, and it is no longer seen as the best way to care for children by having them in institutions, but to have them in small homes or with foster families.
