A hotel where John Lennon and Yoko Ono went on holiday together is set to be demolished.
Legendary lead singer of the Beatles John Lennon, and his wife Yoko Ono, once spent a holiday as newlyweds at the Grade II listed Corbett Arms in the Welsh town of Tywyn, in the summer of 1969.
The Corbett Arms has been shut for a decade, and after numerous failed attempts to contact the owner, the local council has applied to demolish the 19th-century Georgian building.
In recent years, the hotel has been in a state of disarray, with parts of the rear and roof of the building crumbling. In the Welsh seaside town, the Corbett Arms was a local landmark, even before the likes of visitors such as Lennon and Ono. The couple, with their children Kyoko and Julian, first stayed there mere months after their marriage in 1969.
Alan Finlay, who worked at the hotel when he was 13, was there to greet the family when they first arrived. He washed Lennon’s car, and took a photo of the couple with their children. His daughter Gaby shares his story with the BBC: “He was a huge music fan and was like ‘oh my god’, he couldn’t believe it.
“John Lennon then asked dad to clean his car. So he did with pride and couldn’t believe it when John Lennon paid him, he said he’d have done it for free! But John paid dad quite a lot of money!”
The family’s visit to the Corbett Arms was between the recording of Lennon’s first solo record ‘Give Peace A chance’, recorded a few weeks earlier. The Beatles were on a break at this time, and this visit wasn’t long before the band would split for good.
Despite the council’s claim that the building needs to be demolished due to structural instability, the people of Tywyn have been tirelessly pleading with them to prevent the iconic landmark’s demolition. SAVE Britain’s Heritage, an independent organisation “fighting against needless and wasteful demolition of historic buildings”, has been at the forefront of this campaign. They sent a specialist conservation engineer, Jon Avent, and a team of structural engineers to investigate.
Breaking News // Save the Corbett Arms Hotel!
“No justification”: SAVE engineer refutes total demolition of Welsh hotel planned for this Friday!
Read our press release: https://t.co/g7LQ6Ssj5C
Email the CEO of Gwynedd Council to object dafyddgibbard@gwynedd.llyw.cymru pic.twitter.com/LogwLEdiHW
— SAVE Britain’s Heritage (@SAVEtoReuse) April 29, 2025
Avent says: “There is simply no justification for demolition.
“When asked to inspect this building due for demolition, I expected to see a building presenting widespread structural failures and beyond repair. What I saw was an impressive piece of history in need of some care and attention. A small area of collapse at the rear, but nothing to unduly challenge those with a willingness to see a sustainable future for this lovely building.”
The building is continuously monitored, and the council has erected safety fencing and closed the road to ensure public safety. Gareth Jones, Gwynedd Council representative, states that “the condition of the building has deteriorated to a point where immediate action is now required to protect public health and safety, and sadly there is no other option.”
The demolition is set to take place over the next few months.
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