John Lennon's 'lost at sea' caravan discovered after 50 years

It was missing for 50 years and at one point it was rumoured to be lying at the bottom of the Irish Sea.

But now a missing Beatles artefact has been re-discovered and is about to be restored before being unveiled to the public.

John Lennon's horse-drawn pyschedelic Gypsy Caravan was only seen in public once, in 1967 when it was driven along the roads to the Beatle's Weybridge home in Surrey.

A short black-and-white newsreel from the time showed the event, with the narrator describing it as "about £4,000-worth of gaily painted, renovated rolling stock".

It was a present for Lennon's then four-year-old son, Julian, and featured the famous logo from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

John Lennon was so taken with the caravan's design that he replicated it for his more famous psychedelic Rolls-Royce.

But after that brief appearance in 1967, the caravan - which stood at 12ft tall - vanished from public sight.

As is well known, around a year after its one and only public appearance, Lennon was divorced from his wife Cynthia, and took up with Yoko Ono.

John Lennon's Gypsy Caravan painted in Sgt Pepper livery, on its one and only public appearance being driven to the Beatle's home in Weybridge, Surrey, in June 1967 (Image: Bill Zygmant/Rex)

After the Beatles split in 1970, they left England altogether and settled in New York.

Various rumours began to circulate about what had happened to the caravan, including the aforementioned one that it had somehow sunk in the Irish Sea.

In fact it remained lying under tarpaulin in an out-house at Lennon's old Weybridge home for many years. The caravan was then struck by a tree in the devastating hurricane of 1987.

John Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V painted in psychedelic style with scrolls and flowers

But now it has been donated to a charity which has dedicated itself to restoring the artefact.

Samantha Edouardes, founder of the Delight Makers charity, said: "The minute we saw it we felt something extraordinary. The caravan has a big presence and you sense immediately that it has a story of its own to tell."

A painstaking restoration is now being undertaken to bring the caravan back to its former glory.

One of the caravan's wheels is examined ahead of its restoration

Replacement timber, if used, will be of matching grain, from wood felled in the same era as the originals,

Once the restoration is complete the charity intends to bring the caravan out on tour to delight fans, and raise money for good causes.

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It is hoped to get the caravan on the road in the spring of 2021.

Samantha said: "It would be amazing if we can make Liverpool the launch destination. It's not just that Liverpool is the birth place of the Beatles and the inspiration.

"Liverpool is just a big heart, big energy, big love city, so it would be perfect."