2, Strathearn Place: Flat 1.

...speaking of which, a small interlude before we get back to Lizzie.

It's probably no exaggeration to say that, one way or another, the course of popular culture changed in these fairly non-descript rooms (or, at least, that John, George, Pattie and Cyn got totally dosed, dudes and...err...dudettes).
For here it "twas" that the aforementioned quartet attended a dinner party in the summer of 1965 thrown by dentist to the stars John Riley, and, one way or another, ended up ingesting the dreaded lysergic for the very first time.
Apparently Riley always disputed the standard version of events (ie that he slipped it in the coffee without their knowledge), telling friends that his guests had "got the wrong end of the stick" about what really happened that night.
Of course, the usual renovation has occurred in the intervening years, so the decor is different, but, nevertheless, this is where it began:

2 Strathearn Place: the Dental Experience.

There has probably been too much LSD-related shenanigans on these pages of late (Greek chorus: "You think?"). But one thing leads to another...so here's a bit more: The London flat of cosmetic dentist John Riley, as pictured circa 1963, two years before he invited John & George round for dinner/conversation/spiked coffee.
The full story of what happened here has been told many times, but for those seeking an eye-witness account, and a picture of Riley himself, Steve Turner's excellent tome The Gospel According To The Beatles has the details; it includes an interview with Riley's then girlfriend, who was also present that night.
Incidentally, in addition to supplying John, George and spouses with their first acid, Riley also provided the "nosferati" in Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers with their teeth, though possibly not on the same evening:


Thanks to Julian Carr for finding the vintage pic of Strathearn Place, and to the City of London, London Metropolitan Archives for permission to use it.