Last updated on August 23rd, 2023 at 11:52 am
Peter Pan flew away from his nursery and landed beside the Long Water in London’s Kensington Gardens. And there, on the very spot, Scottish author J M Barrie decided to erect a statue to his creation. It has been there since 1912, the boy who would never grow up frozen forever in bronze, surrounded by adoring mice, squirrels, bunnies and – of course – fairies. Do not say you don’t believe in them; clap your hands…don’t let Tink die!
The statue of Peter Pan in London’s Kensington Gardens is one of the capital’s icons. Perhaps not quite on a par with the Houses of Parliament, or the spot where I once saw in the New Year, but Peter Pan has a justifiable place in our affections. Even so, unless you’re an enthusiast, or doing research, you probably wouldn’t go far out of your way to see his statue; however, if you’re wandering across Kensington Gardens, it is definitely a thing to do.
Queue up and snap fast to avoid the almost inevitable, unthinking, photobomber. You barely get the chance to wind back the imagination to apparently more innocent times, when all perambulators headed for fashionable parks and gardens, wheeled by the prim nannies of the filthy rich. You try to picture the curious genius that was J M Barrie befriending the Llewelyn Davies boys who, we are told, inspired the tales of Neverland and gave their names to several of the characters – not least the Great Pan himself. “I suppose I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together, as savages with two sticks produce a flame,” said Barrie. The origin of Wendy seems uncertain – but she’s essential to the story; without her, and the mother she represents, the point of Peter is significantly reduced. The urban myth is that the name is entirely fabricated – a corruption of ‘Friendly’, inspired by a very young fan of Barrie’s, Margaret Henley, who had trouble saying the letter ‘R’. Other sources claim that Wendy is a diminutive of Gwendolyn, and/or that Wendy was used as a girl’s name in the 19th century in both the UK and the US (the most usual example cropping up on the web is a Wendy Gram, apparently born in Ohio in 1828). Wendy’s older than that, though. A good blogfriend, John at By Stargoose and Hanglands, pointed out to me that there’s a Wendy family associated with Haslingfield in Cambridgeshire and that a Thomas Wendy was Royal Physician in the 17th century. Allegedly, Wendy has also been a boys’ name. Finally, there is a village of Wendy in Cambridgeshire, which is at least a thousand years old; you can’t help hoping that it has nice houses, can you?
James Matthew Barrie (Sir James, as he became) was born in Kirriemuir in 1860 and was a successful writer long before Peter Pan made his first appearance. This was within a novel, The Little White Bird (in which our young hero lands next to the Long Water), published in 1902. The play Peter Pan or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up came out in 1904, followed in 1906 by Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (reproducing the relevant chapters from Little White Bird) and, in 1911, Peter Pan and Wendy, which was the novel of the play. Barrie’s relationship with the young Llewelyn Davies boys, George, John, Peter, Michael and Nicholas and their mother, Sylvia, has been a matter of some debate. The boys’ father, Arthur, died in 1907 and Sylvia, sister of Gerald du Maurier (actor and also father of Daphne), died in 1910. Barrie had helped the family financially and became one of the boys’ guardians. George was killed in 1915 fighting in the Great War; Michael drowned himself in 1921 and Peter, who apparently came to resent what he called “that terrible masterpiece” jumped under a train at Sloane Square in 1960. John and Nicolas (Nico) died of natural causes in 1959 and 1980, respectively.
It seems an egotistical thing to do, to commission a statue of one of your own creations. Not only that but, allegedly, Barrie had the thing erected overnight, without telling anyone. Even with influential friends, that seems to be pushing it a bit. Still, I guess Barrie had good reason to feel proud of Peter, the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, Hook and all the rest. It is a magical tale, which still captures the imagination in this cynical, digital, age. That said, the plot and the characters are not without an intriguing element of darkness – and the very idea of ‘the lost boys’ is infinitely sad. The Disney cartoon, Peter Pan, produced in 1953, is a highly sanitised version of the story. Barrie said of the statue that it “doesn’t show the devil in Peter”, which must have disappointed its sculptor, Sir George Frampton, no end.
Barrie strikes me as a troubled soul. He had an older brother, David, who died in a skating accident aged 13. James perceived David to be his mother’s favourite; and of course, his brother would never grow up. There’s enough in JM Barrie to keep teams of psychologists happy for days. From what I can make out, Barrie always seemed to be most at ease with children, because he understood them, but there doesn’t seem to have been anything malevolent about it; Nico Davies said of Barrie that “He was an innocent; which is why he could write Peter Pan.” The author died in 1937, having very generously given the copyright of Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in 1929. Fittingly, there’s another Peter Pan statue there, as well as others in Sefton Park, Liverpool, in Perth, Australia, Brussels, New Jersey, Newfoundland and Toronto.
Peter the character – and his creator – have inspired countless books, TV productions and films, not least the aforementioned cartoon, Steven Spielberg’s enjoyable romp, Hook, (1991) and the slightly sugary fictional Finding Neverland (2004) starring Johnny Depp as Barrie and Kate Winslet as Sylvia.
Should you visit the statue, Royal Parks have installed a little gismo that reacts with your smartphone. Swipe your ‘phone to get a personal call-back from Peter Pan. Creepy. I gave it a miss – it seemed rather a bizarre thing to want to do. Some of us don’t need technology in order to have perfectly reasonable conversations with inanimate objects, anyway; but others might want to investigate the world of talking statues.
Finally, fans of Downton Abbey will be delighted to remember that Peter Pan’s statue is where Lady Mary delivered the devastating news to Charles Blake that she was having no more of him, as it were. Yes, folks; read A Bit About Britain for exciting tales from history, dreary personal rants and tawdry social gossip!
It is a sad fact of US history that huge numbers of people grew up thinking of Mary Martin as Peter Pan. It totally messed up the actual meaning of the story
Not a version I know. But adaptations often spoil things!
I also like to seek Peter Pan out when visiting Kensington Gardens. My grandfather gave me the book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens so it has always been special to me. Sarah x(
Oh – that’s a memory to treasure!
Who doesn’t like Peter Pan !
I’ve not seen the statue … yet!
All the best Jan
I visited London in September. I did see the statue. Our hotel was in walking distance to Kensington Gardens and we did visit the Gardens a few times. Interesting story.
Thanks for another informative post, Mike. I was taken to see the statue when I was very young and was told the story of Peter Pan at the time. The story has never been a great favourite of mine – I have always been aware of the sadness and cruelty in it – but it is a grand adventure and the all the characters in it are beautifully drawn.
Yes, it is quite dark. A surprising number of stories ‘for children’ are, when you think about it.
Well, I was one who sought out the statue when I visited Kensington Gardens. It’s iconic! Lots of interesting facts and I did not know the fate of the Davies boys. How sad. I hope Barrie’s strange life didn’t rub off on them as their guardian.
We did a study on J.M Barrie a few years ago. A interesting life indeed. Peter Pan is a tale my boys enjoyed.
Neville Cardus wrote about being invited to stay with Barrie in London. His host was away from home most othe time, leaving Cardus in the hands of his manservant and with time to explore, finding a cold, wretched and dirty bathroom with a thin towel. One the rare times that Barrie was home he and his guest sat in constipated silence for the most part. Cardus concluded that he was painfully shy and though eager to make contact could not bring himself to do so.
Mention of his name brings back to me his book ‘A Window in Thrums’…so delightfully rendered in ‘1066 and All That’ as a widow with thumbs…
I’m afraid I needed to look Neville Cardus up… Despite that, ‘1066 and All That’ is one of my all-time favourite reads – as you probably know.
And mine…thus the blog titles!
This post was an excellent escape from house-cleaning, and I thank you! (NOT that I need the excuse to enjoy your posts, of course, it was just a bonus 😉 )
I didn’t know any of Barrie’s history- interesting, but sad. I don’t think I’ve every actually read any of the books, which surprises me. Maybe a visit to the library is in order…
I’ve never needed a smartphone to talk with statuary either- talk applying technology in odd places!
Now I’m feeling guilty about all the dusting I didn’t do, because I was too busy writing about Peter Pan…
Maybe it’s pixie dust, in which case you can just say you’re saving it for travel purposes, right?
Maybe it’s pixie dust, in which case you can just say you’re saving it for travel purposes, righ
(make that “right?!” 🙂 )
Thank you very much for this very interesting post about Peter Pan, the statue of Peter and the information about JM Barrie. The part in the Peter Pan storiescwhen Peter comes back for Wendy after a very long interval and she has grown up always makes me cry. I think it is Peter’s lack of insight that Wendy is now a grown-up woman and a mother herself that is so poignant.
Yes – beyond his comprehension?
Yes, Peter Pan has not grown up and has no comprehension that Wendy has become an adult.
I’ll have to re-visit that episode of Downton Abbey because I think I missed the statue. We have been to the statue way back in 2004 so I’m happy to have missed the creepy gismo.
I confess – memory of that episode escapes me 🙂
We have a casting of it here in Toronto that I have visited often.
First of all, it wasn’t just Charles Blake who was devastated by Mary’s news. Many of us were smitten with Charles a.k.a. Andrew Foyle. But anyway… What tragedy lay within the family of Peter Pan’s creator! And any time an adult is referred to as “an innocent,” it sort of implies that they’re not firing on all cylinders, right? I love the Barrie quotation about producing a flame. And lastly, I’m trying to remember the names of pubs that might be on the list of potentials for ringing in the New Year. Wonderful post!
Pubs? Pubs? What are they?
I enjoyed this as a child, as have my grandchildren. Post as good as always
‘Some of us don’t need technology in order to have perfectly reasonable conversations with inanimate objects’ – a man after my own inclinations! This is a great post, Mike. And the monochrome images of Peter Pan are perfect.
Sometimes, I chat away quite happily in graveyards too.
Ha! Absolutely fine until someone answers back. Wheeeeee-ooo!
Barrie also strikes me as a troubled soul, and his relationships with the Llewelyn family were also questionable, as you noted. Even the title The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up reminds me of adult males who prefer to socialise with 12 year old boys.
Hmm – boys who don’t grow up aren’t necessarily sinister; I’m thinking train sets etc. Someone once astutely remarked that men ‘are really little boys, stretched’.
Another bloody great post my friend that I really enjoyed
Fascinating history! I have been to Kensington gardens but had no idea the statue existed!
I actually did see that statue when I visited Kensington Gardens a few years back. I had no idea that the stories of those children ended so tragically 🙁 Another very informative and interesting post!
I once did a post about J. M. Barrie and the monies generated from Peter Pan given to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Richard spent a good deal of time there as a child and he feels that he owes his life to the great care that he was given at the hospital. So, thank you J.M. Barrie. (And the NHS, of course.)
P.S. I don’t think I would like the talking statues either.
It took me a little while to find the statue but well worth the effort. Interesting to hear more of Barrie.
Not fair. Hasn’t Women’s Lib insisted on one for Wendy, yet?
How much of a role model for Women’s Lib was Wendy?
Great post Mike, I’ve never seen the statue, but read the book and saw a couple of the movies. It really is a poignant story, and it was fab to find out about Mr.Barrie.
Hi Mike – lovely to be able to read a lot more about Barrie and the history of Peter Pan – it was certainly our family’s favourite pantomime when we were kids. We must have had the book … but I remember the story vividly from the theatre visits. I’ve never seen the statue in Kensington Palace – and will get there when I return.
I knew the donation of the book Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital – and having heard a talk from someone there – they are very grateful for the connection it helps a huge amount when fund-raising I gather.
Thanks … taking me back to my childhood – cheers Hilary
I’ll have to seek out the one in Toronto.
Second star to the right, and straight on ’till morning.
I enjoyed this post! I haven’t seen this statue yet.