A bronze statue of ‘the boy who would not grow-up’ appeared magically one night in Kensington Gardens on May Day in 1912. The sculpture of Peter Pan, playing his pipe, surrounded by fairies and woodland animals was installed secretly by J. M. Barrie, the creator of the Peter Pan story. The following day, a simple announcement in a London newspaper stated: ‘There is a surprise in store for the children who go to Kensington Gardens to feed the ducks in the Serpentine this morning…’ Peter Pan first appeared in Barrie’s 1902 novel, The Little White Bird, and he chose the location for the statue as it was the spot where Peter first lands along the Long Water in Kensington Gardens. Barrie invented Peter Pan for the sons of Sylvia Llewellyn Davis who he met in Kensington Gardens, and the sculpture was based on a set of photos of her son, Michael, at the age of six. The Peter Pan statue, designed by George Frampton, is still a much-loved attraction sought out by London’s visitors, and it can be found in Kensington Gardens standing next to the Long Water, between the Italian Gardens and the Serpentine Bridge.
- Peter Pan Staute
- Kensington Gardens, London W2 4RU
- www.royalparks.org.uk
- Underground: Lancaster Gate
