The beautiful Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens is one of my favourite statues in London and it was unveiled by J.M. Barrie personally.
It is situated towards the Lancaster Gate end of Kensington Gardens set back nicely from the path near the pond and is adorned with fairies, squirrels and other ethereal nymphs.
It also has a rather sad history which you can learn about here.
The Llewellyn Davies Boys
In 1897 the boys used to play in Kensington Gardens where they first met J.M. Barrie. After a while he endeared himself so much to them and their parents with his playful antics and childish tomfoolery that they lovingly called him Uncle Jim.
When the father died he became a sort of guardian to them and often used to meet them and tell them stories. Although Michael was closest to him it was after Peter that he named his most famous character.
However, the story is rather sad about the boys. Two died in their 20s, one from falling into a river in Oxford, the other in the war and Peter committed suicide at 63 after a life of being troubled by his connection with Peter Pan and the accusations of the boys’ weird relationship with J M Barrie.
The Peter Pan statue itself was not officially given permission to be there but as he was such a superstar no one objected and J M Barrie personally came down in the middle of the night to unveil it so that children in the morning would think the fairies put it there.
It is still one of the most popular statues amongst Londoners and visitors from all over the world.
If you like this London guide about the Peter Pan Statue check out and subscribe to Joolz Guides – a London Guide for Londoners!
And why not visit the Peter Pan Tombstones whilst you’re there!
