Back in 1897, the Llewelyn Davies family moved into to a new house in Notting Hill: it was No 31, Kensington Park Gardens. A few months later, two of the family's children were out playing in the gardens themselves with their nanny and their baby brother when they bumped into a Scottish writer who was out walking his dog – a St Bernard named Porthos.
That writer? JM Barrie. He struck up a friendship with the boys which became a fully-fledged and lifelong family friendship. The boys' names, incidentally? George and Jack were the elder two; the baby brother's name, of course, was Peter.
Barrie entertained George and Jack with made-up stories about their baby brother – about how he could fly, and how there were bars on the windows of the nursery only to stop him flying away.
Eventually, Barrie started building the stories and characters into fiction – first appearing in a 1902 book The Little White Bird, and then two years later in the play Peter Pan.
It's fascinating how the details of real life merge into the stories – the names of the boys, even the fusion of their nanny and Barrie's dog into Nana, the unforgettable canine 'governess' of the play.
Such is the mind of the writer; even the Barrie's next youngest child made it into the work of a man they called Uncle Jim: Michael was born in 1900. Though you have to feel sorry at poor George being re-imagined as Wendy; no doubt the Barrie's oldest child caught hell for that at school.
The house at 31 exhibits a similar mix of real-life and fantasy, since it is without doubt the same one that Barrie described as the home of the Darling family. From the window of the nursery, Peter, Wendy, John and Michael made their flight to Neverland (‘second star to the right and straight on till morning’).
Today, the house is divided into flats and it is the top floor two-bedroom flat – which would have been the nursery – that is on the market.
The property is a beautifully refurbished two-bedroom flat in a handsome, stucco fronted building. Bright and stylishly-presented, the flat also benefits from views over (and of course access to) the beautiful communal gardens.
'The leafy surrounds of Kensington Gardens retain their sense of history and power to inspire,' says Olivia Higginson of Strutt & Parker, the agents handling the sale.
'It’s a lovely piece of literary history. From this top floor flat you can put yourself in the shoes of the Llewelyn Davies children, in what would have once been their nursery, and imagine setting out on that first flight to Neverland.
'For those more inclined to keep their feet on the ground,' adds Higginson, 'you can enjoy a bright and modern flat in a beautiful historic building.'
The top flat at 31 Kensington Gardens is for sale for £1.375 million via Strutt & Parker – see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
A doll's house fit for a queen: How Lutyens created a Lilliput for Queen Mary
A miniature palace designed by Lutyens and promoted by Country Life offers a fascinating perspective on the 1920s, as Gavin
Best of British: 60 things that make Britain great
Our nation's greatest glories.
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
How to cruise in the wake of Mark Twain on the great Mississippi River of the American South'You cannot understand Twain without understanding the great river that winds its way as twistingly through his work as it winds through the middle of America.'
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
Some of Scotland's most beautiful churches are being sold off for as little as £40,000 — but a word of warning before you take the plungeLucy Denton examines how best to help former church buildings thrive as times move on and property changes hands.
-
Inside the £28 million mansion designed to 'shake things up' and 're-define the English country house of the 21st century'With everything from helicopter parking and a 1000-bottle wine cellar to bespoke wallpaper designed by Christian Lacroix, Harford Manor is a country house like no other. Annabel Dixon took a closer look and spoke to the man behind its creation.
-
A blissful and beautifully named home in one of the most exclusive spots in CornwallPenny Churchill takes a look at Boswodegh, a wonderful home that makes the most of its superb location in Helford Passage.
-
A sleek, seven-bedroom villa with a wine cave, wellness space and a 20-person JacuzziIncredible attention to detail at Almancil Loulé's, an amazing home for sale in Portugal's exclusive Quinta do Lago resort.
-
The 10 most expensive postcodes in the country — and what you could get if you lived thereThe latest research on the most exclusive postcodes in England and Wales makes for eye-catching reading, with some areas having average property prices over £4m. Annabel Dixon breaks it down.
-
A century ago, one of Britain's greatest architects built a dog kennel in West Sussex — and it turned out so beautifully that today it's a gorgeous four-bedroom homeYou see something new every day on this website. Deerpark is certainly one of those things.
-
19 completely charming houses for sale across Britain, as seen in Country LifeOur pick of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life in the last few days includes everything from a sprawling mansion in Kent to a charming Cornish cottage at under £500k.
