History | Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity Barrie requested that the amount raised from Peter Pan should never be revealed, and the hospital has always honoured his wishes. Legacy Although he and his wife were childless, Barrie loved children and had supported Great Ormond Street Hospital for many years. In 1929 he was approached to sit on a committee to help buy some land so that the hospital could build a much needed new wing. Barrie declined to serve on the committee but said that he "hoped to find another way to help". Two months later, the hospital board was stunned to learn that Sir James had handed over all his rights to Peter Pan. At a Guildhall dinner later that year Barrie, as host, claimed that Peter Pan had been a patient in Great Ormond Street Hospital and that "it was he who put me up to the little thing I did for the hospital". JM Barrie dedication plaque So began the enduring link between the author and the children of Great Ormond Street Hospital. On 14 December 1929, at Barrie’s suggestion, the cast of a London production of Peter Pan came to the hospital and they played out the nursery scene for the children, the first of a long tradition.

Peter Pan archives and memorials Peter Pan and memorials to J M Barrie can be found throughout the hospital, for example: A bronze statue of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell outside the hospital entrance. A plaque dedicated to Barrie in the hospital chapel (unveiled in 1938 by J B Priestley). Tinker Bell play area in Octav Botnar Wing. A tiled mural created and donated by the art students of the University of Wolverhampton. You can view some of these archives and memorials in our Peter Pan photo gallery . Please note that the hospital is not a public place and some of the memorials are not accessible to the general public. Children's hospital set to lose rights to Peter Pan | Business | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close Time is running out for the boy who wouldn't grow up. Peter Pan's copyright expires at the end of the month ending a 70-year legacy for his custodians at Great Ormond Street children's hospital. A vital source of funding for the hospital will come under threat from January 1 when Peter and his Neverland companions are thrust into the public domain.

Author JM Barrie bequeathed all the rights to Peter Pan to the hospital in 1929 and they have provided badly needed funds ever since. But with the 70th year after Barrie's death in 1937 coming to an end, Peter Pan will be fair game for any budding sequel writers and Great Ormond Street children's hospital will lose another chunk of revenues. At the time of his bequest, newspapers estimated Barrie's gift would raise some £2,000 each year for the hospital. But few suspected Peter would still be featuring in so many plays, books and films more than a century after Barrie's stage version was first performed at London's Duke of York's theatre in December 1904. More than 10 feature films have been based on the story, including Hook, starring Robin Williams, and the more recent Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp as Barrie. Typically when copyright expires on a book, play, song or artwork, it is a handful of the creator's relatives who stand to lose out. But the Peter Pan expiry — and the potential loss of funding for one of Britain's best-known hospitals — is likely to invigorate the copyright term debate.

When some order was first brought to global copyright under the Berne Convention of 1886, the intention was to reward authors and the first two generations of their descendants, explains Mark Owen, head of intellectual property at law firm Harbottle & Lewis. Copyright now expires 70 years after an author's death. But in an age where characters and works survive for longer and in more media than ever before, copyright cut-off points are increasingly coming into question, he adds. Peter Pan is a key example of a work which has had the full modern media treatment, with numerous print versions, films, animated features, TV programmes, stage adaptations and merchandise. "Expiry of the Peter Pan copyright is likely therefore to provide further fuel for the ongoing debate about how long copyright should last, and whether term of protection currently afforded by copyright law is long enough both to reward fairly the author's creativity and to enable adequate control of the work's legacy," says Owen. For Great Ormond Street, however, a special UK legal exception makes the situation less dramatic than it might have been.

The various uses of Peter Pan that have given the hospital money throughout most of the years since Barrie's death in 1937, will continue in the UK at least thanks to former prime minister Jim Callaghan. Encouraged by his wife Audrey, who was a chairwoman of Great Ormond Street, Callaghan successfully campaigned to get the UK's 1988 copyright act amended to give the hospital the unique right to royalties from stage performances of Peter Pan and any adaptation of the play forever. That right continues in the UK beyond December 31 but elsewhere in Europe nothing will be owed on any stage performance, film, TV show or book. "Just like any other major classic [such as] Alice in Wonderland, or Dickens, or anything like that, it's in the public domain, so people can publish it," says Christine De Poortere, Peter Pan director at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. European publishers and theatre producers can choose to make a donation in place of the royalties paid up until now, but De Poortere is doubtful.

"To be honest, Great Ormond Street doesn't mean much to people on the continent." "If European publishers want to make donations, that would be great — it would be the cherry on the cake — but I don't expect them to." The hospital has abided by Barrie's wishes expressed in his will and always kept the proceeds from Peter Pan a closely guarded secret. With copyright expiry looming, De Poortere is at pains to point out the revenues are "significant", but not as great as many suspect. "People who talk about millions a year have a strange idea of what a character is worth," she says. "On the whole, it's been significant but I wouldn't call it huge. I am on my own doing the Peter Pan administration, but I am part of a charity that has 100 people." If the newspapers of 1929 were right about proceeds of £2,000 a year, that would be £90,000 a year in today's money, according to the Office for National Statistics. Whatever the amount, the hospital has been concerned about the copyright expiry for years, having had a taste of the blow to revenues in 1987.

Back then, old laws making copyright term an author's death plus 50 years - changed in 1996 to 70 years - meant all revenues from Peter Pan stopped overnight. Of course, Callaghan's UK royalty law means Great Ormond Street will not have to suffer the complete drop-off of 1987. The Peter Pan director says several mitigating plans are in place nonetheless. "We might have some loss but we hope not," says De Poortere, citing the hospital's Peter Pan week next March. "We are promoting the whole idea of Peter Pan and in the UK it will never go away. Also, the link with Great Ormond Street is in people's minds and goodwill and they want to work with us on that." Much of the hospital's hopes are down to Peter Pan in Scarlet, the winner of a competition to become the classic's official sequel. Commissioned in 2004, well in advance of the original's copyright expiry, the new tale by Geraldine McCaughrean has already been translated into 37 lanaguages and printed in 40 editions. The film rights have been optioned to Headline Pictures, working with BBC Films and the UK Film Council.

In the meantime, the Peter Pan week is designed to raise the profile of McCaughrean's book further while also raising more than £300,000 to help fund a new renal unit. How Did A Children's Hospital In London End Up Making Millions Off Peter Pan? | Celebrity Net Worth How Did A Children's Hospital In London End Up Making Millions Off Peter Pan? By Brian Warner on November 13, 2013 on Jan 18, 2017 In 1929, a non-profit children's Hospital in London was facing dire financial straits. Founded in 1852, the Great Ormond Street Hospital, also known as GOSH, was the very first hospital in the English speaking world that provided children's sized beds to patients. In the nearly 80 years since it first opened its doors, GOSH had literally saved the lives of thousands, potentially tens of thousands of very sick children without ever accepting a dime in payment from their families. Supported entirely by donations, as the Great Depression loomed around the world in 1929, GOSH faced a potentially insurmountable budget crisis.

There just wasn't enough money coming in from donations and their emergency bank accounts were dangerously depleted. Then, just as the hospital's board of director's seriously debated shutting their doors forever, a miracle happened. All of a sudden, an anonymous angel donated enough money to not only solve their short term budget issues, but enough money to keep the hospital thriving for years and decades to come. That angel turned out to be the celebrated children's author JM Barrie who is most famous for creating Peter Pan. JM Barrie's donations remained anonymous for roughly 8 years, until his death from pneumonia in 1937. Upon his death, GOSH was shocked to discover that their miracle was actually just getting started. Their miracle would even go on to involve the British Prime Minister, Parliament and an unprecedented amendment to UK copyright law, 50 years after JM Barrie's death. This story is amazing. ***Mark Kurlyandchik helped provide the foundation for this article.*** JM Barrie's Peter Pan Miracle JM Barrie was born James Matthew Barrie on May 9, 1860, to a conservative Calvinist family in Scotland.

His father, David Barrie, was a weaver and his mother, Margaret Ogilvy, assumed the household responsibilities of raising 10 children (two of whom died before Barrie was born). Barrie loved reading and making up stories of his own. Famous for creating a boy who never grew up, Barrie's life experiences may have served as a great inspiration for the Peter Pan character. It is speculated that the 5ft 3 ½ in. Barrie may have experienced PSS, or psychosocial short stature, as a result of the death of his brother when he was just 6 years old. His mother, devastated by the loss of her favorite child, is said to have neglected her remaining children for a great deal of time afterwards. Barrie tried to cheer his mother up by wearing his brother's clothing and whistling the way he had. She was apparently comforted by the fact that her dead son would stay a boy forever, and never grow up to leave her. This theme is prevalent in a great deal of Barrie's writings, but most famously in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. Barrie moved to London, where he became well known as a playwright and novelist.

In 1894, he married an actress named Mary Ansell, but it wasn't a happy union, and ultimately ended in divorce. In a way to escape his uneasy home life, Barrie began taking long walks with his St. Bernard, Porthos, through London's Kensington Gardens. It was there that he met three of the five Llewelyn Davis boys, George, John, and baby Peter, who served as further inspiration for his writings. Childless himself, Barrie spent hours entertaining the boys with his stories, and impressing them with his ability to wiggle his ears and eyebrows. The 1902 book, The Little White Bird, marked the first appearance of the character of Peter Pan. Two years later, Peter Pan premiered as a stage play and was a great success. Audiences loved the tales of an ageless flying boy and the Darling children, who had wonderful adventures together in Neverland. On December 14, 1929, Barrie had the cast of the London production of Peter Pan come to the Great Ormond Street Hospital and perform the nursery scene for the children.

He had been a great supporter of the hospital for many years, and was even asked to serve on the committee to help the hospital raise funds for a much needed new wing. Barrie declined, but made it clear that he would find another way to help. Instead of simply raising some money or making a big one-time donation, JM Barrie performed what can only be described as a miracle. Unbeknownst to the hospital, starting in 1929, Barrie began donating 100% of the proceeds he earned from his Peter Pan royalties to GOSH. Barrie instructed his lawyers to keep the source of the donations anonymous. In those early years, the donations amounted to the inflation adjusted equivalent to several hundred thousand dollars. Just enough money to keep the hospital's doors open. But as we mentioned, GOSH had no idea where the money was coming from and had to assume it might run out at any time. Then JM Barrie performed a second miracle, this time from the grave. After Barried died in 1937, not only was he revealed as the source of the hospital's miracle donations, but GOSH discovered they were the beneficiaries of a much larger gift.

It turned out that in his will, JM Barrie bequeathed 100% of the rights to his most well-known creation, Peter Pan, to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. Barrie wasn't just giving away proceeds from the popular play, he was giving GOSH the rights to "Peter Pan" as a concept. This meant that GOSH would earn a royalty from all Peter Pan book sales, Peter Pan movies, Peter Pan merchandise, Peter Pan plays etc… That included sales of popular books like The Little White Bird, Peter and Wendy, Tommy and Grizel, The Boy Castaways, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and recent films like Disney's Peter Pan, Hook, Finding Neverland, and the 2003 live-action, Peter Pan. The Great Ormond Street Hospital As further evidence of JM Barrie's selflessness, the final stipulation of his will requested that the hospital never reveal the amount of money it received from his gift. And for nearly 85 years, GOSH has honored the writer's wishes.

According to several experts, over the decades, the Peter Pan royalty has generated tens of millions of dollars for GOSH, helping them grow into one of the world's leading children's hospitals that provides over 220,000 patient visits every year today. The institution has become so important that Princess Diana was president of GOSH for eight years, starting in 1989 until her tragic death in 1997. Interestingly, the UK and European copyright for Peter Pan should have expired in 1987, 50 years after JM Barrie's death. Fortunately for GOSH, they were about to experience a third and final miracle. At the time, one of the GOSH's trustees was a woman named Audrey Callaghan. Audrey happened to be married to the British Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan. Who knows how it went down, (I like to pretend it involved the withholding of sexy time in the bedroom), but eventually Jim Callaghan was convinced that something needed to be done to protect GOSH's million dollar miracle. In 1988, Jim successfully lobbied British Parliament to grant GOSH an unprecedented exception to UK copyright law.

This amendment made it so instead of entering into the public domain, Peter Pan would remain a copyrighted work in the UK in perpetuity, AKA forever. Furthermore, a special European Union directive extended the hospital's EU copyright an extra 20 years. In the United States, the question of copyright has been a little trickier. According to US copyright law, a work enters the public domain 95 years after first publication. That means the Peter Pan novel, which was published in 1911, entered the public domain in 2006. However, because Peter Pan as we know it today is actually based on the 1928 stage version, GOSH's film and stage copyright in the United States will be active 95 years from 1928, which is 2023. This last point has caused some serious headaches in Hollywood over the years. Recently, Disney allegedly pulled out of an planned film adaptation of the Peter Pan play, because it did not want to give up merchandising rights to the hospital. In 1913 JM Barrie was made a baronet by King George V. This entitled him to be forever referred to as "Sir" James Barrie.

He also was awarded the Order of Merit which honors great contributions to and distinguished service to the British armed forces, science, art or literature. More importantly, over the last 84 years, JM Barrie's incredibly generous gift as provided three major miracles for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. And since the Catholic church requires three miracles in order to qualify for sainthood, maybe we will be seeing a St. Barrie some day soon! Share on Facebook Brian Warner Prior to launching Celebrity Net Worth, Brian spent seven years as the Managing Editor of one of the largest entertainment portals on the internet. Before that, Brian attended Georgetown University where he double majored in finance and marketing. A native of Northern California, Brian currently resides in Los Angeles. Follow him on Google+ . Did we make a mistake? Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it!

Great Ormond Street Hospital Peter Pan and Great Ormond Street Hospital Star Rating 4 Telegraph Star Rating Feature Keeping kids busy: a scene from Peter Pan being performed at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in December 1929 Credit: Courtesy of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity Title Pan Title Foreign Title Foreign Title Star Rating 4 Telegraph Star Rating Actors Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Jimmy Vee, Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund, Cara Delevingne Actors Director Joe Wright Director Genre Family Genre Synopsis In Neverland, an orphan who does not want to grow up must battle the pirate Blackbeard Synopsis Release Date 16-10-2015 Release Date Duration 111 mins Duration Rating PG Rating Country UK Country In 1929 JM Barrie gifted the Peter Pan rights to Great Ormond Street Hospital, Karen Krizanovich explores the hospital's special relationship with the boy who wouldn't grow up In 1929, Peter Pan playwright and novelist JM Barrie was approached to take part in a Great Ormond Street Hospital committee to buy land for a badly needed new medical wing. Barrie declined, saying that he hoped to help in another way.

Two months later, the hospital board discovered that the Scottish author had given over all rights to Peter Pan for Great Ormond Street’s use, so beginning the long association of the work with London’s most renowned children’s hospital. Why Barrie would donate the legacy to his most popular creation is easy to explain, according to Christine De Poortere, Peter Pan Director at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSHCC). Before moving to the famous address of 31 Kensington Park Gardens, Barrie’s first lodgings in 1885 were in Bloomsbury’s Guilford Street and Grenville Street, very near the Great Ormond Street and the hospital. Placing the house of Peter Pan’s fictional family, the Darlings, in the same area, the first recorded donation to the institute by Barrie was in 1908.

It’s almost as if by his simple act of altruism, Barrie’s Peter Pan reaches into the future in order to save the lives of as many boys and girls as possible “He was the JK Rowling of his time,” says De Poortere, “so he must have had pleas for donations all the time.” In 1922, when a swimming pool and playground in Catford wanted to use the name “Peter Pan”, Barrie insisted the copyright money should be donated to the hospital. This was the start of Barrie’s quite astounding act of charity. In 1929, the same year as his donation, Barrie hosted a Guildhall dinner and explained the inspiration behind his action: “At one time, Peter Pan was an invalid in the Hospital for Sick Children, and it was he who put me up to the little thing I did for the Hospital.” That same year, cast members of the London production entertained children at the hospital at Barrie’s suggestion, starting a tradition that continues to this day.

The ownership of the rights, confirmed with the author’s death in 1937, gives the hospital’s charity a percentage of royalties from stage productions, broadcasting and publication of the whole, part or adaptation of Peter Pan in the UK. According to Barrie’s wishes, the monetary total his donation has generated will never be revealed. While Peter Pan has been financially and symbolically beneficial, the revenue it generates is, according to the charity, “…a long way off being our main source of charitable income”. Showtime: Peter following his defeat of Captain Hook from the original 1904 production Credit: Courtesy of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity Along with JM Barrie’s Birthplace Museum in Kirriemuir, Scotland, the hospital’s Peter Pan archive is a frequent place of pilgrimage for fans, researchers and aficionados. Although often erroneously referred to as a “museum”, De Poortere insists it’s, “…not a proper museum. More like a random collection of stuff.” But this “stuff” is a treasure trove for any Peter Pan fan: figurines, playbills, photographs, signatures and books all related to the 100-year history of Peter Pan.

In the 10 years she’s spent looking after the Peter Pan charity, De Poortere doesn’t have any particular favourites among the Barrie miscellanea. Stating that she likes, “anything old” – such as the original play book from Peter Pan’s first performance just after Christmas in December 1904 – she’s well versed in every nook and cranny of Barrie’s original creation and its continually changing existence. De Poortere is also rather fond of the first Peter Pan graphic novel by Stephen White. In 1929 cast members of the London production entertained children at the hospital at Barrie’s suggestion, starting a tradition that continues to this day Barrie memorials and Peter Pan memorabilia can be seen throughout the hospital. But to catch a glimpse of the Tinker Bell Play area, a tiled mural donated by the University of Wolverhampton, or a plaque dedicated to Barrie, an appointment is necessary. But even if Great Ormond Street Hospital is not a public place, visitors can admire a bronze statue of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell at one of the entrances. There may be another reason why Barrie would fund a children’s hospital in perpetuity.

When he was six years old, Barrie’s elder brother David – apparently his mother’s favourite – fractured his skull in a skating accident and died shortly thereafter, only days before his 14th birthday. It is said that David’s untimely death gave his little brother the notion of staying young forever. It could be, too, that if there had been a children’s hospital nearby, David Barrie would have lived. All hypotheticals aside, the fact remains that Barrie’s generosity has helped the lives of many ailing children and distraught parents. It’s almost as if by his simple act of altruism, Barrie’s Peter Pan reaches into the future in order to save the lives of as many boys and girls as possible. Watch Pan in cinemas across the UK and find out more at warnerbros.co.uk/pan Copyright | Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity J M Barrie’s gift of the rights to Peter Pan has provided a significant source of income to Great Ormond Street Hospital ever since they were given to the hospital in 1929.

Copyright Designs and Patents Act The copyright first expired in the UK (and the rest of Europe) in 1987, 50 years after Barrie’s death. However, former Prime Minister Lord Callaghan successfully proposed an amendment to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) of 1988 , giving Great Ormond Street Hospital the unique right to royalties from stage performances of Peter Pan (and any adaptation of the play) as well as from publications, audio books, ebooks,radio broadcasts and films of the story of Peter Pan, in perpetuity. Copyright in UK and Europe In 1996, the copyright term was extended to 70 years after the author’s death throughout the European Union, which meant Peter Pan enjoyed revived copyright until 31 December 2007, after which it entered the public domain in Europe (except in Spain where the copyright will endure until the end of 2017, thanks to previous legislation). In the UK, the CDPA therefore prevails so that the hospital will continue enjoying the benefit of Barrie’s gift in perpetuity.

US copyright Although the novel Peter Pan (also known as Peter and Wendy) is in the public domain in the US, the play (and stage adaptations) is in copyright there until 2023. This is because the novel was published in 1911, but the play itself was only published in 1928, so its copyright was extended by the new term of first date of publication plus 95 years (set by the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1998 for works published between 1923 and 1977). Royalties A royalty means a percentage of the ticket price or book price payable to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for performances, published books or films based on Peter Pan wherever applicable. Credits We are indebted to the inspirational and talented people who created the words and imagery of Peter Pan. The quotes and illustrations used throughout this site are covered by copyright. More information If you would like to find out more about publishing Peter Pan in the UK please contact the team at peterpan@gosh.org .

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity - Wikigiving.org.uk Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity From Wikigiving.org.uk 5 Website Our mission We raise money to enable Great Ormond Street Hospital to provide world-class care for its young patients and their families and to pioneer new treatments and cures for childhood illness by: - Contributing to the rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital - Funding the most up-to-date equipment - Supporting research into, and development of, breakthrough treatments - Providing accommodation and other support services for children and their families Where you money goes Your money helps us to build state of the art facilities, develop new treatments, provide the best equipment and support our remarkable patients and their families. In 2010-11 we spent £39 million on charitable activities. Our history The Hospital for Sick Children first opened it doors at 49 Great Ormond Street on Valentine's Day 1852 with 10 beds. Dr Charles West was the driving force behind its opening, driven by the shockingly high level of infant mortality in the capital. The first in-patient was Eliza Armstrong from Lisson Grove, suffering from phthisis and bronchitis.

The first child admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital as an out-patient was two-year-old George Parr, who had catarrh and diarrhoea – not serious by today's standards, but this was a time when one third of children born in London died before adulthood. Celebrity support The new hospital quickly attracted public support. Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens and author JM Barrie, who donated the copyright to his famous play Peter Pan, were among the first to pledge their help. Celebrities continue to give their time and support to the hospital. Major supporters Many companies gave generously, as did wealthy individuals in their wills, and wards were named after benefactors – the Gas Light & Coke Company Ward, and the Annie Zunz Ward, for example. GOSH also encouraged donors to sponsor the children's iron cots, and three were sponsored by a popular children’s paper, Aunt Judy. Fundraising dinners Fundraising dinners were a major part of the hospital's early fundraising activity. Charles Dickens' rousing speech at the Freemasons' Hall in 1858 pulled in over £3,000, enough to buy the house next door and double the hospital's bed spaces.

World War II When GOSH was bombed during the war, fundraisers sold matchboxes full of the rubble, and circulated a 'bomb book' here and abroad, which supporters could sign. This book was signed by the British and American cabinets, members of the Royal Family and most of the big names in Hollywood. Wishing Well Appeal The Wishing Well Appeal was launched in 1987 to redevelop the hospital, and build parental accommodation and a cardiac wing. The now familiar teardrop logo was created, and the slogan 'Help Great Ormond Street Get Better' struck a chord with people across the country, who gave generously. The Prince and Princess of Wales were joint patrons of the appeal and it was hugely successful, raising £54 million in just two years. It funded the new Variety Club building which opened in 1994. 150th Anniversary In 2002, the hospital celebrated its 150th anniversary with a year of commemorative and fundraising events, kicked off by Victoria Beckham, HM The Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Peter Pan and the hospital JM Barrie gave all the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929, and this was later confirmed when he died in 1937. Since then the hospital has received royalties every time a production of the play is put on, as well as from the sale of Peter Pan books and other products. Barrie requested that the amount raised from Peter Pan should never be revealed, and the hospital has always honoured his wishes. Although he and his wife were childless, Barrie loved children and had supported Great Ormond Street Hospital for many years. In 1929 he was approached to sit on a committee to help buy some land so that the hospital could build a much needed new wing. Barrie declined to serve on the committee but said that he "hoped to find another way to help". Two months later, the hospital board was stunned to learn that Sir James had handed over all his rights to Peter Pan. At a Guildhall dinner later that year Barrie, as host, claimed that Peter Pan had been a patient in Great Ormond Street Hospital and that: 'It was he who put me up to the little thing I did for the hospital'.

So began the enduring link between the author and the children of Great Ormond Street Hospital. Website Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children | Exploring London Famous Londoners – Dr Richard Mead… December 8, 2014 Eighteenth century physician Dr Richard Mead is noted not only for his attendance on the rich and famous of his time – including royalty – but also for his philanthropy, his expansive collections and, importantly, his contributions in the field of medicine. Born in Stepney, London, on the 11th August, 1673, as the 11th of 13 children of nonconforming minister Matthew Mead, Mead studied both Utrecht and Leiden before receiving his MD in Italy. Returning to England in 1696, he founded his own medical practice in Stepney. He married Ruth Marsh in 1699 and together the couple had at least eight children, several of whom died young, before her death in 1720 (he subsequently married again, this time to Anne, daughter of a Bedfordshire knight, Sir Rowland Alston).

Having published the then seminal text – A Mechanical Account of Poisons – in 1702, the following year Mead was admitted to the Royal Society. He also took up a post as a physician at St Thomas’ Hospital, a job which saw him move to a property in Crutched Friars in the City – his home until 1711, when he relocated to Austin Friars. It was after this that he become friends with eminent physician John Radcliffe who chose Mead as his successor and, on his death in 1714, bequeathed him his practice and his Bloomsbury home (not to mention his gold-topped cane, now on display at the Foundling Museum – see note below). Following Radcliffe’s death, in August of that year Dr Mead attended Queen Anne on her deathbed. Other distinguished patients over his career included King George I, his son Prince George and daughter-in-law Princess Caroline – in fact he was appointed as official physician to the former prince when elevated to the throne as King George II – as well as Sir Isaac Newton, lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope, Sir Robert Walpole and painter Antoine Watteau.

Mead, who had been named a governor of St Thomas’ in 1715 and elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1716, was over the years recognised as an expert in a range of medical fields – including, as well as poisons, smallpox, scurvy and even the transmission of the plague. Among the many more curious stories about Dr Mead is one concerning a ‘duel’ (or fistfight) he apparently fought with rival Dr John Woodward outside Gresham College in 1719 over their differences in tackling smallpox and others which concern experiments he conducted with venomous snakes to further his knowledge of venom before writing his text on poisons. Dr Mead was also known for his philanthropy and became one of the founding governors of the Foundling Hospital (as well as being its medical advisor) – a portrait of him by artist Allan Ramsay (for whom he was a patron), currently hangs at the museum.

Dr Mead, who by this stage lived in Great Ormond Street in Bloomsbury (the property, which backed onto the grounds of the Foundling Museum and which Mead had moved into after his first wife’s death, later formed the basis of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children), is also noted for the large collection he gathered of paintings – including works by Dürer, Holbein, Rembrandt, and Canaletto, a library of more than 10,000 books, antiquities and classical sculpture as well as coins and jewels, all of which scholars and artists could access at his home (it took some 56 days to sell it all after his death). While Dr Mead – who died on 16th February, 1754 – was buried in the Temple Church, there is a monument to him – including a bust by Peter Scheemakers – in the north aisle of Westminster Abbey. Dr Mead is currently being honoured in an exhibition at the Foundling Museum – The Generous Georgian: Dr Richard Mead – which runs until 4th January. There’s an accompanying blog here which provides more information on his life and legacy.

Share this: 10 fictional character addresses in London – 8. The Darling’s House… December 18, 2013 In JM Barrie’s 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy (based on the stage play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up), the adventure begins when Peter Pan visits the home of the Darling family. He secretly listens in – via an open window – while Mrs Darling tells bedtime stories to her children – Wendy, John and Michael – but during one visit loses his shadow and it’s on returning to claim it that he meets Wendy and, well, you know the rest… Peter Pan is most famously associated with Kensington Gardens – it’s here that we are first introduced to the character of Peter in the book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (in fact there’s a rather famous statue of him there to this day, pictured above) – it’s most often assumed that the Darling’s house must be nearby.

But, in fact, the book Peter and Wendy never states where the Darlings’ house is located exactly – just that it is at number 14 in the street in which they live – while in the 1904 play the address is given as “a rather depressed street” in Bloomsbury. Barrie explains that he placed the Darlings’ house in Bloomsbury because Mr Roget (of Thesaurus fame) once lived there and “we whom he has helped to wend our way through life have always wanted to pay him a little compliment”. Worth noting, however, is a property at 31 Kensington Park Gardens. Once the home of the Llewellyn Davies family, family friend Barrie was a frequent visitor here and in fact went on to adopt the five Llewellyn Davies children following the death of their parents in the early 1900s. The property, which is divided into a series of flats, is, as a result, said to have been something of a model for the Darling’s house.

Barrie, himself, meanwhile, owned a house at 100 Bayswater Road – not far from Kensington Gardens where he first meet the Llewellyn Davies family – but, interestingly, had previously lived in Bloomsbury. The house is marked with a blue plaque. Another Peter Pan-related address we have to mention is that of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children to which Barrie gave the rights to receive royalties from Peter Pan in perpetuity. You can arrange for a tour of the hospital’s Peter Pan-related memorabilia. For more on the story behind the writing of Peter Pan, see Andrew Birkin’s book, J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys . Treasures of London – Peter Pan statue, Kensington Gardens August 5, 2011 It’s now one of the most popular statues in London – the diminuative “boy who wouldn’t grow up”. But few people today are aware of its somewhat unusual origins. Located about half-way along the western shore of the Long Water in Kensington Gardens, the bronze statue first “appeared” in the park in 1912.

The story goes that author JM Barrie, who published his first story about Peter Pan – The Little White Bird – in 1902, chose the location of the statue based on it being the place where, in the story, Peter Pan landed after flying out of the nursery window of his home. Peter Pan first appeared on stage two years later in 1904 in the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, and this was later expanded into a novel by Barrie, Peter and Wendy. He’s since appeared in numerous film and stage adaptations – including sequels and prequels to the original tales. Barrie had apparently been thinking about the statue for some time prior to its appearance – in 1906 he went so far as to take a series of photographs of six-year-old Michael Llewelyn Davies wearing a Peter Pan costume (it was Barrie’s relationship with the Llewelyn Davies family which is said to have inspired Peter Pan’s creation). Six years later Barrie commissioned Sir George Frampton to create the statue – interestingly, in what was a cause of some friction between the artist and patron, Sir George modelled his figure not on Llewelyn Davies but on another boy.

Peter is seen playing on some pipes and is surrounded by small animals and fairies. There’s no sign of Captain Hook. On the 1st of May, the statue simply appeared in its current position after being taken into the park under the cover of darkness. Barrie announced what he called his “May Day gift” to the children of London in The Times newspaper, describing it as “delightfully conceived”. There was apparently some initially concerns raised among MPs about the appropriateness of an author erecting a statue to promote his own work but it has since become an iconic symbol of the gardens (and undergone some repairs – including after an incident in 1952 when Peter’s pipes were stolen). So popular has the statue proved, that copies of the Peter Pan statue – created using Sir George’s mould – can now be found in Liverpool as well as in countries including Canada, Brussels, Australia and the US. There are others (not copies) in Kirriemuir, Scotland (Barrie’s birthplace) and another of him with Tinkerbell outside Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (which holds the copyright to the character).

WHERE: Peter Pan statue (nearest Tube station is Lancaster Gate); WHEN: 6am to dusk daily; COST: Free; WEBSITE: Share this:

Question: The rights to which children's book were bequeathed to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929?
Answer: Peter Pan