where did the name wendy house come from
Wendy house - wikipedia Wendy house Jump to : navigation , search The `` Wendy house '' from Peter Pan Playhouse built at Chartwell by Winston Churchill for his children A Wendy house or playhouse is a small house for children , large enough for one or more children to enter . Size and solidity can vary from a plastic kit to something resembling a real house in a child 's size . Usually there is one room , a doorway with a window on either side , and little or no furniture other than that which the children improvise . The original was built for Wendy Darling in J.M. Barrie 's play , Peter Pan , or The Boy Who Would n't Grow Up . Wendy was shot by the Lost Boy Tootles after arriving in Neverland , so Peter Pan and the Lost Boys built a small house around her where she had fallen . It was inspired by the wash - house behind Barrie 's childhood home in Kirriemuir and first appeared in story form in The Little White Bird in which fairies build a house around Mamie Mannering -- the prototype for Wendy -- so protecting her from the cold . A prop house was created by Barrie for the first stage production of the play in 1904 . It was constructed like a tent so that it could be erected quickly during a song which Wendy starts with : I wish I had a darling house The littlest ever seen , With funny little red walls And roof of mossy green . John 's hat was used as a chimney and a slipper was used as a door knocker . Toy manufacturers soon created replicas of the stage Wendy house , which have become a standard toy found in British gardens ever since . Contents ( hide ) 1 South African usage 2 Playhouses for children around the world 3 See also 4 Notes South african usage ( edit ) In South Africa , Wendy houses are a form of accommodation for low - income people . The structure is usually erected in someone 's backyard . Although many people may view this as temporary accommodation , many families have lived in such a structure for years . It is very common among the black population in South Africa ; among the larger black population it is often constructed from corrugated iron instead of wood . The term `` wendy house '' usually refers to the wooden temporary accommodation , although there are various other types . Corrugated iron structures are called `` shacks '' , while cement board structures are called `` nutecs '' . Among the more affluent population , wendy houses are used as entertainment huts , children 's playhouses , or for storage . Playhouses for children around the world ( edit ) Astin Mansion Children 's Playhouse Haskell Playhouse Globally , the term playhouse is more generic and more common than the term Wendy house . A few online companies offer rustic , inflatable , or corrugated iron varieties : these are usually set up by the individuals directly to avoid the price increase that comes with external suppliers . Most of the online established companies set up only wooden or nutec structures . The quality of these companies varies greatly . A playhouse may become a hide - away , fort , club house in a child 's imagination or simply a place to `` play house '' in imitation of adult behavior . Treehouses or tents sometimes serve as a playhouse or secret vantage point for children . Modern Cubby House design A Cubby House is another name for playhouses . There are both indoor and outdoor children 's playhouses and manufactured kits for assembly by adults or children . A playhouse may become a hide - away or club house in a child 's imagination . Treehouses built by or for adults are often appropriated by children as a secret vantage point and may become a safety concern . See also ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Playhouses . Cubby - hole Notes ( edit ) ^ Jump up to : Philippa Lewis , Everything You Can Do in the Garden Without Actually Gardening ^ Jump up to : Michael Cordner , Peter Pan and other plays , Oxford University Press Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wendy_house&oldid=832188175 '' Categories : Traditional toys House types Garden features Peter Pan Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 24 March 2018 , at 11 : 17 . About Wikipedia
1. Wendy house - a small house for children
2. Playhouses for children
3. South African usage of Wendy houses
4. Types of playhouses around the world
5. Cubby houses - another name for playhouses