Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mary Poppins author commemorated with blue plaque

Author P. L. Travers, whose Mary Poppins books inspired the Disney film, has been honoured by English Heritage with a blue plaque outside her former home.

To mark London History Day the plaque has been  installed outside 50 Smith Street in Chelsea in west London, where Travers lived for 17 years.

The residence also inspired the depiction of the Banks family’s home in the 1964 cinema adaptation starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers lived at 50 Smith Street in Chelsea for 17 years.
Mary Poppins author P. L. Travers lived at 50 Smith Street in Chelsea for 17 years. (English Heritage)

Travers’ daughter-in-law Frances shared her memories of the Australian-born writer’s time at the house, where she lived after returning from the US in 1945.

Frances Travers said: “Mimoo as we called her, lived in Smith Street before any of the Kings Road commercial frenzy had begun.

“She always wore a soft grey coat that swung from the shoulders, I think it was called a duster coat, and little dresses of many blue and grey checks just to mid-calf underneath.

“In her little green Ford she was able to be independent and that is how I like to remember her, with Crocus the tortoiseshell cat and Pompey the beloved dachshund!

“I am so glad that a plaque has been put on this house as memories of those days are so dear to me.

“That’s when I arrived in London aged about 16, spellbound by the knowledge of what wonderful people had lived in the streets all around.

“No wonder she loved to live there too!”

Travers wrote eight books about the magical English nanny who is blown  into the Banks’ family household to care for their children Jane and Michael.

Travers had reservations about the way the characters in her books was reinterpreted in the Disney film.

Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks at the gala screening of Saving Mr Banks, the closing film of the 57th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square, London.
Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks at the gala screening of Saving Mr Banks, the closing film of the 57th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square, London

Her disputes with Walt Disney were dramatised in the 2013 film Saving Mr Banks, which starred Emma Thompson as Travers and Tom Hanks as Disney.

English Heritage’s London-wide blue plaque scheme has been running  for 150 years.

Other prominent literary figures to have been recognised include Peter Pan creator J. M. Barrie in Bayswater, Moby Dick writer Herman Melville in Charing Cross, and The Wind In The Willows author Kenneth Grahame in Kensington.

English Heritage Blue Plaques’ senior historian Howard Spencer praised Travers’ boundless imagination, saying: “We’re pleased to be able to recognise her achievements with a blue plaque on the home where she lived during the negotiations with Disney and which was in her mind’s eye when she told him how the Banks’s family home should look.”