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Winnie-the-Pooh’s fame reached new heights in 1961 when Disney acquired the rights
Christmas Eve marks the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of one of the world’s most popular children’s characters.
Winnie-the-Pooh first featured in the short story The Wrong Sort of Bees published in the newspaper London Evening News on 24 December 1925.
The bear soon became loved world-wide, alongside Tigger, Christopher Robin, the game of Pooh sticks and the fictional 100 Aker Wood, which was in reality Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where author AA Milne had a country home.
Pooh’s enormous fame still generates a substantial income for the area to this day, with £450,000 of public money being used to fund a programme of events locally to mark the anniversary.
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AA Milne wrote Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, followed by The House at Pooh Corner in 1928
The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest, an area of open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
In 1925 AA Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield.
Winnie-the-Pooh, featuring the imaginary adventures of Milne’s son Christoper Robin and his toy bear, was published in 1926 and its sequel The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.
There were also two books of poems featuring the much-loved characters.
The original bridge where Milne and his son Christopher Robin created the game Pooh sticks became worn and unsafe in the late 1990s.
It was dismantled and replaced with a replica which is still in place in Ashdown Forest.
The original structure sold at auction in 2021 for £131,000.
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AA Milne with his son Christopher Robin and the well-loved bear in 1926
The honey-loving bear took on a new level of fame when Disney acquired the rights to the stories in 1961.
Pooh Corner has been a gift shop and tea room close to Pooh Sticks Bridge in Hartfield since 1978 and is filled with mementos.
Owner Neil Reed said: “It’s amazing to have people travel to our little village hidden in the English countryside from all over the world to celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh.
Pooh Corner
Pooh Corner has acquired a rare copy of the 1925 Evening News story which features illustrations by J. H. Dowd
“We love hearing from visitors about why he is special to them and the reasons behind them travelling so far to come to the Ashdown Forest.”
Pooh Trek Tours has organised guided walks around the forest since 2018, taking in the sites made famous by the books.
Founder Gerry Manser said around 90% of people on his tours came from outside the UK, predominantly from north America.
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Christopher Milne revisited the original Pooh Sticks Bridge in 1979
He said: “The 100th anniversary is an extremely important event for the forest.
“Without Pooh one of the most remarkable landscapes in the UK wouldn’t be as well-known.”
The commemorations in Ashdown Forest to mark Pooh’s 100th birthday are expected to include an installation, which would transform the forest’s visitor centre into a life-sized pop-up book.
There are also plans to create new walking trails within the forest, designed to avoid protected sites.
