Port Sunlight is a model village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in its soap factory (now part of Unilever); work commenced in 1888. The name is derived from Lever Brothers' most popular brand of cleaning agent,

Sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...

. Port Sunlight contains 900 Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s, and was declared a conservation area in 1978. Port Sunlight has been informally suggested for

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

(WHS) status to protect it from development and to preserve the unique character for future generations; however, it is not yet on the current UK "tentative list" for future consideration as a WHS. In the 2001 Census, its population was 1,450.

History

In 1887, Lever Brothers began looking for a new site on which to expand its soap-making business, which was at that time based in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. The company bought of flat unused marshy land in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, south of the River Mersey. It was large enough to allow space for expansion, and had a prime location between the river and a railway line. The site became Port Sunlight, where William Lever built his works and a model village to house his employees. William Lever (who was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in December 1911, and was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as the 1st Baron Leverhulme in June 1917, and was further advanced to being the 1st Viscount Leverhulme in December 1922) personally supervised planning the village, and employed nearly thirty different architects. Between 1899 and 1914, 800 houses were built to house a population of 3,500. The garden village had allotments and public buildings including the Lady Lever Art Gallery, a cottage hospital, schools, a concert hall, an open air swimming pool, a church, and a temperance hotel. Lever introduced welfare schemes, and provided for the education and entertainment of his workforce, encouraging recreation and organisations which promoted art, literature, science or music. The aims of Lord Leverhulme, as he became, were "to socialise and Christianise business relations and get back to that close family brotherhood that existed in the good old days of hand labour." He claimed that Port Sunlight was an exercise in

profit sharing Profit sharing refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses which provide direct or indirect payments to employees, often depending on the company's profitability, employees' regular salaries, and bonuses. In publicly traded compa ...

, but rather than share profits directly, he invested them in the village. He said, "It would not do you much good if you send it down your throats in the form of bottles of whisky, bags of sweets, or fat geese at Christmas. On the other hand, if you leave the money with me, I shall use it to provide for you everything that makes life pleasant – nice houses, comfortable homes, and healthy recreation." The historical significance of Port Sunlight lies in its combination of model industrial housing, providing materially decent conditions for working people, with the architectural and landscape values of the garden suburb, influenced by the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Each block of houses was designed by a different architect. The backs of any of the houses cannot be seen, and each house is unique. In terms of architectural features, there is half-timbering, carved woodwork and masonry, pargetting (ornamental plaster work) moulded and twisted chimneys and leaded glazed patterns. Some houses were built in Flemish style, with bricks imported from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Geography

Port Sunlight is on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, at the western side of the River Mersey. The area is approximately south-south-east of the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

at New Brighton and about east-north-east of the Dee Estuary at Gayton. The area is between above sea level.

Community

One of the great buildings in Port Sunlight is the Lady Lever Art Gallery. A keen art collector, Lever travelled all over the world and liked to show the villagers the art he collected. Opened in 1922 by Princess Beatrice, the art gallery shows Lever's collection and modern-day artwork. The collection includes a range of furniture, paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Other notable buildings include the Lyceum, the Gladstone Theatre (which hosts local amateur dramatic productions), Hesketh Hall (which housed the local branch of the Royal British Legion until 2013, when it was converted into 13 flats) and the "Bridge Inn"

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. The village contains Christ Church, a United Reformed Church, and opposite is a small primary school. Church Drive Primary School is open to people living outside the village and residents. There is a war memorial by Goscombe John in the village centre in memory of soldiers that died in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Port Sunlight has a water feature. The open air swimming pool is now a garden centre and cafe. Hulme Hall was built as a women's dining hall, but is now in use as a local community centre and hosts events. The Cottage Hospital, opened in 1907, was closed for many years but refurbished and reopened in 2008 as the Leverhulme Hotel. Until the 1980s, all residents were employees of Unilever and their families. During this decade the houses were first sold privately. The former village school is now a working men's club. The Port Sunlight River Park, on the banks of the River Mersey between Cammell Laird Shipyard and Bromborough Dock, opened to the public in 2014. The park is opposite Otterspool promenade and offers a view of Liverpool's waterfront, including the Anglican Cathedral and the Royal Albert Dock. It is an open, natural space that has been created on the former landfill site at Bromborough Dock. The site has been taken over by The Land Trust, 'a charity that is committed to the long term, sustainable management of open space for community benefit'. Walkways allow the public to appreciate the wildflowers and other wildlife; there is also a wetland area.

Transport

The area is served by both Bebington and Port Sunlight railway stations, on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. There are regular train services to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south-eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

and to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

via

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Cultural references

Port Sunlight was widely celebrated. In 1912, it became the subject of a hit West End musical comedy, '' The Sunshine Girl'', at the Gaiety Theatre, London. It starred Phyllis Dare, one of the most popular pin-ups of the Edwardian era, and was written by Paul Alfred Rubens. The show introduced the tango dance to British audiences. In 1919, Lever Brothers made a 40-minute-long sponsored film, ''Port Sunlight'', to promote the town and factory. The Sunlight Cottages in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

are rare surviving relics from the series of Great Exhibitions held in Kelvingrove Park in 1888, 1901 and 1911. These rambling, asymmetrical cottages were constructed in 1901 as replicas of two of the Port Sunlight houses. Designed in an idealised Elizabethan half-timbered style by Exhibition architect James Miller, the houses are picturesquely sited high above the Kelvin. Donated to the city of Glasgow by Lord Leverhulme after the close of the Exhibition, the cottages have been used as park workers' housing ever since. Port Sunlight was also used as a filming location for the British television series '' Peaky Blinders'' numerous times.

Notable people

Hulme Hall was the venue for drummer Ringo Starr's official debut as a member of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

on 18 August 1962. It is also the site of the band's first ever broadcast interview. The interview was with local

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Monty Lister and recorded for Radio Clatterbridge on 27 October 1962. Fiona Bruce, host (2008 to present) of the long-running British television show '' Antiques Roadshow'', grew up in Port Sunlight. In her introduction to an episode of the programme (Series 35 Episode 2) set in the village, she stood in front of her childhood home and explained that her father was a managing director of a division of Unilever.

Others

* William Owen (1846–1910), architect, collaborated in the construction of Port Sunlight * Thomas Bartley (1874–1951), footballer, played at Port Sunlight * James Wootton-Davies (1884–1964), politician, worked as a chemist in Port Sunlight * Arthur Herbert Procter (1890–1973), Victoria Cross recipient, educated in Port Sunlight * Arthur Charles Evans (1916–2011), author, employed at Lever Brothers * Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx (1916–2018), wife of Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, employed at Lever Brothers * Sean Hughes (1946–1990), politician, employed at Unilever * Jim Molyneux (1895-1950), footballer, born in Port Sunlight * Pete Burns (1959–2016), singer-songwriter, television personality, born in Port Sunlight

Gallery

File:Port Sunlight buildings 1.jpg, The Bridge Inn File:Port Sunlight buildings 3.jpg, Church Drive school File:Port Sunlight war memorial 1.jpg, The war memorial by Goscombe John File:Port Sunlight buildings 8.jpg, File:Port Sunlight buildings 7.jpg, File:Port Sunlight buildings 6.jpg, File:Port Sunlight buildings 4.jpg, File:8 – 12 The Causeway & 1 – 4 King George's Drive, Port Sunlight.jpg,

References

Sources

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External links

Port Sunlight Village Community
{{Authority control Company towns Grade II listed buildings in Merseyside Model villages Planned communities in England Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Unilever Populated places established in the 1880s Lever family