Port Sunlight Village Tourism Lady Lever Art Gallery Wirral Peninsula UK

Port Sunlight Village Heritage & The Sunlight Vision Museum

Before William Hesketh Lever built his Port Sunlight Village on the Wirral, the site was a mass of marshy ground. However, it had what he needed for his factory including excellent transport links - both a river and railways - for bringing in his raw materials. By 1888 the 'garden village' Port Sunlight was founded and today it is very much preserved in its Victorian splendor as it was then. The village still sits within its original boundaries and is cared for by a Trust which also manages the Sunlight Vision Museum.

You can learn all about the very first Port Sunlight villagers in the late Victorian/early Edwardian periods within the Sunlight Vision Museum. The film show set - 'Sunlight Spirit' serves as a comprehensive introduction catering well for children with villagers such as the school teacher, factory workers and the principal architect J L Simpson telling their stories. Fascinating detail emerges from both the film and exhibits including Lever's particular skills in advertising and design. The Sunlight Soap brand, embellished with Lever's choice of endearing sentimental small children and pets was a winner from the start. Exhibits explore the many social clubs and leisure pursuits undertaken in Port Sunlight and detail Lever's emphasis on the importance of education, leisure time and the appreciation of art and culture for all. Due attention is also given to the fact that if workers left their jobs they lost their homes, but most stressed that here in Port Sunlight they had access to facilities and leisure pursuits that they could not enjoy elsewhere. The facts speak for themselves. In 1909 the infant mortality rate in Port Sunlight was 70 per 1000 live births compared to a national average of 119 per 1000 and in Liverpool 140 per 1000. Port Sunlight was also one of the first villages to have electricity via the factory's own power station. Inclusive in a visit to the heritage centre is a free guided tour leaflet of the village with detailed map guiding you through historic buildings within Port Sunlight including Christ Church, the Lever Memorial, The Lyceum and Gladstone Theatre as well as Lever House itself, still a working building and factory producing the well known Unilever brands of Persil, Comfort, Surf and Domestos.

An interactive scale model of the village is also within the heritage centre, and kids can design their own Port Sunlight house or soap packaging. Exhibition panels contain numerous memorabilia and artefacts pertaining to the village and to Lever products. Particularly fascinating is the original packaging for Sunlight Soap and other early Lever products and unknown facts such as Lever providing free Sunlight Soap for Scott's Antarctic expedition.

Sunlight Vision Museum, 23 King George's Drive, Port Sunlight, Wirral, CH62 5DX. Tel. 0151 644 6466.Open 10am to 5.00 pm from May to Sept. 10am to 4.30 pm Oct to April. Closed Christmas week. See the Port Sunlight webguide right for admission prices and details. The superb Port Sunlight Gift shop contains some beautiful historic Lever posters and gifts including the Sunlight, Lifebuoy and Pears Soaps in recreated original packaging. The shop is also online via the Port Sunlight webguide.

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Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village

Renowned for its collection of fine and decorative arts, the Lady Lever Art Gallery opened in Port Sunlight in 1922. Designed by Geoffrey Owen, the younger son of William Owen, W.H. Lever had the gallery built as a memorial to his wife who died in 1913 and to whom, Lever always claimed, was the very source of his inspiration and ideas. The eclectic mix of art on display here at Lady Lever is derived from Lever's personal collection. His original inspiration for collecting art from the 1880s was the use of images for advertising his Port Sunlight soap. Within the basement of the gallery you can view original paintings commissioned by Lever for the soap brand including the distinctive fisherman images used for Lifebuoy soap and the Puppy Love Series for Sunlight Soap. He soon went on to amass a huge art collection, buying complete collections from other distinguished collectors.

Highlights within include a superb collection of 18th and 19th century British painting (Turner, Constable, Whistler, Romney, Rossetti, Etty and Millais are all on display here) alongside acclaimed collections of Wedgwood, Chinese porcelain and 18th century furniture. Lady Lever's particular edge is the very building itself - the Edwardian charm of Lady Lever compliments the art. The effect is like a giant ornate but not intimidating Edwardian house into which all are invited to appreciate art. The gallery stands as one of the finest collections of British Victorian art.

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, Wirral, CH62 5EQ. Tel. 0151 478 4136. Entry is Free. From Liverpool city centre by road drive through the Birkenhead (Queensway) Tunnel (small toll) then follow clear signs to Port Sunlight village via the A41 New Chester Road. The Lady Lever Gallery is clearly signposted all the way from the tunnel. Buses from Liverpool city centre are either numbers 464 or 38 to Bebington Road from Sir Thomas Street Liverpool City Centre. Detailed directions are on the Lady Lever webguide below.

www.ladyleverartgallery.org.uk Open 10am-5pm daily Closed from 2pm on 24 December, all day 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

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