The template for urban planning

Port Sunlight survives today as arguably the finest example of early urban planning in the UK, and one of the finest surviving examples of industrial worker villages in the world

In 1888 William Hesketh Lever bought a parcel of Wirral marshland on the banks of the River Mersey, William Lever to build his Lever Brothers' new soap factory.

Hesketh, an acute businessman, was also a profound philanthropist.

He realised that providing the highest quality of housing for his workers would be rewarded with loyalty and hard work.

Lever had the vision and resources to put his theory into practices.

Port Sunlight

It was called Port Sunlight after the companies top selling Sunlight Soap.

William Lever brought in a large team of architects to design low density housing spread throughout acres of landscaped parks and gardens with allotments for his employees to tend.

Port Sunlight was a self-contained community with shops, social clubs and a theatre.

The village became a shining example of progressive thinking at a time when other industrialists were cramming their employees in slum hovels.

They would cram some up to 60 cheaply constructed 'slum dwellings' per acre with the inevitable health, crime and social issues that were endemic of such an approach ignored.

In Port Sunlight, there were just 18 homes of genuine quality linked to a lifestyle to be cherished.

Safe and secure in the Trust's hands

The slums that blighted much of Britains industrial landscape have long been swept away, while Port Sunlight remains largely intact and a beacon of urban planning at its best.

This is why today it has more than 900 Grade II listed buildings in 130 acres of parkland and gardens.

While some Port Sunlight properties are now in private ownership, many more were handed over to the Port Sunlight Village Trust in 1999, which is charged continues to ensure the village and its history is not lost.

As such, visitors today can appreciate why the village was seen as a shining example of the aesthetic movement, which emphasised visual and sensual qualities of art and design.

The Arts and Crafts Movement, which championed traditional craftsmanship and the beauty of the rural ideal, also took Port Sunlight to its heart

What Lever created with Port Sunlight also became the inspiration for the 'garden city' approach to future development that followed.

A day at Port Sunlight

Port Sunlight Museum

A first stop on any visit to Port Sunlight should be its museum, which tells the story of William Lever and his creation of the village for workers at his Sunlight Soap factory.

A short video here sets the ground work for a visit, explaining how the village developed over the years and highlighting the roles and lives of those who built it and lived here.

https://portsunlightvillage.com/port-sunlight-museum

The workers cottage

No. 22 King George's Drive, which is next to the Museum, is a recreated Port Sunlight worker's cottage.

It is based on the home of the Carr family, who were real long-time tenants and worked in the Lever Brothers factory.

The cottage with is parlour, scullery and bedrooms has artefacts of the time with a guide on hand to share stories of the property and its occupants back then.

https://portsunlightvillage.com/workers-cottage

The Lady Lever Art Gallery

Dedicated to the memory of William Lever's wife, the Lady Lever Art Gallery is the grand heart of the village.

Its galleries display some of the finest examples of Wedgwood jasperware anywhere along with Pre-Raphaelite paintings and period furniture.

https://portsunlightvillage.com/lady-lever-art-gallery and https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/lady-lever-art-gallery

Parks and gardens

Port Sunlight's 130 acres of colourful gardens and parks are cared for year round by Port Sunlight Village Trust's gardeners.

This includes the front gardens of every property as these are listed alongside the houses.

The village is Green Flag Award accredited in recognition of its well-kept green spaces and Lever's original thinking about open space inspired the Garden City movement.

This greatly enhances a visit, particularly during fine weather, particularly on the walking tours that are offered twice-daily.

https://portsunlightvillage.com/gardens-parks/

The Gladstone Theatre

The Gladstone Theatre was integral to Lever's overall plans for the village.

Half-timbered over a red brick ground floor with tiled roofs and tile-hanging, it began as an assembly and recreation hall with a platform stage for entertainment.

Art Nouveau panels over the door commemorate its opening by then Prime Minister W E Gladstone.

With a proscenium stage added in the 1920s, the theatre has a full, year-round, and diverse programme of musical productions, pantomime and comedy and cabaret evenings along with productions by local operatic and dramatic societies.

https://gladstonetheatre.org.uk/#whatson

Our first visit to the Gladstone Theatre was for a performance of Dreamworld Entertainments Eastertime production of Jack And The Beanstalk.

It was a vibrant production that brought the theatre to life and with the youngsters in the audience lapping it up.

Dreamworld, who regularly bring their productions to the Gladstone, will be back at the theatre with their traditional Christmastime pantomime Dick Whittington (5 to 31 December 2026).

https://gladstonetheatre.org.uk/events/dick-whittington/

https://gladstonetheatre.org.uk

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