About Port Sunlight in Merseyside
Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, it was built by the Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in its soap factory (now Unilever) and was opened in 1888. The name is derived from Lever Brothers' most popular brand of soap, Sunlight.
Port Sunlight contains over 850 Grade II listed buildings, and was declared a Conservation Area in 1974. The village is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, close to the River Mersey. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Bebington and about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Birkenhead.
The village was built between 1888 and 1900 by Lever Brothers to house workers in its soap factory. It was designed by architects William Owen Williams and Walter Aubrey Thomas. Port Sunlight was an early example of a garden city.
The garden city movement began in 1898 with Ebenezer Howard's publication of Garden Cities of To-morrow. Port Sunlight fits many of Howard's ideals, although he was not involved in its design or construction.
The village consists of streets of houses, cottages, terraces, apartments and hostels set among gardens, parks, public buildings and open spaces. There are no industrial buildings or shops within the village, although there are some on its periphery.
The houses were designed for the working classes, and were rented out by the Lever Brothers at below-market rates. Between 1900 and 1914, 1,600 houses were built, at a cost of approximately £3 million (equivalent to £300 million in 2019).
The garden city movement aimed to combine the best of town and country living. Port Sunlight was intended to be self-sufficient, with everything its residents needed within walking distance of their homes.
The village has a church, a school, a hospital, a library, a theatre, an art gallery and a sports club. There are also several parks and open spaces. The River Mersey forms the southern boundary of the village.
The Lever Brothers factory was closed in 1987 and has been replaced by office buildings and apartments. However, Unilever still has a presence in Port Sunlight, with its global headquarters for personal care products located here.
Port Sunlight is now a popular tourist destination, with visitors coming to see the village's architecture and gardens, and to learn about its history.
