In 1887, Lever Brothers began looking for a new site on which to expand its soap-making business. The company bought 56 acres of flat unused marshy land on the west bank of the River Mersey on the Wirral peninsula. This site became Port Sunlight, where William Lever built his works and a model village to house his employees.
William Lever 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, open air swimming pool, church, and a temperance hotel.
Port Sunlight Post Office. This postcard was posted on August 19th, 1916 to Lance Corporal J. Ellis of 28843 D Company, 2nd South Lancashire Regiment, while he was at Moor Lane Camp, near Crosby.Cottage Homes. Park Road, Port Sunlight.Church Drive School, Port Sunlight. This postcard was sent to a patient at the Royal Infirmary in Sheffield on July 23rd, 1908.Tennis Lawn, Port Sunlight. The Lyceum building is on the left of the image. This area is now Port Sunlight Village and Works Bowling Club’s bowling greens.Wood Street, Port Sunlight.The Dell, Corniche Road, Port Sunlight.Cottage Homes, on the corner of Park Road and Greendale Road, Port Sunlight.The Technical Institute, Port Sunlight. Known as Hesketh Hall and was the home of the local branch of the Royal British Legion until 2013, when it was converted for residential use.A 1980s view of Christ Church, Port Sunlight.
