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Port Sunlight Village in the Wirral in the north west of England was built over 100 years ago
by William Hesketh Lever for the employees of his soap factory. Over 30 architects were contracted
to create an idyllic living space within an urban setting. Today the village is roughly a quarter
tenanted and three-quarters owner occupied and soon all of its properties will be privately owned.
All of the houses are grade 2 listed which means that occupiers are restricted in the amount of
changes they can make to the properties. The enforcement of the conservation rules lie with the
Port Sunlight Village Trust and the Wirral Borough Council.
Port Sunlight is also home to the Lady Lever Art Gallery built by Lord Lever for his wife and
opened in 1922. The gallery houses probably the best collection of late Victorian art in Britain
and also is home to works by John Millais, J.W.Waterhouse , Joshua Reynolds , Joseph Turner
John Constable , Lawrence Alma-Tadema , Dante Gabriel Rossetti and a host of other important
artists.
Central to the community in the Village is the Gladstone Theatre which stages amateur theatrical
productions as well as mainstream entertainments. Popular recent performances have included
RIck Wakeman, Ken Dodd, The Fureys, the Houghton Weavers, Pauline Daniels and a host of others.
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