Port Sunlight

One of the finest surviving industrial garden villages in the UK is that of Port Sunlight. Founded in 1888 by William Hesketh Lever, the "soap king"  its location the result of him looking for somewhere to build a new soap works and house his employees. At that time this area on the Wirral was marshy farmland and tidal creeks but Lever saw its both as a potential source of labour and also good connections by road and rail.

Although Lever made his fortune by manufacturing soap he would have loved to be an architect so he wanted his workers village to be a pleasant place to live and be of the finest of the architecture of the time. In this pursuit he employed over a dozen different architectural practices.

One of which was his godson James Lomax-Simpson who built the houses along the long and extensive  King George's Dive here.  The timber frame house on the left of this photograph is now a holiday home.

At the end of the drive is the Art Gallery which houses Lever's huge collection of pottery, paintings and furniture. He collected so much he ran out of room in all his houses.  The gallery was built in memory of his adored wife, Elizabeth,  Lady Lever (who died in 1913) who he called his "better three-quarters".

They lie together in the churchyard of the church which was built for all denominations. The signpost outside the mausoleum is just a simple sign that says "The Founder".  When Lever was knighted he became Lord Leverhulme, which was the combination of their two surnames (Lever and Hulme).

Lever's social and romantic ideals makes the village an unique place.  The health and education of the workers at the time was far superior to those in the nearby cities. The external look of the village has been preserved since the death of Lever in 1925. Set in 130 acres of parkland there are over 900 houses and 12 public buildings now looked after by the Port Sunlight Trust.

The present home of the NatWest Bank was the Girls' Hostel (built 1896) originally built as a a hostel for the female employees travelling from Liverpool.

What I liked about the village was the variety of architecture, as can be seen at the time it was built there was much influence from of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Alas although I can show some of the housing styles I can't show the Port Sunlight Swimming Pool which was an open-air pool and, like the majority of them in the UK, it does not survive.  I am told by someone who was born, married and lives in the village it was wonderfully place to swim as it was heated by underground pipes from the Glycerine Works in the factory .

So there you have it, a village built on soap.  Lever was famous for his use of advertising and spent millions. His famous quote is as true today as it was in the 19th century "I know half my advertising isn't working, I just don't know which half"

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at P here

Harewood House

I visited the grounds of the 18th Century Harewood House on a very hot July day. We ambled through the grounds and by the lake, through the walled garden and then later in the day arrived at the house itself to admire its topiary. Hidden within the clipped hedges

were little pink flowers.

The borders had been sprinkled with a hosepipe; I imagine it is quite a task in the long hot days we had this summer

but everything  was looking well watered

And here stood Orpheus with a leopard resting on his arms. The sculpture is by Astrid Zydower (1930-2005) who in 1975 starting with a 12" maquette  to make a small sculpture for Lincoln Kirstein, he  happened to be a mutual friend of the late Lord Harewood through his involvement in opera. When the  fountain which stood on this spot crumbled and then was further damaged by frost in 1982  it was replaced in 1984 with this imposing and enlarged version of Orpheus who stands 8 foot high (I imagine with the plinth it must total 12 foot). The diminutive Astrid Zydower said it was the hardest thing she had ever done. The legend of Orpheus says his playing and singing could captivate both humans, animals and even inanimate things like rocks. The subject of Orpheus charming the animals has appeared in art from Roman mosaics to modern times.  After admiring the sculpture and formal garden we made our way to those umbrellas on the terrace where they were serving cream tea.

heading past the remaining fountain, going up the steps

and settling down on by crisp white tablecloths, we and Orpheus gazed over the landscape created by Capability Brown as a lone red kite hovered low into view, its feathers ruffling in the thermals could be clearly seen which generated much excitement on the terrace.  If my zoom had not been in the car that might have been the next photo! 

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet sojourning at H