KING EDWARD VI CAMP HILL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
CHESTER - 2000
PLANNED VICTORIAN TOWNS
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
7B - PORT SUNLIGHT I
In 1884 William Hesketh Lever set up a soap factory to supply the demand for soap in Britain. Sales blossomed with increasing awareness of personal hygiene.Lever concentrated on one type of soap which he called 'Sunlight'. With increasing demand he sought a new factory site which he eventually founded at Brombrough Pool on the Wirral.
Production of soap at the new factory began in 1889. This photograph shows the original entrance to the factory built at that time. Lever is called an enlightened entrepreneur because he built a model village to house his workers alongside his factory.
This is the site of the original building which housed single young women. Today it is the village heritage centre.
This is a model of the village built during the 1890's. It is an elongated site which lies between the River Mersey (to the left of your view) and the railwayline (to the right). Lever chose his site for both factory and village wisely. Land here was badly drained thus cheap. The Mersey provided safe harbour for sea going vessels that brought Palm Oil from West African plantations and the railway gave ease of distribution of the final product.
Sunlight soap is no longer sold in the shops of Britain. However Lever Brothers (now Unilever) became a mutinational and Sunlight soap is still made and sold in some countries abroad such as India.
The scale of Port Sunlight is much larger than Pricetown. Lever built houses and public building and also shops. This particular shop is a focus for Port Sunlight and still flourishes as the village Post Office.
1
The Roman Settlement in Chester
2
The Medieval Settlement
3
Relic land use and the modern CBD
4
Conzen's Theory in practice
5
Architectural Styles in Chester
6
Evidence of 19th century industry
7a
Pricetown
7c
Port Sunlight II
8
Preservation and conservation of the past
Copyright ©2000