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KING EDWARD VI CAMP HILL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT CHESTER - 2000 |
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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
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7B - PORT SUNLIGHT
I
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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.
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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.
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This
is the site of the original building which housed single young women.
Today it is the village heritage centre.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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