Winsford Ladies Mid-week Club

Jo’s illustrated talk on Port Sunlight was entitled, “Thank you Mr Lever”, and tracked the beginnings of the Lever brothers, William and James. The brothers began working in a small soap works in Warrington, bought by their father in 1885. They teamed up with a Bolton chemist, William Watson, and invented a new process using glycerine and palm oil to make a “good free lathering soap”, which became known as Sunlight Soap. By 1888, production had risen so high that new premises were required. This resulted in the new factory being built on the Wirral Peninsula and became known as Port Sunlight.

William and James took an interest in the welfare of their employees and developed the village of Port Sunlight between 1888 and 1914 next to the factory to provide good quality housing. The many community facilities included a cottage hospital, school, church, concert hall plus open-air swimming pool and temperance hotel for their workers. William Lever as well as providing education and entertainment for his workers encouraged recreation and organisations which promoted art, literature science and music. He introduced welfare schemes and apprenticeships.

It was into this background that Jo’s mother, by sheer coincidence, became a lady’s maid to one of James Lever’s sisters and subsequently met her future husband, who worked at the factory, at one of the dances. Jo regards her childhood experiences of living and growing up within the Port Sunlight community as a wonderful privilege, hence the title of her talk “Thank You Mr Lever”.

The next meeting is on November, 19, for further information please ring 01606 592724 or 01606 594970.