Museum

Port Sunlight Museum lies at the heart of this garden village and is an ideal place to start your visit. Visitors to the Museum will:

  • Meet the village's creator 'Soap King' William Hesketh Lever and discover his vision for the village and its residents;
  • Find out about the architects who designed the houses, principal buildings and landscapes, and what influenced them;
  • Experience what it was like to live and work here during the Edwardian and Victorian periods;
  • Encounter character's from the village's past;
  • Discover Lever's flair for advertising; and,
  • Understand the terrible loss and sacrifice experienced by the village during the First World War.

Located in the original Girl's Club building on King George's Drive, Port Sunlight Museum opened its doors to the public in August 2006 replacing the long-serving Heritage Centre on Greendale Road.
Port Sunlight Museum

The new Museum has exhibits for all types of visitor, including a reconstruction parlour room, state-of-the-art audio-visuals and interactives, a model of the village and a typical Port Sunlight house, and historical items from the village's past. It also has a well-stocked gift shop offering a wide selection of items for residents and general visitors at good prices, from pottery, linen and stationery depicting views of the village, to our very popular range of soaps - Sunlight, Lifebuoy and Pears to name but a few.

The Museum welcomes a large number of group visits each year, from U3A and NADFAS, to Probus and the National Trust. We have a variety of package deals specifically designed for group visitors, which include entry to Port Sunlight Museum and guided tours of the village. All group visitors also receive a complimentary bar of Sunlight Soap.

The Edwardian Tea Rooms is a new addition for 2010, located above the museum, the Tea Rooms provides a pleasant environment to enjoy homemade cakes,scones and soups, to find out more click on the link The Edwardian Tea Rooms.

An exciting events programme is on offer throughout the year aimed at both adult learners and family groups. Events are staged both in the Museum and on the green spaces in the village. Our popular events programme includes Family fun activities during the school holidays and a monthly evening lecture series which covers a wide range of topics related to Port Sunlight. On the last Sunday of July each year the Museum hosts the Port Sunlight Village Festival, which attracts up to 10,000 visitors.

School children from all over the North West come to Port Sunlight Museum to particiapte in a wide-range of hands-on education workshops in our purpose-built Learning Centre. We also offer courses and resources for pre-school groups, schools, colleges, universities and special needs students, as well as work placement

Port Sunlight Museum

Since 2006, Port Sunlight Museum has been actively acquiring items relating to its mission statement 'to collect, preserve and tell the stories behind the people, buildings and landscapes of Port Sunlight village from its founding in 1888 to present day'. We have a growing collection of children's toys, village plans, hoursehold items, soap, photographs and much much more. If you would like to donate an item to the collection or make an appointment to carry out some research, please contact the Museum. From time to time, we hold open days when members of the public can access our collection storage facility.