Historic England - Hesketh Lever

Born in Bolton, Lever started work in the family’s wholesale grocery business at the age of 16, cutting and packing soap before starting the famous soap manufacturing company in Warrington, which later moved to Port Sunlight in Birkenhead.  He, along with a chemist called William Hough Watson, developed a soap they called Sunlight, by using vegetable oil instead of tallow.

Places to visit

Lady Lever Art Gallery
Spend time in the gallery admiring one of the most beautiful collections of fine and decorative arts in the country. These works were collected by Lever, who founded it in 1922 in memory of his wife.

Port Sunlight Village
Explore this amazing site where Lever built housing and created a pleasant environment for the soap factory workers. He was one of the earliest industrialists to realise the connection between efficiency and a healthy, happy workforce.