REVIEW OF 'PORT SUNLIGHT AND ITS PEOPLE' BY JO BIRCH
Hidden in a safe at Thornton Manor for over a century, the late Lord
Leverhulme’s personal account book, given to author Jo Birch by
Philip Cowan, current owner of this celebrated home, has been the
inspiration behind a new book, ‘Port Sunlight and its People’.
Lord Digby Jones comments: “This book is a celebration of a great
man”. The book is filled with terrific images including charming
Victorian scraps scattered amongst its pages.
We visit the soap factory in the late 1800s and smile at the thought of
Lord Leverhulme, as a young boy, being given 30 shillings by his father
for a holiday of 14 days in the Isle of Man. The author takes us with
her when she visits William Lever’s early home in Wigan. We see how
he accounted for every penny, even recording how many nails were
purchased for the kitchen and their cost.
Taking information from Lord Leverhulme’s account book (written
in his own hand) we learn how much he paid for straw mattresses for
his servants and we see how much he spent on alterations to Thornton
Manor. The author shares her thoughts on why Lord Leverhulme was
not on RMS Titanic’s passenger list and includes us in her own travels
around the world.
In Honolulu we look over Mr Lever’s shoulder as he makes an entry in
his diary: “We found the two prisoners chatting together, looking out
of the window at the end of their corridor. One of the women professed
to be a native ‘Kapoona’ or witch-doctor; and had murdered a man, a
woman and a young child with great brutality and cruelty, gouging out
their eyes with burnt sticks and partially roasting them in full sight of a
crowd of natives, many of whom had assisted her”.
We see Christmas Cards sent from the villagers and learn of a young
boy who was killed in the soap factory when a lift in which he was
working became jammed and he was crushed.
Remarkably, all the images bar one come from the author’s personal
collection, part of which is displayed in the Port Sunlight museum.
A regular guest at Thornton Manor, Jo Birch speaks with some
authority, not only about her personal collection but on sleeping in
Lord Leverhulme’s open-air bedroom; few in the world have done so.
There is joy in this book. And there is sorrow. There is hard nosed
business and there is charity.
An easy to read, fascinating book, glorious illustrations and a reminder
to us all how great the Leverhulme story is.
In a note from the author at the beginning of the book, she states she
hopes we find something within it to warm our hearts. We certainly
did.
Port Sunlight and its People is available to buy in Port Sunlight
village at the museum, garden centre and Lady Lever art gallery,
Amazon and bookshops, locally and worldwide.
WIN A SIGNED BOOK, ENTRY AND
AFTERNOON TEA FOR TWO AT
PORT SUNLIGHT MUSEUM
Wirral Life have teamed up with author Jo Birch to give
readers the chance to win this prize.
To enter the competition, email your answer to hello@
wirrallife.com along with your name, address, email and
contact telephone number.
Question: How much did the young William Lever’s father
give him for a 14 day holiday in the Isle of Man?
Entries close on 6th August 2018. Good luck!
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