Park Road, Port Sunlight, Merseyside

This postcard-pretty two-bedroom house forms part of Port Sunlight, a late 19th-century Arts and Crafts development built to house workers of a nearby soap factory. It has been lovingly looked after by its current owner, who has ensured all decorative additions are in keeping with the estate’s period integrity. A private south-facing courtyard garden extends at the rear, with estate’s 130-acre strong parkland unfolding beyond. Resoundingly peaceful and close-knit, Port Sunlight is equally within striking distance of the verve of Liverpool, a 20-minute train journey away.

Setting the Scene

Port Sunlight’s name derives from Sunlight soaps and cleaning products, the major product of the Lever Brothers’ factory. The development was built to house the factory workers and was inspired by the late 19th-century garden suburb ideal and the architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement. As a result, its characterful red-brick terraces, adorned with intricate brickwork and windows, are surrounded by open green spaces much-loved by the development’s close-knit community.

Between 1899 and 1914, 800 houses were built. Today, it’s home to numerous Grade II-listed buildings, and two sections of the landscape are included in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. There are several amenities on the estate, including the Lady Lever Art Gallery, which was founded in 1922 to culturally enrich the lives of Port Sunlight residents. It remains open to visitors today and has a wonderful collection of fine and decorative arts, including works by Dante Rossetti and a wealth of Wedgwood ceramics.

The Grand Tour

The ornate red brickwork on this house’s façade is a giveaway sign of its late 19th-century origins and its Arts and Crafts inclinations. It is of a piece with the estate as a whole, which has a cohesive appeal. Gothic-style tracery frames casement windows on both its first and ground levels, and its door is sheltered by a tiled overhang. A neat front garden greets on arrival and is filled with flowering shrubs, old-fashioned roses and a cherry tree.

Entry is to a hallway with beautiful five-finger parquet underfoot. The living room, to the right, is conversely grounded with original herringbone-laid maple flooring. Panelling spans the ceiling; here, the current owners took inspiration from Whitwick Manor, which was built just before this home by the same architect, Edward Ould. Light is ushered in from two aspects, enhancing the peach and sage-green used on the walls. A fireplace becomes the natural focal point, with a broad mantel and exquisite Delft-style tiles.

The kitchen lies just beyond and has a wonderfully rustic feel with its timber-panelled ceiling, farmhouse-style green units and matching waist-height panelling. A beige and grey limestone flagged floor stretches out underfoot. There is a range-style oven on one side and a deep butler’s sink on the other; affixed to the wall above the latter is a handy plate rack. Three windows illuminate the room, two of which look out to the garden beyond.

Green-painted walls (‘Cooking Apple Green’ by Farrow and Ball) ascend to the first floor and are fitted with a merlot-red runner. Upstairs are two bedrooms, both singular in character but similarly atmospheric.

The principal is generous and has a wonderful leaded casement window and a period cast-iron fireplace. Its floors are softly carpeted while its walls are wrapped in a butter-yellow paper from Farrow and Ball. Another leaded casement illuminates the second bedroom, which would also make for a wonderful study or nursery.

Royal blue and white are used to wonderful effect in the bathroom, with a ditsy paper (a vintage Laura Ashley design from the 1970s) along one wall. There is a bathtub with a shower fitting fronted by delightful butt-and-bead panelling that continues around the walls.

The Great Outdoors

A patio garden extends at the rear with plenty of space for seating and potted plants. There is a forest-green gate on one side that provides easy access to the estate, as well as an outside WC (with a handy tap for the green-fingered) and an external store.

Out and About

Port Sunlight is home to more than 900 Grade II-listed buildings set in 130 acres of parkland and gardens. Taking a stroll through its quiet, leafy streets is the best way to discover buildings, monuments and memorials created by over 30 different architects. In addition to the Lady Lever Gallery, it has a museum, and a monthly village market filled with artisanal stalls serving food, drink, crafts and more.

The village is also home to an array of welcoming cafés and restaurants, including the quaint Tudor Rose Tea Rooms and The Bridge Inn, a cosy Victorian pub.

The delights of Liverpool are just a 15-minute drive away from Poets Corner and provide a vibrant food, art and culture scene. The city has a wealth of brilliant museums, including the Walker Art Gallery, Tate Liverpool and RIBA North, and the Museum of Liverpool. It has an Everyman cinema and Fact, which shows both arthouse and blockbuster films. There are also plenty of wonderful places to dine out, from 8 by Andrew Sheridan to Paul Askew’s The Art School.

Stretches of coastline frame the Wirral Peninsula and provide plenty of scope for strolling with an ice-cream in hand. RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands are also in easy reach, with the Port Sunlight River Park even closer at hand.

There are a number of primary and secondary schools in Port Sunlight, including Church Drive Primary and Park Road schools.

There are several trains per hour from Port Sunlight station to Liverpool, with a journey time of approximately 20 minutes. Chester lies on the same railway line and can be reached in approximately 25 minutes.

Council Tax Band: C