William Hesketh Lever established the gallery to enrich the cultural and educational aspects of the lives of his workforce and the public at large. The Lady Lever Art Gallery was opened in 1922 by Princess Beatrice (youngest daughter of Queen Victoria). It is probably the best surviving example of late Victorian and Edwardian taste and remains the only major public urban gallery built by its founder to house the collection he had assembled for it.

Exhibition and events information www.ladyleverartgallery.org.uk

set in a wonderfull village of Port Sunlight, its not just a gallery its a way of life !

The Lady Lever Art Gallery owes its existence to the fortune amassed by the 1st Lord Leverhulme from his soap and detergents business, better known to us as Lever Bros.

Lord Leverhulme actually began purchasing art in the late 19th century to advertise his 'Sunlight' soap brand, and from this commercial beginning he developed a substantial collection of British 18th and 19th century art, an extensive collection of ceramics (including Classical items as well as early Wedgwood), tapestries and antique furniture.

The gallery itself was built in 1922 in memory of Leverhulme's wife. Set in the lovely surroundings of Port Sunlight village - itself an example of enlightened philanthropy, as it was built to provide high quality housing for Leverhulme's workers - the gallery is small, but the quality of the exhibits is high.

The paintings include items by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Stubbs, Turner and Constable, and a substantial number of pre-Raphaelite works, with pictures by Leighton, Millais, Burne-Jones, Rossetti and Holman-Hunt. The ceramics include an outstanding collection of Wedgwood, high quality items of Chinese porcelain from the Ming, Qing and Kangxi periods, and Roman and Greek sculptures and vases. Other collections include some late mediaeval tapestries and English furniture from the 16th-19th centuries, considered the definitive period of fine English cabinet-making.

The gallery has a small cafe and surprisingly good provision for children, including an 'artbase' trolley containing lots of materials for dressing up and drawing, and a selection of children's work sheets and gallery trails.

The site is a short walk from Bebington railway station on the Merseyrail network (14 minutes from Liverpool Central, trains every 15 minutes), and has ample car parking on site. It makes for a delightful afternoon excursion from Liverpool, and admission is free.