Sunlight Over The Mersey....

As the weather has got colder and damper, and the nights have got longer, here is a flashback to the hot days of summer when a few of us visited the fascinating model village of Port Sunlight before crossing back over the Mersey to visit some fine pubs in the city of Liverpool....

I was going to bring this story of a fantastic day in Merseyside to you earlier, but subsequent trips to Cambridge, Southend, and Newcastle, plus the re-launch of Boddingtons in cask have all conspired to shove this piece off to one side. But finally, in the wake of all the wind and rain brought by Storm Amy over recent days which have caused misery and disruption, here's a welcome journey back to one of the hottest days of the summer, when a few of us headed over to Merseyside from West Yorkshire.

We were off to Port Sunlight, which is situated on the Wirral between Bebington and New Ferry. Like Saltaire in West Yorkshire and Bournville in Birmingham, Port Sunlight is a model village which was built by an enlightened business to look after the housing and social needs of the workers they employed. In this case it was the Lever Brothers who wanted to provide for the workers in their newly-built soap factory. And so the building began in 1888, with the village taking its name from Lever Brothers' most famous brand at that time, Sunlight. The company had been hitherto based in Warrington, but with demand growing they desperately needed to expand their operations, and so they acquired an area of marshy land on the Wirral which with both the railway and the River Mersey close by meant the site was close to the required transport links, and would also provide them with enough room to build both a new factory and housing for the workers who would work there. 

Port Sunlight is historically important as it combined the model of industrial housing, providing decent living conditions for working people, like for example Titus Salt in Saltaire, with the architectural and landscape ideals of the garden suburb, which were in turn influenced by the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. And so, reflecting these ideals, between 1899 and 1914 over 800 properties were built to house a population of 3,500, and alongside the houses, the village had a theatre, an art gallery, schools, a village hall, cottage hospital, church, an open air swimming pool, and allotments.

As we alighted from the train and wandered into the village with its wide streets, expansive green spaces, and an amazing number of attractive houses in a variety of architectural styles, the overwhelming impression was of how peaceful the place was. There was the odd vehicle driving around but they were not obtrusive, and when one thinks back to the typical images of Victorian England with the packed and smoky terraced streets, the residents of Port Sunlight must have felt themselves truly blessed to live in such a beautiful and peaceful setting. Until the 1980's the village remained exclusively for employees of Unilever (as the company is now known) and their families, since when houses have been sold privately. Today the village is run by a trust and now with over 900 Grade ll-listed properties there are stringent requirements for residents to maintain the properties as they were built and look.

This being Merseyside, there is a Beatles connection to Port Sunlight. Hulme Hall was the venue for drummer Ringo Starr's official debut as a member of The Beatles in August 1962, whilst it was also the location of the band's first ever broadcast interview. And in terms of other famous people, Fiona Bruce, known for hosting both Antiques Roadshow and Question Time grew up in the village, her father having been a senior manager at Unilever. Pete Burns, singer with Dead or Alive, was also born here, whilst comedian Sean Hughes worked at Unilever.

One of the most outstanding buildings in Port Sunlight is the Lady Lever Art Gallery. William Lever was a voracious collector of art which he obtained from all over the world, and the Gallery was established to showcase his collection, which amongst other things contains a large amount of Jasperware from ceramicist Josiah Wedgewood. We had though come today to see a temporary exhibition by Jim Moir, better known to many as comedian Vic Reeves, who in recent years has returned to his first love of painting. This exhibition featured some of his work featuring another of his great passions, birdwatching, and demonstrated the artist's skill in capturing the spirit and character of his subjects.

A painting by Jim Moir

After an enthralling if sweltering visit to Port Sunlight, it was back on the train for the short journey back to Liverpool, which took us beneath the River Mersey before finally emerging at Liverpool Central only minutes later, the noise and bustle of the city streets a stark contrast to the peace and calm we had just left across the water. Fortunately it wasn't far to walk to the first pub though, a place I had passed many times but had never been in before.

The Vines is a huge building which dominates this part of Lime Street, which not surprisingly is also known as the Big House. Originally opened as a pub in 1867 by Albert B. Vines, it was rebuilt in 1907 in a flamboyant baroque style by local brewers Robert Cain, having commissioned local architect Walter Thomas who a few years earlier had been responsible for overseeing the incredible Philharmonic a short distance away. The exterior features a number of embellishments including a tower and a huge clock, said to have been supplied by the same company that provided Big Ben to the Houses of Parliament. The Vines, like the Philharmonic, is one of the country's great show pubs, and CAMRA has given it 3 stars for having a pub interior of outstanding national historic importance, with the pub overall also having a listing of Grade ll*. A more recent restoration after the Vines had experienced a period of neglect and subsequent decline saw it win a CAMRA pub design award in conjunction with Historic England in 2024 when it was also local CAMRA pub of the year. And so. here in 2025, a wander through the pub's rambling interior with several rooms each with their own stunning array of features is an amazing experience.

We walked into the bar, sunshine flooding in through the grandly-etched windows. Banquette seating ringed the room, whilst above a ceramic fireplace a stag's head kept a watchful eye on proceedings, having seen it all over the years. Up above us, the ceiling featured some very fine ornate plasterwork detail. On the bar were 9 hand pumps featuring various different beers including 5 regulars - Brains Reverend James, Ossett Silver King, Salopian Shropshire Gold, Titanic Plum Porter, and the ubiquitous Landlord - plus 4 guest ales. I opted for one of the latter, a pint of Rolling Dunes from Neptune Brewery, based up the road in Maghull. This 4.2% Session IPA certainly hit the spot on this warm afternoon (NBSS 3.5).

Some of the spectacular interior of the historic Vines

To enjoy our drinks we repaired to the spectacular Heritage Suite at the back of the bar, based in a former billiard room. Here we found a high ceiling with richly decorated plasterwork, an amazing stained glass oval dome, chandeliers, beautiful mahogany panelling, and an enormous marble fireplace with a decorative wood surround, above which is sited a huge bevelled mirror. Apparently at one time there were some extremely valuable - think £millions! - paintings hung on the walls here, but once somebody realised they were quickly lent to the Walker Art Gallery, and so whilst the paintings on the walls may look expensive, these days are not particularly valuable.

The boys, not fazed by the opulent surroundings

We left the splendour of the Vines behind and carried on down Lime Street, turning off down Bold Street where a cafe bar called Cafe Tabac was hosting an exhibition featuring the afore-mentioned Pete Burns. Established in 1974, Café Tabac has always been something of a hub for the Liverpool's creative types, attracting artists, actors, singers, and performers amongst its clientele. A quick wander around the exhibition of photos and a quick half of something cold (no real ale here but a good vibe) watching the world go by from the tables out front and we were off.

We walked up past the Bombed Out Church, turning on to Roscoe Street where we came to the Grapes, a small pleasantly modernised street corner pub with a number of large plant pots on the pavement and a roof terrace. It has its own quirky character and is always an enjoyable place to visit. Here I ordered a pint of Amber Sub, described on the pump clip as a 4% small batch amber beer from another local brewer, Rock The Boat, which unfortunately was slightly lacking in character I felt (NBSS 3).

The Grapes, Roscoe Street, Liverpool 

We resumed our journey, heading up the hill from the Grapes. Someone mentioned visiting Ye Cracke, which I had read was at that point closed (it has since re-opened under new ownership), so we carried on and ended up at the excellent Belvedere in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter. This is a lovely little pub, very much a community hub, with a great choice of beer on both cask and keg. Here a pint of one of the keg beers on offer, Dance Yourself Clean, a hazy 4.6% from Pollys was very much appreciated as we sat out at one of the tables outside and enjoyed more of the sunshine.

The Belvedere, Liverpool (photo from a previous visit)

We moved on next to one of only five pubs in the country that have been in every single edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, which surprisingly none of the lads had ever visited before. This is the Roscoe Head, like the Grapes we'd visited earlier on Roscoe Street, but on the other side of Hardman Street. The pub is named after the Liverpudlian poet, artist, and anti-slavery campaigner, William Roscoe. The freehold of the pub was acquired in 2020 by the former tenant, Carol Ross, after a well-publicised local campaign which lasted over 5 years against the former pubco owners, which meant the pub's future was secured And thankfully it was, as a visit to this small traditional pub, which has retained a multi-room layout fanning out from a drinking lobby in front of the bar is an absolute delight. It is a return to simpler times here, with good beer and conversation the order of the day. I was very pleased to see Jarl from Fyne Ales on the bar, and even more pleased that it was in excellent condition (NBSS 3.5), although based on previous visits I should not have been surprised. And whilst the likes of the Vines and Philharmonic are both spectacular and have amazing histories, there is something about the character of the Roscoe Head that trumps them both....

The Roscoe Head

We finished our drinks, and after dining alfresco on some delicious Middle Eastern food at one of the myriad of restaurants on Bold Street, followed by a quick half at the Crown across from Lime Street Station, it was off to catch the train back to West Yorkshire having had an excellent and illuminating day on both sides of the Mersey....

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