More information : Model garden village for the accomodation of workers to the nearby Port Sunlight Soap Factory. The village was planned by William Hesketh Lever when he moved to a new factory location from Warrington in 1886. The site originally covered an area of 22.6 hectares of which 13 hectares were allocated for the village, the remainder for the factory. The first houses to be built, 28 in total, were constructed at the junction of Bolton Road and Greendale Road in 1889-90 and were designed by William Owen. Further housing and public buildings were added in 1891-92 and 1893-97. These were designed by William Owen, other architects involved included Douglas and Fordham, Douglas and Minshull, Grayson and Ould and John Joseph Talbot. This phase of construction completed the original village, situated in the southwest corner of the present village. This layout was designed by William Owen and was based on a plan by William Hesketh Lever. It comprised housing facing on to the railway and factory enclosing a public park The Dell and allotment gardens. Future village expansion was planned in 1892 increasing its total area to 53 hectares. All the architects employed during the initial construction were involved together with additional architects including Maurice B Adams, Ernest George, Edwin Lutyens, Ernest Newton, Jonathan Simpson, James Lomax-Simpson, Edmund Kirby and T M Lockwood and Sons. None were responsible for the design of more than three house blocks. Most of the blocks comprise of up to eighteen dwellings, with blocks of between three and ten being the most frequent design. The blocks were of an irregular plan set back forming greens. Two types of accommodation were available, the Kitchen Cottage, the standard type of accomodation and the Parlour Cottage which were intended as clerks' houses. The Kitchen Cottage comprised a kitchen, scullery, larder and three bedrooms. The Parlour Cottage comprised kitchen, scullery, larder, parlour and four bedrooms. All had bathrooms. A few larger houses were built for managerial staff. The layout of this phase of development continued the theme of housing facing onto the railway and public roads, with blocks of housing enclosing allotment gardens. In 1905 a competition for house designs was held, but by 1910 James Lomax Simpson was made Company Architect and was responsible for most of the subsequent construction work. In 1910 a competition was held for a revised plan for completion of the village as much of the central area including The Diamond, had not yet been developed. This was held for the students of the Liverpool School of Architecture and Department of Civic Design and won by Ernest Prestwich. His design together with revisions made by Lever and James Lomax-Simpson was implemented. More housing was constructed during the 1930s and included the building of Jubilee Crescent in 1938. A programme of restoration took place following World War II when damaged housing stock was restored or rebuilt to original designs by James Lomax-Simpson. A programme of modernisation took place between 1963 and 1977 and involved the renovation of houses and the provision of back gardens and garages. (1-2)
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