Leverhulme Memorial

William Lever (1851–1925) was an English industrialist, art collector, politician, and benefactor. His major business was soap making for which he built a factory and a model village for his workers at Port Sunlight. By 1906 his company, Lever Brothers, was the largest soap manufacturer in Britain, and by 1922 it was one of the largest international companies in the world. Lever was a benevolent employer, caring for the welfare of his workers, and providing a high standard of housing for them. Between 1906 and 1909 he was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Wirral, and from 1917 a member of the House of Lords. He was also an art collector, and built the Lady Lever Art Gallery in the village…

The monument consists of an obelisk with a figure standing on its top, and a free-standing group of four figures to the west of the obelisk, the whole on a circular island surrounded by roads. The figures are in bronze, and the obelisk is in polished granite. The obelisk and its figure are about 18 m high, the four figures at the base are about 2.1 m in height, and the plinth on which they stand is about 40 cm high. The obelisk has a square base, is fluted, and tapers towards the top. The figure on top is that of a female facing away from the art gallery, looking at the sky, with her arms raised. It is Expressionist in style, and represents Inspiration. The four figures at the base are more…