The Port Sunlight Village Trust
Registered Charity Number: 1074713
About the charity
As custodians of the village, we care for Port Sunlight’s heritage and use it to educate, entertain and inspire people.
What our grant will help to fund
The grant will form part of the funding for works on the Boating Pond and its fountain, Sea Piece, enabling the pond to be used once more, and for the fountain to flow again. The funding will be used on the stonework, the pond basin and conservation of the bronze fountain.
Port Sunlight is home to a thriving community and welcomes more than 300,000 visitors a year. The Boating Pond & Fountain is one of Port Sunlight’s major public monuments and a very popular attraction in the centre of the village next to the world-class Lady Lever Art Gallery. Built in 1932, the pond is an example of James Lomax-Simpson’s work, one of the village’s most prolific architects.
It is the original design and early use of materials like concrete and cement that are causing significant problems. The stonework is deteriorating due to saturation and water is continually leaking into the ground, which is at odds with PSVT’s environmental sustainability strategy. We had to make the difficult decision to drain the Boating Pond to prevent water leaking into the surrounding ground, and we are delighted to be able to move forward on this project.
“We are absolutely delighted to receive the Movement for Good award, which will be invested in restoring the Boating Pond and its fountain, Sea Piece. Following a recent condition survey, we discovered that the original design of the Boating Pond – involving the early use of materials like concrete and cement – were causing significant problems; the stonework had deteriorated due to water saturation, and water was continually leaking from the pond. We had to make the difficult decision to switch the fountain off and drain the pond of water while a solution was found; we are excited to be able to move forward with this project.”
PSVT will launch its first 10-Year Monuments Strategy in 2023, setting out how we will restore, maintain, and explore the stories and legacies of the monuments around the village. The restoration of the Boating Pond and its fountain has been identified as one of the first projects within our strategy and this funding marks the beginning of a process which will include fundraising, consulting with our stakeholders and inspiring project work.”
Paul Harris, Chief Executive, PSVT
