William Lever plaque mystery as it goes missing

The memorial  to William Lever was installed in 1970  in Wood Street, outside Bolton Socialist Club.

The club noticed the tribute was missing in May but it's not known, due to Covid and isolation, when it was 'taken'.

It was installed in 1970 by the Bolton Civic Trust to commemorate the soap entrepreneur and founder of Lever Brothers, which is now part of  multinational firm Unilever.

The legacy of William Hesketh Lever came under scrutiny as Black Lives Matter protesters called for historic links to controversial figures to be re-evaluated.

Lord Leverhulme’s name appeared on a list of statues and memorials across the UK that should be torn down or renamed.

He was born in Bolton in 1851, is famous as the founder of Sunlight soap manufacturers Lever Brothers and also served as the town’s Mayor in 1918.

Despite his reputation as one of the era’s great philanthropists, he tried to enforce a system of forced labour to produce palm oil in West Africa and his firm became associated with a number of atrocities in the Belgian Congo

But Lord Leverhulme did build accomodation for his own employees and was noted to be more progressive than most.

A spokesman for Bolton Socialist Club said: “The building was closed during lockdown, almost continually until the spring of 2022.

“On May 7 this year it was noticed that the plaque, indicating that the building was the birthplace of William Hesketh Lever, had been removed from the front wall with some damage to the brickwork.

“Because of the lengthy closure of the building we have no idea when the removal took place, nor who was responsible. 

“It seems unlikely, given more recent research into Lord Leverhulme’s business dealings in the Congo, that it will be replaced in the same form.”

Since the missing plaque was discovered, Andrew Rosthorn from Bolton expressed his views that the plaque should be replaced immediately and disputed the claims that Lord Leverhulme partook in forced labour.

The missing plaque

Now there have been calls to replace the plaque.

Andrew Rosthorn from Bolton said: “William Lever, probably the most influential Boltonian of all time, certainly since Crompton, did not make his fortune from forced labour in the Congo.

“The Belgian government called for his help after King Leopold had died and after the scandals over gathering rubber by slavery not palm oil.

“I think it’s ridiculous that anyone should think he did anything wrong and I am sad to see the plaque missing.”

Lord Leverhulme is also noted for his donations to Bolton including Leverhulme Park and Lever Park and for his work in the women’s suffrage movement.

Despite controversy surrounding the African plantation for palm oil, leading figures maintain that his legacy was not directly harmful.

READ: Calls for debate on Bolton park name and Lord Leverhulme's slave labour links

William Lever

Lord Leverhulme is also noted for his donations to Bolton including Leverhulme Park and Lever Park and for his work in the women’s suffrage movement.

Despite controversy surrounding the African plantation for palm oil, leading figures maintain that his legacy was not directly harmful.

LORD LEVERHULME - FROM GROCER'S SON TO MILLIONAIRE

Lord Leverhulme, dubbed the Soap King, was born on September 19, 1851, and has left behind a legacy which lives on today.

William Hesketh Lever, who later became the first Viscount Lord Leverhulme, was a renowned industrial entrepreneur who launched his industrial success with a bar of soap.

Eventually, he became one of the town's most generous benefactors.

He was born in Wood Street, Bolton, the son of a grocer.

His business life had humble beginnings when, as a shrewd teenager, he worked in the family shop and cut up and wrapped the long bars of yellow soap used at the time.

As the firm grew, he decided to manufacture his own brand, which he named Sunlight.

Premises were rented and within the first year, a thousand tons were produced. From earning one shilling a week, his finances rocketed and, by 1918, his estate showed a surplus of an amazing £5,000,000.

It was no more than his strong Bolton family background expected of him as he had been born to a long line of hard-working Levers, counting among his ancestors Robert Lever, the founder of Bolton Grammar School in 1641.

Place names like Great Lever, Little Lever and Darcy Lever also forged his Bolton connections.

As the business expanded, a new site was found near the River Mersey and work began on a showpiece of workers' homes called Port Sunlight.

But he never forgot his Bolton origins and familiar names were immortalised in Port Sunlight including Bolton Road, Wood Street and Edgworth house.

Lord Leverhulme was a forward-thinker who made his employees partners in his flourishing business and campaigned - still ahead of his time - for a six-hour day, arguing that production would not fall because on present working days staff were too tired to give their best.

He made the first modern multinational business, and while he was known for caring for the welfare of his white workers, he exploited African slaves to make his fortune.

He set up palm oil plantations - the Lever plantations in the Congo - for forced labour.

Beatings and squalid conditions were the daily reality for most of the slaves.

The land was leased to him by his close friend King Leopold II long after slaver was officially ended in Britain.

His empire grew beyond even his own dreams and continued to be successful long after his death in 1925, at the age of 74.

His products had names which are still familiar to many people today, including Lifebuoy, Lux and Vim. He used the slogan "see how this becomes the house" to help sell his products.

Lord Leverhulme's interest was not confined to his business. Throughout his life, he collected paintings and gained a reputation as a connoisseur of the arts.

A three-day sale of the contents of his last home, back in 2001 - Thornton Manor on the Wirral - raised almost £10 million, a record for any UK country house sale.

Robert Holden, London fine art agent, speaking on behalf of members of Lord Leverhulme's family, said the sale was an historic tribute to the taste and quality of the art and antiques acquired by Lord Leverhulme.

Lord Leverhulme also had a keen interest in architecture which resulted in a bold scheme for Bolton which included a tree-lined boulevard into the town centre, from a restored Queens Park.

He gave the town Leverhulme Park, Lever Park and the Blackburn Road Congregational Church, which later became the United Reformed Church.

In his time, he restored Hall i'th' Wood museum, saving it from demolition by buying it and restoring it, then donating it to Bolton, and he funded the rebuilding of Bolton School, establishing a trust which still helps to maintain it.

In 1898, he was appointed governor and contributed buildings and a swimming pool.

He loved his extravagant house and its grounds in Rivington included Babylonian terraced gardens, a miniature zoo, lakes, waterfalls, pagodas and oriental tea houses.

He was devastated in 1913 when his famous bungalow, built on the flanks of Rivington Pike, was burned to the ground by suffragette Edith Rigby, the wife of a Preston doctor.

The tycoon never understood why he had been singled out because he was in favour of voting rights for women and had said so when he was a Liberal MP.

He had voted in the House of Commons for such a move to become law.