The North West

The Power and the Beauty

England's northwest - one vast, colourful, beautiful tapestry of 18th century invention and entrepreneurship, of 19th century philanthropy and liberal nonconformism. Scratch the surface of any story, any character, any monument to this fascinating period of British history and you will find them all inextricably interwoven throughout the whole region. From canals to railways, from mills to museums, from cities to villages, here is a grand story of great industrial development and lasting cultural wealth.

"There is more enjoyment in life than the mere going to and returning from work." Lord Leverhulme, founder of Port Sunlight model village.

And so say all of us! For if London was built on the wealth of the landed grentry and the aristocracy, England's Northwest was built on invention, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. The great architecture and cultural riches that we all enjoy today have come from industrial wealth that has been used for the greater good of the people - and surely that is what makes this region beautiful. 

As you explore its great cities, landscapes and cultural attractions you will soon find that like some vast industrial family tree one leads directly to another - all linked up by canals, by cotton, by philanthropic deeds. The Harris Museum & Art Gallery in Preston exists because of one man's belief in free libraries and education for all. Port Sunlight village and the Lady Lever Art Gallery because of one man's commitment to creating a good life for his workers. Blackwell The Arts & Crafts House in the Lake District was built on the wealth of a Manchester businessman who believed in the goodness and beauty of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The riches of Manchester's Art Gallery and Royal Exchange Theatre all grew from the city's booming textile trade.

Revolutionary developments such as the Manchester Ship Canal united the whole region and its people, excited by the "purpose, possibilities and promise" of a shipping route into landlocked Manchester that would secure the position of north west industries in the world markets. Everyone got behind it - from the chairman in his Cheshire estate at Tatton Park to the mill owners of Lancashire. Although it did stir up some rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester, as printed in the Liverpool Mercury in February 1825, many years before the canal was actually built:

"Humble Petition of the Liverpool Corporation to the Manchester Projectors of the Grand Ship Canal.

Oh ye lords of the loom,

Pray avert our sad doom,

We humbly beseech on our knees;

We do not complain,

That you drink your champagne,

But leave us our Port if you please."

Always the winner when it comes to wit, clearly even then Liverpool already had a well-developed sense of humour. Its historic waterfront these days is as beautiful and as busy as ever.

And while it is a fact of life that traditional manufacturing industries have largely disappeared, those that were built on great principles have left behind them handsome landscapes, beautiful buildings, great art and culture that can be treasured and enjoyed by us all today. As such they continue to be as important to us as they ever were.

Indeed, as Lord Leverhulme wished, in England's Northwest there is certainly more to life.