Minister tours art gallery

May 16 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has been seeing first-hand the treasures of one of Wirral’s leading tourist attractions.

Andy Burnham MP visited Port Sunlight following an invitation from Wirral South MP Ben Chapman.

He was there to see first hand how funding from his department is being spent to help the Lady Lever Art Gallery improve the care of its collections and make the gallery more accessible and enjoyable for the public.

Set in Wirral’s famous garden village, the Grade II listed building – founded by the first Lord Leverhulme in 1922 – is home to one of the best collections of fine and decorative arts in the country.

It has benefited from £225,000 funding provided by DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund.

The funding helped with the creation of a new permanent gallery dedicated to Lady Lever’s founder, William Hesketh Lever.

Ben Chapman MP said: “I wanted to show the minister just how special the village is.

“I believe these improvement projects will open up the treasure trove of collections to a much greater audience.”

Andy Burnham added: “I am delighted to have seen it for myself, it really is marvellous.”