Our plans to restore Port Sunlight’s Sea Piece fountain sculpture

Catherine Downey, Port Sunlight Village Trust’s Collections Care Manager, dives into the first phase of our project to renew the Boating Pond and why the colour of Sir Charles Wheeler’s sculpture is so important. 

The bronze fountain, Sea Piece, created by sculptor Charles Wheeler and installed in 1952, sits at the heart of the Boating Pond. As part of the first phase of the works to restore water to the Boating Pond, Sea Piece has been temporarily removed to allow the works to the pond to take place. 

Port Sunlight Village Trust has appointed a team of specialist conservators and an arthandling team to carefully release Sea Piece from the pond. The conservators have a wealth of experience working with large sculptural bronzes and will be transporting Sea Piece to their conservation studio in London, where it will be thoroughly inspected and photographed before treatment takes place. 

Sea Piece will be kept safely at the conservation studio while the works to the pond basin are underway over the coming month, and then returned and reinstalled towards the end of the project later in the year. 

Getting under the surface 

In the run up to this process, we’ve been busy behind the scenes researching the history and original design and appearance of Sea Piece, This has included research at archives such as the Henry Moore Institute which holds fascinating photographs of sketch models for Wheeler’s original design for Sea Piece, which included designs for two additional bronzes which were not commissioned in the end. The archives at the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Wirral Archives have also been a great help.  

As noted on a recent condition report by a bronze specialist, Sea Piece is currently not the colour Charles Wheeler intended. Archival evidence, in the form of written descriptions, film and photographs clearly show that Wheeler created Sea Piece to be green, not the current bronze-brown colour. This is consistent with Wheeler’s use of colour in other fountain bronzes he created, such as those in the fountains at Trafalgar Square in London. 

The original green patina was created through the use of special chemicals when Sea Piece was at the bronze foundry. Over time, Sea Piece aged, further developing a natural green patina which occurs as bronzes are exposed to the elements, and potentially other maintenance treatments were applied to darken Sea Piece in the 1970s. Many residents and visitors may recall the green colour of Sea Piece up until 2001 which was a mix of the original green chemical patina, and the natural green patina that builds up over time. 

The current bronze/brown colour is much more recent development, and dates from 2001, when the green patina of Sea Piece was removed as part of the conservation work conservation work, and a brown patina was applied. 

Bringing back the green 

As Sea Piece is being removed from the pond so that the works to the basin can be completed, this presents a unique opportunity for us to address its colour. Sea Piece will be restored to its historically accurate appearance, removing the modern brown patina and reinstating its original light green finish as closely as possible so that it reflects Wheeler’s original design and vision for Sea Piece.  

As the Boating Pond project progresses this year, we will share what we have found in our archival research with you all via Port Sunlight Village Trust’s website, social media and the Gazette. 

How can you get involved? 

We would love to hear from anyone who has photographs of the Boating Pond, especially if they are in colour and from 1950 and before 2001. This will help us to build on our archival research to ensure that the colour is as accurate as possible. Please do raid your attics for any family photos where Sea Piece is in the background. We’d also love you to share your memories, mementos and photographs relating to the Boating Pond and Sea Piece Fountain. 

This is to strengthen PSVT’s historical knowledge as well as to potentially be part of future interpretation panels, online content and exhibitions. From an anecdote to a family snap, anyone with something to share is invited to get in touch by email to [email protected], call 0151 644 4800 or visit our Share your story page.