The man who has been repairing Port Sunlight’s houses for nearly half a century

Meet John Winder, a familiar face to plenty of Port Sunlight residents over the decades, since arriving as a joiner in 1979. Now, nearly half a century later, John is taking the opportunity to wind down – but don’t call it a retirement!

On a drizzly day in Port Sunlight recently, we met John and his son Andrew while they were hard at work giving some TLC to the exterior of one of Port Sunlight Village Trust’s properties on New Chester Road, as part of our annual programme of cyclical maintenance. 77-year-old John calls up to Andrew from the front lawn to check he is alright, and a voice calls back down somewhere from the scaffolding above. With his tools around him, John is clearly in his comfort zone here in the village.

‘I’d been self-employed for about a year until one day I was asked to go and fit some windows,’ John remembers. ‘I asked where and they said Port Sunlight. I said, ‘where’s that?’’

At the time, UML (Unilever Merseyside Limited) managed much of the village and it was they who soon took John on as a joinery contractor. This was in addition to the three joiners and a plumber that UML were able to employ. Since then, UML transferred custodianship of the village to PSVT in 1999, and John has continued to wield his joinery magic on every street in the village, with a philosophy of conservation and repair at the heart of each window frame, door and piece of wood he has laid his hands on.

‘I’ve seen managers come and go over the years. In fact, I’ve been here longer than Lord Leverhulme now!’ John laughs. ‘I know who everyone is, just tell me the house number.’

‘The village hasn’t really changed much at all,’ John notes, surveying the houses behind him. ‘But of course, as time goes on, the houses are getting more difficult to maintain. They’re all at least 100 years old now, and the skills needed to properly maintain them aren’t as common. Even just a simple thing as working in metric measurements as opposed to the old imperial ones. The windows of these houses were built using imperial measurements, so I try to work in that way too because it’s more suitable – but most new contractors only know metric.’

We ask him what he has enjoyed most about working in the village over the past 45 years. ‘I just love the village. Every house is different and interesting. The people are also a big part of it – you get lots of great stories while they are making you a cup of tea. It’s a real privilege to work here.’

Are there any interesting projects that he has worked on over the years that stick out to him? Getting out his phone, John brings up a grainy photo of a young man standing next to what we instantly recognise as the doors of the Fire Engine Station, only newer and not yet painted black. ‘That’s my son Andrew when we replaced the station doors 15 years ago.’

Over the years, John has been busy passing on his wisdom to Andrew. ‘It was important to teach Andrew how to repair, not just replace.’ With over 900 Grade II listed homes in the village and public buildings, a conservation and maintenance approach is necessary to ensure Port Sunlight’s heritage can be best protected and preserved.

‘When I turned 65, I decided I wanted to carry on working but only here in Port Sunlight. I know the area and I know the people,’ John says, looking up to his son who is working out-of-view in the scaffolding above. ‘Now I’ve got Andrew taking over things, doing two days a week with me here in the village. I’m not retiring, just winding down a bit.’

By this point, it’s clear there is plenty of work John needs to be getting on with, but not before he reminisces on what an old colleague used to say to people looking for someone to do a job on their house. ‘Don’t be sending any cowboys, only send Johnny Winder!’

While John might be winding down, it’s obvious Port Sunlight is lucky to hold on to someone with the skills and knowledge needed to look after this special village, and with his son Andrew taking over, it’s good to know we’re in safe hands.

Discover more stories from the village built on soap here or search #PortSunlightStories on social media for more fascinating snippets of history.