Preston's Lost Soap Making Industry Joshua Margerison & Co of Preston White Windsor soap works A Facebook post by The Harris (Harris Museum & Art Gallery) last week, sent me on the trail of the history of the House of Margerison, which was once on Leighton Street in Preston. Joshua Margerison & Co, White Windsor soap works, Leighton Street in Preston I'll be honest, I hadn't previously heard of this famous business. From what I can see, they were very well known in their day. The post by The Harris was about a painting of one of the daughters of wealthy Preston soap manufacturer, Joshua Margerison. It was titled "The White Piano", and was painted in 1897. It is thought to be of Mary Jane, the youngest, who would have been about 28 at the time. The artist was Arthur Melville (1855–1904). He was one of the Glasgow Boys group of painters who used an Impressionist style. By the 1890s, Melville followed the French Nabis artists who emphasised colour and sim...
Sharing my personal experiences and accounts of my local area, Old Lancashire