To me, there’s nothing better than curling up with a good book.
Although I’m guilty of being shamefully addicted to social media, a book offers the perfect escape - much more than apps such as TikTok or Instagram ever will. That’s exactly why Kearry Humphreys, 54, decided to set up her own mini library in the picturesque Wirral village of Port Sunlight.
I visited Kearry’s marvellous little creation called 'The Enchanted Book Corner' and left wishing that I’d had something like that near me when I was younger. Tucked away by Church Drive Primary School, the book corner has quite the reputation within the village, with many residents choosing to donate books and keep the space clean and tidy.
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When speaking to Kearry, it was very obvious how passionate she was about her project. Delicate details such as adorable gift bags for the first ten visitors, a bench for sitting on and a mystical looking tree all emphasised her need and desire to make this spot a comfortable place to be.
The 'Enchanted Book Corner' all started when Kearry Humphreys decided that she wanted her own library in the village two years ago. She wanted to create something "magical" for children, after growing up as a book lover herself.
With a glimmer in her eye as she reminisced, Kearry said: “At school in the 70s, I’d sit and read outside "the bunker" which is right behind me here, and I used to dream of having my own book corner."
"My husband built the bookshelf for our 25th wedding anniversary and I wanted to keep it black and white to keep in with the village aesthetic."
After a visit from a local children’s author Susanne Schroder, Kearry received a donation from The Tiloston Bradbery Trust to kickstart her dream. Kearry told me that the most amazing part about her project has been the “kindness of other people”.
She explained: "People in the village love it, you’ll be amazed by the amount of kindness from people in the village. It’s a community thing now."
“There’s a charity shop called Pawprints in New Ferry that often saves books for my book corner. I can visit, and there will be a big bag of books there waiting for me.
“No one’s ever taken anything from the book corner either, it’s kept beautifully. People keep an eye on it for me which is lovely.”
It’s not just people that live in Port Sunlight village that Kearry has won over though, with visitors from all over the world claiming to be 'inspired' by her creation. So far, Kearry has had three guest books filled with notes from visitors, with some of them even from overseas.
She said: “The beauty of the village is that people come from all over to visit, and they happen to stumble across my book corner. I’ve got messages from Spain, Italy and Dublin. A group of teachers from Valencia have even stopped by and set up their own little library after seeing mine.”
Industrialist Lord Leverhulme also cropped up a few times during my chat with Kearry, which highlighted her love for the village once again. For those who aren’t aware of Lord Leverhulme, he’s basically the reason Port Sunlight exists.
Port Sunlight was built to house the workers at William Hesketh Lever’s soap factory, Lever Brothers, which eventually became the global giant - Unilever. Kearry wanted to incorporate that bit of history into her book corner, placing it near a tree that was planted by Lord Leverhulme himself.
The village contained everything his workforce needed, like a church, school, art gallery and library. After the library closed many years ago, Kearry wanted to create her own as a "tribute" and found the perfect spot - by the tree that the third Lord Leverhulme planted.
She continued: “Lord Leverhulme wanted a 'self-contained village' and to me, Port Sunlight has everything, but it doesn’t have a library. I look at the children sitting under Lord Leverhulme’s tree reading, and I think that he would’ve loved that.”
Even when I was speaking to Kearry, several people walked past in awe of her magical space and took the time to compliment her in passing. I was sure to tell her that when I eventually have children, I will bring them to this space, and that made her quite emotional.
To finish what was a lovely wholesome chat, Kearry concluded: “I want to thank everyone that has donated me books so far. I would be so grateful for any more donations, if you’d like to leave your address in the visitor book or postbox I will send you a card and a bookmark to say thankyou."
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