The civil Kirkby Parish Hall was built in 1934 and extended in 1936 with the addition of a Young Men’s Clubroom, making it the oldest community building in Kirkby
Current use
As of June 2026 the building is split into two parts:
- the Young Men’s Clubroom has been the headquarters of the 1st Kirkby Scout Group since 1959, and since 20 has hosted Kirkby and Liverpool North Sea Cadets – these are the two oldest youth organisations in Kirkby;
- the Main Hall has been used by the Kirkby Christian Fellowship (Facebook) since the 1990s.
The overall property is currently administered by the Parochial Church Council of Kirkby on behalf of the Diocese of Liverpool in which the original 1934 lease is vested.
History
In 1930, Hugh William Osbert Molyneux became the 7th Earl of Sefton, and owned most of the lands in and around the then village of Kirkby.
In the early 1930s, the Kirkby and Simonswood Parish Hall committee was formed to build a civil parish hall for the benefit of the people of Kirkby and Simonswood civil parishes. The reference to Simonswood would eventually be dropped.
The Earl of Sefton donated land under a 99-year lease dated 4th May 1934 to the committee and provided a loan for the building to be built in brick rather than timber. The building was quickly erected in 1934 and saw immediate use by the local community.
The Kirkby Young Men’s Club raised funds to build an extension, and this was completed on 5th November 1936.
With the coming of World War II, the hall was used as a Ministry of Food ration points centre, as well as by the Home Guard. Social events appear to have restarted as early as 22nd March 1945.
On 30th September 1947, The Earl of Sefton sold the “Kirkby Lands” to Liverpool Corporation (now Liverpool City Council), including the site of the civil Kirkby Parish Hall, with the conveyance referring to the lease now being for 999-years. It is unclear whether the 1934 lease or the brief mention in the 1947 conveyance takes precedence.
In 1953, Lancashire County Council took out a lease on the main hall to provide a School Meals Service to support the growing young population of Kirkby.
The public inquiry regarding the formation of Kirkby Urban District was held in the parish hall in the late 1950s, and the first meeting of Kirkby Urban District Council was held in the hall on 9th April 1958. For some reason, the new council which replaced the earlier Kirkby Parish Council did not take on the parish hall, instead moving into Kirkby Farm.
In 1959, the 20th Aintree (1st Kirkby) Scout Group took out a lease with a peppercorn rent for the Kirkby Young Men’s Club, and in 1961 the Church of England took out a lease on the main hall. The last known AGM of the Kirkby Parish Hall was held in 1962. By the mid-1960s, the original trustees of the Kirkby Parish Hall committee had either died or moved away. As a result, the property was vested in the Diocese of Liverpool in 1966/67, with the Scouts and local Church of England looking after their respective parts of the building. In the late 1960s, the Scout Group built a further extension to provide their own set of toilets, kitchen, office and storage. In the 1990s, the Church of England leased the main hall to the Kirkby Christian Fellowship.
The building remains vested in the Diocese of Liverpool, and occupied by the 1st Kirkby Scout Group and Kirkby Christian Fellowship to this day.