Catalogue description Catalogue of the records of Edmund Kirby & Sons architects and surveyors, Liverpool by C J Williams

This record is held by Liverpool Record Office

Details of 720/KIR
Reference: 720/KIR
Title: Catalogue of the records of Edmund Kirby & Sons architects and surveyors, Liverpool by C J Williams
Description:

EDMUND KIRBY & SONS:

 

GENERAL

 

Diaries and notebooks

 

Letter books

 

Working papers

 

Acts of Parliament

 

Works of reference

 

Edmund Kirby Trust

 

Office staff, expenses, etc

 

Reports and valuations

 

Bills

 

Brochures

 

Ledgers

 

General accounts

 

Salaries

 

Cash books

 

Vouchers

 

Rent books

 

Income tax

 

Estate agency

 

Records

 

Personal files and papers

 

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF CHARTERED SURVEYORS

 

UNITED KINGDOM:

 

GENERAL

 

NATIONAL COAL BOARD

 

BRITISH WATERWAYS

 

ENGLAND:

 

CHESHIRE: GENERAL

 

Cheshire County Council

 

smallholdings

 

Crag estate of Earl of Derby

 

Leverhulme estate: general

 

Gas companies

 

Wirral Railways

 

CHESHIRE: PARISHES

 

Altrincham

 

Appleton Thorn

 

Arley Hall

 

Audlem

 

Barnston

 

Bebington

 

Bidston

 

Birkenhead: Extension Bill

 

Birkenhead: breweries

 

Birkenhead: docks

 

Birkenhead: ferries

 

Birkenhead: general

 

Birkenhead: workhouse and hospital

 

Birkenhead: streets (in alphabetical order)

 

Bolesworth Castle

 

Bollington (nr Macclesfield)

 

Bromborough

 

Bunbury

 

Burton

 

Caldy

 

Cheadle

 

Chester: St Werburgh's Roman

 

Catholic church and schools

 

Chester: St Francis's Roman

 

Catholic schools

 

Chester Northgate Brewery Co

 

Chester: general

 

Chorlton by Backford

 

Crewe

 

Dukinfield

 

Dutton

 

Eastham

 

Ellesmere Port

 

Frodsham

 

Gayton

 

Greasby

 

Great Budworth

 

Halton

 

Hazel Grove

 

Heswall

 

High Legh

 

Hoole

 

Hoylake: St Hildeburgh's

 

Roman Catholic church

 

Hoylake: St John the Baptist's

 

church, Meols

 

Hoylake: St Catherine's Roman

 

Catholic church

 

Hoylake: Corbys

 

Hoylake: Dormy Cottage

 

Hoylake: Royal Liverpool

 

Golf Club

 

Hoylake: general

 

Hunsterson

 

Hyde

 

Knutsford

 

Ledsham

 

Little Leigh

 

Lower Peover

 

Macclesfield

 

CHESHIRE

 

Malpas

 

Middlewich

 

Ness

 

Neston: St Mary and St Helen's church

 

Neston: St Winefride's church and school

 

Neston: Hinderton Hall estate

 

Neston: other properties

 

Northwich

 

Parkgate

 

Port Sunlight

 

Poulton cum Spital

 

Puddington

 

Pulford

 

Raby

 

Romiley

 

Rowton

 

Runcorn: St Edward's Roman

 

Catholic church and schools

 

Runcorn: Crofton Lodge

 

Runcorn: other properties

 

Sale

 

Sandbach

 

Stalybridge

 

Stockport: Roman Catholic

 

Church of Our Lady

 

Stockport: St Joseph's Roman Catholic church

 

Stockport: Shaw Heath workhouse

 

Stockton Heath

 

Storeton

 

Tattenhall

 

Thornton Hough

 

Thornton le Moors

 

Upton

 

Wallasey: general

 

Wallasey Embankment Trust

 

Wallasey: New Brighton,

 

general

 

Wallasey: streets (in alphabetical order)

 

West Kirby: St Agnes's

 

Roman Catholic church and schools

 

West Kirby: other properties

 

Willaston

 

Wilmslow

 

Wistaston

 

Woodbank

 

CUMBERLAND

 

Cleator

 

Cockermouth

 

Penrith

 

Whitehaven

 

DERBYSHIRE

 

Staveley

 

Whaley Bridge

 

DURHAM

 

Gateshead

 

Hylton

 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

 

Avonmouth

 

Bristol

 

Cheltenham

 

HAMPSHIRE

 

Hayling Island

 

HEREFORDSHIRE

 

Presteign

 

KENT

 

Margate

 

LANCASHIRE: GENERAL

 

Earl of Derby's estates

 

General

 

LANCASHIRE: PARISHES

 

Abram

 

Accrington

 

Aintree

 

Ashton in Makerfield

 

Ashton under Lyne

 

Atherton

 

Aughton

 

Barrow in Furness

 

Bickerstaffe

 

Billinge

 

Blackburn

 

Blackpool

 

Bolton

 

Bootle: general

 

Bootle: streets (in alphabetical order)

 

Burnley

 

Burscough

 

Burtonwood

 

Cadishead

 

Chorley: St Gregory's church

 

Chorley: Church of the

 

Sacred Heart

 

Chorley: other properties

 

Claughton

 

Clayton Green

 

Clitheroe

 

Crosby: Blundellsands

 

Crosby: Ince Blundell Hall

 

Crosby: Waterloo

 

Crosby: other properties

 

LANCASHIRE

 

Ditton

 

Eccles

 

Euxton

 

Farnworth

 

Formby

 

Formby: Freshfield

 

Golborne

 

Hale

 

Halsall

 

Huyton: Presbyterian church

 

Huyton: other properties

 

Irlam

 

Kirkby: St Chad's

 

mission church

 

Kirkby: other properties

 

Knowsley

 

Lancaster

 

Lathom

 

Leigh

 

Litherland

 

Liverpool: brewers and

 

licensing

 

Liverpool: churches

 

Liverpool: companies

 

Liverpool: corporation,

 

planning, etc

 

Liverpool docks: general

 

Liverpool: individual docks

 

Liverpool: societies

 

Liverpool: Speke airport

 

Liverpool: Speke Hall

 

Liverpool: Everton Tunnel

 

Liverpool-Birkenhead subway

 

Liverpool: Mersey Tunnel

 

Liverpool: workhouses

 

Liverpool: streets (in

 

alphabetical order)

 

Lowton

 

Lydiate

 

Lytham St Anne's

 

Maghull

 

Manchester

 

Melling

 

Morecambe

 

Netherton

 

Newton le Willows

 

Ormskirk

 

Over Kellet

 

Parbold

 

Prescot

 

Preston

 

Rainford

 

Rainhill

 

Reddish

 

Rochdale

 

Rufford

 

St Helens

 

Salford

 

Scarisbrick

 

Southport: Birkdale (or

 

Ainsdale) Reformatory

 

Southport: Convent of Notre

 

Dame, Birkdale

 

Southport: hotels

 

Southport Pier

 

Southport: other properties

 

Stonyhurst

 

Tarbock

 

Thornton

 

Tottington

 

Tyldesley

 

Ulverston

 

Upholland

 

Warrington: Extension Bill

 

Warrington: Greenall,

 

Whitley & Co

 

Warrington: Joseph Crosfield & Son

 

Warrington: S Aston & Son

 

Warrington: other properties

 

Widnes: St Mary's Roman

 

Catholic schools

 

Widnes: William Gossage & Sons

 

Widnes: other properties

 

Wigan and Leigh assessment areas

 

Wigan: St Joseph's Roman

 

Catholic church and schools

 

Wigan: cotton mills

 

Wigan: St Patrick's schools and club

 

Wigan: other properties

 

Winwick

 

Yealand

 

LINCOLNSHIRE

 

Anwick

 

Scunthorpe

 

LONDON

 

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

 

Colston Bassett

 

SHROPSHIRE

 

Cound

 

Dudleston

 

Ludlow

 

Newport

 

Shrewsbury: cathedral and schools

 

Shrewsbury: Royal Salop Infirmary

 

Wellington

 

SHROPSHIRE

 

Whitchurch

 

STAFFORDSHIRE

 

Bloxwich

 

Haunton

 

Stone

 

Tamworth

 

West Bromwich

 

SUFFOLK

 

Newmarket

 

WARWICKSHIRE

 

Erdington

 

King's Norton

 

Rugby

 

Warwick

 

WESTMORLAND

 

Grasmere

 

Kendal

 

Leasgill

 

Levens

 

WORCESTERSHIRE

 

Worcester

 

YORKSHIRE: EAST

 

RIDING

 

Wheldrake

 

YORKSHIRE: NORTH

 

RIDING

 

Ampleforth

 

Scarborough

 

YORKSHIRE: WEST

 

RIDING

 

Bolton by Bowland

 

Sheffield

 

Skipton

 

YORKSHIRE: YORK

 

York: Dispensary

 

York: Union Bank

 

York: St Olave's church

 

WALES:

 

General

 

ANGLESEY

 

Amlwch

 

Brynsiencyn

 

Holyhead

 

Menai Bridge

 

Trearddur Bay

 

BRECKNOCKSHIRE

 

Brecon

 

CARDIGANSHIRE

 

Aberystwyth

 

CAERNARFONSHIRE

 

Betws-y-coed

 

Bangor

 

Caernarfon

 

Conwy

 

Deganwy

 

Dolwyddelan

 

Edern

 

Llanberis

 

Llandudno

 

Llanfairfechan

 

Pwllheli

 

DENBIGHSHIRE

 

Abergele

 

Chirk

 

Coedpoeth

 

Henllan

 

Llandegla

 

Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd

 

Llanferres

 

Llangollen

 

Llanrwst

 

Marchwiel

 

Ruabon

 

Ruthin

 

Wrexham

 

FLINTSHIRE

 

Bettisfield

 

Ewloe

 

Flint

 

Halkyn

 

Hawarden

 

Holywell

 

Marford

 

Mold

 

Northop

 

Pantasaph

 

Pontybodkin

 

Prestatyn

 

Queensferry

 

Rhyl

 

St Asaph

 

Saltney

 

Sealand

 

Talacre

 

Tremeirchion

 

GLAMORGAN

 

General

 

Dowlais

 

MERIONETH

 

Aberdyfi

 

Bala

 

Carrog

 

Dolgellau

 

Frongoch

 

MONMOUTHSHIRE

 

Abergavenny

 

Dixton

 

Newport

 

MONTGOMERYSHIRE

 

Llanwddyn

 

Machynlleth

 

Newtown

 

Pen-y-bont fawr

 

SCOTLAND

 

General

 

Dumfries

 

Glasgow

 

Renfrew

 

ISLE OF MAN

 

General

 

Douglas

 

NORTHERN IRELAND

 

Belfast

 

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

 

Cork

Arrangement:

The great majority of the records relate to individual properties, and consequently the arrangement of the collection is by place, using pre-1974 county boundaries. Within the larger towns-Liverpool, Birkenhead, Wallasey and Bootle-the records are further arranged by street. A small collection of early drawings retained by the firm is described in an Appendix.

Held by: Liverpool Record Office, not available at The National Archives
Language: English
Immediate source of acquisition:

This catalogue has been prepared with the aid of grants from the British Library and Edmund Kirby & Sons

Selection and destruction information:

About one third of the records, mostly files from the 1930s to the 1960s, was judged to be not worth preserving as archives, and was discarded, following consultation with the firm. The rejected items included many records relating to smaller commissions, and minor additions and alterations to properties, repairs and maintenance, although a small selection was made to illustrate this aspect of the firm's work. For a time Edmund Kirby & Sons acted for Shell-Mex & BP Ltd in surveying and valuing garages bought up by that firm, and building and maintaining new service stations. Here also a policy was adopted of making a small selection of these. Many sale catalogues of properties were sent to the firm, and survived in the records. While all those relating to Liverpool were kept, others have been transferred to the appropriate local record office. Lastly, it should be mentioned that some early drawings by Edmund Kirby, especially tracings, are in need of conservation work, and cannot be produced until this has been done.

Subjects:
  • Liverpool, Lancashire
  • Liverpool, Merseyside
Unpublished finding aids:

Records held in offices of Edmund Kirby & Sons

 

Although the great majority of the firm's records up to the 1960s have been deposited in the Liverpool Record Office, a small number has been retained in their offices in India Buildings. These records are described in the list which follows. They are, unless otherwise indicated, stored flat in portfolios, and consist of architectural drawings. The contents of this list have not been included in the index.

 

GENERAL

 

1 Oil portrait of Edmund Kirby. nd [late 19th c](framed).

 

2 'Miscellaneous ecclesiastical drawings', including St Edmund's church, Runcorn, windows for St Nicholas's Pro-Cathedral, Liverpool, 1947, St Ignatius', Preston, 1895, Birkenhead Priory Chapter House, 1914, nd. 1866-1947 (1 portfolio).

 

3 Sundry items, including residence at Noctorum for G H Haram, 1877; alterations at Brook House, Blackburn, 1880s; 10 Seymour Street, Liverpool, c1900; details of house at Howbeck Road, Oxton, c1900; 13 Devonshire Place, Lt-Col Steel, 1887; and new premises for Liverpool Stock Room Co, School Lane, 1909 (1 portfolio).

 

4 'Edmund Kirby's reference material': drawings (printed) of architectural features and buildings in Britain and overseas (many relating to Liverpool) from The Draughtsman's Sketch Book, The Builder, The Architect, Building News, etc. 1881-1913 (1 portfolio).

 

5 Bills sent to EK. 1887-8 (1 portfolio).

 

6 Drawings (printed) from The Builder and photographs of EK's churches and other buildings (some unidentified). 1893-1960s (3 portfolios, and many loose).

 

7 Wall panelling and tapestry designs [?for Reform Club]. nd [late 19th c] (1 item).

 

8 Competition drawings for unidentified hospital. nd [c1900] (1 portfolio).

 

9 'Design unknown date' for tracery [by E B Kirby]. nd [early 20th c] (1 item).

 

CHESHIRE

 

Appleton Thorn

 

10 Appleton Thorn church. 1886 (1 portfolio).

 

Birkenhead: workhouse

 

11 Birkenhead Union Workhouse: new board offices. 1901-3 (1 portfolio).

 

12 Birkenhead Workhouse: new wards. 1909 (6 portfolios).

 

Birkenhead: Beckwith Street

 

13 St Laurence's schools, Birkenhead. 1865-6 (4 portfolios).

 

Birkenhead: Bidston Road

 

14 Oxton: residence for Alfred Billson, esq. 1877-85 (2 portfolios).

 

Birkenhead: Hamilton Square

 

15 Birkenhead Town Hall: memorial tablets to memory of men of

 

Cheshire Volunteers killed in South African War. 1902 (2 portfolios).

 

Birkenhead: Howbeck Road

 

16 Howbeck Road, Oxton: new residence. 1909 (1 portfolio).

 

Birkenhead: Noctorum Lane

 

17 Noctorum, Birkenhead: sale particulars of Mere Hall, 1925, and photograph of billiard room, nd. 1925, nd (2 items).

 

Birkenhead: Park Road

 

18 Park Road, Birkenhead: Bank Buildings. nd [late 19th c] (1 item).

 

Birkenhead: Price Street

 

19 Price Street, Birkenhead: proposed new infants' school. 1932 (1 item).

 

Birkenhead: Slatey Road

 

20 [Slatey Road, Birkenhead]: Williamson Art Gallery. 1914 (1 item, framed).

 

21 [Slatey Road, Birkenhead]: Williamson Library competition drawings. 1914 (1 portfolio).

 

Birkenhead: Taylor Street

 

22 Taylor Street, Birkenhead: new stables, etc, for Mr McGetrick. 1891 (1 item).

 

Birkenhead: Wexford Road

 

23 Wexford Road, Oxton: new house for R W Brown, esq. 1899 (2 portfolios).

 

Burton

 

24 Burton: new house for R A L Billson. 1928 (1 portfolio).

 

Congleton

 

25 St Mary's schools, Congleton: plan of proposed additions and alterations. 1905-6 (2 items).

 

Ellesmere Port

 

26 Church of Our Lady, Ellesmere Port. 1930 (1 portfolio).

 

Hoylake

 

27 Meols Parade, Hoylake: Higher Elementary School. nd [c1900] (1 portfolio).

 

28 Birkenhead Road, Hoylake: St Catherine's new church. 1925-6 (2 portfolios).

 

Hyde

 

29 St Paul's church, Hyde: reredos, by E B Kirby. nd [?1920s].

 

Neston

 

30 Windle Hill, Hinderton: house for G P Gamon, esq, by E B Kirby. nd [early 20th c].

 

31 Neston tomb: [mausoleum with elaborate canopy, by E B Kirby]. nd [?1911].

 

Northwich

 

32 St Wilfrid's Catholic church, Northwich. 1864-5 (2 portfolios).

 

33 St Wilfrid's church, Northwich: presbytery. 1866 (2 items).

 

Port Sunlight

 

34 Port Sunlight houses [for Lever Bros]: sundry details. 1897 (1 portfolio).

 

35 Port Sunlight: group of three cottages for Lever Bros. 1898 (1 portfolio).

 

36 Primrose Hill, Port Sunlight: group of six cottages for Lever Bros. 1898-9 (1 portfolio).

 

Poulton

 

37 Poulton schools: plan of proposed enlargements. nd [c1900].

 

Romiley

 

38 Church of Our Lady and St Christopher, Romiley: altar. 1931-2 (1 portfolio).

 

Sale

 

39 St Joseph's Schools, Sale. 1898 (1 portfolio).

 

Stockport

 

40 Edgeley Schools: details of Chapel Street front. nd [c1900] (1 item).

 

Wallasey: Dalmorton Road

 

41 Dalmorton Road, New Brighton: new schools. 1907-8, nd (6 portfolios).

 

Wallasey: Havelock Street

 

42 [?Havelock Street]: Seacombe land and Mallaby right of light case. 1903 (1 portfolio).

 

Wallasey: Ilford Avenue

 

43 Somerville Schools, Seacombe. 1910-11 (1 portfolio).

 

Wallasey: Manor Road

 

44 Manor Road Board Schools, Liscard. 1908 (1 portfolio).

 

Wallasey: Mill Lane

 

45 St Alban's Schools, Mill Lane, Liscard. 1908 (2 portfolios).

 

46 St Alban's church, Liscard. 1923-4 (1 portfolio).

 

47 St Alban's church, Liscard: font. 1924 (1 item).

 

Wallasey Road, Wallasey

 

48 Wallasey Road, Wallasey: proposed new Boot Inn. nd [c1900] (1 portfolio).

 

West Kirby

 

49 New church, West Kirby. 1897 (1 portfolio).

 

DERBYSHIRE

 

Whaley Bridge

 

50 Church of the Sacred Heart, Whaley Bridge: new presbytery. 1924 (1 portfolio).

 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

 

Avonmouth

 

51 Mill for Crosfields & Bodey, Avonmouth. 1959 (1 item).

 

LANCASHIRE

 

Chorley

 

52 [St Gregory's Roman Catholic church], Weld Bank, Chorley: reredos.

 

1890 (1 portfolio).

 

Eccles

 

53 Industrial schools, Eccles. nd [late 19th c] (3 items).

 

Formby

 

54 St George's School, Freshfield: additions and alterations. nd [?1920s] (2 items).

 

Huyton

 

55 Knowsley Cottage, Huyton, by Alfred Culshaw. 1890-1 (1 portfolio).

 

56 Mosscroft Farm Estate, Huyton, for Unit Estates. 1947 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: docks

 

57 Duke's Dock, Liverpool: warehouses. nd [c1900] (1 portfolio).

 

58 Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouses. 1901 (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Abercromby Square

 

59 6 Abercromby Square, Liverpool: house for Sir Edward R Russell. 1891-5 (3 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Arnot Street

 

60 Arnot Street, Liverpool: school for Walton on the Hill School Board. 1883-4 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Ashton Street

 

61 37-9 Ashton Street, Liverpool: alterations to nurses' home for

 

Liverpool Royal Infirmary. 1913-15 (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Bold Street

 

62 Bold Street, Liverpool: Barclays Bank. 1954 (1 item).

 

63 34 Bold Street, Liverpool: premises for M'Kenzie & Co, by A Culshaw. 1892 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Brunswick Road

 

64 Brunswick Road, [Liverpool]: Roman Catholic Blind Asylum, by William Culshaw & Son. 1874-6 (1 portfolio).

 

65 [Brunswick Road, Liverpool]: temporary premises for J Baker & Co, Ltd [outfitters]. 1947 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Catharine Street

 

66 Liverpool & Samaritan Hospital for Women. nd [?1920s] (8 items).

 

Liverpool: Chapel Street

 

67 Chapel Street, Liverpool: various drawings of Hamilton Buildings. 1895, nd (8 items).

 

68 [Chapel Street, Liverpool]: photograph of Richmond House by E Chambré Hardman. nd [1970s].

 

Liverpool: Church Alley

 

69 Church Alley, Liverpool: new premises for Liverpool Stockroom Co. nd [c1900](1 portfolio).

 

70 Church Alley, Liverpool: new [office] premises. nd [early 20th c].

 

Liverpool: Church Street

 

71 59-65 Church Street and Parker Street, Liverpool. 1886 (1 item).

 

Liverpool: Cook Street

 

72 Cook Street, Liverpool: Union Buildings [offices of EK]. 1877-81 (9 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Copperas Hill

 

73 Copperas Hill, Liverpool: St Nicholas Catholic Schools. 1932 (1 item).

 

Liverpool: Dale Street

 

74 [31 Dale Street, Liverpool]: George Hotel site, detail of new offices. 1876 (1 item).

 

75 Dale Street, Liverpool: Reform Club. 1876-1884 (including papers, etc, to 1932) (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Dawson Street

 

76 Dawson Street, [Liverpool]: warehouses. 1904-5 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Dover Street

 

77 Dover Street, Liverpool: nurses' home, by A C[ulshaw]. 1889 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Gilbert Street

 

78 Gilbert Street, Liverpool: St Peter's Schools. 1871 (framed).

 

Liverpool: Hawke Street

 

79 St Nicholas's Pro-Cathedral, Liverpool: proposed alterations to baptistery. nd [1950s] (1 item).

 

Liverpool: Holly Road

 

80 12 Holly Road, Liverpool: air-raid shelter for Our Lady's Convent. 1940 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Hunter Street

 

81 Hunter Street, Liverpool: property of James Mellor & Sons Ltd. 1937 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Islington Flags

 

82 9 & 11 Islington Flags, Liverpool: licensed premises. 1885 (3 items).

 

Liverpool: Longmoor Lane

 

83 Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley: proposed tuberculosis sanatorium for city of Liverpool. nd [c1900] (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Lord Street

 

84 59-61 Lord Street, Liverpool: business premises. 1882 (1 portfolio).

 

85 63 Lord Street, Liverpool: Liverpool Investment Building Society building. 1886 (1 portfolio).

 

86 63 Lord Street, Liverpool: details of masonry. 1886 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Mercer Court

 

87 140 Mercer Court, Liverpool: premises for Liverpool Printing & Stationery Co. 1912 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Mossley Hill Road

 

88 Holmfield House, Aigburth, for T B Royden, esq, by W Culshaw & Sons, and A Culshaw. 1876-95 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: North John Street

 

89 North John Street and Cook Street, Liverpool: shops and offices. 1882 (1 portfolio).

 

90 14 North John Street, Liverpool: alterations to shops. 1911 (6 items).

 

Liverpool: Old Mill Lane

 

91 Olive Mount, Wavertree: various buildings. 1898 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Old Hall Street

 

92 Old Hall Street, [Liverpool]: premises for Richard Brown. 1879 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Overbury Street

 

93 St Ann's church, Edge Hill, [Liverpool]. 1870-4 (1 portfolio).

 

94 St Ann's church, Edge Hill: new sacristy and organ loft. 1873 (1 item).

 

95 St Ann's schools, Edge Hill, Liverpool. nd [c1900].

 

Liverpool: Pembroke Place

 

96 Liverpool Royal Infirmary: alterations and nurses's homes. 1911 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Rumford Street

 

97 Rumford Street, Liverpool: offices for H B H Blundell, esq, by W Culshaw. 1863 (1 portfolio).

 

98 9 Rumford Street, Liverpool: details of Peter's Buildings. 1901-7 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Salisbury Street

 

99 St Francis Xavier's church, Liverpool. 1885 (5 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: St Mary's Road

 

100 Bank of Liverpool, Garston branch [130 St Mary's Road], by A Culshaw. 1903 (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Sandfield Park

 

101 St Edward's College, Sandfield Park, West Derby. 1937 (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: School Lane

 

102 Hillfoot, Woolton: details of carving on panels. 1909 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Scotland Road

 

103 127 Scotland Road, Liverpool: details of public house. 1906 (1 item).

 

Liverpool: Seel Street

 

104 Seel Street, Liverpool: E & T S Young's distillery, by W Culshaw. 1855-6 (1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Silvester Street

 

105 Silvester Street, Liverpool: details of cills for schools. 1871 (1 item).

 

Liverpool: Smithdown Road

 

106 Smithdown Road, [Liverpool]: branch of Bank of Liverpool, by A Culshaw. 1982 (2 portfolios).

 

Liverpool: Thomas Drive

 

107 Highfield Infirmary, Liverpool: dispensary fittings. nd [c1900].

 

Liverpool: Victoria Street

 

108 Imperial Buildings, Liverpool: aerial photograph. nd [1960s].

 

Liverpool: Walton Breck Road

 

109 Walton Breck Road, [Liverpool]: proposed shops and houses for Christopher Kearns, esq. nd [c1899](1 portfolio).

 

Liverpool: Whitechapel

 

110 Whitechapel and Victoria Street, Liverpool: London & Midland Bank, by J B Whinney. 1898 (1 portfolio).

 

111 Whitechapel and Stanley Street, Liverpool: proposed New York Buildings for J C Baker, esq. nd [c1900] (1 item).

 

Parbold

 

112 Priest's House, Parbold. 1881 (1 portfolio).

 

Preston

 

113 St Ignatius's church, Preston. 1895 (framed).

 

Rainhill

 

114 Rainhill, residence for Henry Baxter, esq. 1878 (5 portfolios).

 

Southport

 

115 Southport and Pier: plan showing Alexandra Pier. nd [late 19thc] (1 item).

 

Widnes

 

116 St Mary's schools, Widnes: extensions. 1881 (1 item).

 

LINCOLNSHIRE

 

Holbeach

 

117 Holbeach war memorial. 1919 (1 portfolio).

 

SHROPSHIRE

 

Shrewsbury

 

118 Shrewsbury cathedral. 1872, nd (2 portfolios).

 

119 Royal Salop Infirmary, Shrewsbury. 1923-5 (1 portfolio).

 

STAFFORDSHIRE

 

Haunton

 

120 SS Michael & James's church, Haunton, near Tamworth: presbytery. 1903 (1 portfolio).

 

Tamworth

 

121 St John's church, Tamworth: proposed additions and alterations. 1909 (1 portfolio).

 

WARWICKSHIRE

 

Rugby

 

122 St Matthew's, Rugby: interior of new chancel. nd [c1900] (2 items, framed).

 

WESTMORLAND

 

Levens

 

123 Levens Hotel, Kendal: plans. 1937 (3 items).

 

YORKSHIRE

 

York

 

124 Duncombe Place, York: new buildings [York Dispensary]. nd [c1896] (1 portfolio).

 

125 York Union Bank. 1902 (7 portfolios).

 

WALES

 

CAERNARFONSHIRE

 

Llandudno

 

126 New [Roman Catholic] church, Llandudno. 1891 (2 items).

 

DENBIGHSHIRE

 

Chirk

 

127 Chirk: memorial for Lady Trevor, Brynkinalt. 1905 (1 portfolio).

 

Wrexham

 

128 St Mary's Catholic Schools, Wrexham. 1868 (1 item).

 

FLINTSHIRE

 

Flint

 

129 Ship Inn, Flint. 1924 (5 items).

 

Mold

 

130 Plas Annie, Mold: entrance lodge for Edward Thompson. 1875 (1 portfolio).

 

Pantasaph

 

131 Pantasaph: convent for St Francis' Orphanage. 1867 (1 portfolio).

Administrative / biographical background:

Edmund Kirby, the founder of the firm whose records are described in this volume, was born in Liverpool, the eldest of three sons, on 8 April 1838. A Roman Catholic, he was educated at Sedgeley Park School and Oscott College. Before training as an architect he studied at the Royal Academy schools, and while a student in London he designed scenery for a production of Shakespeare's Henry IV by the actor, Charles Kean. Kirby was articled to the architect Edward Welby Pugin (son of A W N Pugin). He later worked for the firm of Hardman & Co, ecclesiastical designers, and for John Douglas, the Chester architect.

 

Various dates in the 1860s have been given for Edmund Kirby's commencement in practice on his own account. His signatures on early drawings in this collection suggest that he practised in Birkenhead (perhaps in his own house) in the years 1863-5. See drawings of Birkenhead public library (720KIR/638) and St Wilfrid's church, Northwich (720KIR/1094). By January 1866 he was at work in Derby Buildings, 24 Fenwick Street, Liverpool, his office for many years. 720KIR/1094. In 1878 he moved to offices in Union Buildings, Cook Street, which had just been completed to his own design. There the firm remained until 1965, when it moved to State House, Dale Street, which also had been built to the firm's design. Information from Edmund Kirby & Sons. Its offices are now in India Buildings, Liverpool.

 

Edmund Kirby married, in 1873, Rose Anne, daughter of Benjamin Dodsworth of Burton Croft, York. He lived in Birkenhead, latterly in Shrewsbury Road, where in 1905 his wife died. Obituary of EK in Liverpool Post and Mercury, 26 Apr 1920. He had three sons. Two of them, Francis J Kirby and Edmund Bertram Kirby, joined him in the firm. The third, Edward Dodsworth Kirby, became a solicitor and later a Roman Catholic priest. Obituary of E D Kirby in Liverpool Evening Express, 9 Jun 1954.

 

As a Roman Catholic, Edmund Kirby undertook a number of commissions for the church throughout his years in practice. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, in an address at Kirby's funeral, stated that he had designed fourteen churches for the diocese of Shrewsbury alone, altered or improved eight others, and built fifteen Roman Catholic schools. The records of the firm have been exceptionally well preserved. The Liverpool Record Office holds the records of two other Liverpool architects, but in neither case do their records approach either in quantity or quality those of Edmund Kirby & Sons. The collection catalogued in this volume consists of nearly 3,700 items contained in 690 archive boxes, and is one of the biggest collections in the record office. Unlike many architects, Edmund Kirby folded his drawings, and kept them together with the correspondence and papers relating to the building. There are very few rolled plans. This may have made the records easier to store, and so explain their remarkable survival. However, some of the firm's administrative records, such as the first hundred letter books, up to 1932, have not survived. Possibly they were sent for salvage during the Second World War. Early records of the firm, apart from those relating to individual buildings, are few, but they include one diary of Edmund Kirby for 1868,720KIR/1. and some out-letter books for 1879-83. 720KIR/32-8. On the other hand, the records document many buildings by Kirby which are not mentioned in the Pevsner Buildings of England series. Much of his work was in Liverpool, the north-west of England and north Wales. It included churches (Anglican as well as Roman Catholic), schools, hospitals and workhouse buildings, houses, ranging from elaborate 'stockbrokers' palaces' in Birkenhead to cottages for Lever Bros in Port Sunlight, public houses, banks and other commercial buildings. But the collection also includes items relating to a house and church in south Wales (Glen Trothy near Abergavenny, and St Illtyd's Roman Catholic church in Dowlais, near Merthyr), a major bank in York, and competition drawings for a cathedral in Cork.

 

Edmund Kirby practised both as an architect and a surveyor, and was joined by his two sons, each trained in one discipline. Francis J Kirby was a surveyor, who worked for the firm from 1905 to 1934. For eleven years he was valuer to the Mersey Tunnel Joint Committee, which work is well reflected in records in this collection. He also acted for the Earl of Derby, Wallasey Embankment Trust and many local industries. In 1934 he became an official arbitrator under the Acquisition of Land Act. He died in 1945, aged 71. Obituary in Liverpool Post, 13 Aug 1945. There are many records in this volume relating to surveyor's work of his time and later, including papers concerning the valuation of properties of breweries throughout the north-west, and commercial buildings in Liverpool and elsewhere. Many files relate to the wartime requisitioning of properties, air-raid precautions, and repair of bomb damage, particularly in Liverpool and Birkenhead. The firm valued colliery properties in Lancashire and north Wales, nationalized in 1946. A director of the firm was for a time secretary of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Lancashire, Cheshire and Isle of Man branch, which explains the presence of early minutes and other records of the branch in this collection.

 

Edmund Kirby's son Edmund Bertram trained as an architect, and joined the firm in 1901, remaining a partner until his retirement in 1947. He died in 1953, aged 71. Obituary in Liverpool Daily Post, 27 March 1953. His work on houses, churches, hospitals and schools is also well represented in the collection.

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