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

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

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.

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

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.

• Liverpool, Lancashire
• Liverpool, Merseyside

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).

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.