West Kirby, Cheshire Genealogy

History
St. Bridget Church is an ancient church and it is difficult to be sure of the age of the present building which is believed to have stood on the site for over 1,000 years. Some masonry, heavily restored, remains to chancel, vestry east bay and north aisle and dates from the 1300's. West tower 1492-1530. Restoration, south aisle and vestry west bay, 1869-70. By Kelly and Edwards. Stone with slate roof. Nave, aisles, west tower, chancel, north chapel and vestry. Tower has 2 diagonal buttresses. West entrance has arch with spandrel quatrefoils and splayed reveals, the jambs panelled, the lintel with armorial bearings and flowers; label mould. 3- light Perpendicular west window paired 2-light bell openings. Cornice and embattled parapet with tracery panels. North aisle has 3:4:3-light square-headed windows with cusped lights between deep weathered buttresses. Gabled timber-framed porch. South aisle has 3-light Decorated windows to west, south and east. Chancel has 5- light east window, the tracery head has superimposed cusped arches, a rare type (renewed). 3-light windows to south between deep, weathered buttresses. Chapel has 4-light window, square-headed with transom, and square-headed north windows, one now obscured by vestry. Vestry east bay under lean-to roof, west bay gabled with stack to west. Interior: 4-bay nave arcades with octagonal piers; arch-braced roof on angel corbels, with wind braces. Flat-topped dormers, not visible on exterior. Chancel arch has low wrought iron screen and rood on overthrow, by C.E. Kempe Above arch are relief figures of angels on stencilled ground also by Kempe. West organ loft (moved from chapel), case by Douglas and Fordham. C19 font, circular, with relief decoration and traceried canopy. Canted pulpit has quatrefoils with relief decoration. Chancel has waggon-boarded roof and 3-bay north trefoil-headed arcade with wrought iron parclose screen. Altar and timber reredos, re-used roof from Chester cathedral. 2 sedilia and piscina with cusped arches. Stalls have traceried bench ends. C17 bench ends in chapel. 2 windows in chancel are c.1860. 19 windows by Kempe illustrating the development of his style from 1870 to 1906-7.

Parish Records
Cheshire Parish Register project have online search transcripts for the parish

West Kirby, St. Bridget (C of E), Church Road. An ancient parish church, originally serving the townships of Caldy, Frankby, Grange, Greasby (part), Great Meols, Hoose, Little Meols, Newton cum Larton and West Kirby. Registers of Baptisms 1561–1964, Marriages 1561–1968 and Burials 1561–1970 have been deposited at the Cheshire Record Office

Parish registers for West Kirby, Cheshire, 1561-1964 Church of England. Parish Church of West Kirby (Cheshire) Microreproduction of originals at the Cheshire Record Office in Chester, England. Cheshire Record Office call no.: P46/1/1-4, P46/2/1-3, P46/3/1-5, P46/2651/1-2, P46/5, P46/7.Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1561-1619, 1692-1729. Baptisms and burials, 1759-1812. Baptisms, 1813-1964. Marriages, 1754-1861. FHL BRITISH Film 2106685 Items 2 - 11 Marriages, 1861 (from Aug.)-1959. Burials, 1813-1886. Marriage licenses, 1871, 1933-1949. FHL BRITISH Film 2106690 Items 1 - 7

Bishop's transcripts for West Kirby, 1581-1897 Microfilm of original records in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England. Records are not in strict chronological order. Some intermittent years are missing. Cheshire Record Office no.: ECC/213 Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1581, 1603-1604, 1610, 1615, 1617-1631, 1636, 1666-1667, 1669, 1671-1686, 1690-1691, 1698-1704, [17--?], 1707, 1706, 1708-1739, [no date], 1743-1770, 1780-1781, 1779, 1778, 1777, 1776, 1775, 1774, 1773, 1772, 1771, 1781-1790, 1792-1796, 1798, 1797, 1799-1800, 1791, 1810, 1809, 1807-1808, 1806, 1805, 1804, 1803, 1802, 1801, 1811-1820, baptisms, 1821-1822, marriages, 1821-1822, burials, 1821-1822, baptisms, marriages, burials, 1823-1833, 1835-1836, baptisms, burials, 1838, baptisms, marriages, burials, 1837, baptisms, burials, 1892, baptisms, 1896-1897, burials,1896-1897, baptisms, 1893-1894, burials, 1893-1894. FHL BRITISH Film 1736166 Item 2

Banns, draft registers and churchwarden accounts, 1692-1912 Microfilm copy of original record in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England.Draft registers include indexes.Cheshire Record Office no.: P46/4/1-2, P46/6/1-6, P46/11/1-2.

Item 8 Banns 1823-1891 Item 9 Banns 1891-1912 Item 10 Draft registers (baptisms 1752-1787) FHL BRITISH Film 1656723 Items 8-10 Draft registers Item 1 Baptisms, burials, marriages 1724-1728? Item 2 Baptisms and burials 1788-1804 Item 3 Baptisms and burials 1804-1811 Item 4 Baptisms 1839-1859 Item 5 Burials 1839-1859 Items 6-7 Churchwarden accounts 1754-1886 FHL BRITISH Film 1656757 Items 1-7

St. Andrew (C of E), Meols Drive. Founded 1891 as a chapel to St Bridget, becoming a parish church in 1920. Registers of Baptisms from 1915 and Marriages from 1914 are held at the church.

Non-Conformist Records

 * West Kirby, St. Agnes, Darmands Green (Roman Catholic). Founded 1897
 * West Kirby, Methodist Chapel (Primitive), Eaton Road. Built in 1880, closed in 1963.
 * West Kirby, Presbyterian Church, Meols Drive. Founded 1890.
 * West Kirby, Presbyterian Church (Welsh), Grange Road. Founded 1892.
 * West Kirby, Unitarian (Free) Chapel. Built in 1910 in Grange Road, rebuilt in 1928 in Brookfield Gardens. Registers of marriages 1938–1950 and baptisms 1950–1953 are at the Cheshire Record Office.