St Chad’s: A tradition of celebration

The congregation at St Chad’s occupy a beautiful and large Victorian church on a site that has accommodated a place of Christian worship since the ninth century. The word Kirk-by originally refers to this site and literally means church place.

A congregation gathers together here for worship and Holy Communion each Sunday at 11am and this is open to everyone who would like to drop in.

Sunday Worship 

11.00am Holy Communion (all ages welcome)

Tuesdays: 3.45pm Messy Church (in Kirkby CofE School, term time only)

Wednesdays
9.45am Holy Communion

Vicar: Rev. Philippa Lea
The Rectory, Old Hall Lane,  Kirkby, L32 5TH. 0151 547 2155

To organise a wedding or a baptism at St Chad’s click the links in the menu, under information.  You can read a little more about St Chad’s below or see the following information 
Children & Families
History
Churchyard
Funerals
Find us on Google Maps

You can make a donation to St Chad’s by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/stchadkirkby
or send a text to 70070 and type: chad99 followed by the amount you want to give between £1 – £10.

Families

Good provision is made for children. There are activities and toys for children in their own space at the back of the church. On the first Sunday of each month young and old stay together for the whole of the service and it is designed with all ages in mind. Babies and toddlers are normally encouraged to stay with their parents at all times and the adult congregation is used to the noise and movement that this always involves. Toys are provided at the back of the church.

Getting Known

It is easy to come to St Chad’s quite anonymously. Indeed many people like to come and go without any fuss. The clergy and many regular members of the congregation are always keen to be introduced to visitors and new comers. If you want to drop in it can help if you make a point of saying hello.

Coffee, tea, squash and biscuits are served in the church after most morning services and this can be an easy way to meet new friends.

What St Chad’s stands for

Chad was a ninth century bishop for the area called Mercia (which included some of what is known today as Merseyside). He was very aware of God’s presence in this world. The building of St Chad’s stands as a strong reassuring sign of God’s presence amongst the people of Kirkby. Through its beauty there is an attempt to lift people’s eyes heavenward – up from the drudgery of every day life. It is perhaps for this reason that many people choose to come to St Chad’s at important points in their lives such as for baptisms, weddings, anniversaries and at times of loss. You can follow the links on our home page to learn more about this.

In 2019 we were able to replace the nave roof and repair the stonework at the west end of the church which was made possible thanks to National Lottery players.


Logo saying: Made possible with Heritage Fund and the National Lottery symbol.

24 thoughts on “St Chad’s: A tradition of celebration

  1. Kim Wright

    Dear Rector,

    I am searching the history of my family. John Wright was a publican in Kirkby in the early 1800s and I am unable to find death, marriage or birth records. I would love any assistance you may give and would be able to donate to the church if required.

    Reply
    1. Timothy Stratford Post author

      Dear Kim, I have had a little look in our registers. You might be interested to know that I have found baptism records for two of John (an innkeper) and Ellen’s children: Mary Wright baptized on October 14th 1812 and Ellen Wright, born 9th August and baptized 19th June 1818. Our burial register only goes back to 1917 I’m afraid, and John will have died before then. Until the late 19th Century St Chad’s was part of the Parish of Walton so there may be more records at St Mary, Walton. You are welcome to come and see what records we hold if you like. There is a standard fee we need to charge for that of £19 for each hour or part thereof. There is no fee for the little bit of research I have done although we are of course always grateful for donations. We have a new online donations facility now too: http://www.justgiving.com/stchadkirkby .With best wishes.

      Reply
  2. Karen

    Dear Rector,
    My husband and I would like to renew our wedding vows at the church. St Chads is very special to me as it is where my family is buried including my parents. We were originally married at the registry office 11 years ago, but would love to renew our vows in a blessed ceremony at St Chads. Do you perform this type of service and how would we go about it?

    Kind regards,

    Karen.

    Reply
    1. Timothy Stratford Post author

      Hello Karen,
      Yes we can do this. You need to come along to our bookings hour, every Tuesday, 6.30-7.30pm in Centre 63. It is just a drop-in, you don’t need an appointment. You can have a look at what dates are available, ask any questions you have and make a booking there.

      Reply
  3. jade

    Dear Rector,
    me and my fiance are looking at getting married next year and we would really like a church wedding. was wondering if we coud call in to have a look around and get some prices for our special day.

    look forward to hearing from you soon
    jade.

    Reply
    1. Timothy Stratford Post author

      Hello Jade. You are welcome to come along to St Chad’s to have a look around. The best thing is to come along to a Sunday service, 11.00am every week, then catch the clergy at the end. The Church is also regularly open on Tuesday mornings from 8.30am to about 10.30am. If you want to come at a different time you will need to make an appointment.

      Reply
  4. Ann

    I have used the excellent website created by Rosalind Lloyd many times as there are many ancestors in my family tree buried there. However I seem to be unable to find that website and the link on your page above does not appear to work. Please could you tell me how I can access it.

    Reply
  5. michelle Rutter

    hi I am really sorry to bother you but i hope you can help me. I am in the middle of writing a children’s story and has the promiss of becoming published, the story is based around a very old grave in your graveyard and i wanted to know a little more about it.as a child I heard rumours about it belonging to a witch and on the grave it stated ‘who ever stands upon this grave will……..’. could you help me?? if you could i would be truly grateful as I cant seem to find any local history on it

    Reply
    1. Timothy Stratford Post author

      Hello Michelle. We do have a grave that some local children call “The Witch’s Grave” but this is a misunderstanding of an inscription. The grave contains a sentence from the Bible: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Some people misunderstand this to mean that the person whose grave it is wants children to suffer. On the contrary, the inscription is an encouragement to children to approach Jesus. A modern version of the inscription is, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” You could say “suffer” means “put up with”. Jesus wanted children around himself even if some adults found them distracting. We will often use the reading today at children’s funerals because of this. It is also inscribed on one of the church windows above the baptismal font. You won’t be surprized to know that this is the grave of a child. It is an injustice that the myth of it being a witch’s grave persists and I hope you won’t propagate that. Best wishes, Tim Stratford.

      Reply
  6. michelle Rutter

    hi Tim

    i am sorry if i have offended i haven’t meant to, its just a myth that i was curious about as I was brought up with it as a child. The story I am writing isn’t based in Liverpool it is based in Cornwall but the idea came from memories I had growing up and as I have researched Kirkby in the 18th C the Lancashire there were a lot of witchy tales and i just put two and two together. But now that you have shed the light cleared the rumour’s I assure you I will not be mentioning this in my story. again I am sorry if i have offended you, please accept my apologies

    Reply
    1. Timothy Stratford Post author

      Hello Michelle. No, don’t worry, you haven’t offended at all. Sorry if my full explanation gave that impression. I’m glad you asked because it gave me the chance to write up an explanation of this often misunderstood grave.

      Reply
  7. dee broda

    Dear rector,

    We would really love to have our daughter christened withher 2 aunt’s at St. Chads . How would we go about this and can all 3 girls be christened together?

    Kind regards.

    Reply
  8. Jeremy Fagan Post author

    Hi Dee

    There is no problem with baptising them all together. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to call in on a Tuesday evening to Centre 63, and we can discuss how best to do it.

    Reply
  9. Rebecca Russell

    Hi, me and my fiancé are wanting to get married at st chads church in 2014, what is the best way for us to book and talk to you about prices?
    Thanks becca

    Reply
    1. Jeremy Fagan Post author

      Hi Becca

      The best way to book is to come along to Centre 63 on a Tuesday evening between 6.30 and 7.30pm. We can take a booking there, and discuss prices as well.

      Reply
  10. Anthony McCarthy

    I have just finished a booklet about the vicars and curates of St Chad’s, Kirkby.
    It is now in the Archive Section of Kirkby Library.
    It goes back to the 13th Century and has some background information about several of the incumbents.
    It is a community project, so if any of your parishioners want to add or amend details, then they are warmly welcome to.
    Some of the previous incumbents went on to great things.

    Reply
  11. Simon Cowie

    I have not visited St. Chad’s for many years and also been out of the area recently for several months. I attended the rememberance service at the cenotaph and then enjoyed a lovely and respectful service at St. Chad’s. Thank you to all those who helped organise the events.

    Reply
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  14. ian

    check out history of st chads on you tube.

    if you prefer I remove this let me know.
    I was careful not to approach the building and cause any problems with neighbouring houses.

    ian

    Reply
  15. Aleta Doran

    Hi,
    I understand you have a 19th century Salviati mosaic in St Chad’s Church? Is it possible to visit during the week to view the mosaic? I am a mosaicist with a particular interest in Salviati mosaics.
    Thank you,
    Aleta

    Reply
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  17. Pamela & James Saunders

    Thank you so much for the beautiful service on Valentines Day 2022 “Renewal of Wedding Vows” my husband and I were amongst 60 couples who really enjoyed it – We felt so privileged, everything was so well organised and the organisers were warm and welcoming.

    Reply

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