This Is NOT West Kirby

Added: 2026-06-08

[00:00:00]Most people think this is West Kirby, the promenade, the shops, the waterfront, and Hilbre Island.

[00:00:09]But the original West Kirby was nowhere near here.

[00:00:13]So, we're here at West Kirby at the Marine Lake. And this is where everyone would call and identify as being West Kirby. In fact, everyone watching this video will know here as West Kirby. But for generations of people before us, this was just a field.

[00:00:29]This was just a shore with no Marine Lake.

[00:00:34]So, where has the real West Kirby gone?

[00:00:38]So, the real West Kirby is just up the road. For generations of people before us, well, to find it, we have to leave the coast behind.

[00:01:01]And so, to some evidence. Well, this 1800s map of West Kirby shows the main area of West Kirby much further to the south than we know it today.

[00:01:12]Up to the area that we now know as West Kirby, you can see the same approximate road structure. And the area called Dee Bank, which is just opposite where the Morrisons is now. Of course, the Morrisons um and the car park is just a field on here. There's no Marine Lake at all, and none of the shops are there, even the West Kirby Crescent. A few buildings, and of course, no sign of any railway at this point as well. So, this is well before the railways.

[00:01:42]So, further back south, we can see the old West Kirby in the area there and the little village. We call it the old village of West Kirby now. St. Bridget's Church is a part of the heart of it. Um the rectory, and again, the same basic road layout is still there with the church at the center. Also, right at the top corner, you can see the beacon. And we've covered this on a couple of other videos that we've made. And that beacon is Marine Beacon. So, when that beacon was built, that was looking over the old West Kirby and the new one wasn't even constructed at that time.

[00:02:23]So, this is St. Bridget's Church here in West Kirby. Now, as you can imagine, many years ago villages were centered around churches like this.

[00:02:32]Now, West Kirby is utterly Norse, meaning settlement around a church.

[00:02:39]So, it wasn't always about the sea.

[00:02:44]Now, not too many buildings still stand from this place could call itself the original West Kirby. But, the village was very small and there wasn't too many buildings here in the first place.

[00:02:57]Now, these houses behind me were definitely not here at the time. But, this wall on St. Bridget's Lane probably was.

[00:03:11]Now, this house amused me and I'm not sure if I'm correct on this, but there's a sign here, "Alcohol Free Zone."

[00:03:17]And I'm not too sure if this church is the type that gives out wine.

[00:03:25]500 pounds is a expensive visit for Sunday service.

[00:03:31]So, West Kirby was a very small village for that generation. But, we're off to look for something else now. That's what was is West Kirby. But, to them, they would not have had a clue about.

[00:03:50]And they are Ashton Park and the Wirral Way.

[00:04:04]Now, this is a bridge going over the Wirral Way in Ashton Park. Now, people of that generation would not even associate a railway or a 12-mi walking path with West Kirby.

[00:04:17]And to us, this is an old disused railway track.