History and Architecture

The church was designed by Gilbert Scott, and opened in 1856. It is a 2* listed building built of red sandstone with Yorkshire stone pillars and is situated in the heart of West Derby Village at the entrance to Croxteth Park.It is regarded as a fine example of Scott’s work and has windows by Clayton and Bell together with some fine wood-work in the Chancel and Sanctuary. The style is 14th century Gothic, but because of the great expense of providing secure foundations for the tower, the original more elaborate design had to be significantly modified.

The whole cost was raised by voluntary subscriptions! The building cost £8,000. The tower, marked by three turrets of matching size and a larger one which includes the staircase cost another £4,000 and was built at the expense of Mr Pemberton Heywood. It is 30 feet square and over 160 feet high. The nave is 72 feet by 50 feet and the chancel 41 feet by 25 feet.

View from the tower, showing how quiet West Derby Village is at 7am on Ascension Day.

The church replaced the old West Derby Chapel, which was Chapel-of Ease to Walton Parish Church.It was not until about 1700 that West Derby merited a Curate of its own (served from Walton) although the ancient parish of West Derby goes back many centuries.The first real reference to a church here was in 1360 when Richard le Jay and John del Brakes came to fisticuffs in the Chapel and a law-suit ensued!

West Derby was in the Diocese of Lichfield, until 1542 when it became part of the Diocese of Chester. The first recorded Curate is Robert Bolton in 1550. The chapel appears on old prints as a plain oblong building with a stumpy turret-like spire. It stood, it is believed on the site of an older straw-thatched building, contemporary with the castle. In the 1850s when it was pulled down to make way for St Mary's on the adjacent site, its ancient dripstones revealed the presence of an earlier Saxon edifice.

The original chapel sundial (1793) can be found mounted on the external wall of St Mary's south transept.

In 1880 St Mary's became part of the newly formed Diocese of Liverpool.

In 1979 a team ministry to serve the huge modern parish was constituted. This incorporated the new parish of Croxteth Park, and Croxteth Hall, for many years the home of the Earls of Sefton.

In 2006 St Mary's celebrated the 150th anniversary of its consecration by the Bishop of Chester on 6th November 1856. Many events were planned and are featured in the pages of this site as they are publicised.