Manor Court House, West Derby

Manor Court House is a historic building in West Derby, Liverpool, England. The present building is the result of a rebuilding in 1662 of the courthouse previously rebuilt in 1586 by Queen Elizabeth I. There has been a courthouse in West Derby for over 1,000 years since the Wapentake court of the Vikings. It is constructed of sandstone as a single storey building with a stone tiled roof, and has one window and a studded door. The interior has the Steward's bench and jury benches surrounding a table. The Steward was traditionally a member of the Molyneux family of nearby Croxteth Hall. The court dealt with minor offences such as drunkenness, vagrancy or failing to control animals and could only issue fines; failure to pay the fine could lead to time in the adjacent stocks, now relocated across the road. It is jointly maintained by Liverpool City Council and the West Derby Society and open to the public on Sunday afternoons between April and October. It is a Grade II* listed building.

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St Mary's Church, West Derby, Liverpool

St Mary's Church is in West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of West Derby, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the diocese of Liverpool. Its benefice is united with that of St James, West Derby. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Church Landmark

Village Cross, West Derby

The Village Cross in West Derby, Liverpool, England was designed by William Eden Nesfield between 1861 and 1870. The carved capital, of what appears to be a column rather than a cross, is supposedly of John of England, during his reign when West Derby would have been an important castle. The monument was Grade II* listed in 1975.

Historic Site Landmark

Casbah Coffee Club

The Casbah Coffee Club, officially Casbah Club, was a rock and roll music venue in the West Derby area of Liverpool, England, that operated from 1959 to 1962. Started by Mona Best, mother of early Beatles drummer Pete Best, in the cellar of the family home, the Casbah was planned as a members-only club for her sons Pete and Rory and their friends, to meet and listen to the popular music of the day. Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about the 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho where several singers had been discovered. The Quarrymen—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ken Brown—went to the club to arrange their first booking, to which Mona agreed, but said she needed to finish painting the club first. All four took up brushes and helped Mona to finish painting the walls with spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars. In addition to the four boys' artistic contributions, Cynthia Powell, later to become Cynthia Lennon, painted a silhouette of John on the wall, which can still be seen today. The group often played at the Casbah as other venues, like the Cavern Club, had a jazz-only policy at that time. The cellar—with its original decoration—still exists. In 2006, Culture Minister David Lammy announced that the Bests' ex-coal cellar was to be given Grade II listed building status and a blue plaque, after being recommended by English Heritage. It was opened as a tourist attraction in Liverpool, along with McCartney and Lennon's previous homes at 20 Forthlin Road and 251 Menlove Avenue respectively. In 2024, the Casbah was turned into holiday flats, available to rent on Airbnb.

Historic Site Music

West Derby Castle

West Derby Castle was a Norman castle in West Derby, Liverpool, Merseyside; only cropmarks and underground ruins survive today.

Castle Historic Site