Why do we need to Rebuild the Charles Dawson Brown Museum?

The museum was founded in 1892 in memory of a noted local benefactor, Charles Dawson Brown, who was a Liverpool cotton broker and lived in Stone Hive on Darmonds Green in West Kirby till his death in 1890. A board outside the door of the museum commemorates this.

The museum, with its characteristic pyramidal roof forms part of the well-used St Bridget’s Church Centre which comprises the old stone schoolrooms built in 1847 onto which the pyramidal shaped building was added later. It was decided in view of the local interest in the museum and the record of local life (see below for a brief description of the contents) that it maintains, that the museum should be an integral part of the redevelopment. The decision was taken to retain the museum in its present accommodation but also extend it and develop its role – by opening it more in combination with the facilities in the rest of the centre for local and Church events, for local history days and in connection with wider heritage initiatives across Merseyside. Some work has already been undertaken on the museum: the stained glass leaded windows have over the years been vandalised and by 2007 only one was left – this was used as a template for the replacement of all the windows in 2007 with money donated by the local Candis charity and funds raised for the St Bridget’s Community Centre Appeal.

The museum contains remains from four periods as well as more recent interpretative information and photos of various aspects of the Church. Many artefacts were recovered from the Churchyard during the reconstruction and restoration of the Church in 1869/70 and have been added to since.

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