MSDP can trace its routes all the way back to 1864 when George Healey established the Liverpool Adult Deaf and Dumb Benevolent Society in order to give Deaf People equal access to the Scriptures. They started with just one room in the School for the Deaf and Dumb in Oxford Street.
In 1865 the Society held a meeting where they appointed a committee and decided on the rules. They had no premises where they could meet until 1869 when they were able to rent a room on Pleasant Street.
In 1874 the priest in charge of Liverpool gave permission for Sunday services to be held in the cemetery Chapel, St Mary’s on Cambridge Street as it was not being used. These premises were not suitable and the committee decided they needed somewhere permanent. So in 1877 the Society started a building fund.
A gift from Queen Victoria
The building fund was very successful. In fact, in a remarkable feat of fundraising the Society managed to attract a donation of £5 from Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
In 1886 the committee got a 2000 year lease from Lord Sefton for the land of Princes Avenue and Parkway. On the land they built a magnificent building in the Gothic style.
The building was opened by H.R.H Princess Louise on 16th May 1887.
The new building served as a venue for lectures, meetings, dances and social gatherings as well as a school for Deaf children. The chapel in the building was used for services every Sunday. The building also had the women’s room where women could go to socialise. The society provided an employment bureau and sometimes employment for the jobless, interpreters for all occasions and financial help for the poor.
The death of George Healey
On 9th November 1927 the Deaf Community suffered a massive loss with the death of George Healey aged 84. Four years later in May 1931 the Society opened the George Healey memorial hall. This would be used as a men’s club where men could play snooker, chess, cards and other activities.
Rebrand
In 1976 we changed our name from the Liverpool Adult Deaf and Dumb Benevolent Society to the Merseyside Society for Deaf People.
Relocation to Queens Drive
In the late 1980s we relocated to Queens Drive in West Derby, Liverpool as this was more of a central place in Liverpool and was easier to access via public transport. The new building was the old Ambrose Barlow School and had a lot more office space. Sadly, the old building at Princes Avenue has fallen into disrepair as can be seen in this Liverpool Echo article. In 2018 the building appeared in the Victorian Society’s top 10 buildings to be saved.
In recent years, we opened a new Deaf Centre on the original Queen’s Drive site and has set up co-located services within Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted in Birkenhead.
Today, more than 60% of our staff team are deaf
…and British Sign Language is our operational language.
Key moments from our history
MSDP through the years
Liverpool Deaf Community trip 1920s
Deaf cricket match 1929.
Deaf Theatre productions from the 1960s. Left: Romeo and Juliet. Right: Oedipus Rex.
Fundraising event in the 1980s.
Members of the Deaf-Blind Community social group.
Thanks to the groundbreaking Durham University BSL Teacher Training Course, MSDP led the way with establishing a group of newly qualified Deaf tutors in 1997. Our very own Ian Cockburn and Mark Hart are in the picture to the right.
MSDP’s Community Engagement Manager Janice Connolly with former Liverpool Mayor and Labour MP Rosie Cooper behind the Deaf Community bar
Staff at the opening of MSDP’s new Deaf Centre on Queen’s Drive in 2016.
The Deaf Community come together to celebrate the launch of BSL999 App in 2021.
These are just a few photographs from our 160 year history. We’d love to put together a video montage with more memorable moments. If you have any photos that you’d like to contribute then please get in touch.