Gordon Working Lads Institute Now Kirkdale Community Centre

The Gordon Working Lads Institute, now known as the Kirkdale Community Centre, is a working lads' institute built in 1886 by David Walker of Liverpool. Constructed from common brick with red brick dressings and a slate roof, the building showcases a style reminiscent of North European Late Gothic architecture. It stands two storeys high with attics and features nine by five bays, with two bays at each end that project forward under shaped gables. The windows have elliptical heads with blind tracery in the tympana and small-paned casements. The gables include two oeil-de-boeuf windows, and the first three bays of the return have stepped gables.

This institute is believed to be Britain's oldest surviving purpose-built boys' club, setting a standard for many that followed. It was built at a cost of £50,000 by Liverpool merchant William Cliff as a memorial to his eldest son, who died at the age of 11 in 1853. The name of the institute honors Major General Charles Gordon, who was killed in battle at Khartoum in 1885, which led to widespread national mourning. The institute aimed to provide educational, recreational, and sporting facilities for poor and disadvantaged boys in Liverpool, helping them to lead "happy and useful lives," as noted on a large marble plaque in the vestibule.

The building closed in 1995 but was revitalized in 2000 by a local action group. An £800,000 grant from the European Regional Development Fund enabled extensive restoration of many internal features.