When I told a friend I’d been to Rotunda he’d never heard of them. “What is it?” he said “What do they do?” I took a deep breath and said roughly this:
“Basically they’re a community led place that’s there to improvise whatever help’s needed around whoever comes through their Kirkdale door. Alternative education for the young, adult education, counselling, legal advice, loads of community stuff, a business centre, a café that’s also a history resource, a nursery, a gorgeous garden round the side & a big space out the front for events – plus advocacy for the future of North Liverpool. From a beautiful row of Georgian houses on Great Mersey Street. Oh and they’ve also got their own folly.”
In case you know as much about Rotunda as my friend I’ll tell you how to get there.

And just opposite the big new building site between Scotland Road and Great Homer Street.
And pausing for a minute in the interests of photography on a sunny day, here’s the Folly I mentioned.
But Emma from Rotunda has told me “You’ll only really get it if you step inside.”
When I was a small boy travelling into town on the bus the conductors would always cry out ‘The Rotunda!’ when we got to here. It was the name for this triangular part of Kirkdale, where Scotland Road and Stanley Road divide. But the conductors weren’t announcing the place I’m going to show you today, they were announcing a memory.
Completely destroyed in the second world war, it reached back to roughly where the folly stands today. Its former site now mostly occupied by houses.
I’m working with them on a new blog and website where we’ll be telling you the stories of who they are, what they do and what they could mean for you and your life. So today’s visit is to let you know about that. And I’ll remind you of it again when it’s all ready for you to start reading.
Upstairs from here is their new Business Centre, full of light filled Georgian rooms for working and meeting in.

And outside is the gorgeous garden I mentioned.
And we’ll be launching their blog in the next few weeks to tell you more about all of this.
Working, learning, gardening, volunteering, caring, being together and telling their North Liverpool stories. The Stories of Rotunda, coming soon.
In the meantime and if you just can’t wait, call in at the café, call in at the Business Centre, call in anywhere at Rotunda and there’ll be friendly people to welcome you and talk with you about, well, life.
Honest disclosure, you can’t pay me to write on here, and Rotunda haven’t. But they are paying me to work on their coming up blog and website with them. Writing, it’s one of the things I do.
Meanwhile, get in touch with them at these contact details or go and visit them at 107-115 Great Mersey St, Kirkdale, Liverpool, L5 2PL.
Great blog and photos -really enjoy your articles.
I didn’t know anything about this place ! Now I want to go – but I’m a long way away .
Very nice article /
my son has just moved into the house at the other end of the block from the college and café, had a look around earlier, a beautiful building inside