Maghull’s Frank Hornby Heritage Centre

Maghull had all but forgotten that the most famous toy maker in the world had lived in the town until his death in 1936. However, in the late 1990s Mahgull Town Council asked English Heritage to put one of its iconic Blue Plaques on Frank Hornby’s first house in the town, The Hollies on Station Road. An agreement was struck and the plaque was unveiled on 6th July 2000. This was the start of Maghull celebrating its most famous resident.

Our Heritage Centre opened in 2010 within Maghull’s Meadows Leisure Centre on Hall Lane Maghull, the town where Frank Hornby lived, in two separate houses, for much of his adult life. The Centre is run by volunteer curators of the Frank Hornby Trust.

The Heritage Centre had been long thought about and planned particularly by Altside Business Village*, a local organisation set up to help businesses in the East Parishes part of Sefton Borough to flourish and grow. At the same time, Sefton Council was planning to build a swimming pool and leisure centre for the East Parishes communities and the two plans came together so that space was created within the new Meadows Leisure Centre (opened 2010) for a Frank Hornby Heritage Centre.

Originally on the ground floor of the Leisure Centre our Heritage Centre moved to the first floor (please see our disability access note below) in 2018.

We have a very close working relationship with Sefton’s Library Service and work with them on joint projects.

  • Altside Business Village is no longer operating but its Chairman, Les French, is Chair of the Trustees of the Frank Hornby Trust.

  • Disability Access - Our Heritage Centre is accessible via stairs from Maghull Library. If you have a disability you may find the stairs a problem. There is, however, a lift within the Leisure Centre, but it does not open out directly into our Heritage Centre with access being via a first-floor fitness/dance studio. Please speak with the Leisure Centre reception desk staff (this is the desk to the right of the front door of the Leisure Centre) so that they can assist in escorting you through the fitness/dance suite.

    Unfortunately, some of our exhibits, particularly a significant part of our Dinky Toys collection, are only accessible via staircase.

 

A view of the Frank Hornby Heritage Centre in Maghull, Merseyside, UK.

Our 00 gauge model railway which vistors can operate via the pushing of a button.

 
 
 

A copy of the Maghull Trail from the Frank Hornby Heritage Centre, Maghull, Liverpool, UK.

This walking trail around Maghull is presently (April ‘23) being updated via a project being developed by Sefton Council’s Library Service. More news when we have it.

Two other permanent places displaying Hornby/Meccano related items on Merseyside which may be of interest