"There was a church in Kirby in 1168, but the present building dates from around 1300. Some of the window tracery on the south side is thought to be original work of the early Decorated Period, (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries). The older parts of the building are of white sandstone and gravel.
A major restoration programme took place in 1848-50, under the Leicester architect Henry Goddard. The church was re-roofed (with Swithland slate) and the north wall of the nave rebuilt in blue Derbyshire stone. The present pews and pulpit were installed, with wrought iron decoration painted to look like carved wood.
There used to be a sloping wooden gallery at the west end of the church, built some time after 1670; this remained until the beginning of this century. Marks still show through the plaster, rising to a height of about six feet.
In the south-east corner of the nave there is a cavity in the wall thought to have been a drain for the water used to clean the Communion vessels. A Piscina, as it is called, is generally found at the south end of the alter, so at one time there was probably an altar here. It is possible that the nave and about a yard of the chancel (including the partly bricked-up narrow window) were originally the whole church.
The oldest stained glass is in the window of the south chancel. The left panel shows the Nativity and the right panel shows the Baptism of Jesus, with 'the Spirit of God descending like a dove’.
Both scenes are described in the gospel of Saint Matthew, who is shown in the centre at the point of the arch. These panels date from 1858, and were originally in the East window. (The centre panel, of the crucifixion, has not survived).
The present East window was given in 1920 as a memorial to the men of the parish who had died in the First World War. Details are on the oak tablet on the North wall of the nave. This window was made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, using a design by Christopher Whall.
The centre panel shows Christ in Heaven offering us the Crown of Life. Saint George and the Archangel Michael reflect the theme of battle, and also represent England and France. Underneath is the Martyrdom of St. Andrew (patron saint of Russia), who died on an X-shaped cross. The Tiger in the spaces above the outer panels is the badge of the Leicestershire Regiment.
A West window inserted at the time of the Victorian restoration showed the four Evangelists. It was blown out in 1940 by the blast from a parachute bomb which hit Kirby Muxloe Free Church.
The window to the North of the altar was inserted in 1912 in memory of the Rev. George Poslethwaite, Curate from 1894 to 1910, who is buried on the other side of the wall. It shows the women who found the tomb of Jesus empty on Easter morning, being told by the angel "He is not here, He is risen..."
The South window opposite illustrates two separate sayings of Jesus : "I am the true Vine" from John 15" and "Consider the Lilies" from Luke 12: "Do not worry,,, if God so clothes the grass, shall He not much more clothe you..."
Behind the altar is a stone reredos, bought by public subscription in 1856 and repainted in 1895. On it are painted the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Paschal Lamb carrying the Flag of St. George. Carvings of grapes and sheaves of wheat represent the bread and wine of the Eucharist, and this theme is reflected in the altar kneelers provided by the 'Pins and Needles' in 1986.
For many years Kirby was part of the parish of Glenfield, and was served by a curate. The board listing 'Vicars of the Parish of Kirby Muxloe' starts at 1930, when Kirby became a separate parish. The board on the opposite wall lists Rectors, because Kirby became part of a Team Ministry (which always has a Team Rector) in 1981.
Above the chancel arch is an oil painting of the Royal Coat of Arms. The Lion and the Unicorn support a shield containing the arms of England, Scotland and Wales. In its centre is a smaller shield showing the arms of Hanover and a crown. This must have been painted between 1816 and 1837, as the Crown of Hanover was only part of the Royal Arms between 1816, when Hanover became a kingdom, and the accession of Queen Victoria when it passed to a male heir.
The tower, which includes the porch, is 30 feet high. It contains six bells. The heaviest is dated 1606 and was re-cast in 1907. It weighs 7 cwt, 1 qr 51b and sounds A Flat. It and another dated 1609 are inscribed "Be in knowne to all that me see that Newcome of Leicester made mee". A third bell, dated 1636, was cast by Hugh Watts of Leicester. In 1909 two new bells were added, cast by J.Taylor & Co. of Loughborough. One is inscribed "Praised be the Lord" and the other "The Lord's Name be Praised". With the additional bells there was no room in the tower for the dialless clock made in 1720, and this is now in the Newarke Houses Museum. The smallest bell was added in 1973.
Walking round the outside of the church it is possible to find three stone faces, a stone lion and a blocked up doorway which was still in use at the end of the eighteenth century. The roof of Swithland slate was repaired in 1995.
Behind the organ, on the North side of the chancel, is the vestry. This was added in 1891-2 (it was built partly of granite from the demolished outbuildings of Castle Farm), and enlarged in 1926.
People have been buried in the churchyard since 1514. The oldest gravestones date from the eighteenth century and are immediately to the South of the church. They are mainly of Swithland slate.
Parish records of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials survive, with a few gaps, from 1597. They are kept in the Leicestershire Record Office at Wigston Magna (257 1080)."
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