Charles Corringham Garfit was, M.B., was Kirby's first full time doctor. Previously, the village had been served for just three days a week by Dr Kelly of Desford and Dr Harris from Anstey. Dr Wright of Newtown Unthank occassionally attended, arriving on his horse and cart or on his horse and sleigh in the winter. By 1894, Arthur Crossley, surgeon, of Leicester was attending twice a week. Dr Garfit was born in Delamere, Cheshire, in 1871. He was the son of Charles Taylor Garfit, a land agent and his wife Ada Maria Cunningham. He had three younger sisters, Ada, Helen and Kate. He gained an Exhibition to Hulme Hall, Manchester University to study medicine, qualifing in 1896. He arrived in Kirby as a single man in 1897 and lodged with Mrs Crawford at 'Ashleigh', Station Road. After his marriage he moved next door to 'Inglewood' and continued in practice until 1944. Dr Garfit is well remembered in the village and his reputation is legendary. We are told numerous stories of his rusty scissors, profuse use of iodine, unhygenic habbits and liberal applications of ointment. It is also said that he more than once removed tonsils from a child on the kitchen table. His main cause of death for anyone over the age of 60 was 'senile decay'. Dr Garfit was, initially of course, practicing medicine at the turn of the century when medicine was still in its infancy. At first, the doctor's surgery was held in the front room of a cottage on Main Street. The cottage was built at right angles to the road and on a small jitty. The jitty is still there today. At one time, at dead of night, Harry Webster, who was well known in the village, is said to have crept down the jitty and fixed a sign to the wall of the cottage which said 'Harley Street'. The doctor was quite enamoured by the sign and so it stayed there until the cottage was demolished. In 1933, Dr Garfit was joined by Dr Jones and became part of the firm of Garfit and Jones, Physicians and Surgeons. Dr Jones bought The Old White House on Main Street and erected a large wooden chalet-like building in the front garden. Many people from Ratby and Kirby Muxloe will remember visiting the doctors' surgery there, firstly with Doctors Garfit and Jones and later with Doctors Jones and Alexander. Eventually in 1969, a purpose built surgery was erected at Braunstone Crossroads. Now latterly in 2024, the surgery at the Crossroads is hardly used and a new surgery is available at Leicester Forest East on the David Wilson development. Dr Garfit was a member of both the Quorn and Atherstone hunts and it was not unusual on hunt days for him to arrive at house calls on horseback, with his trusty hunt terrier in tow. We are told that he usually arrived between 7:30 nd 8:30am, tied up his horse on the gatepost, visited his patient, then went off to join the hunt of the day. Dr Garfit was very well known in the village and very involved in community life. He was a member of the Parish Council and Chairman of the Govenors at the school for many years. He was also a member of the Parochial Sanitary Committee. Charles Garfit will always be remembered for his rousing performances in Gilbert And Sullivan's Mikado and for preserving the 'right of way' through the Old White House by walking through the hallway, front to back, once a year. Dr Garfit retired in 1944 and died in 1955, aged 84 years. Part of the information for this article comes from Old Kirby (Muxloe) by Jonathan Wilshere, which has generously been made available online by his son, Andrew Wilshere.