Hoylake
Encyclopedia
Hoylake is a seaside
town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
, on Merseyside
, England
. It is located at the north western corner of the Wirral Peninsula
, near to the town of West Kirby
and where the River Dee
estuary
meets the Irish Sea
. As of the 2001 Census
, the population of Hoylake was 5,710 of a total population of 13,042, as part of the Hoylake & Meols
local government ward.
set sail from Hoylake with a 10,000-strong army to Ireland
, where his army was to take part in the Battle of the Boyne
. The location of departure remains known as Kings Gap.
The present day township grew up in the nineteenth century around the small fishing
village of Hoose.
The name Hoylake was derived from Hoyle Lake, a channel of water between Hilbre Island
and Dove Point. Protected by a wide sandbank known as Hoyle Bank and with a water depth of about 20 feet, it provided a safe anchor
age for ships too large to sail up the Dee to Chester
.
To facilitate safe access into the Hoylake anchorage, two lighthouses were constructed in the 1760s. The lower light was a wooden structure that could be moved according to differing tides and shifting sands to remain aligned to the upper light, which was a permanent brick building. Both of these structures were rebuilt a century later.
The upper lighthouse, consisting of an octagonal brick tower, last shone on 14 May 1886 and is now part of a private residence in Valentia Road.
The lower lighthouse, closer to the shore in Alderley Road, was deactivated in 1908 and demolished in 1922.
The Royal Hotel was built by Sir John Stanley in 1792, with the intention of developing the area as a holiday resort. The numerous steam packet vessels sailing
between Liverpool and North Wales
which called at the hotel provided valuable patronage. By the mid-nineteenth century a racecourse was laid out in the grounds of the hotel. The hotel building was demolished in the 1950s.
Hoylake's lido, located on the promenade, was opened in June 1913 and rebuilt in the late 1920s. In 1976, the Hoylake Pool and Community Trust took over the running of the facility from Wirral Borough Council.
The baths finally closed in 1981.
The Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial
is a notable local landmark, as it was designed in 1922 by the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger
who was responsible for a number of war memorials around the world, including the Royal Artillery Memorial
at Hyde Park Corner in London.
Hoylake was governed by an urban district
council until 1 April 1974 when it was absorbed into the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
when local government reorganisation
took place across the UK. At that point, Hoylake ceased to be in Cheshire
, and became part of the nascent county of Merseyside.
The town supports a permanent lifeboat
station, manned by the RNLI. Initially founded in 1803 by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, it is one of the oldest in the country.
In 2008, the RNLI began to raise £2 million for a new lifeboat station and new generation all-weather lifeboat, to facilitate a faster response time to emergencies and rescues in the Irish Sea and the rivers Dee and Mersey.The building was finally opened in 2009.
There are also sailing and sand yachting clubs.
, which educates girls and boys from 2 to 16 years old. Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary school
is the towns main primary school, educating children from the ages of 3 to 12.
, built in 1869 on the site of the Royal Hotel racecourse. It is the second oldest golf links in England, predated only by the Royal North Devon Golf Club
, in Westward Ho!
, Devon
.
It has hosted many major tournaments such as The Open Championship
and the Walker Cup
. The club is often referred to as "Hoylake". It hosted the Open again in July 2006, after a gap of almost 40 years, with Tiger Woods
earning the Claret Jug for the second year in a row.
Hoylake-born amateur golfer John Ball Jnr.
won the Open in 1890, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Another local amateur, Harold Hilton
became Open champion two years later. He won again in 1897 at his home club of Royal Liverpool.
club was founded in 1922. Its predecessor, connected with the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, had been founded in the 1890s. British Open golf champion Harold Hilton was also captain of the rugby team for the 1890/91 season.
Concourse and the Calday Grange Swimming Pool.
in Britain, with banks around a quarter of a mile offshore. The town's beach was the venue for the European Sand Yacht Championships, which ran from the 16th to the 23rd of September 2007.
and Manor Road
railway stations serve the town. Both are on the West Kirby
- Liverpool Central
branch of the Wirral Line
with services operated by Merseyrail
. Buses run through Hoylake on routes including West Kirby
to New Ferry
, West Kirby to Birkenhead
, Newton
to Meols
, and Eastham Ferry
to Leasowe
. A night bus
from central Liverpool terminates in Hoylake.
Jack Armand Cunningham
(1890-1966) DSO
, DFC
, Order of Leopold, Legion d'honneur
, Croix de guerre
, the World War I flying ace
, retired to Hoylake and eventually died there.
Julian Budden
, Italian opera scholar and BBC radio producer (1924–2007) was born in Hoylake.
The former Olympic Games
cyclist Chris Boardman
(1968- ) was born in Hoylake.
Helen Forrester
(1919- ), author of Twopence to Cross the Mersey was also born in the town.
Former actress and current (as of 2007) Labour MP Glenda Jackson
(1936- ), James Bond
actor Daniel Craig
(1968- ) and pianist Stephen Hough
(1961- ) grew up in Hoylake. James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Bill Ryder-Jones, Nick Power, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and John Duffy, from the band The Coral
, were also raised there.
John Lennon's
first wife Cynthia moved from Liverpool to Hoylake after their divorce in 1968. Cynthia had also grown up in Hoylake as a child. Their son Julian Lennon
(1963- ) spent much of his early life in Hoylake.
In 1940, comedian Eric Morecambe
won a local amateur talent contest, held at Hoylake's Kingsway Cinema. His prize was an audition before impresario Jack Hylton
and subsequently where he first met his future comedy partner Ernie Wise
.
Mike Rutherford
(1950- ) of Genesis
was a boarder at The Leas School, formerly on Meols Drive, influenced heavily in his Genesis progression by Joseph Roberts, also from Hoylake.
Curtis Warren (1963- ), well-known Merseyside figure and formerly featured in the Sunday Times Rich List
, owned a house on Meols Drive.
Indie rock bands The Coral
, The Rascals
and The Little Flames
are from Hoylake.
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
, on Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located at the north western corner of the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, near to the town of West Kirby
West Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
and where the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
meets the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. As of the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the population of Hoylake was 5,710 of a total population of 13,042, as part of the Hoylake & Meols
Meols
Meols is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of Cheshire, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the...
local government ward.
History
In 1690, William IIIWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
set sail from Hoylake with a 10,000-strong army to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, where his army was to take part in the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
. The location of departure remains known as Kings Gap.
The present day township grew up in the nineteenth century around the small fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
village of Hoose.
The name Hoylake was derived from Hoyle Lake, a channel of water between Hilbre Island
Hilbre Island
Hilbre Island is the largest of a group of three islands at the mouth of the estuary of the River Dee, which is a part of the estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest. The island is currently uninhabited....
and Dove Point. Protected by a wide sandbank known as Hoyle Bank and with a water depth of about 20 feet, it provided a safe anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
age for ships too large to sail up the Dee to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
.
To facilitate safe access into the Hoylake anchorage, two lighthouses were constructed in the 1760s. The lower light was a wooden structure that could be moved according to differing tides and shifting sands to remain aligned to the upper light, which was a permanent brick building. Both of these structures were rebuilt a century later.
The upper lighthouse, consisting of an octagonal brick tower, last shone on 14 May 1886 and is now part of a private residence in Valentia Road.
The lower lighthouse, closer to the shore in Alderley Road, was deactivated in 1908 and demolished in 1922.
The Royal Hotel was built by Sir John Stanley in 1792, with the intention of developing the area as a holiday resort. The numerous steam packet vessels sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
between Liverpool and North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
which called at the hotel provided valuable patronage. By the mid-nineteenth century a racecourse was laid out in the grounds of the hotel. The hotel building was demolished in the 1950s.
Hoylake's lido, located on the promenade, was opened in June 1913 and rebuilt in the late 1920s. In 1976, the Hoylake Pool and Community Trust took over the running of the facility from Wirral Borough Council.
The baths finally closed in 1981.
The Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial
Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial
The Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial is a 11.5-metre-high, granite four-sided obelisk which stands on Grange Hill, West Kirby, Merseyside. It was designed by British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger , who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London...
is a notable local landmark, as it was designed in 1922 by the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger MC was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war...
who was responsible for a number of war memorials around the world, including the Royal Artillery Memorial
Royal Artillery Memorial
The Royal Artillery Memorial is a stone memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, dedicated to casualties in the British Royal Regiment of Artillery in First World War. The memorial was designed by Charles Jagger and Lionel Pearson, and features a giant sculpture of a BL 9.2 inch Mk I howitzer upon a...
at Hyde Park Corner in London.
Civic history
The township of Hoose was part of the West Kirby Parish, Wirral Hundred. It became part of Hoylake and West Kirby civil parish in 1894. The population was 60 in 1801, 589 in 1851 and 2,701 in 1901.Hoylake was governed by an urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
council until 1 April 1974 when it was absorbed into the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
when local government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
took place across the UK. At that point, Hoylake ceased to be in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and became part of the nascent county of Merseyside.
Community
Hoylake is a largely residential area and there is an active nightlife in the town centre, which is located at the original village of Hoose.The town supports a permanent lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
station, manned by the RNLI. Initially founded in 1803 by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, it is one of the oldest in the country.
In 2008, the RNLI began to raise £2 million for a new lifeboat station and new generation all-weather lifeboat, to facilitate a faster response time to emergencies and rescues in the Irish Sea and the rivers Dee and Mersey.The building was finally opened in 2009.
There are also sailing and sand yachting clubs.
Education
Hoylake includes the independent Kingsmead SchoolKingsmead School
Kingsmead School is a Co-educational Independent Day and Boarding School for Boys and Girls aged 2 – 16 located in Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula. The school was founded in 1904 by Arthur Watts, a Baptist minister and mathematician. In 1911 the school motto was selected, “Dominus Vitae Robur” –...
, which educates girls and boys from 2 to 16 years old. Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary school
Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary school
Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary School is a Christian school for 3-11 years olds in the south of Hoylake, Wirral Peninsula, England. The school is under the control of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral local education authority. The new building was established in 1979 by the Mayor of the...
is the towns main primary school, educating children from the ages of 3 to 12.
Golf
Hoylake is the home of the Royal Liverpool Golf ClubRoyal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake
The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a leading golf club in Merseyside in North West England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club, and received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of Connaught of the day, who was one of Queen...
, built in 1869 on the site of the Royal Hotel racecourse. It is the second oldest golf links in England, predated only by the Royal North Devon Golf Club
Royal North Devon Golf Club
Royal North Devon Golf Club was founded in 1864, and is the oldest golf course in England. The course was designed by Old Tom Morris. RND is located on Northam Burrows between Northam and Westward Ho! Traditionally the course has been referred to as Westward Ho! - golf writer Bernard Darwin,...
, in Westward Ho!
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
It has hosted many major tournaments such as The Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
and the Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
. The club is often referred to as "Hoylake". It hosted the Open again in July 2006, after a gap of almost 40 years, with Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
earning the Claret Jug for the second year in a row.
Hoylake-born amateur golfer John Ball Jnr.
John Ball (golfer)
John Ball, Jr. was a prominent English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th century.Ball was born in Hoylake, Merseyside. His father was the prosperous owner of the Royal Hotel, located near the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake...
won the Open in 1890, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Another local amateur, Harold Hilton
Harold Hilton
Harold Horsfall Hilton was an English amateur golfer.-Biography:Hilton was born in West Kirby. In 1892, he won The Open Championship at Muirfield, becoming the second amateur to do so. He won again in 1897 at his home club, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake...
became Open champion two years later. He won again in 1897 at his home club of Royal Liverpool.
Rugby union
Hoylake RFC rugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
club was founded in 1922. Its predecessor, connected with the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, had been founded in the 1890s. British Open golf champion Harold Hilton was also captain of the rugby team for the 1890/91 season.
Swimming
Hoylake ASC was founded in 1931. The club now trains at the West KirbyWest Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
Concourse and the Calday Grange Swimming Pool.
Sand yachting
Hoylake is one of the premier sites for Sand YachtingLand sailing
Land sailing, also known as sand yachting or land yachting, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with sailing. Historically, land sailing was used as a mode of transportation or recreation...
in Britain, with banks around a quarter of a mile offshore. The town's beach was the venue for the European Sand Yacht Championships, which ran from the 16th to the 23rd of September 2007.
Transport
HoylakeHoylake railway station
Hoylake railway station serves the town of Hoylake, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. It is in the art deco style with a circular clerestory over the booking hall and after the 1938 rebuild, became a Grade II Listed Building in 1988...
and Manor Road
Manor Road railway station
Manor Road railway station is situated between Hoylake and Meols on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.-History:...
railway stations serve the town. Both are on the West Kirby
West Kirby railway station
West Kirby railway station is situated in the town of West Kirby, Wirral, England. It is situated at the end of one of the branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.The beach can be reached easily from the station....
- Liverpool Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
branch of the Wirral Line
Wirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...
with services operated by Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
. Buses run through Hoylake on routes including West Kirby
West Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
to New Ferry
New Ferry
New Ferry is a small town located on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Situated to the east of Bebington, it is part of the Bromborough Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral South...
, West Kirby to Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, Newton
Newton, Merseyside
Newton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. It is a part of the suburban town of West Kirby....
to Meols
Meols
Meols is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of Cheshire, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the...
, and Eastham Ferry
Eastham, Merseyside
Eastham is a village and an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bromborough...
to Leasowe
Leasowe
Leasowe is an area on the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, in the north west of England, near Moreton and between Wallasey and Meols. Leasowe was part of the old County Borough of Wallasey, and is now within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, the Wallasey parliamentary constituency and the New...
. A night bus
Night bus
A night bus service or owl service is a public transport bus service which operates through the night time hours. Many cities operate such services, either in addition to or in substitution for ordinary daytime bus services or rapid transit rail services which may shut for maintenance or due to...
from central Liverpool terminates in Hoylake.
Notable people
Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Jack Armand Cunningham
Jack Armand Cunningham
Lieutenant Colonel Jack Armand Cunningham DSO DFC was an English World War I flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories. His victory record was remarkable for being scored over a four year stretch, using four different types of aircraft....
(1890-1966) DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
, Order of Leopold, Legion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Croix de guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
, the World War I flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, retired to Hoylake and eventually died there.
Julian Budden
Julian Budden
Julian Medforth Budden, BA, BMus was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi , a single volume biography in 1982 and a single volume work on Giacomo Puccini and his operas in 2002...
, Italian opera scholar and BBC radio producer (1924–2007) was born in Hoylake.
The former Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
cyclist Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
(1968- ) was born in Hoylake.
Helen Forrester
Helen Forrester
Helen Forrester, whose real name was June Bhatia was an English author known for her books about her early childhood in Liverpool during the Great Depression as well as several works of fiction....
(1919- ), author of Twopence to Cross the Mersey was also born in the town.
Former actress and current (as of 2007) Labour MP Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
(1936- ), James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
actor Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
(1968- ) and pianist Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough
Stephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
(1961- ) grew up in Hoylake. James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Bill Ryder-Jones, Nick Power, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and John Duffy, from the band The Coral
The Coral
The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine...
, were also raised there.
John Lennon's
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
first wife Cynthia moved from Liverpool to Hoylake after their divorce in 1968. Cynthia had also grown up in Hoylake as a child. Their son Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
(1963- ) spent much of his early life in Hoylake.
In 1940, comedian Eric Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
won a local amateur talent contest, held at Hoylake's Kingsway Cinema. His prize was an audition before impresario Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...
and subsequently where he first met his future comedy partner Ernie Wise
Ernie Wise
Ernest Wiseman OBE , known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became an institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.-Career:Ernest Wiseman was the eldest of five children, and changed...
.
Mike Rutherford
Mike Rutherford
Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford is an English musician. He is a founding member of Genesis, initially as a bassist and backup vocalist. In later incarnations of Genesis, he assumed the role of lead guitarist. He is one of only two constant members in Genesis . He also fronts Mike + The...
(1950- ) of Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
was a boarder at The Leas School, formerly on Meols Drive, influenced heavily in his Genesis progression by Joseph Roberts, also from Hoylake.
Curtis Warren (1963- ), well-known Merseyside figure and formerly featured in the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
, owned a house on Meols Drive.
Indie rock bands The Coral
The Coral
The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine...
, The Rascals
The Rascals (English band)
The Rascals were an indie rock band from the Hoylake, England. Consisting of Joe Edwards and Greg Mighall .Both members were previous members of now-defunct indie band The Little Flames....
and The Little Flames
The Little Flames
The Little Flames were an indie rock band from Hoylake, England. The band consisted of Eva Petersen , Greg Mighall , Joe Edwards , Miles Kane and Mat Gregory . Their music can best be described as indie rock with some 1960s inspiration, slightly similar to The Coral...
are from Hoylake.
See also
- Congregational Church, HoylakeCongregational Church, HoylakeCongregational Church, Hoylake is in Station Road, Hoylake, Wirral, England . It is a Grade II listed building. It was originally a congregational church, then a United Reformed Church. It is now in use as an evangelical chapel....
- Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary schoolHoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary schoolHoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary School is a Christian school for 3-11 years olds in the south of Hoylake, Wirral Peninsula, England. The school is under the control of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral local education authority. The new building was established in 1979 by the Mayor of the...
- Hoylake Holy Trinity ChurchHoylake Holy Trinity ChurchHoly Trinity Church was the most prominent Anglican church in the seaside town of Hoylake, Wirral, England, until its demolition in 1976. It was consecrated on 1 November 1833, and in 1860 it became the Parish Church of Hoose, Little Hoose and Great Hoose. During its lifetime, 2 one daughter...
- Hoylake Parade community centreHoylake Parade community centreHoylake Parade Community Centre is a multi-purpose public building located in Hoylake, Wirral, which serves as a community centre for the local area.- History as a school :...