Hoylake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hoylake
Hoylake beach, looking towards Hilbre Island
Hoylake
Population	5,710 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SJ215888
• London	183 mi (295 km) SE
Metropolitan borough	Wirral
Metropolitan county	Merseyside
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WIRRAL
Postcode district	CH47, CH48
Dialling code	0151
ISO 3166 code	GB-WRL
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Wirral West
List of places UK England Merseyside 53°23′24″N 3°10′48″W / 53.390°N 3.180°W / 53.390; -3.180

Hoylake is a fun seaside town located in Merseyside, England. It's found on the north-west side of the Wirral Peninsula, which is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Hoylake is close to West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the big Irish Sea.

Long ago, Hoylake was part of Cheshire. In a very old book from 1086 called the Domesday Book, it was listed in an area known as the Hundred of Wilaveston. In 2001, about 5,710 people lived in Hoylake. By 2011, the total population for the wider Hoylake and Meols area was 13,348.

History of Hoylake

Hoylake Town Hall

Hoylake has a long and interesting history. In 1690, King William III sailed from Hoylake, which was then called Hyle or High-lake. He was taking a huge army of 10,000 soldiers to Ireland for a famous battle called the Battle of the Boyne. The spot where he left is still known as King's Gap today. A year before, another large army had also sailed from Hoylake to capture Carrickfergus in Ireland.

How Hoylake Grew Over Time

The town we see today started to grow in the 1800s around a small fishing village called Hoose. The name Hoose means "hollows." In 1848, a book described the people of Hoose as mostly boatmen and fishermen. It said they were very brave and often rescued sailors from shipwrecks. This was important because large sandbanks nearby caused many dangerous accidents for ships.

The name Hoylake comes from Hoyle Lake. This was a channel of water between Hilbre Island and Dove Point. It was a safe place for large ships to anchor because it was protected by a wide sandbank called Hoyle Bank and was about 20 feet deep. Ships that were too big to sail up the Dee River to Chester would stop here.

Local Government in Hoylake

The village of Hoose was part of the West Kirby area. It became its own local parish in 1866. Later, in 1894, it joined with West Kirby to form a larger parish. From 1894 to 1974, Hoylake had its own local government council, which was based at Hoylake Town Hall.

In 1974, a big change happened in local government across England and Wales. Most of the Wirral Peninsula, including Hoylake, moved from being part of Cheshire county to the new county of Merseyside. The population of Hoylake grew from just 60 people in 1801 to 2,701 in 1901.

Important Landmarks in Hoylake

Hoylake has several important and interesting landmarks. These places help tell the story of the town and its people.

Hoylake's War Memorial

The Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial is a very important local landmark. It was designed in 1922 by a famous British sculptor named Charles Sargeant Jagger. He also created other well-known war memorials, like the one at Hyde Park Corner in London.

The Beacon Arts Centre

The old Town Hall building, located on the corner of Albert Road and Market Street, is being turned into a new arts center. This new center will be called The Beacon. It will have workshops for crafts, a restaurant, and apartments above.

'Knots' Sculpture

At the Kings Gap roundabout, you can see a sculpture by a Scottish artist named David Annand. It's called 'Knots' and shows seabirds flying in loops around four tall poles. The local council asked for this sculpture to be made to help improve Hoylake. It was put in place in June 2006, just in time for a big golf tournament called the 2006 Open Championship.

Hoylake's Lighthouses

To help ships safely enter the Hoylake anchorage, two lighthouses were built in 1763. This was thanks to William Hutchinson. The lower lighthouse was made of wood and could be moved to line up with the upper lighthouse, which was a permanent brick building. This helped guide ships safely.

Around the early 1800s, each lighthouse had a special reflector to make its light stronger. Both lighthouses were rebuilt about a hundred years later. In 1865, new lenses were made for them by James Chance. The upper lighthouse, which is an octagonal brick tower, stopped shining its light on May 14, 1886. It is now part of a private house. The lower lighthouse, which was closer to the shore, was turned off in 1908 and taken down in 1922.

Past Landmarks of Hoylake

The Royal Hotel was built in 1792 by Sir John Stanley. He wanted to make Hoylake a popular holiday spot. Many steam packet boats traveling between Liverpool and North Wales would stop at the hotel, bringing lots of visitors. By the mid-1800s, a racecourse was even built on the hotel's grounds. Sadly, the hotel building was taken down in the 1950s.

Hoylake also had a lido, which is an outdoor swimming pool, on the promenade. It opened in June 1913 and was rebuilt in the late 1920s. The lido finally closed in 1981.

Geography of Hoylake

Hoylake is located at the very north-western tip of the Wirral Peninsula. It sits on the eastern side of where the Dee Estuary meets the sea, right next to the Irish Sea. Hoylake is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) west-south-west of New Brighton, which is on the River Mersey. The center of Hoylake is about 9 meters (30 feet) above sea level.

To the west of the town, at Hilbre Point, is a special area called Red Rocks. This area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, meaning it's protected for its natural importance. It has exposed sandstone rocks, sand dunes, salty marshes, and reed beds.

Neighbouring places

	Liverpool Bay (Irish Sea)	Liverpool Bay (Irish Sea)	Hightown (across Liverpool Bay)
	Hilbre Islands (across Dee Estuary)		Meols
		Hoylake
	Hilbre Islands (across Dee Estuary)	West Kirby	Larton and Newton

How Hoylake is Governed

Hoylake is part of the Wirral West area for national elections. The person who represents this area in the UK Parliament is Matthew Patrick, who is from the Labour Party.

For local government, Hoylake is part of the Hoylake and Meols area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. This means it's part of the local council for the Wirral area. Three councillors represent Hoylake and Meols on the Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. The most recent local elections were held on May 6, 2021.

Community Life in Hoylake

Hoylake Community Centre

Hoylake is mostly a place where people live, but it also has a lively town center, which is where the original village of Hoose was located.

Hoylake Lifeboat Station

The town has a permanent lifeboat station, run by the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). This station helps rescue people at sea. It was first started in 1803, making it one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the country. In 2008, the RNLI raised £2 million to build a new lifeboat station and get a new, faster lifeboat. This new building opened in November 2009.

Kings Gap Conservation Area

The Kings Gap conservation area is a special place protected by the Wirral Borough Council. It includes the coastline, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, and many large houses built in the 1800s and early 1900s. It also includes Hoylake Lighthouse and St Hildeburgh's Church.

Education in Hoylake

Hoylake has a few schools. Kingsmead School is an independent school that teaches boys and girls from ages 2 to 16. Hoylake Holy Trinity C of E Primary School is the main primary school in town, for children aged 3 to 11.

Media and News in Hoylake

For local news and TV shows, people in Hoylake can watch BBC North West and ITV Granada. There's also a local TV station called TalkLiverpool. TV signals come from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. Because Hoylake is close to North Wales, people can also receive TV signals from BBC Wales and ITV Cymru Wales from the Moel-y-Parc TV transmitter.

Local radio stations include BBC Radio Merseyside, Heart North West, Capital North West & Wales, Smooth North West, Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West, and Wirral Wave Radio, which is a community station. The town is also served by local newspapers like the Wirral Globe and the Liverpool Echo.

Sports and Activities in Hoylake

Hoylake is a great place for sports, especially golf!

Golfing in Hoylake

The Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Hoylake is home to the famous Royal Liverpool Golf Club. It was built in 1869 on what used to be the Royal Hotel's racecourse. It's the second oldest golf course in England. This club has hosted many big tournaments, including the Open Championship and the Walker Cup. The club is often just called "Hoylake." It hosted the Open again in July 2006, after almost 40 years, where Tiger Woods won. The 2014 Open Championship was the 12th time the event was held in Hoylake, won by Rory McIlroy. The most recent Open Championship in Hoylake was in 2023, won by Brian Harman.

Two famous amateur golfers from Hoylake also won the Open Championship. John Ball Jnr. won in 1890, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Another local amateur, Harold Hilton, won two years later and again in 1897 at his home club.

There's also the Hoylake Municipal Golf course, which is used by several local golf clubs. It was even used as the practice course for the 2006 Open Championship.

Rugby Union in Hoylake

The Hoylake RFC rugby club was started in 1922. They currently play in a league called South Lancs/Cheshire Division One. An earlier rugby club, connected to the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, existed in the 1890s.

Swimming in Hoylake

Hoylake ASC, a swimming club, was founded in 1931. The club now trains at the West Kirby Concourse and the Calday Grange Swimming Pool.

Sailing in Hoylake

The sailing club on North Parade

Hoylake Sailing Club was founded in 1887. It has a clubhouse and a boatyard on North Parade. The club holds an annual regatta (a series of boat races) and sends a team to the Southport 24 Hour Race.

Sand Yachting in Hoylake

Hoylake is one of the best places in Britain for sand yachting. This is where you sail a special vehicle on sand using a sail. The town's beach hosted the European Sand Yacht Championships in 2007, 2011, and 2017.

Cricket in Hoylake

Cricket was played at the Ellerman Lines Cricket Ground as early as the 1920s. Cheshire played minor county cricket there from 1957 to 1968. The ground was later sold and became a nightclub before being demolished after a fire.

Transport in Hoylake

Hoylake has two railway stations: Hoylake and Manor Road. Both are on the West Kirby branch of Merseyrail's Wirral line, which connects the town to other places in the area.

Famous People from Hoylake

Many interesting people have connections to Hoylake:

• Joshua Armitage (1913–1998), known as "Ionicus," was a famous artist for "Punch" magazine and designed covers for Penguin books. He was born and lived in Hoylake his whole life.
• Julian Budden (1924–2007), who studied Italian opera and produced radio shows for the BBC, was born in Hoylake.
• The former Olympic Games cyclist Chris Boardman (1968–) was born in Hoylake.
• Author Jane Campbell (writer) (1942–) was born in Hoylake.
• Actor Daniel Craig (1968–), famous for playing James Bond, grew up in Hoylake.
• Lieutenant Colonel Jack Armand Cunningham (1890–1966), a World War I flying ace, retired and passed away in Hoylake.
• Author Helen Forrester (1919–2011) was born in the town.
• Pianist Stephen Coombs (1960–) grew up in Hoylake.
• The former actress and politician Glenda Jackson (1936–2023) grew up in Hoylake.
• John Lennon's first wife, Cynthia (1939–2015), grew up in Hoylake and returned there after her divorce. Their son Julian (1963–) spent much of his early life in Hoylake.
• Comedian Eric Morecambe won a local talent show at Hoylake's Kingsway Cinema in 1940.
• Mike Rutherford (1950–) from the band Genesis was a student at the Leas School in Hoylake.
• Cliff Williams (1949–), the bassist for the band AC/DC, grew up in Hoylake.
• Indie rock bands The Rascals and The Little Flames are from Hoylake.
• The members of the band The Coral—James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Bill Ryder-Jones, Nick Power, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and John Duffy—were also brought up there.

Images for kids

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  Hoylake beach, looking towards Hilbre Island

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  The old upper lighthouse

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  The Royal Liverpool Golf Club

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  The sailing club on North Parade

See also

In Spanish: Hoylake para niños