Meols
Meols | ||
---|---|---|
Metropolitan county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | WIRRAL | |
Postcode district | CH47 | |
Dialling code | 0151 | |
ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL | |
Police | Merseyside | |
Fire | Merseyside | |
Ambulance | North West | |
UK Parliament | ||
Meols /ˈmɛlz/ (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. On the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it forms a contiguous built up area with the nearby town of Hoylake which lies to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral.
The 2001 census recorded the population of Meols as 5,110.[2] In the 2011 census specific population figures for Meols were not available. The total population of the Hoylake and Meols local government ward was 13,348.[3]
History
Meols was named as such by the Vikings; its original name from the Old Norse for 'sand dunes' was melr,[4][5] becoming melas by the time of the Domesday Survey.[6][7]
Impressive archaeological finds dating back to the
In 1938, what was believed to be a Viking (Nordic clinker) boat was discovered beneath 2–3 m (6–10 feet) of clay when the 'Railway Inn' public house was being rebuilt. Workers at the time covered the ship over again so as not to delay the construction of the pub's new car park.[14] The pub landlord mentioned its previous discovery to local police constable Tim Baldock, who contacted
Meols was formerly called Great Meols. It was a township in
The historic name of Great Meols survives in the name of the primary school[19] and the Anglican church. It was still in more general use up to the 1960s, for instance in postal addresses and on the destination indicators of buses from Chester. There also used to be a village called Little Meols, on Meols Drive between Hoylake and West Kirby[20][21] The name Little Meols fell out of use in Victorian times, having been absorbed by Hoylake. From 123 inhabitants in 1801 and 170 in 1851, by 1901 at 2,850, its population had outstripped Great Meols.[22]
Meols was known to be spelt as Meolse[18][23] up until when the railway station was placed.[citation needed] The error came about at the time of the station's construction, when rail managers took the spelling of Meols from the Southport suburb of Meols Cop and used it for new signage.[citation needed]
Geography
Meols is at the north-western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, adjacent to the Irish Sea.
Governance
Meols is within the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The current Member of Parliament is Margaret Greenwood, a Labour representative.
At
Community
Meols is mainly residential with a small yacht and fishing community on its Irish Sea shore line. The centre has a small row of shops adjacent to Meols railway station, the 'Railway Inn' public house and a primary school. The North Wirral Coastal Park stretches from Dove Point in Meols to New Brighton. There is also a local community park known as Meols Park and Recreation Ground and a bowling green. The Friends of Meols Park are a community group set up in 2007 to help maintain and improve the recreation ground.
Transport
The area is served by Meols railway station on the West Kirby branch of Merseyrail's Wirral line.
Bus
Number | Route | Operator | Days of Operation |
---|---|---|---|
38/38A | Heswall/West Kirby-Bromborough | Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire | Every Day |
407 | Liverpool-West Kirby | Arriva North West | Monday-Saturday |
A number of school services also serve Meols.
Notable people and cultural references
Cyclist Chris Boardman, winner of a gold medal for Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics, lived in Meols before moving to nearby Hoylake.
Andy McCluskey, the co-founder, singer and bass guitarist of the electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) is also from Meols. OMD had a track called "Red Frame/White Light" from their self-titled debut album which referred to the public telephone box between the church and the Railway Inn on Greenwood Road, Meols. Hidden within the lyrics was the telephone number of the telephone box (632-3003). It is claimed that fans would call that telephone number from all over the world. The telephone box was removed by BT in August 2017 but was returned by October after a campaign by fans of the duo, and now displays a plaque noting its significance.[25][26]
The television sitcom Watching, produced by Granada Television between 1987 and 1993, utilised Meols as a filming location. This was likely because the characters Malcolm and Mrs Stoneway lived in the village.[27]
See also
References
- ^ "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "Wirral 2001 Census: Meols". Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Key to English Place-Names: Meols". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ Harding, Stephen. "Wirral & West Lancs 1100th Viking Anniversary". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
- ^ "Cheshire (L-Z)". Domesday Book Online. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
- ^ "Field Archaeology: Meols, Medieval & after". National Museums Liverpool. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
- ^ "Lost Villages of Wirral". hiddenwirral.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Field Archaeology: Meols, An ancient port". National Museums Liverpool. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ "Great Sites: Meols". British Archaeology magazine. December 2001. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ "Mersey Basin Campaign" (PDF). Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ *Reid, C., 1913. Submerged Forests. The Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature, Cambridge University Press, 129 pp.
- ^ "Hoylake & West Kirby web site - Early history". Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Viking ship 'buried beneath pub'". BBC News. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
- ^ Byrne, Ciar (10 September 2007). "Radar scans reveal Viking boat beneath pub car park". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
- ^ Manning, Craig (8 March 2023). "'Viking boat' dig under Wirral pub awaits results after wood samples taken". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Great Meols". GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Great Meols". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Great Meols Primary School website". Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ Hume, A. (1863). Ancient Meols: or, Some Account of the Antiquities found at Dove Point on the Sea-Coast of Cheshire. London: John Russell Smith.
- ^ "Sheet 79 - NE Denbigh (1840)". First Series. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ "Little Meols". GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Little Meols". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". Wirral Borough Council. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Outrage as red phone box made famous by OMD single 'Red Frame White Light' is removed". Wirral Globe. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- ^ "OMD's red telephone box is now back where it belongs thanks to fans' campaign". Wirral Globe. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Watching". Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
Bibliography
- Mortimer, William Williams (1847). The History of the Hundred of Wirral. London: Whittaker & Co. pp275-276.
- Griffiths, David; Philpott, Robert A.; ISBN 978-1905905034.)
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