Meols
Encyclopedia
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- This article is about the village on the Wirral PeninsulaWirral PeninsulaWirral 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...
. See also Meols CopMeols CopMeols Cop is not an area of Southport, but simply a railway station located within Blowick, Southport Merseyside in north-western England. It is not to be confused with Meols on the Wirral Peninsula...
for the SouthportSouthportSouthport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
suburb.
- This article is about the village on the Wirral Peninsula
Meols (icon) is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the northern coast 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...
, 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 contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake
Hoylake
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...
, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of 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...
, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of 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...
in the metropolitan county
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of 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...
. 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....
recorded the population of Meols as 5,110 (2,380 males, 2,730 females).
History
Meols was named as such by the Vikings; its original name from the Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
for 'sand dunes' was melr,
becoming melas by the time of the Domesday Survey.
Impressive archaeological finds dating back to the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period suggest that the site was an important centre in antiquity. Since about 1810, a large number of artefacts have been found relating to pre-Roman Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
and the Vikings. These include items as varied as coins, tokens, brooches, pins, knives, glass beads, keys, pottery, flint tools, mounts, pilgrim badges, pieces of leather, worked wood and iron tools. They came to be discovered after the beginning of large-scale dredging (to accommodate the needs of the nearby growing seaport of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) started to cause notable sand erosion along the coastline near Meols. These finds suggest that the site was used as a port as far back as the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
some 2400 years ago, and was once the most important seaport in the present-day northwest of England. Thus trading connections are believed to have reached far across Europe.
Many of the present day inhabitants of Meols show Viking ancestry. In 2002, University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
researchers began investigating the degree of Viking blood still extant in the village.
Meols is an amalgam of the two former villages of Great Meols and Little Meols. Both were townships in West Kirby Parish of the Wirral Hundred, becoming part of Hoylake cum West Kirby civil parish in 1894. Great Meols had a population of 140 in 1801, 170 in 1851 and 821 in 1901.
The name Little Meols fell out of use in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
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.
The name Great Meols was still in use up to the 1960s, for instance in postal addresses and on the destination indicators of buses from 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...
, but not as the name of the railway station
Meols railway station
Meols railway station is situated in Meols, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.-History:...
. Little Meols was situated to the west (towards Hoylake), in the area served by Manor Road railway station
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:...
.
Meols was known to be spelt as Meolse up until when the railway station was placed. 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
Meols Cop
Meols Cop is not an area of Southport, but simply a railway station located within Blowick, Southport Merseyside in north-western England. It is not to be confused with Meols on the Wirral Peninsula...
and used it for new signage.
Description
Meols is mainly residential with a small yacht and fishing community on its Irish SeaIrish 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...
shore line. The centre has a small row of shops adjacent to Meols railway station
Meols railway station
Meols railway station is situated in Meols, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.-History:...
. There is a local community park known as Meols Park Recreation Ground
Meols Park
Meols Park and Recreation Ground is located in Meols on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Nearest village to Meols is Hoylake. Meols Park consists of a small playground area and a larger grassed area with a football kickabout area. The park straddles School Lane and is bordered by Mumfords Lane,...
and a Meols bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
. The Friends of Meols Park are a community group set up in 2007 to help maintain and improve the Recreation Ground.
It was home to the 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...
, winner of a gold medal for Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, before he moved to Hoylake.
In the 1930s a clinker-built boat was discovered in rebuilding the Railway Inn public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. Ground-penetrating radar
Ground-penetrating radar
Ground-penetrating radar is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. This nondestructive method uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum, and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures...
equipment was used in September 2007 to confirm the existence of the boat. The vessel is believed to be lying beneath approximately 6 ft to 10 ft (2m to 3m) of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
.
Professor Stephen Harding, of the University of Nottingham, is seeking funds for an excavation and removal to a museum.
Cultural references
Andy McCluskeyAndy McCluskey
George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey is the lead singer, bass guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ....
of the 1980s electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
(OMD) is from Meols. OMD had a track called Red Frame/White Light
Red Frame/White Light
"Red Frame/White Light" is the second single of the synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The song is about the red telephone box in Meols that was used by the band to make calls to organise their gigs.-Telephone box:...
which referred to the public telephone box between the church and the Railway Inn in Meols. Hidden within the lyrics was the telephone number of the telephone box (6323003). It is claimed that fans would call that telephone number from all over the world.
The television sitcom Watching
Watching
Watching is a British television sitcom, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network and broadcast for seven series and four specials between 1987 and 1993....
, produced by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
between 1987 and 1993, utilised Meols as a filming location. This was likely because the characters Malcolm & Mrs Stoneway lived in the village.
Members of the highly acclaimed rock 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 residents of Meols, not Liverpool as usually referenced.
http://www.thecoral.co.uk/
Transport
Rail| Station | Operator | Route | Days of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meols Meols railway station Meols railway station is situated in Meols, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.-History:... |
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... |
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... (West Kirby-Liverpool Central) |
Monday-Sunday |
Bus
| Number | Route | Operator | Days of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | West Kirby-New Ferry | First Chester & The Wirral First Chester & The Wirral First Chester & Wirral is a division of bus operator First Manchester Ltd., running local bus services in and around Chester and the Wirral, north west England. The company is a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc, the largest bus operator in Britain.... |
Monday-Saturday |
| 83/83A | West Kirby-Birkenhead | Avon Buses | Monday-Friday |
| 138 | Newton-Meols | A1A Travel | Monday-Saturday |
| 186 | Eastham Ferry-Leasowe | Avon Buses | Evenings and Sundays |