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Synopsis
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In the 1800s Hoylake was a summer retreat for upper-class gentlemen staying in the latest fashionable hotels, bowling, horse racing and ‘taking the waters’, while for locals it was a busy fishing village. However, by the 1900s Hoylake had become a bustling coastal resort for people of all classes, offering seaside entertainment, shopping parades, public houses and bed and breakfast establishments.
So what changed? In 1866 the railway arrived, making commuting feasible, and workers were also receiving paid holiday for the first time. The growth this caused, the new hustle and bustle and also the older, slower ways were captured by a new breed of Victorian photographic pioneers — and what a wonderful job they did! In ninety stunning full colour photographs, Hoylake Then & Now illustrates these changes, and the accompanying captions provide a real insight into the town’s past.
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A resident of Wirral for nearly all of his life, Jim O’Neil has been fascinated by the history of the Wirral Peninsula since his school days and has written and published extensively on the area. He currently teaches local history in Wirral and runs the Wirral branch of Community RePaint. He gives illustrated talks on local history in his spare time.
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