Meols
Meols dates back to ancient times, and is mentioned in the Domesday
book. The name is believed to originate from the Norse for sand
dunes. The original spelling was Meolse, but when the railways came to
town the spelling changed. This was due to the railway managers thinking
that Meolse was the same as Meols near Southport.
Back in 1080s the area was held by the Norman Lord Robert the Redolent, and
Meolse was called Melas. Robert's Manor house is believed to be on what is
now Dove Point, but some ways out under the sands. The sea has reclaimed a
lot of land since those days. (An embankment has been built around most of
the Irish sea side of the peninsula to either stop the tidal encroachment, or to
reclaim land from the sea.) It is here that the remains of the sunken
petrified forest stumps can best be seen, at a low tide and after a strong
storm. Unfortunately, it is only very infrequently that these stumps can
be seen, and they stretch from Leasowe to Meols. It is in this area that
ancient remains and artifacts are to be found.
Even during the Victorian era the townspeople had to travel to nearby Hoylake
( Hoyle Lake or Hoose) for their church and schooling, but the town could say it
had three inns and an ale house.
Meolse connected to Moreton via Birkenhead Road, which was improved in the
mid 1800s to allow a deal more traffic to pass through, on the way to
Hoylake. There were many thatched buildings in the town, but these
eventually gave way to more modern buildings as they became derelict in the late
1800s to early 1900s.
Meols today is still a small town, but with its roots still there in the
names of its roads, such as Dove Point and Roman Road. It still has its
railway station. There is a shallow beach which is used for mooring
sailing boats of a size too large to tow. It is popular during the summer
period for its beaches, which are cleaned daily, and its promenade.
I have included these two pictures of old Meolse as they have family
significance. My 3xG-Grandafather lived at 12 Carlton Terrace, and a son
at No.3 who worked as a plough boy. At the Railway Inn one Emma Salisbury
of Upton was staying, a distant cousin. 3xG-Grandfather was William
Halliday, who worked first as a farm labourer, and then on building the
embankments. He died young, some time between 1861 and '71. In 1861 his
wife Sarah was at home, in 1871 a widow working as a Market Gardener, and
remarried by 1881 to John Langley of Meolse, a widower himself, and was a
laundress.
I have included these two pictures of old Meolse as they have family
significance. My 3xG-Grandafather lived at 12 Carlton Terrace, and a son
at No.3 who worked as a plough boy. At the Railway Inn one Emma Salisbury
of Upton was staying, a distant cousin. 3xG-Grandfather was William
Halliday, who worked first as a farm labourer, and then on building the
embankments. He died young, some time between 1861 and '71. In 1861 his
wife Sarah was at home, in 1871 a widow working as a Market Gardener, and
remarried by 1881 to John Langley of Meolse, a widower himself, and was a
laundress.