A bit of a cheat this week as I’m using an old postcard (circa 1930’s) that regular reader and contributor Peter Wilson kindly sent to me. Peter says:
The last house you can in the picture in Stanley Rd is now demolished and replaced by a flats development. I think it’s called Hilbre View or something, next door to Invergarry Court anyway, and the last flats development before Red Rocks. I think the 3 orange roofed houses with a wall in front are probably the 3 houses on the right hand side of Beach Road between Barton Road and the beach.
Of course today there are no sandhills on Hoylake beach and no boats are moored on that part of the sand. In fact, you’ll only see boats moored a mile down the beach at Meols. Isn’t it great to able to see how our local coast has changed over several decades?
Oh, a question for you from another reader who worked in Dodds shoe repair shop in Market Street many years ago. Brian wants to know the name of the owner of the long-gone bike shop that used to be in that building by Holy Trinity School (and where there’s currently a used car sales business behind the building). He seems to remember that the chap who owned the bike shop also owned a local undertakers?
As a youngster in the late 70’s I used to visit the bike shop myself on my much-used, blue Raleigh Arena with my mates. I was chatting to one of them only the other night but we couldn’t remember what the bike shop was called. I’m sure one or two of you will know!
[UPDATE]: See, I knew you would know! The old bike shop was called Sammy Cattells
arthur roberts says
ref. sammy cattells bike shop ,one day when i was a littel kid in 1946/7 ,i was going past cattells as a young man came out of the shop pushing a brand new racing bike .5 mins. later i came back just as the same man pushing the same bike back in to the shop ,the front wheel was U shaped.!!!!!
my father once told me that pre-war sammy had worked at brookland race track ,and that he had taken a morgan 3 wheel sports car out for a test and had broken the track record for that class of car
l
Donald (Don) Johnson says
During the war and, at least until 1948, Sammy Cattells bike shop was in Lake Place just opposite the rear entrance to Hoylake Presbyterian Church Hall between Rudd Street and Walker Street. He also worked on some moor vehicles and was a great source of steel marbles, large sized ball bearings.
barry banks says
sammy cattell was in market street after the war i know this reply is a long time in the making but it was mr shipman who was in lake place (bike repairs) not mr cattell
Rose McKay says
Mr Shipton was definitely there from the 50s to approximately late 60s. So it would be accurate to say that Cattell was there as late as 1948. Mr Shipton lived in Liverpool and made the trek every day to Hoylake to the bike repair unit. Apparently he also accepted bets when it was illegal.to do so.
brian jones says
many thanks for your great website
i know it must take many hours of work
Leo Simmons says
I remember Cattells…they kept me on two wheels for many years! I just discovered this site – a welcome blast from the past and a reminder of my childhood and teen years spent in and around Hoylake and West Kirby. I currently live in British Columbia, Canada and images of Hoylake are a pleasant reminder of a very different environment – lots of memories being stirred up!
Leo Simmons says
Oh by the way I’m a little confused about the ‘no sandhills on Hoylake beach’ comment – if we are looking at the end of Stanley Road then Hilbre must be out of sight to our left and surely the pictured dunes are on the beach side of the golf links, and the last time I was there (admittedly ten years ago), the dunes were very much still in evidence. Certainly the natural landform processes were not threatening them at that time – has that changed or has there been interference from us humans? Or maybe my memory is playing tricks?
Peter Wilson says
Hi Leo.
The view is not the frontage of the golf links but the one from Red Rocks, standing right at the corner of the peninsula, and looking along the north Wirral coast towards Hoylake promenade with Stanley Road on your right. Houses were built on the dunes between Stanley Road and the beach and at some point a seawall was built between the Royal Hotel and Red Rocks to protect them.
Does anyone know when the seawall was built? I’ve often wondered. It is of quite a ‘modern’ style design but must be some time in the 30s, 40s or even the early 50s.
Leo Simmons says
Hi Peter, this is intriguing – from my recollections and Google Maps the large house wouldn’t be visible if it were on Stanley Road, since the road effectively moves away from the coastline as it heads North East. I’m wondering if the postcard picture was correctly labelled by the printer- I think the shape of the coastline and the line of the development fits my belief that this is a picture taken from south of Stanley Road with the golf course on our right…it would be nice to see the view from another angle of course.
Leo
Peter Wilson says
Leo, I confess I puzzled over this photo for a long time but I am convinced it is a photo from Hilbre Point along the coast.
The curvature of the coast is the same as the wall which bends out towards the sandstone point. My main puzzle was the large house. The house visible was the last Victorian-style house house on the road and the view shows the side elevation. Somewhere I came across a photo of that old (now long-gone) house and was able to match the design with that in the photo. I had actually forgotten about this old house thinking that Invergarry (also demolished) was the last Victorian house but when I saw a photo it all came back and I was able to confirm, to my satisfaction at least, the location of the photographer.
From Hilbre Point the houses on the north side of the lower end of Stanley Road are very visible. The two demolished houses were tall and had gardens ending on the seawall and if you look closely at the photo you can see where property owners have erected fence posts to demarcate their holdings.
Had this been a view as you suggest from the south I agree that the line of the coast is similar as it curves to meet the sandstone point but that curve is filled in with low dunes and a fresh water marsh (slack). Moreover, where would the large house be situated?
Perhaps if we ask John nicely, he could take a photo from the spot on the corner of the peninsula of how the view is now!
Peter
Leo Simmons says
Hi again Peter – I don’t wish to keep banging on about this too much and we may ultimately have to agree to disagree but I’m enjoying the conversation. Another question would be over where all the sandstone that gently slopes up to Red Rocks would be situated in the photo – I understand you may feel it is buried. The level of the land behind the present day sea wall is much higher than the level of the dunes we see in the photograph – I’m wondering if a Victorian developer would have had the means or inclination to raise sucha large area of land by that much? To answer your question my feeling is that the large house would be on the south side of Stanley Road near to the present day slipway. In one sense I would be happy being mistaken in this because in that case the amount of change between then and poresent day wouldk be fascinating. I think that having John take another picture is a great idea, although John may wish to agitate us a littlke more in order to obtain headlines such as ‘Debate rages over controversial photograph’ or ‘International crisis centred upon Hoylake landmark’, however I’m sure his journalistic ethics would restrain him from manipulating us in this way…John? :o)
Peter Wilson says
As you say all good fun and I agree that this is a fascinating view. So much so that I did actually take the post card to Red Rocks a few years ago to check my identification and remain confident!
The key is to identify the large house on the right and there are no houses of that height, mass or design on the south side of the road nor have there ever been. You also need to identify the other three houses to the left which I take to be in Beach Road where there is a high stone wall above the slipway.
The sandstone hardly extends around the corner at Hilbe Point so would not be visible in a photograph taken from that spot.
Land level – I assume that the dunes have simply been leveled off.
John?
Gail Rochford Gilchrist says
Just to confuse things further….my mum , who will be 80 this year, ‘recognises’ this view as being further up the coast in what we would call Meols looking towards Leasowe. Not unusual to have a mistitled postcard, I have several of Hoylake/Meols and West Kirby all being the same place! The big house, she says belonged to the family Meadows in the 30’s but was pulled down after the war.
Who knows?
I have had this postcard in my collection and have never REALLY been able to pinpoint it!
We need a time machine,haha!
John says
Sorry for delayed reply – can’t keep up with things just at the moment!
Yes, I can see that the image could be from West Kirby end of beach with golf course to the right as one looks toward Red Rocks.
I have a strong incling that the view is from the left-hand corner of Wirral looking toward Beach Rd/Kings Gap with North Parade in the distance. Boats used to anchor on this part of the beach didn’t they? The shoreline does curve from the point to say St Margarets Rd
When I get chance I’ll take a photo of the view as it is today and we can debate this further!
Oh, who said it was windy both ways on Stanley Road? Can’t see it myself. I’ve been up and down this road hundreds of times and with the typical north westerly winds you get blown up Stanley Rd toward the Green Lodge, whilst the wind is in your face when you head on down to Red Rocks – just like today in fact!
John
Sarah Briscoe says
I love this photo and wish that it was still like this today – the sandhills have something over the wall that now dominates…..though I do realise that quite a few people would be homeless….
Peter Wilson says
Yes, I loved this photo immediately when I saw it on e-bay. I would love to see sand dune formation encouraged to help tackle the blown sand problem especially in the Beach Road to King’s Gap area where the sand has really built up. It would be noice to have a more natural coastline again.
Lynda Williams nee Cooper says
Albert Marchbank worked at Sammy Cattells. He went on to run the local undertakers. His funeral home was in our old infants school in school lane, very aptly at the back of the churchyard. He was the local undertaker until at least the 80’s, he did my dads funeral in 1984, but not sure when he retired.
Graham Thwaite says
Another cycle repairer in Hoylake was Mr Shipman. Located in Lake Place, he had a tin roofed shack in which he kept a stack of rusty old bikes.
Ian P says
I remember helping my friend Terry from Manor Road wheel his dad’s bike past Catell’s up to Mr Shipman to have the cones tightened. I doubt that he could have made a living from the shack, and my uncle guessed he might have been partial to accepting the odd wager on four legged animals (which was frowned on by the law in those days). But that was of course hearsay and Mr S can no longer be given the oportunity to refute the allegation!
Charles Morris says
Dear Ian,
From what was told me in the distant past, on good authority, your uncle was quite right ! Fred Shipman was, apparently, a bookie’s runner. He also had some connection with the bookmakers Thurston (Thursfield ?) which opened in the shop on the corner of Shaw Street and Grove Road (which had formerly been Roberts Greengrocers). A tale also attaches to Shipman’s actions on the night Thurston / Thursfield died. As a cycle repairer, Shipman left a bit to be desired. A friend and I nicknamed him “Spike Spiv”. When his shack was demolished for the two shops with the flat above, Shipman moved into another shack at the back a house in Alderley Road, accessed from a lane off the Market Street side of Evans Road. He was still there in 1964 but I don’t know for how long after that.
Tom Simmons says
Yes – a relation; my brother Leo (see above posts!) pointed me to this site! I lived in Hoylake for several years in the 70s though to 80s. I used to do paper rounds for Joe Smith’s paper shop, and one round took me to the very last house at the end of Stanley Road, next to Red Rocks (an old peoples’ home I think?), and one thing I DO remember and won’t be shaken on is the strange fact that the wind was ALWAYS gainst me going down Stanley Road to that last deleiver, and then also ALWAYS against me on the way back!!
I’m tending to agree with Leo re: the postcard view, but with similar willingness to be proved wrong!