Here’s an unusual photo that was kindly sent to me by new HoylakeJunction.com reader and local photographer Carol Tipping. It’s a view from Cable Road South of the old Hoylake gasometer. A gasometer is used to store natural gas at the right pressure and temperature (so says this Wikipedia article). I think you can see a gasometer today on the approach to the Wallasey Tunnel.
Years ago Hoylake had it’s own gas works. In fact this article (in pdf format, opens in a new window) at the London Gazette from 1877 refers to the Hoylake & West Kirby Gas and Water Company. The works were located on what is now the Carr Lane estate. I briefly mentioned the gas works in this post from last May.
In the left of the photo you can see a shop. I seem to remember this was an antique shop at one stage. Can you shed any light on what it was?
Here’s the same gasometer back in 1969:
Possible related posts (computer generated):
The Hoylake gas works made the ‘town gas’ and stored it in the gasometer – that was in the days before the area was converted to North Sea gas and presumably the area had its own self contained gas network with no gas grid.
The tiny corner of the shop that you can see in the bottom left of the photo is now a house. it was an antiques shop in the late 1960s. It remained an antiques shop in the 70s and 80s and the England family who were upholsterers lived there and were my neighbours. Vicky England used to sit on a chair outside the shop most fine days in the summer and in the evenings sometimes a few of us neighbours would bring our chairs and join her. A lady called Elsie lived opposite – across the road in No 1 Cable Rd South and we called her the Ears and Eyes of Hoylake because she always sat in her window and could tell you if anyone had passed by that day! Elsie worked in a sweet shop just nearby, around the corner on Market Street. She was famous for her fudge. (If I can find her hand-written recipe I will post it!) The England family moved to a larger premises in Market Street and for several years the premises was lived in by their son who was an upholsterer. Then the second son moved in and had the shop changed in to a house. The house was sold about two years ago and has a new occupant.
I remember having chairs upholstered there.
You mention the sweet shop in the now vacant restaurant premises. This was Masie’s and it was always a great treat to be taken there to choose sweets. The other part of these premises was the Norvic shoe shop where we used to get school shoes and it had a wonderful elaborate brass cash till using ‘old money’ denomintions in £.s.d!
Incidentally does anyone know why Cable Road is so-called? Was it a route for a telegrahic cable or something?
Peter, you mention the Norvic shoe shop – do you remember if this could have been a Timpsons shoe shop? Im sure there was a Timpsons in Hoylake at the same time as Boots Chemist.
Yes, Timpson’s was just along the road in what was Barrie Menswear until recently. Norvic was on the corner of Cable Road South! Then there was a Dick’s shoe shop (very old fashioned!)nearby in the next block along between Cable and Alderley Roads.
Mentioning the bit of a shop that you can see on the far left on the corner of Cable Road and Charles Road – that was England’s antiques and upholsterers – the shop and the adjoining houses either side – 3 Cable Road South and 1 Grosvenor Road (which has its back entrance in Charles Road) – were once one single property. I have heard but not been able to find any information about it, that the property used to be a Dairy – and a School – not sure in which order. The property was built around the 1860s.
Anyone know anything about this other Dairy/or school in Hoylake?
I’m pretty certain that the colour photograph of the Gasometer taken in 1969 is actually one which looks like it was located around the site which is currently occupied by Hoylake Commercials (though I may be wrong).
I was born in the end house in no 5 Cable road sth in 1940. The lady Elsie Carol mentions, lived at no 13 opposite Miss Jonese’s who owned it then. As children we used to shop there a lot. She served pots of tea and delicious hom made fudge. The shop I recall where Elsie helped out I think was Maisie’s sweet shop. My mother bought it from Maisie in the late 60s. I also remember Miss Jones shop being a florests, owned by a lady called Carol. My sister also worked in the Norvic shoe shop when she left school.
There were actually three gasometers in total, though in my time only two were used. The gasworks itself was in operation till about 1954 /55. When it closed each weekend, the gasometers would gradually drop as gas was consumed, then rise again when production was resumed on Monday. The gasometers continued to be used for many years after the gasworks closed, being supplied, presumably, by the Wallasey or Birkenhead gasworks.