This imposing old building facing the shore on North Parade dates back to 1889 and makes it 10 years older than Hoylake Community Centre. The exterior was repainted a few years back and I can’t say I’m mad on the colour scheme myself.
It’s been mentioned to me that this building used to be the home for the blind at some point and more recently as a home for adults with learning difficulties. I’m not certain, but I think the building has been vacant for some time.
I’m sure you’ll be able to enlighten me!
I don’t know much about this building, on the corner of Trinity Road, but on the opposite corner the larger and more modern building, I think used to be a home for people with learning difficulties etc.
Maybe someone else can add to this.
I think this building might be the one known as “Fellowship House” which was home for deaf/blind people.
Several of those big houses were “homes” of various sorts. There was also a childrens home known as the “Ellen Gonner”. But am not sure now which property was which.
Ellen Gonner was the building which is now Hilbre Court and the whole of that block between Trinity and Clydesdale Roads. I think youngsters were sent to recover and take the air after being ill. The beds used to be pushed out onto the verandhas , later in the 70`s i think you are correct it was a council run home for girls.
i went to this home quite alot as a child, and hated every minute! i was a sickly child then, and was sent to recover.
i did however love going to the beach!
there was a rather strict staff nurse who ruled with a rod of iron, and all the kids where totally terrifed of her.
Don’t knock the Ellen Gonner ! In the 1950′s and 60′s Mrs Jones was the cook, (her son Philip lived with her), and staff nurse Kate Hayes (the battleaxe!), was a great friend of my mum’s. My mum worked a night shift washing and ironing all the children’s clothes, whilst my eldest brother held the Sunday services. My wife’s grandmother worked there as a teenager too, so it brought a lot of employment to Hoylake in it’s day, and as far as I remember the staff did work hard to create a cheerful atmosphere, with plenty of fresh sea air! and respite for sick children from many backgrounds. The matron who’s name escapes me WAS however very strict!
I would recommend ‘ The Devil Rides Out ‘ by Paul O’Grady for a personal insight into West Kirby Convalescent Home (Meols Drive) where he worked for 3 years from age 18 .
Sue Vine comments:
I remember when a local Dr would arrange for operations such as tonsils and adenoids to be done in WK convalescent Home. I had my adenoids removed in there in the ’50s. 2 lads from Hoylake there at same time for similar surgery- Graham Buckle and Gordie Bird.
Matron was a tartar and didn’t allow visits from parents…. how times have changed. Nowadays parents can sleep in hospital with their kids.
Sue
Hi, the photograph above is indeed the Ellen Gonner home, i clearly remember it, and have asked at the information centre within the Lifeboat company on the beach……………………………… i went there around 1958 or 1959 cant remember whether i was 11 or 12………………….. how can i trace my name on any records to get the exact date and year.
Thanks. sue.
Liverpool Records Office , Ref : M364 CWA/4/3 ( 1956 – 1967 ) available to ” Accredited Readers ”
NB Personal Details may be subject to the Official Information Act .
Does anyone know where one can check the listings of those children who went to Ellen Gonner in the early 1900′s? Pretty sure but not certain that relatives of mine were there around 1918. Would be good to know if that’s true.
Wasn’t there a Dr,Banardo’s Home around this area late 5o’s early 60′s ?
hi Keith
I think the Ellen Gonner home was probably the Barnado’s home you’re thinking of. I do know that in the ’70s a bit further along that block towards Clydesdale was a local authority childrens home- I worked there for a short time in 1976-1977.
Sue
Hi Sue,The childrens home was called Brynmor,it was for girls age 11 to 17,i was in thier 76 to 78,it was number 32 and is now flats.Deb
hi debbie could u tell me was this the same brynmor that was on the sea front i was in there about 1973 i think bob and chris morell had it then tried 2 look it up but failed dont live that far away may have a look 1 day cant even remember why i went there had so many mates and lost contact with most if anybody was there at this time please let me know thanks debbie
Sue Vine replies:
Hi
I worked , as a cook, at Brynmor for a short while late 1976 to early 1977. As a staff member I felt kids were fairly well cared for. But don’t really know what it was like for the kids in care. I do recall 2 very sad cases which if there is any response to this I’ll post.
Sue
A few years ago, I requested my records from Wirral social services. One of the pages said I was in Brynmoor in the 70′s after intially being placed in Wimbrick Hey, Moreton. I remember being there but i don’t think it was all girls (since I am Male!). I’m not sure what year I was there but around 74-76. The only people I can remember are a boy and a girl (who I sat with at tea), and they could speak to each other in a foreign language (which they did quite often!), other than that I remember going to a xmas party on an aircraft carrier(!) and being quite happy there……feel free to contact me and if I can help, I will try.
Courtney
I worked as a cook at Brynmor in early 1977 for a few months. There were definitely girls and boys there I remember a brother and sister group- I think 3 of the family. Sadly i can’t recall names and anyway it maybe wouldn’t be right to put them on a site like this.
I wasn’t on the care staff so don’t know too much of how it was like for the kids- but my impression was that it was much better than I expected a Childrens Home to be. I do remember having to make a birthday cake whenever any of the kids had a birthday and it did seem to have quite a nice family feel.
Maybe because it was in an old house not a speciaaly built place.
I’m pleased that you think you were quite happy there- I liked working there and would have stayed except we moved from the area. I also sometimes had to go to cook at Prospect House which was in Trinity Rd and a house that looked after unmarried mothers.
Sue
hi caroline my name is abigail preston was hindley i was in brynmore about the same time maybe a year or 2 early carnt remember the right year but chris and bob morrel was running it an there were 2 other aunties there as well carnt remember ther names but one ws a large lady and a slim one she was quite strict we also went to hilbre school for girls in west kirby your name doesent ring a bell the house was on the sea front and you could see hilbri island from thr house would love to hear from you xx
You are right Debbie, Brynmor was 32 The parade, the next block from this photo. It stayed open until about 1990, and closed due to bad publicity ……. such a shame, I was there from 1986-1988 and being a small home, the staff were very caring and tried to provide all needs to the girls from age 13-18.
Sue
Sad to hear there was bad publicity- back in 1976/77 it was a happy, well run place.
the photo of the large building at the bottom of trinity road was at one time a home for the deaf blind run by the rnib and was called fellowship house,
when i was 17 i worked there for a year i am 71 now.
i believe they moved to a large place by the golf links but i am not sure if they are there now
on the opposite side of trinity road used to live children who were getting over illnesses an annex of a hospital in liverpool i think
hi brian…. i visited hoylake two weeks ago, and the fire department gave me the location of the childrens home for sick children, the above photograph was the place they said….. apparently it seems, a place called Brynmor which was on the opposite side of the road was the home i apparently stayed in in the 1960s , do you know where to get any photos of Brynmor.
thanks. sue.
Fellowship House was indeed this building. It was a Blind Home, they moved to Wilton Grange on Meols Drive then closed and the building wasdemolished and there is now a complex of Flats on the site adjacent to Pinfold Lane. Fellowship House became a home for people with learning disasbilities but is now closed by the look of it.
I supppose it belongs to the Council and they are deciding what to do with it.
The Opposite corner to Fellowship House was the Ellen Gonner home for Convalescaent Children from Liverpool that is also now Flats.
Thje Childrens Home was next door to that and I think is now also 3 flats.
hi jackie… i am somewhat confused………………. i can remember quite clearly staying at the above place as per above photo, when i was 11 i was sent there for l month due to illness…………………… the fire brigade office gave me this building and they called it the Ellen Gunner….. do you have the exact name for it.
thanks. sue.
I can assure you this building was for the Blind, on the opposite corner was the Ellen Gonner and the nurses brought the children out for walks and playtime on the shore when I was a child.
Next door to the Ellen Gonner was Brynmor which was a children’s home.
The building further along towards Clydesdale Road was called Brynmor and that was something to do with Barnado’s I think. It was a home for girls mainly young teenagers but has obviously been closed for many years now. Several of the girls went to the Parade school and at least one is returning for the Centenary Reunion at the end of June.
Brynmor Home for Girls, from the age of 8 or 9 upwards. John Horswill (ex Butcher) was a patron of the home and funded among other things a visit to the Empire for yearly Pantomime.
Brynmor was originally a mixed home ….. but became a girls adolescent home at some point for ages 13 – 18 mostly. I know this because I was in there from 1986-1988.
Sue
According to a book I’ve got, the building in the picture, Fellowship House, became the first deaf blind home in England, in 1936.
The building on the opposite corner was formerly the Carlton Cafe, then the Hoylake College, and in 1915 became the Ellen Gonner Home.
Hi Matt
would you perhaps have the name of the book you have relating to the photo and/or Ellen Gonner House. having read all the forums writings I’m now quite confused as to whether the photo above was Ellen Gonner House or not. have just out there today to try to find it and was directed to this house. My dad and his sister went to a home in late 1918/1919 and I’d really love to know which building it actually was.
Many thanks,
Sharon Plumb
I hope Matt replies, but as I remember the Ellen Gonner was on the oposite corner which is to the left in the pic above.
By the way, that phone box appeared in Amateur Photographer magazine many years ago, in a photo of it take from the top of the hill looking towards the shore.
Someone must have a photo of EG which they can offer to this site.
HI…………… I visited the Ellen Gonner Home today Wednesday 26th oct.2011 and indeed the photo of it above is the correct photograph…………… this was the exact corner it was on……………… i was only 11 then but i remember it so clearly, i hated every minute being there, tin mugs and plates, having baths in the same room as other kids, sharing my parcels that my parents sent etc., dont even know to this day what illness i had been suffering from…………. do you know how i would accquire the specific day and illness…………………………. any records available etc., thanks sue. from Bootle.
Sorry Sue but the Ellen Gonner WAS on the other corner of Trinity Road / North Parade and is now flats . ( you may remember the balconies , the big steps to the front door and the tarmac playground )
That building in the photo is Fellowship House.
Ellen Gonner Home was on the opposite corner which is now in flats. |The childrewn were brought onto the shore to play when I was a child.
i remember the “ellen gonner” becouse when i was about 5 my mother and i lived with my granddad & grandy (“pop”&”nan” peers)and we moved from 54 trinity rd, to 11 newton rd which was much smaller, so my much beloved and large rocking horse was given to the “ellen gonner”
AND I WANT IT BACK
only kidding
to arthur roberts, it’s a long time ago since we used to play together in the grove by your nans house ,but I remember the little cottage you stayed in by the grove with your nan,you lived with her for so long we used to call you arthur peers .can you remember the little shop near there called coogans. I think your mums name was Mona, am I right,
hi brian
yes long time past , the little cottage was “the nook” it was my great antie emms, mum & i
lived with nan& pop peers at 54 trinity rd. muns name was mona.do you remenber dave cardwell?
back in 1959 i was on “jankers” in a dining room” in aldershot, when dave walked in,we only had time say hello goodby ,how did he get in? remenber he was run over by one those army trucks
when the “wirral horn” was an army garage and he was left with a arm that was bent?
was it you that dropped a brick on my head when we were playing on the grove
I have lived in Florida now for many years but still think of how Hoylake was in days gone by, I was born in Hoylake in 1938 and used to live in the old fishermens cottages in Back-Sea-View, I remember during the war years hearing the bombs dropping and being rushed to the nearby air-raid shelter which was situated in the grove not far from the Plasterers Arms which was managed at the time by mr Bill Rainford and his wife Maude, My school holidays [late 40s early 50s] were spent mostly on Hoylake shore,the summers were hot and the day trippers were many ,I remember some times especially on a sunday it was nearly impossible to get onto the sand for people,Them days we used to have Punch and Judy shows and Sunday church services were held on the beach,can anyone remember the name of the people who ran the services,if anyone has any old photos of this area please contact my sister Joan who works at Hoylake Co-oP ThankYou.
I seem to remember “Uncle Stan” was the name connected with the church services on Hoylake shore. I certainly remember the Punch and Judy but not the name of the people who ran it. Somewhere in the depths of my memory I recall that there was a family called Codman who were connected with Punch and Judy in Liverpool- maybe it was something to do with them?
I also remember how very crowded the shore got and the the long queues to get into Hoylake baths- didn’t they close at lunch time so you had to queue again in the afternoon. Does anyone remember “Baileys” at the bottom of Governement road- they used to sell trays of tea for holidaymakers to take onto the sands. My parents had a guest house in Alderley Road and the bulk of the summer holiday makers in the ’50s were from Liverpool, come to spend a week in sunny Hoylake!!
Sue
To sue V, Thanks for the information sue, I remember a few of the houses also selling teas to visitors,even selling just hot water so they could make their own tea, At the bottom of trinity road by the slipway the Hoylake UDC used to have the deck chairs stacked ready for all the visitors,a guy named mr Lawler was in charge of taking the money for the chairs,he knew the local lads and he would give us 6d if we would go up and down the beach collecting in the deck chairs for him after the visitors had gone,then we would have to throw a big green canvas over them and tie the canvas down with rope,I think he got his money’s worth out of us don’t you because it used to take us about 2hrs,but it would buy us a ice cream from the guy who used to peddle the bike with a small fridge on the front full of ice cream and lolly’s, he must have had legs like a mountain climber to peddle that bike.did you know there used to be a rope factory at the bottom of Alderley Road.
Hi Brian
Certainly I remember the rope works- we lived directly opposite. In that building was an amazing stable block, beautifully tiled with decorative tiles- green as I recall. It was very difficult to get in there- but at some stage we got over the wall!!
That whole area has altered so much- we lived just 2 houses up from the Winter Gardens- now a nursing home I think.
I’ve not been back to Hoylake for about 6 years but even then it was becoming unrecognisable- and the promenade area in particular. When the Baths went it all seemed to change.
Sue
Hi Brian, your comments rekindle memories of the beach in those days, I would spend most of the School holidays at the canoe pool with Joe Cullen from putting the boats in the water of a morning and pulling them out at night plus two or three trips to Joe’s house in Lee Road for a pop bottle of tea. Joe would slip me 9 pence at the end of the day so on the face of it you did quite well.
Hi Mike, Those were the days, when you could walk down to the beach bare footed and the sun would be so hot on the pavement it would burn the bottoms of your feet ,what happened to those Hoylake summers. But can you remember the winter time when we all had coal and coke fires,That was the time I earned my pocket money by going to the gas works every Saturday morning for bags of coke for different people,I had a old pram that I used to transport the coke in, five trips would make me about 2shillings and 6pence,if you ever went for coke mike you know that you had to hold your coke sack under a hopper while the guy pulled on a lever to fill the sack and the coke would come down the hopper with such force it would sometimes pull the sack from your hands,The guy whose name was chris wasn’t the nicest of guys and he would say “your mum needs to feed you up a bit more son then you might be able to hold the – - – sack.
Hi Brian,
Yes, I remember Chris well, the action at the chute was deliberate! When he didn’t use the chute and occasionally shovelled the coke with a huge shovel he always managed to get coke over the back of the sack so you got cinders in your shoes. The same fellow could be equally as awkward when he decanted the creosote in bottles, if the creosote didn’t drip on the bottle first up he would push you out of the way before the faucet stopped dripping.
Ref-Brian Nesbitt : Sand Services , there is an a photo and article on Uncle Stan within this website .
I recall the sand services held by the paddling pool were conducted by a South African named Stan Foord. When I see photo’s of the drinking fountain it conjures up memories of those happy childhood days.
This is very close to the color that I remember back in the 50′s
Sue Vine’s comment brings back memories. We moved to west Kirby in 1951, had been living there for 2 months and we were with Dr. Lancley and he sent to the convalescent home to have my appendix removed. In those days it was done with ether and the face mask, I still have nightmares about it.
Chris
Changing the subject, but does anyone who was at the Parade in the middle to late 50′s remember the old man who used to park his ice cream van outside the school at lunch time, and you could get ice lolly’s for tuppence, my favourite along with Hank and Sambo were the lemon flavoured ones. he was known as Pois, short for poison.
Chris
Don’t know about the icecream van, but “Poisen Dearden” who used to live in Hoyle Road sat on a “box trike” in the early 50′s selling lolley ices usually at the junction of Hoyle Road and the Promenade. The trike I believe was a recycled “Walls” stop me and buy one trike.
Pois Dearden used to have a workplace next door to where we lived on Market Street. It was next to Chas. E. Price’s workshop, and was accessed from Charles Road. On the rare occasions when he returned with unsold ice cream or lolly ices he used to give them to all the kids in the street. He used to make all his own products in a lock up that was always freezing.
Pauline Hoylake
does anyone know what fellowship house was before it became a home for the deaf and blind in 1936? Was it built as a private house?
I hate to disagree but this picture was Fellowship House for the Blind and is now Independent Living for the Young Disabled, recently reurbished and opened.
The opposite Corner a large Flats Complex was the Ellen Gonner Home where children came for Convalescence.
I have lived here all my life and remember it well!!!
So do I for many reasons!!