Meols

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Meols (pronounced "Mells") is a village on the northern coast of The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is generally paired with its neighbour, the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west.

[edit] History

Meols is an amalgam of the two former villages of Great Meols and Little Meols. The latter name fell out of use in Victorian times, but the former was still in use up to the 1960s, for instance in postal addresses and on the destination indicators of buses from Chester, but not as the name of the railway station. Little Meols was situated to the west (towards Hoylake), in the area served by Manor Road railway station.

The name is derived from a Norse word 'melr' meaning 'sand dune'. Meols originated as a port some 2400 years ago. Trade with France and possibly the Mediterranean, occurred even before the Roman invasion, use continued through the medieval period. Evidence of a Viking beach market has been discovered.

Meols, up until when the railway station was placed, was known to be spelt as Meolse. The error at the time of the station's construction, when rail managers took a spelling of Meols from the Southport area (Meols Kop), and used it for new signage. Recently, local opinion has lead to a surge towards a revival of the older spelling Meolse.

[edit] Present day

Today, Meols is mainly residential with a small yacht and fishing community on its Irish Sea shore line. It is also home to the cyclist Chris Boardman, winner of a gold medal for Great Britain at the 1992 Olympic Games. The centre has a small row of shops adjacent to Meols railway station. Also situated close to the railway station is the Railway Inn pub. Adam J. Owens is a current employee at this particular pub.

[edit] Trivia

Andy McCluskey of the 1980s electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) is from Meols. OMD had a track called Red Frame White Light which referred to the public telephone box between the church and the Railway Inn in Meols. Hidden within the lyrics was the telephone number of the telephone box. It is claimed that fans would call that telephone number from all over the world.