Meols

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Meols (IPA: [mɛlz]) 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 was named as such by the Vikings (its original name "melas" meaning "sand dunes"). However, impressive archaeological finds dating back to the Neolithic period suggest that the site was an important centre in antiquity. Indeed, since about 1810 a large number of artefacts have been found relating to pre-Roman Carthage, the Roman Empire, the Celts, the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. These include items as varied as coins, tokens, brooches, pins, knives, glass beads, keys, pottery, flint tools, mounts, pilgrim badges, pieces of leather, worked wood and iron weapons. They came to be discovered after the beginning of large-scale dredging (to accommodate the needs of the nearby growing seaport of Liverpool) started to cause notable sand erosion along the coastline near Meols. These finds suggest that the site was used as a port as far back as the Iron Age some 2400 years ago, and was once the most important seaport in the present-day northwest of England. Thus trading connections are believed to have reached far across Europe.[1][2] [3]

Many of the present day inhabitants of Meols show Viking ancestry. Nottingham University researchers are investigating the degree of Viking blood still extant in the village. [4]

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.

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 Summer Olympics. The centre has a small row of shops adjacent to Meols railway station.

[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.

Meols has a significant archeological heritage.

[5] http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/archaeology/fieldarchaeology/meols.asp