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Leisure & Recreation in Hoole: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:SiteIndex]]
[[Category:Recreation]]
== 1831 Coronation - Celebrations in Flookersbrook<ref>''<small>Article researched and written by Ralph Earlam, February 2022, Hoole History & Heritage Society</small>''</ref> ==
[[File:CC1 Bonfire.jpg|left|thumb|''<sub>Painting of a bonfire lit for the 1831 coronation</sub>'']]
A painting in the British Museum showing a bonfire lit for the celebration of the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in 1831 was featured in the Society's Annual Report of 2015. A newspaper account of the event has now been found in the Chester Courant of 13th September 1831 which in spite of its flowery language gives an interesting picture of what happened on the day.
[[File:CC2 Flookersbrook.jpg|thumb|''<small>Newspaper report from the Chester Courant 13 September 1831</small>''|381x381px]]
[[File:CC2 Flookersbrook Transcription.jpg|center|thumb|591x591px|''<small>Transcription of the newspaper report from the Chester Courant 13 September 1831</small>'']]
<u>Notes</u>
The diaries of the painting's artist, Edward William Cooke R.A. show that he could not have been in the area at the time.
The Blue Jacket King refers to the colour of the Admiral's uniform King William wore at the ceremony.
It would appear that the men had a roast sheep dinner at 3 o'clock, and the women and children had tea at 5.00.
[[File:CC3 Tithe Map.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>Tithe map of Newton - sites of buildings in red; today's places in black</small>'']]
It has never been clear where The Green in Flookersbrook was located. The schedules accompanying the Tithe Map drawn up only a few years later do not list it and the location of the Flookersbrook Pits and the then 30 or so properties rule out likely possibilities, although the water over which the two cannons were fired seems obvious.
No mention is made of The Ermine, its landlord nor well-known families from the area. No information has been found about Mr Shand of Liverpool or Mr W Beck.
However Dr Moor was the son of Maria Moor who inherited the land on the South side of Hoole Road on which the terraces of Moor Park were built in the 1850s (see ''''The Shell Garage site – Moor House and Moor Park'''<nowiki/>' article on [[Hoole Road|'''Hoole Road''']] page). His full name was Henry Trowbridge Moor, and his father was a naval officer who served under Sir Thomas Trowbridge and was lost at sea in the Indian Ocean when the "Blenheim" sank in 1807. Henry had been born in 1803, went to Rugby School and St John's College, Cambridge where he studied medicine. He was appointed Physician at the Chester Infirmary in 1831, having made a very public application and acceptance.
<br />
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<gallery mode="packed" widths="120" heights="120" perrow="4">
File:CC4 Application.jpg|''<small>Dr Moor's application for position as Physician at Chester Royal Infirmary 31 December 1830</small>''
File:CC4 Application Transcription.jpg|''<small>Transcription of Dr Moor's application for position as Physician at Chester Royal Infirmary 31 December 1830</small>''
File:CC5 Acceptance.jpg|''<small>Dr Moor's acceptance of the position as Physician at Chester Royal Infirmary 27 January 1831</small>''
File:CC5 Acceptance Transcription.jpg|''<small>Transcription of Dr Moor's acceptance of the position as Physician at Chester Royal Infirmary 27 January 1831</small>''
</gallery>
[[File:CC6 Memorial.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>Memorial to Dr Moor in Chester Cathedral</small>'']]
Dr Moor became President of the Mechanics Institute in Chester, cataloguing and expanding its library. He sought to open a museum at the Water Tower, the Gentleman's Magazine reporting that he paid 13 guineas for a case of stuffed birds to go there. He contracted scarlet fever and died in 1837 aged 34.
A memorial to him in Chester Cathedral is inscribed with the words "cut off at the opening of his professional career by fever caught in attendance of the poor". Records of St John's Church show that he was interred there in the altar tomb of his grandfather Thomas Tolver and his aunt Frances Bagnall; his mother Maria Moor, although recorded on the tomb at St John's was buried at Plemstall Church.
==Hoole Parks and Open Green Spaces<ref>''<small>Article researched and written by Linda Webb, June 2018, Hoole History & Heritage Society</small>''</ref>==
===J.C. Loudon, Hoole House Estate, and the People’s Parks in Hoole<ref>''<small>Article researched and written by Linda Webb, July 2021, Hoole History & Heritage Society</small>''</ref>===
John Claudius Loudon, an eminent landscape designer and authority, visited the renowned gardens of Hoole House, “''one of the most remarkable specimens of the kind in England''”, in 1831. He was there at the personal invitation of Lady Elizabeth Broughton, who kept the garden for her own use and that of a close circle of friends. He really admired Lady Broughton’s own design of the famous Rock Garden of Hoole House. J.C. Loudon’s article describing it in ‘The Gardener’s Magazine’ in 1838 made it internationally famous.
From 1857 Arthur and Elizabeth Potts developed the grounds and gardens of Hoole Hall country house, building the conservatory which enabled Arthur Potts to pursue his passionate interest and great expertise in growing orchids, one of which was named after Hoole Hall. Elizabeth Potts was an accomplished flower grower.
However, J.C. Loudon recognised the need for the creation of public improvements. The public park movement had already begun in the 1830s after his visit to Hoole House. At first this was due to concerns about public health, mortality rates, loss of access to green spaces and the need for leisure and recreation for the people in the rapidly growing industrial towns. J.C. Loudon also saw the need to create attractive public spaces where all the classes of society could mingle easily. He believed that creating public parks and recreation grounds could generate community pride.
In 1894, Hoole was designated an Urban District Council, just 46 years after the opening of Chester General Railway Station.
The population continued to grow, as did the demand for housing. By 1899 the Public Health report on Hoole noted that 300 houses were being constructed each year across the district.
In 1896 the 100 acres of land which had been occupied by the very successful Royal Agricultural Show at Hoole in June 1893, was offered for disposal and sale when Claude Hamilton Vivian, who had lived at Hoole House until then, returned to the family seat in Anglesey.
Mrs Elizabeth Potts, the widow of Arthur Potts of Hoole Hall, bought Hoole House and its grounds in 1896 and created a drive and spinney leading from the gardens to Hoole Lane.
The unique society and community of urban Hoole continued to develop rapidly on the hitherto green fields and the street plan spread from Vicarage Road as far as what is now Canadian Avenue.
Hoole Urban District Council, with newly acquired planning and financial powers, took advantage of the opportunity to create most of the area’s parks and open space land as it became available after 1896.
===An Important Legacy of Hoole Urban District Council 1894-1954===
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[[File:5LRA1 Plan of Alexandra Park 1903.jpg|thumb|''<small>1903 Plan showing Hoole Public Park Area (Panton Rd was originally called Bater Avenue)</small>'']]
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[[File:5LRA2 1904 Parade Bater Avenue.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>7th May 1904 - The people of Hoole parade in their 'Sunday best' before the opening of Hoole Public Park</small>'']]
As a result, under the terms of the 1875 Public Health Act, Hoole Urban District Council purchased a plot of land from Thomas Bater and William Williams ‘containing 6 acres, and 37 perches’ to form Hoole Public Park, which was opened by Mr. Robert Yerburgh, local Member of Parliament on 7th May 1904.
[[File:5LRA5 1904 Opening of Hoole Public Park.jpg|center|thumb|''<small>The opening of Hoole Public Park in 1904. Chairman of Hoole Urban District Council, William Williams sits to the right of Robert Yerburgh M.P. who addresses the public. Mrs Louise Williams, wife of William Williams sits to his left.</small>'']]
Robert Yerburgh, it was reported in the Chester Courant, opened the gate to Hoole Park with a silver key which had been presented to him.
The township of Hoole was developing rapidly: by 1899 three hundred houses a year were being built and the population was increasing. Because a park and recreation ground for the benefit and recreation of the residents and children was seen as an important improvement, after 1904 there were plans to extend the very popular park, at the public expense, almost immediately.
In 1910, the Council purchased a further three acres of land between the established Public Park and Hoole Road. Before 1908, Canadian Avenue was not a through road; it was laid from Hoole Lane to the corner of the Public Park. There was a suggestion that the through road could be named ‘Park Road’, because it would run along the frontage of the land which the Council eventually purchased to extend the park in 1910.
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On 1st June Sir Arthur Davidson replied on Alexandra’s behalf: “''Her Majesty has the greatest pleasure in giving permission for the Public Park in Hoole to be named after her, as it is always a pleasure to her to think that her name is associated with anything that adds to the benefit or welfare of the people. Her Majesty trusts that the new public park will prove a source of health and happiness to all the residents and children, for whose benefit and recreation it is intended''”.
[[File:5LRA65 Key presented to Mrs William Williams in 1911.jpg|left|thumb|239x239px|''<small>Key presented to Mrs William Williams in 1911 by Hoole Urban District Council when she opened Alexandra Park. The box is inscribed and describes the occasion as the opening of the new portion of the park during the Coronation Festivities June 23<sup>rd</sup> 1911</small>''<ref>''<small>The photograph is one of a set given to Hoole History and Heritage Society by Mr Martin Williams, whose full name is Mr Martin Prescott Williams. He is the grandson of William Williams and Louise (nee Prescott) Williams</small>''</ref>]]
On Friday 23rd June 1911, Mrs. Williams, wife of Hoole Urban District Councillor William Williams, officially opened the renamed ‘Alexandra Park’.
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[[File:5LRBA 2a Hoole House Estate Notice of Sale.jpg|left|thumb|367x367px|''<small>Sale particulars for Hoole House 1896 (1)</small>'']]
[[File:5LRBA 2b Hoole House Estate Notice of Sale.jpg|thumb|''<small>Sale particulars for Hoole House 1896 (2)</small>'']]
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The opening of the playing field was part of a six-hour tour, the Duke arriving at Hawarden RAF Airport, visiting John Summers Hawarden Bridge Steelworks, and then naming Chester Sea Cadets new training ship “DEVA”.
====The Nation's loss
From these original reports it is clear that the Duke’s ability to be interested in people and to make appropriate comments and astute remarks which have been widely reported during tributes to him, and which have brought about the Nation's highest regard, were evident in Hoole on that day, 68 years ago.
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The gateposts to the playing field still carry commemorative plaques.
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[[File:5LRH1 Bowls Advertisment April 1842.jpg|thumb|<small>''Bowls
Bowling has been a popular pastime for centuries and in April 1842 the landlord of the Ermine and Railway Hotel in Flookersbrook was pleased to announce “''the addition of a splendid bowling green''”.
[[File:5LRH2 Bowls Advertisment May 1834.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>Bowls
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===Hoole and Newton Bowling Club===
[[File:5LRH3 Sale of Bowling Green 1974.jpg|thumb|''<small>Sale of Bowling Green 1974</small>'']]
This seems to have been a private club with its own green on the east side of Vicarage Road between Nos.4 and 6. The green is not marked as such on O.S. maps but the vacant land shown between the houses make it easy to identify. The earliest record of the Club dates from July 1910 when Mr. Samuel Davies aged 66 of Fairfield, Kilmorey Park collapsed suddenly while playing there. He was taken to Mr. T.W. Chalton’s house at No.3 Vicarage Road where brandy was administered. Dr. Butt was called but to no avail.
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The Club had strong links with the Freemasons and for many years dinners were held in conjunction with the Deeside and the Tattenhall Bowling Clubs. Prominent citizens such as R. Cecil Smith (Hoole Volunteer Fire Brigade and Mayor of Chester), Chas Jones (Agricultural Machinery Merchant at Cowlane Bridge), William Kearton (Guardian of the Workhouse) were associated with the Club which appears to have been a men only organisation. The land it occupied in Vicarage Road was sold for housing in 1974.
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[[File:5LRH4 Invitation to Tender for Bowl House Feb 1912.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>Invitation to Tender to erect Bowl House and the Park Lodge February 1912</small>'']]
[[File:5LRH5 Drinking Fountain.jpg|thumb|''<small>Drinking Fountain at the Bowl House</small>''<ref>''<small>Copyright Jeff Buck re-used under the Creative Commons Licence</small>''</ref>]]
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The Hoole Alexandra Park Bowling Club had always welcomed lady members from the start, a Miss Barton who died in 1940 was “''a member since its formation''”. In 1934 there were 25 lady members, Mrs. R.H. Pryce was a member of the otherwise male committee and went on to be President in 1941; other lady members were also to become Presidents. In 1943 Mrs. E.G.M. Kenney was the first lady to win the Club’s championship. The Club set up a dedicated ladies’ section and although it continues today as a mixed organisation, in 1947 a new separate ladies bowling club was formed.
===Hoole Ladies Bowling Club===
During the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown the Secretary of [[Hoole Ladies Bowling Club|'''Hoole Ladies Bowling Club''']], Jane Branson was able to use the minute books and secretaries’ reports of the Club to provide a detailed history of its formation and activities.
[[File:5LRH8 Hoole Carpet Bowls.jpg|thumb|287x287px|''<small>Hoole Carpet Bowls Club Fixture Card 1977/8</small>'']]
===Hoole Carpet Bowling Club===
The Club was formed in 1902, games being played in a small pavilion attached to the house of its first president, Robert Wallace of “Emrys” in Kilmorey Park. He was a draper with premises at 92 Northgate Street and several of the earliest members were also in the tailoring trade including the Becks and the Todds who both ran shops in Hoole. When the original club room became inadequate accommodation was found first in the Newgate Street Presbyterian Church schoolroom (Robert Wallace was a prominent layman there), the Westminster Hotel stockroom, the Temperance Hall in George Street and then The Elms Pavilion which was the corrugated iron meeting room behind the Council Offices on Hoole Road.
Matches were played against other clubs e.g. Warrington and Liverpool and from the 1950s trophies played for included the Magnus Clark Rosebowl Competition (Magnus Clark was a Chemist in Charles Street) and the Elsie Oates Trophy (wife of Harry Oates who ran a garage business in Westminster Road where Rowena Court now stands). There was a Ladies Section and a fixture card from 1977/8 contains many old Hoole names which may jog a few memories. Following the demolition of The Elms Pavilion the Club played at All Saints Church Hall. Like all the bowling clubs in Hoole the Carpet Bowling Club has given support to many charitable causes.
==The Royal Agricultural Show, Hoole 1893==
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Chas. Sumner talked to Hoole History & Heritage Society about Chester Football Club’s early years. The club was formed in 1885 when Chester Rovers and Old King’s Scholars amalgamated at Faulkner Street, where Chester Rovers had played in 1884. House building caused a move to ‘the Old Showground’ in 1898, to land which had been used for the Royal Agricultural Show in 1893, but further house building in this part of Hoole resulted in Chester Football Club becoming homeless for two years after one season. The team played in Whipcord Lane, when it re-emerged. Eventually moving to the Sealand Road ground, its home until 1990.
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===‘Hoole boys’ who played for Chester F.C. in the past===
====John ‘Basher’ Evans
In 2010, during the celebration of 125 Years of “The Blues”, one of ‘the City Legends’, Chester F.C. players invited to relive yesteryear, was John “Basher” Evans, from Hoole. Working his way up through the junior ranks of Chester Football, at the age of 18, in 1961, he became a part-time professional, and turned full time professional at 21. At this time, playing conditions, using heavy footballs, often on muddy or wet pitches, meant that strength was essential for success in the game. Always “Basher” to the crowd, possibly due to his robust playing style, John made 44 First Team appearances for Chester F.C. under four managers: John Harris, Stan Pearson, Bill Lambton, and Peter Hauser.
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