Much Hoole is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the borough of

South Ribble South Ribble is a borough in the county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The population, at the 2011 Census, was 109,057. Notable towns and villages include Walton le Dale, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Penwortham. It ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census, increasing to 1,997 at the 2011 Census.

History

Hoole derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''hulu'', a shed or hovel. It was recorded as Hull in 1204, Hole in 1212 and Hoole in 1508. Magna Hole was recorded in 1235, Much Hole in 1260 and Grett Wholle in 1551. At Much Hoole there are the remains of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

settlement and moat adjacent to Town Lane. Hoole gave its name to a family in the reign of King John and the parish has been held by the Montebegon family and by others, including those of Sir Thomas Hesketh and

George Anthony Legh Keck Colonel George Anthony Legh-Keck (1774–1860) was a British MP in the Georgian era who owned landed estates in Leicestershire and Lancashire. Early life Legh-Keck was born at Stoughton Grange, Leicestershire, the only surviving son of Anth ...

Governance

The township was separated from

Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...

in 1642, and made into a parish in the

Leyland hundred The Leyland Hundred (also known as Leylandshire) is a historic subdivision of the English county of Lancashire. It covered the parishes of Brindle, Chorley, Croston, Eccleston, Hoole, Leyland, Penwortham, Rufford, Standish and Tarleton. ...

of Lancashire. It became part of the Preston Poor Law Union, formed in 1837, which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

and built a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

in the area. The parish was part of

Preston Rural District Preston was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded Preston on the north, west and east sides. The district was created under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government A ...

throughout its existence from 1894 to 1974. In 1974 the parish became part of South Ribble.

Religion

A chapel is mentioned in a grant of about 1280 by Amery de Hoole but it is not known what happened to it. St Michael's Church was built of brick in 1628 and a stone tower was added when it was rebuilt in 1720. The church was funded by the Stone family who lived at Carr House.

Jeremiah Horrocks Jeremiah Horrocks (16183 January 1641), sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox (the Latinised version that he used on the Emmanuel College register and in his Latin manuscripts), – See footnote 1 was an English astronomer. He was the first person ...

, who predicted the

transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a trans ...

in 1639, was a curate at St Michael's. He is commemorated in some of the church's windows.

Geography

Much Hoole lies eight miles south west of Preston on the A59 from Preston to

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. It covers of flat low-lying land. The soil is loam, peat moss and marsh. The River Douglas, which leads to the Ribble Estuary, forms Much Hoole's western boundary. Carr Brook forms its southern boundary. The highest land reaches above sea level in the east along the boundary with Leyland. The Preston to Southport line (closed in 1964), built by the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

, crosses the north-west corner of the township.

Population

Transport

The A59 (Liverpool Road) runs through part of Much Hoole but mainly by-passes the village to the west. The village has regular bus services linking it with Preston, Southport and other local villages. Main roads in the village include the former main road, Liverpool Old Road, which passes through the centre of the village and Town Lane, which merges into Smithy Lane. Much Hoole and Little Hoole were served by Hoole railway station on the

West Lancashire Railway The West Lancashire Railway (WLR) ran northeast from Southport to Preston in northwest England. History Construction was started by Samuel Swire the Mayor of Southport, on 19 April 1873. It opened on 15 September 1882. A branch was constructe ...

until the line closed in 1964. In December 2005, plans for a 'microlight farm airstrip' between Bretherton and Much Hoole were rejected by Chorley and South Ribble councillors due to the fear of sound pollution and damage to the surrounding environment.

Facilities

There are two public houses, the Smithy Inn and the Fox Cub. The Rose and Crown, once owned by

Albert Pierrepoint Albert Pierrepoint (; 30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him. Pierrepoint ...

the Chief

Executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...

and the Black Horse pub have been converted to restaurants. The village primary school is Hoole St. Michael's. The village has a village hall, a park,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts, and a bowling green. In 2006 the

Little Chef Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as it ...

was converted into an ice cream parlour and

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In some ...

bar. Nearby property has been redeveloped into a small shopping and business park. There are new housing developments in the village.

Gallery

File:Buildings_and_bunkers_-_geograph.org.uk_-_107350.jpg, Fields around Much Hoole File:Acres_of_greenhouses,_Much_Hoole_Town_-_geograph.org.uk_-_158096.jpg, Public footpath near acres of greenhouses File:Long_Fold_Farm_-_geograph.org.uk_-_158127.jpg, Long Fold Farm, Much Hoole File:A_lovely_crop_in_this_field%5E_-_geograph.org.uk_-_158123.jpg, Pylons from Much Hoole to Bretherton

References

Bibliography *

External links

Much Hoole Parish Council

Community website for Much Hoole, Little Hoole and Walmer Bridge

Photo Much Hoole Church from transitofvenus.org

Hoole Village Survey
{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Geography of South Ribble Civil parishes in Lancashire