New HoylakeJunction.com reader Frank Blakeway has sent in some old photos and also asks a question.
Firstly, Frank has sent me these old photos (1940’s) of the donkey rides down on Hoylake beach. As you can see it’s the part of the beach at the bottom of Trinity Road where the empty toilet block (and proposed Pebbles Cafe) is. What I like about the main photo is that you can see the wooden jetty …what was that used for then?
Frank says about the donkey rides:
The photos were taken in the late 1940s on the beach at, I think, around the bottom of Trinity Road. The ponies were owned by the Clark Bros. I remember they were coal merchants and the stables were in Rudd Street. One of the bros had a farm at the end of the Moreton Straight where the ponies overwintered.
During the season the ponies were put on Hoylake Rugby Club ground overnight. We left the saddles at Rudd St and then rode ‘bareback’ to the Rugby Club, the best bit was over the railway line on the lane down to the club where we were able to prove our riding ability. At that time there was always a fun fair in residence on the Rugby Club side of the railway line. I’m afraid that’s where I used to squander my half crown payment. We usually started at the stables at 9:00 and walked to catch and fetch the ponies. They were prepared for the day at the stables and we made our way the the beach at about 10:30 where we stayed until there was no more trade. Mr. Clark, I can’t remember whether it was Fed or Chris, would usually take his scythe to the field and cut grass to keep the ponies going during the day. We had to provide our own! For the life of me I cannot remember the names of any of those in the photos; but, I remember all the names of all the ponies.
Can you also answer Frank’s question about a couple of old Hoylake shops:
The shops, Ferris’s (or Ferriss’) and the Hague Cafe were on Market Street on the Meols side of the Punch Bowl on the railway side. They were side by side but separated by an alleyway. Both owned and run by Allan Ferriss, who may well have been a brother of Fred Ferriss. The was a newsagent called Rimmers on the other side of the road. Â Whatever happened to these shops and their owners?
Leave a comment if you know anything more !
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