Many thanks to Gerry Mort for the above old photo of policemen stood outside the original Hoylake police station. This week’s photo follows on from my recent photo of the police station along with the news of its probable closure.
Gerry comments:
The recent photo of Hoylake police station brought back lots of memories. My father was stationed there in the 1940s/50s and again in 1960 as Inspector. The building was erected in 1938 along with Neston and Bromborough. The white part of the building was the Magistrates court and the remainder was offices, storerooms and cells. The building you can just see to the left was the Sergeants house and beyond was the yard and garage and then the Inspectors house.. Upstairs was given over to offices with one large room taken up with a snooker table. When my father finished his tour of duty I would be allowed to play snooker with him and other off duty officers. The most intriguing thing was during the war a large wooden frame covered in barbed wire was suspended from the ceiling over the stairs, I’m not sure if it was the keep the Germans out or to stop them pinching the snooker table!
The police station was built on the site of the old one and I have attached a photo of the old police station with Sergeant Hutton and a group of officers. We have been able to identify { Cheshire Museum of Policing} all the officers by their collar numbers . The address of the station was 1 Prussia Road but this was changed during WW1 to Queens Road. There was a police station recorded at Hoylake in 1860 but no address was given. When the force was formed it was the usual practice to hire premises until police stations were erected. In 1881 Constable John Barlow was the local policeman residing as a lodger in Market street . In 1896 there is a record showing a police station in Prussia Road. In 1914 there is a record of Thomas Wilson, Inspector with 2 Sergeant and 9 Constable. The police station was transferred to Merseyside in 1974. I have images of over 400 photos of police stations and other police properties from Tintwistle and Stalybridge to Hoylake. West Kirby still eludes me, I remember a wooden hut by West Kirby station which was used by the police.
Gerry refers to Prussia Road …you’ll know it today as Queen’s Road of course as Gerry mentions. If you walk down the road and look up at the terraced houses about half way, there’s a name plaque that says Prussia Villas. History, right there in front of you!
If, by chance, you have a photo of the West Kirby police station, please do get in touch and I’ll pass it on to Gerry.
I REMENBER THAT IN THE LATE 1940,S THE POLICE SARGENT WAS
SARGENT CROOK ,WHEN A BOY WHO WAS IN THE SAME CLASS
AS ME KIDDMAPED AND DROWNED A BABY OUT OF IT,S PRAM ON MARKET STREET.
TOGETHER WITH OTHER,S OF MY CLASS I HAD TO GO TO THE POLICE STATION
TO FORM A I.D PARADE