Hoole

The settlement was first mentioned in the Register of the Abbey of Saint Werburgh in 1119. The name is believed to mean "at the hollows" (or hole), possibly referring to the "hollow way" formed by a Roman roadway.[2]

Hoole was a separate urban district in Cheshire until 1954 when it was made part of the County Borough of Chester.

Hoole is a residential area, contiguous with Newton to the north, and consisting of mainly Victorian terraced houses and 1930s semi-detached houses. Due to the proximity of the area to Chester city centre, Chester railway station and the M53 motorway, the area is home to many hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments.

The main shopping streets are Faulkner Street and Charles Street, Hoole has a Post Office branch with cash machine facilities. Open spaces in Hoole include Alexandra Park which provides tennis courts, bowling greens and a children's play area and the Coronation Playing Fields.[2][3] A large area of allotments is accessible from both Canadian Avenue and Hoole Lane.

On 17 July 2009 sixteen flats on Hoole Lane were destroyed following an explosion on the first floor. More than thirty firefighters tackled the resulting fire at the two-storey building in Wharton Court.[4]

There are four churches in Hoole:[5] Anglican,[6] Baptist,[7] Methodist and United Reformed. These churches work together to host Hoole's largest free annual event 'Funday on a Sunday', which attracted more than 6,000 people in July 2006.[8] This event was held in previous years in Alexandra Park, but in 2006 moved to the nearby, larger, Coronation Playing Fields. The Funday event was held on the Coronation Playing Fields again in 2007 and 2008, by which time it had become part of the Chester-wide Chesterfest organised by churches in Chester.

The annual Hoole Christmas Lights switch attracts crowds of thousands to Faulkner Street to watch the Christmas lights being switched on by a local celebrity.

Hoole is home to the Doubletree by Hilton Chester hotel and country club. Formerly known as Hoole Hall Hotel it was taken over and by Hilton Hotels and features a Marco Pierre White restaurant.

RAF pilot and charity founder Leonard Cheshire was born (on 7 September 1917) at 65 Hoole Road, which is now a guest house.[9]

Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts on 18 September 1947), is the lead singer of the Black Abbots and later become a solo comedian.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoole, Chester.

• A Virtual Stroll Around Hoole
• The Hoole Business Directory
• Doubletree Hilton Chester
• Hoole Lawn Tennis Club