THE KINGS GAP
The Kings Gap Conservation Area in Hoylake was designated in order to conserve the special architectural and historic features of this part of Hoylake, which is characterised by large 19th and early 20th century houses in generous sized plots, wedged between the links of the Royal Liverpool Golf Course and the sea.
The history of the area goes back to Hoylake’s days as a safe anchorage for ships waiting to enter the Port of Liverpool or embark overseas. One memorable event, from which the area gets its name, was the departure from Hoylake, in August 1689, of William III’s troops, under General Schomberg, on an expedition to Ireland against the Jacobite supporters of James II. In the following year, 1690, William himself set sail from Hoylake to fight the Battle of the Boyne.
In 1764 Liverpool Town Council built a pair of lighthouses in Hoylake. These were replaced in 1865 and the lower of the two lights was later demolished. The remaining Lighthouse and Keeper’s house in Valentia Road is Grade II listed.
In 1792, the increasing popularity of sea bathing led the Lord of the manor, Sir John Stanley of Alderley, to open the Royal Hotel, which stood close to the shore facing what became Stanley Road. The Royal has gone but its name survives in a modern cul de sac. Older than the Royal was the Green Lodge, still standing on the corner of Stanley Road and perhaps once a shooting lodge. Like the Royal, it catered for visitors, who came in increasing numbers with the arrival of the railway in 1866.
The railway link and in particular the opening of the Mersey railway tunnel in 1888, meant that wealthy Liverpool business men were attracted to Hoylake. To cater for them a new church, the Church of St Hildeburgh, was built at the junction of Stanley Road and King’s Gap. Constructed in red brick and terra cotta, to a design of Edmund Kirby, it was begun in 1897 and completed in 1899 and is Grade II listed.
To the north the Conservation Area abuts onto the promenade, known as North Parade and opened in 1899. At the extremity of the Conservation Area is the former Lifeboat Station, the older part of which dates from 1899. (The original lifeboat was stationed at Hoylake from 1803). Other non-listed buildings of note include a large house in King’s Gap, now part of the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, 4 Stanley Road, once a pair of cottages and 32 – 32A Stanley Road, built in red brick and terra cotta.
One individual with links with the conservation area was the author, ‘Helen Forester’. Born June Huband, in Hoylake, as a child she stayed with her grandmother in Warren Road. To view a map of the Conservation Area click here.
