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Welcome to this, our new website devoted to the beautiful and fascinating Chester suburb of Hoole.

Early days, so there's nothing much on the site at the moment but here are some of the features which, with your help, we hope to be adding soon. Note that we are already in possession of a great deal of fascinating local historic and other material, and merely require the time and means to put it online...

A comprehensive history of Hoole from earliest times to the present day, Including comparative maps to illustrate how the place has changed over the centuries, old photographs, documents from The Cheshire Sheaf and other sources and the reminisciences of our senior residents..

A gallery of contemporary Hoole images.

Readers comments: what do you think about life in Hoole? Suggestions, comments and contributions to this website...

A comprehensive list of useful links to other local websites and contact details for councillors, services etc.

What would you like to see here?

Much of the above we have already, the rest will doubtless come in time. But we need your support! Your donations or sponsorship are urgently needed to help this site grow and stay up to date and interesting.

If you're in business in Hoole and district, consider advertising on the site...

In the meantime, however, here's a list of links you may find useful and entertaining...

• The original Hoole website: Hoole Online. Shame it hasn't been updated recently though.. Their links page is here.

• The Hoole pages of the excellent Chester Wiki. You can add your own articles here- or edit / add to those that are there already!

• Also from the Chester Wiki, a range of views, information and links regarding Network Rail's closure of Hoole Bridge, particularly with reference to the unforgivable failure of our politicians and planners to take this rare opportunity to do something to improve safety on what is surely the most dangerous stretch of road in Chester for cyclists and pedestrians...

• Not a mention of this, of course, on the official bridge closure website...

• Chester: A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls. An informal, but very informative guided walk around the most complete circuit of Roman & medieval city walls in the UK. In over fifty illustrated chapters, the author accompanies us around the two-mile circuit, shows us the sights, tells of the great events that have taken place during the past two thousand years, occasionally contributing his two penn'orth regarding contemporary developments in and around the city. Lots of fascinating information and pictures, much of it not easily available elsewhere and new material is added (almost) daily.

• The Chester Virtual Stroll's comprehensive local links pages. Contributions welcome.

• The excellent Chester@Large, where you'll find witty and honest reviews of Chester's (and Hoole's) pubs and restaurants. A most entertaining and useful website that's doubtless contributed much to improving standards in Chester's eating and drinking establishments. Your views are welcome on their lively forum- lots of regular input from Hoole-igans here... Good stuff indeed.

• A new kid on the block whose development will be watched with considerable local interest: Hoole Connect.
(Some none-too-complimentary local impressions of the 'consultation' process for the above site may be found on Chester@Large's forum here). Actually, largely as a result of the fuss and a general realisation that the project had been cynically hijacked by the City Council, it seemed that it had been quietly killed off- but a test version of a (more independent) second attempt went online in January 2008 and your comments and offers of help are welcome. Visit the new site here.

• Explore a disused railway line running from rural Cheshire, through Hoole and on into North Wales- since June 2000, the location of a superb new SUSTRANS cycleway and footpath- which for years was threatened by a madcap council plan to put buses on it. Join us for our Virtual Stroll Along the Mickle Trafford Railway- and read a collection of reader's letters for and- very much in the majority- against the hair-brained CDTS Busway. Some say the scheme is officially now a dead duck but we're not so sure...

• Courtesy of the Chester Wiki, a brief wander along a remarkable survivor, a pre-Roman road still running through the heart of suburban Hoole: The Newton Hollows.

• An exploration of the Shropshire Union Canal that runs through Hoole.

• In Spring 2000, as part of the Cheshire Millennium celebrations, the pupils of Hoole All Saints School voted for their favourite local adults- excluding (unfortunately) their parents or teachers- the 'Heroes of Hoole' project. Steve Howe was commissioned to produce a series of portraits of the lucky winners. (better quality scans of these prints coming soon!)

• The websites of Chester City Council and Cheshire County Council.

• City Council ward information: Hoole Groves and Hoole All Saints.

• The websites of Hoole All Saints Church and Hoole Baptist Church.

• The changing face of the Ermine / Flookersbrook pub.

• A growing list of the Lost Pubs of Chester. Just a few mentions of Hoole here but you can learn about the many boozers that have vanished over the years in neighbouring Newtown, Brook Street, Boughton etc...

• The sorry story of the playground 'improvements' shambles a few years back in Alexandra Park (updated with new photographs February 2008)

• A welcome new addition to Hoole's rich community of local shops: Deli-Vert

• Visits to our neighbours, the NewTown Saints and the Newton Independents

• Chester's contributions to a fascinating national survey of hygiene and cleanliness in hotels, pubs and takeaways- lots of Hoole businesses here, for good or ill- Scores on the Doors

Your suggestions for additions to this list are very welcome!