People have lived in the area now known as Hoylake for more than 6,000 years.  Stone Age communities left their mark and Celts, Romans, Saxons and Vikings farmed and fished here.  In the Middle Ages the settlement in this area was destroyed by storms.  Subsequently, the hamlets of Little Meols, Hoose and Great Meols grew up and these were eventually merged into one village and called Hoylake.  The name is derived from 'Hoyle Lake', a channel of water between Hilbre Island and Dove Point.