Frodsham Hill
This photo, from around 1905, shows Frodsham Hill, Overton, looking very different from today. No war memorial, fewer buildings and fewer trees are the most obvious differences. On the skyline on the left of the photo you can see a building on the top of the hill. This was a roller-skating rink until the First World War.
The skating rink was converted to an auxiliary military hospital during the First World War. Here is the interior in 1915. After the war it was used for social events.
The war memorial was first completed in 1921. It is listed on the UK National Inventory of War Memorials, together with other war memorials in Frodsham. The memorial includes an inscription and 105 names of men who died in the service of their country in 1914–18 and a further 34 names of men who died in the 1939–45 war.
More recently,in July 2006, Frodsham Hill Wood, about 26 acres of the hill, was purchased by The Woodland Trust. The purchase was funded by donations and grants.
Holiday attractions on Frodsham Hill
Frodsham was the destination of day-trippers for many years, as you can see from this picture of a house part way up Church Street advertising “Cycles Stored”. Most of the attractions were on Frodsham Hill and, apart from the views over the Cheshire Plain and the Mersey, included …
- The roller-skating rink
- The helter-skelter. Built by Mrs Parker Hoose in 1908. Demolished in 1977 it is still remembered by many as a holiday treat. There is an image of the helter-skelter on the front page of the Frodsham and District History Society image archive and the archive contains several other images of it.
- Small children and donkeys in the field at the top of Overton hill. The card was posted August 19 1905. Written along the bottom of the picture is “Where we went last Sat.”