Much Hoole
| Much Hoole | |
|---|---|
 St Michael's Parish Church |
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 Much Hoole
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| Much Hoole shown within Lancashire | |
| Population | 1,851 |
| OS grid reference | SD471232 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTON |
| Postcode district | PR4 |
| Dialling code | 01772 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Much Hoole is a village and civil parish in the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census, increasing to 1,997 at the 2011 Census.
Hoole derives from the Old English hulu, a shed or hovel. It was recorded as Hull in 1204, Hole in 1212 and Hoole in 1508. Magna Hole was recorded in 1235, Much Hole in 1260 and Grett Wholle in 1551.
At Much Hoole there are the remains of a medieval settlement and moat adjacent to Town Lane. Hoole gave its name to a family in the reign of King John and the parish has been held by the Montebegon family and by others, including those of Sir Thomas Hesketh and George Anthony Legh Keck.
The township was separated from Croston in 1642, and made into a parish. Hoole was a parish in the Leyland hundred of Lancashire. It became part of the Preston Poor Law Union, formed in 1837, which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law and built a workhouse in the area.
The parish was part of Preston Rural District throughout its existence from 1894 to 1974. In 1974 the parish became part of South Ribble.
A chapel is mentioned in a grant of about 1280 by Amery de Hoole but it is not known what happened to it. St Michael's Church was built of brick in 1628 and a stone tower was added when it was rebuilt in 1720. The church was funded by the Stone family who lived at Carr House. Jeremiah Horrocks, who predicted the transit of Venus in 1639, was a curate at St Michael's. He is commemorated in some of the church's windows.
Much Hoole lies eight miles south west of Preston on the A59 from Preston to Ormskirk and Liverpool. It covers 1,701 acres (688 ha) of flat low-lying land. The soil is loam, peat moss and marsh. The River Douglas, which leads to the Ribble Estuary, forms Much Hoole's western boundary. Carr Brook forms its southern boundary. The highest land reaches 70 feet (21 m) above sea level in the east along the boundary with Leyland. The Preston to Southport line (closed in 1964), built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, crosses the north-west corner of the township.
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Wikipedia