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England Lancashire  Preston

Guide to Preston history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Preston is recorded in the Domesday Book as "Prestune" in 1086.

Preston is located on the coast of the North Sea, and in the center of what was originally the county of Lancashire. The River Ribble provides a southern border for the city. The Forest of Bowland forms a backdrop to Preston to the northeast while the Fylde lies to the west. The Ribble valley is a low-lying, fertile river valley, and has been farmed and grazed for centuries.

The Angles established Preston; its name is derived from the Old English meaning "priest's settlement"

During the Roman period, Roman roads passed close to what is now the centre of Preston. For example, the road from Luguvalium to Mamucium (now Carlisle to Manchester) crossed the River Ribble at Walton-le-Dale, 3⁄4 mile (1 km) southeast of the center of Preston, and a Roman camp or station may also have been here.

When first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, Preston was already the most important town in Amounderness (the area of Central Lancashire between the rivers Ribble and Cocker, including The Fylde and the Forest of Bowland). When assessed for tax purposes in 1218 – 19 it was the wealthiest town in the whole county.

The right to hold a Guild Merchant was conferred by King Henry II upon the Burgesses of Preston in a charter of 1179; the associated Preston Guild is a civic celebration held every 20 years and 2012 was the latest Guild year. It is the only Guild still celebrated in the UK and is thus unique.

Preston was a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness and was granted a Guild Merchant charter in 1179, giving it the status of a market town. Textiles have been produced since the mid-13th century when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area in the 14th century helped develop the industry. In the early-18th century, Edmund Calamy described Preston as "a pretty town with an abundance of gentry in it, commonly called Proud Preston". Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning frame, was born in the town. The most rapid period of growth and development coincided with the industrialization and expansion of textile manufacturing. Preston was a boom-town of the Industrial Revolution, becoming a densely populated engineering center, with large industrial plants. The town's textile sector fell into terminal decline from the mid-20th century.

Cemeteries (Civil)
UK Cemsearch

Preston Government offices

Findagrave

Genuki

Parishes
St Andrews


 * Address:
 * Blackpool Road
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR2 1ES

Christ Church, Fulwood


 * Address:
 * Victoria Road
 * Fulwood
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR2 8NE

St. Cuthbert, Fulwood


 * Address:
 * Lytham Road
 * Fulwood
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR2 3AR

St. George, the Martyr


 * Address:
 * Georges Road
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2NP

St. James


 * Address:
 * Knowsley St, off Avenham Lane
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR1 3SA

St. John's Minster


 * Address:
 * Church Street
 * Preston, Lancashire PR! 3BT

St. Margaret's


 * Address:
 * Tag Lane
 * Ingol, Lancashire, PR2 3ZU

St. Matthews


 * Address
 * New Hall Lane
 * Preston, Lancashire, PR1 5XB

Preston All Saints

Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2RX
 * Address:
 * Elizabeth Street, (nr. Walker Street Carpark)

Non Conformists

 * Baptist
 * Calvary Christian Fellowship
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Full Life Church
 * Methodist
 * Presbyterian
 * Roman Catholic

Non Christian groups that meet regularly in Preston include:


 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim
 * Sikh

Civil Registration

 * Lancashire BMD Org


 * Lancashire Genealogy


 * UK BMD Parish Records

Local Histories

 * Local Histories: Preston


 * BBC History: Preston

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Street Map of Preston


 * Old Maps of Lancashire


 * Old Maps of the UK


 * genuki gazetteer of Preston Lancashire

Newspapers

 * The Lancashire Evening News / Preston


 * The British Newspaper archive / Preston Chronicle

Societies
Preston Historical Society

Preston Branch, Lancashire Historical Society

Lancashire BMD organization

Archives
Lancashire Archives


 * Address:
 * Lancashire Record Office
 * Bow Lane
 * Preston PR1 2RE


 * Phone: +44 1772 533039


 * Lancashire Archives


 * Family Tree Resources for Lancashire