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Preston

Preston, a city and local government district in Lancashire, England, is located on the River Ribble. Preston was granted the status of a city in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. more...

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With Chorley and Leyland, Preston forms part of a conurbation. According to the 2001 census, it had an overall population of 335,000. Of this, 184,836 lived in the Preston urban sub-area: the figure for those living within the city limits is lower at around 130,000.

Preston City Council is seeking to form a unitary authority, independent from Lancashire County Council, under the recent Local Government White Paper.

History

Early development

During the Roman period, the road from the Setantian port of Neb of the Nese passed one mile north of Preston. At Tulketh Hall in Preston, that road intersected the road from Languavallium in Cumberland to Condate in Cheshire.

In Ripon in 705 AD the lands near the River Ribble were set on a new foundation, and the parish church was probably erected. Later, Edward the Elder passed the lands to cathedral at York and then from successive transfers the lands were passed round between churches, hence the name Priest's Town or Preston. An alternative explanation of the origin of the name is that the Priest's Town refers to a priory set up by St. Wilfrid near the Ribble's lowest ford. This idea is reinforced by similarity of Preston's crest bearing a lamb with St. Wilfrid's banner (Walsh and Butler 1992).

Guild Merchant

The right to hold a Guild Merchant was conferred upon the Burgesses of Preston by a charter of 1179; the associated Preston Guild is a civic celebration held every 20 years, with the next due to be held in 2012.

Such a celebration had been held from time to time, but at the one in 1328 it was decreed that the Guild should be held every twenty years. There were breaks in this pattern for various reasons, but an unbroken series of them were held from 1542 to 1922. The 400 year sequence was broken due to World War II, but resumed in 1952. The expression '(Once) every Preston Guild', meaning 'very infrequently', has passed into fairly common use, especially in Lancashire.

As well as concerts and other exhibitions, the main event is a series of processions through the city. There are also numerous street parties held in and around Preston.

In 1952 the emphasis was the bright new world awaiting us all after World War II. The major event held in Avenham Park had every school participating, and hundreds of children, from toddlers to teenagers, demonstrated different aspects of physical education in the natural amphitheatre of the park.