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Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th
year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Preston has a population of 131,900, and lies at the centre of the wider Preston sub-area, which has a population of 184,836, and the Central Lancashire sub-region,
with a population of 335,000.
Preston and its surroundings have provided evidence of ancient Roman activity in the area, largely in the form of a Roman road which led to a camp at Walton-le-Dale.
The Saxons established Preston; the name Preston is derived from Old English words meaning "Priest settlement" and in the Domesday Book appears as "Prestune". During the Middle Ages,
Preston formed 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 in Preston since
the middle of the 13th century, when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area during the 14th century helped to develop the industry. Sir Richard
Arkwright, inventor of the spinning frame, was a weaver born in Preston. The most rapid period of growth and development in Preston's history coincided with the industrialisation and expansion of textile
manufacturing. Preston was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, becoming a densely populated engineering centre, with large industrial plants.
In the early 18th century a writer said Preston
was "a pretty town with an abundance of gentry in it, commonly called Proud Preston". Preston's textile sector fell into a terminal decline from the mid-20th century. Preston has subsequently
faced similar challenges to other post-industrial northern towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing issues.
Preston is the seat of Lancashire County Council, and
Preston North End F.C., one of the oldest football clubs, now houses the National Football Museum which is set to be moved to Manchester.
Economy
Preston is a major centre of the British defence aerospace industry with BAE Systems, the UK's principal military aircraft design, development and manufacture supplier, having its Military Aircraft
headquarters located in nearby Warton. The company has two of its major facilities located some miles on either side of the city. BAE Warton is located to the western side of the city whilst BAE
Samlesbury is located to the east, over the M6 motorway. BAe Systems also operate large office facilities at the Portway area within the city and at The Strand office complex.
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A Typhoon, which is built at BAE Samlesbury and assembled at BAE Warton to the west of the city
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The Westinghouse Electric Company (formerly BNFL) Springfields nuclear processing plant also lies to the west of the City boundary.
The city is home to Alstom Transport's main UK spare parts distribution centre. Matalan Retail Ltd was also founded in Preston under the name Matalan Cash and
Carry. Although the head office of Matalan moved to Skelmersdale in 1998, the city still has the tax office for the company (located in Winckley Square).
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Entering Preston City Centre
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Convenience store chain operator James Hall and Co who supply SPAR stores in the north of England have their head office located in the Ribbleton district, although it is soon
to be moved to a new building in the Bluebell Way area of the city, which would be the biggest building in the city.
The financial sector also has a large presence in the city with a large selection of consultancies, insurance and law firms including national debt collection agency
Legal & Trade based in Winckley Square in the city centre.
Goss Graphic Systems Limited, a global supplier of printing presses based in the
United States, formerly employed more than 1,000 people in Preston, but in 2007 the company moved manufacturing to the United States, China and Japan and now has around 160 employees in the city.
On the 20 February 2006, the telecommunications company The Carphone Warehouse took over Tulketh Mill
(formerly the home of the Littlewoods catalogue call centre) in the Ashton-on-Ribble area of the city. The building has
undergone an extensive interior refurbishment and since March 2007 has been the workplace of some 800 employees .
The site's main purpose is as a call centre for the company's broadband and landline services TalkTalk as well as its
LLU business Opal Telecom. It was officially opened on 19 December 2006 by CEO Charles Dunstone and the Mayor of Preston.
The Riversway area (in the Ashton-on-Ribble area of the city) is also home to the Preston docklands, which has under
gone redevelopment. Several office areas around the docks, along with significant residential presence. Several small
businesses such as the English Football League's LFE headquaters s3d designs are based in the area, together with Riversway Developments who have been responsible for some of this redevelopment.
Retail is also a major contributor to Preston's economy. The city houses two major shopping centres:
* Fishergate Shopping Centre - which has a large Debenhams department store, Primark, TK Maxx, Argos and T.J. Hughes stores.
* The Mall (formerly St. George's) - a popular centrally located shopping mall dating from the 1960s.
Another shopping centre in Preston is the Miller Arcade, a specialist shopping centre in a listed building, which formerly included public baths, situated next to the Harris Museum.
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One of Preston's main shopping districts.
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Preston's main high streets are Fishergate and Friargate which offer shops, bars and restaurants with many more tucked away down the side streets. The first Kentucky
Fried Chicken outlet in the UK was opened in Fishergate.
An £800 million regeneration project known as the Tithebarn Project is also
planned for Preston. The project was originally managed by property giants Grosvenor and Lend Lease Corporation, though Grosvenor have now withdrawn
from the project. The project is dependent upon a number of requirements (such as the re-location of the current Bus Station) and is currently subject to a Public
Inquiry, following objections from neighbouring councils like Blackburn.
Since city status was awarded in the Queen's Jubilee year, Preston was targeted by a number of developers. Residential
developments were particularly popular with new apartments planned in and around the city centre. Many of these
developments however are still struggling to find buyers for these apartments, and there are rising numbers of
repossessions. Office and hotel space is also in demand and a new Central Business District is being planned as well as a number of new hotels.
Transport
Road
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The district around Preston Bus Station.
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The Preston by-pass, opened 5 December 1958, became the first stretch of motorway in the UK and is now part of the M6 with a short section now forming
part of the M55. It was built to ease traffic congestion in Preston caused by tourists travelling to the popular destinations of Blackpool and The Lake District. The first
traffic cones were used during its construction, replacing red lantern paraffin burners.
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Preston has an extensive road network, especially around the city centre.
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In the 1980s, a motorway running around the west of the city which would have been an extension of the M65 running to the M55 was started but never finished. That is the reason
that the M55 has no junction 2, because it was reserved for the new western bypass. However, the existing M6 between junctions 30 and 32 was widened
extensively between 1993-95 to compensate for this. A new junction, 31A was opened in 1997 to serve a new business park close to the motorway. As well as
the M6 (North and South), there are 3 other motorways which terminate close to the city -
* M61 - Preston to Manchester via Chorley and Bolton
* M65 - Preston to Colne via Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley
* M55 - Preston to Blackpool via Kirkham
Rail
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Preston railway station
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Preston railway station is a major stop on the West Coast Main Line, with regular long distance train services to London (Euston) and the South East, and Glasgow
and Edinburgh to the North. Preston is also a hub for connecting rail services in the North West, with direct services to Blackpool, Lancaster, Blackburn, Bradford,
Leeds, Wigan, Bolton, Manchester, Liverpool and Ormskirk. Overall, Preston has direct rail links to twelve cities across the UK; Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds,
York, Bradford, London, Carlisle, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Lancaster, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Preston once had lines to Southport and Longridge which closed to passengers in
1965 and 1930 respectively. The disused tracks of the Longridge line still exist as far as Deepdale.
Preston is the home of the heritage Ribble Steam Railway, located in Riversway.
Water
The former Preston Port, known as Riversway or The Docks, has been the site of an expanding commercial and residential complex since 1988.
The Marina is just north of the River Ribble which enters into the east of the Irish Sea. This marina has its own chandlery and coffee shop, training courses and boat sales
There are multi-million pound plans to redevelop Preston's Docks (as well as large sections of the River Ribble running
through the city) to introduce leisure facilities (ie watersports), new landmark buildings, a new central park opposite
Avenham Park, office and retail space, new residential developments and the re-opening of some of Preston's old
canals. However, these plans, collectively known as Riverworks, have yet to undergo public consultation, and have
already raised concerns amongst locals due to the potential loss of green space and increased risk of flooding.
Bus
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A Stagecoach in Preston Service on Watling Street Rd, Fulwood
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Although lacking any rail based rapid transit network, Preston has a very comprehensive bus network. There are five main operators serving Preston.
Preston Bus, formerly the city's municipal bus company, used to serve the district of Preston, and also operated a route between Preston and
Penwortham. In October 2006, Preston Bus started operating the city's two new orbital bus routes.
Many of the services between Preston and its surrounding area were operated
by Ribble Motor Services, then owned by Stagecoach Group, using the name Stagecoach in Lancashire. Several of the company's routes were additionally
branded as "Preston Citi"; they connected the bus station to areas of the city such as Penwortham, Longton, Fulwood, Walton-le-dale, Bamber Bridge, New Longton, Ribbleton, Bamber Bridge
and Longridge and outside areas of Southport and Leyland. Stagecoach also provided links to , Blackpool, Blackburn,
Bolton, Chorley, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as Lancaster and Morecambe under the Stagecoach in Lancaster service.
Competition for routes and passengers resulted in a "Bus War" between the two companies, since buses were deregulated in Great Britain.
On 23 January 2009, Preston Bus was sold to Stagecoach for over £10.4 million. Since then, routes have been changed
and the services are now branded as Stagecoach in Preston, which is now the biggest bus operator in Preston.
John Fishwick & Sons, provides frequent services into the city centre for Lower Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Leyland,
Euxton and Chorley. Transdev Lancashire United operates two routes into Preston: one is the 152 to Blackburn and Burnley; the other is the 280 to Clitheroe and Skipton.
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A Preston Park & Ride service
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Preston also has its own park and ride with three sites; one is at Portway, in the Riversway area, served by PR1, another is just off the A6 at Walton-le-Dale
next to Capitol Centre, served by PR2, and the last one is just off the Motorway Junction 31a at Bluebell Way, served by the Orbit.
Preston is also served by many national bus services. Stagecoach Express, National Express, Eurolines, and Megabus all have a large presence at Preston
Bus Station - which is claimed to be the largest or second largest station in Europe.
Preston was one of the first cities in the UK to have its bus network fitted with
Realtime,[citation needed] a satellite based technology fitted to every bus stop which aims to provide an accurate time
and destination of the next bus arriving using GPS tracking. This service was initially restricted to services within the
borough, however, it has now been expanded to cover Fishwick's 111 City Centre/Leyland route due to its popularity.
Air
Although not a public airport; Warton Aerodrome is an active airfield west of the city and is the airfield for the BAE
Warton factory. BAE Samlesbury to the east of the town is a former active aerodrome but today it serves as a facility for BAE Systems
Blackpool International Airport is located only 20 miles (32 km) west from the city.
Manchester Airport is a large international airport about 40 miles (64 km) south-east of the city.
Education
The city is home to the University of Central Lancashire. Formerly known as The Harris Institute, Preston Polytechnic,
and more recently [1985 - 1992] as Lancashire Polytechnic, "UCLan" is now the sixth largest university in the country. The university currently has over 33,000 students.
Colleges of Further and Higher Education
* Preston College - Mainly based in Fulwood with two campuses – one near the Royal Preston Hospital for
A-Levels and vocational courses, and an arts college in Moor Park. Has COVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence) status in Retail.
* Cardinal Newman College - Based on a single campus in Avenham, close to the city centre. Specialises in A-Level qualifications.
* TUC Education Unit - Based at Buckingham House, Preston city centre
* Royal Preston Hospital - A teaching hospital, with a proportion of medical students from the University of Manchester based here for their clinical training.
High Schools
* Archbishop Temple Church of England Humanities and Technology College
* Ashton-on-Ribble Community Science College
* Broughton Business and Enterprise College
* Christ the King Catholic Maths and Computing College
* Corpus Christi Catholic Sports College
* Fulwood Academy, formerly Fulwood High School and Arts College
* Larches House Short Stay School
* Moorbrook School
* Moor Park Business And Enterprise School
* Our Lady's Catholic High School
* Preston Muslim Girls
* Sir Tom Finney Community High School
Media
Preston has a number of local radio stations:
* Frequency 1350 - student radio for UCLAN, on 1350 kHz AM MW
* Magic 999 - Preston and Blackpool, classic hits
* Central Radio 106.5 - Preston, launched mid-2008
* Rock FM - Preston and Blackpool, pop music
* Preston FM - Preston community radio station
* City Radio Preston - internet radio station (launched August 2008)
* Ramadan Radio - An FM radio that only operates during the Muslim Lunar month of Ramadan.
Other regional stations which include Preston within their coverage include:
* BBC Radio Lancashire - Lancashire wide news, talk and classic hits (Broadcast from Blackburn)
* 105.4 Real Radio - across the North West, current pop and sport (Broadcast from Manchester)
* 100.4 Smooth FM - across the North West, easy-listening (Broadcast from Manchester)
The Lancashire Evening Post is based in Fulwood.
Sport
Preston North End FC
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Preston North End in 1888-89, the first Football League champions, subsequently doing 'The Double'
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Preston is famous for Preston North End F.C. (one of the founder members of the Football League and the first team to be crowned English football champions) and the National Football Museum,
the home of English football heritage, currently located at Deepdale Football Ground, with the possibility of it moving to Manchester due to funding issues. Deepdale is the oldest
continuously used professional soccer venue in the world[citation needed]. Dick, Kerr's Ladies, one of the most famous early women's football team in Britain, called Preston home. Preston
were champions of the Football League in its first two seasons, but have not won it since. Their last major trophy came in 1938 when they won the FA Cup, and they have not played top division
football since 1961. They are one of the few English league clubs to have been champions of all four tiers of the English professional league.
Other sports
Preston Hockey Club was established in 1903 and has since remained one of the North's most prominent clubs.
The Preston Arena is used for cycle racing. The Preston Arena is frequently used by the University of Central Lancashire, based in Preston.
England Test Cricket player Andrew Flintoff is a Preston native, and was granted freedom of the city following the Ashes victory of 2005.
The Preston Mountaineering Club is based in the town and has been in existence for over 70 years.
Speedway racing, then known as Dirt Track Racing was staged at Farringdon Park in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The Preston team raced in the English Dirt Track League of 1929 and the Northern League of 1930 and 1931. The best
known rider of the team was Joe "Iron Man" Abbott who went on to Test Match successes riding before the war for Belle Vue. After the war Joe appeared for Harringay and Bradford.
Notable people
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Plaque commemorating birthplace of Robert W. Service on Christian Road near the railway station
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Robert W. Service, the poet associated with the Yukon, was born in Preston and lived for a time on Winckley Street in the city centre. There is a Blue Plaque
commemorating him on Christian Road, near the railway station.
The parents of legendary American outlaw Butch Cassidy lived in Victoria Road
in Preston and emigrated to escape religious persecution of their Mormon faith. It was said that, unlike Paul Newman's cinematic portrayal, Butch spoke with a strong Lancashire accent.
Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) once owned a property on the corner of Cheapside and Friargate in the city centre (on
the site of what is now a coffee bar). A Blue Plaque on the wall of the building commemorates the spot.
Preston is the home city of the animator Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit, and in September 2007, the City
Council announced that it would be raising £100,000 in order to build a bronze statue of the two characters.
Actress Tupele Dorgu who is famous for her role as Kelly Crabtree in the british ITV soap Coronation Street was born in Preston and her family still live in the area.
Kenny Baker the actor who played R2D2 in the Star Wars films, also lives in the city.
Preston is the home of Sir Tom Finney who played for Preston North End and England.
Television and radio football pundit Mark Lawrenson was born in the then town. He was educated at Preston Catholic
College and was a product of the Preston North End youth system before moving to Brighton and Hove Albion and then on to an illustrious career with Liverpool FC.
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