Preston
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- This article is about Preston in Lancashire, England. For other uses of the name see Preston (disambiguation).
| City of Preston | |
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| Missing image Preston_-_Lancashire_dot.png Preston | Missing image LancashirePreston.png Preston Shown within Lancashire |
| Geography | |
| Grid reference: | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Status: | City (2002) |
| Region: | North West England |
| Admin. County: | Lancashire |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 215th 142.22 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Preston |
| ONS code: | 30UK |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2003 est.) - Density | Ranked 140th 130,453 917 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 85.5% White 11.6% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
 Preston City Council http://www.preston.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Labour |
| MPs: | Nigel Evans, Mark Hendrick, Michael Jack |
Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. It is the county town of Lancashire, and is 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's reign.
Preston is famous for, among other things, Preston North End F.C., one of the oldest Football League teams, St Walburge's Church (the tallest church in England, with the third-highest spire at 94 metres), and a large bus station (with 79 gates).
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Preston By-Pass
The Preston by-pass, opened 5 December 1958, became the first stretch of motorway in the UK and is now part of the M6. It was built to ease traffic congestion in Preston caused by tourists travelling to the popular destinations of Blackpool and The Lake District.
Preston Guild
Every twenty years, a famous celebration called the Preston Guild takes place in the city. The last Guild celebration took place in 1992 and the next is due in 2012.
UCL
The city is home to the University of Central Lancashire, one of the largest universities in the country.
Twin Towns
Preston is twinned with Almelo in the Netherlands, Nīmes in France, Recklinghausen in Germany and Kalisz in Poland.
Features of Preston
- Museums
- Parks
Geography
- The River Ribble runs through the city.
- The Forest of Bowland forms an impressive backdrop to Preston.
History
During the Roman period the road called Watling Street from the Setantian port of Neb of the Nese passed one mile north of Preston. The Roman road from Languavallium in Cumberland to Condate in Cheshire intersected in Preston at Tulketh-hall.
In Ripon in 705 Archbishop Wilfrid 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.
In 1825 Preston was in the hundred of Amounderness, in the deanery of Amounderness and the archdeaconry of Richmond. The name of Amounderness is more ancient than the name of any other Wapentake or hundred in the County of Lancaster, and so Preston dates from at least the High Saxon period. Served by the River Ribble, Preston was one of the principal ports of Lancaster. As late as the time of Charles I the monarch demanded a quarter more ship money than from Lancaster and twice as much as from Liverpool.
See also
External Links
- Preston City Forum (Free but need to register to use) (http://www.pne-online.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=12)
- BBC News: 'Proud Preston' wins city status (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1872505.stm)
- Proud Preston Picture and Photo Gallery (http://www.proud-preston.co.uk/)
| Districts of England - North West England | 
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Administrative counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside |