AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



PRESTON 



the place has grown in importance and population. 

 A plan made in 1 774 s2 shows that the streets had 

 remained almost unchanged for a century. 93 The 

 houses extended eastward nearly as far as the present 

 Deepdale Road and west along Fishergate to the site 

 of the railway station. Northward the houses did 

 not go beyond Lord Street, except that they extended 

 a little further along Tithebarn Street and to the 

 end of Friargate and Back Lane. There were also a 

 few blocks of dwellings to the south of Church Street. 

 The plan of 1824 94 shows a great increase in all 

 directions, more especially on the south side, and 

 also to the north-west of Fishergate as far as the 

 Lancaster Canal, which had been constructed in 

 1798. 95 The first railways were opened in 1838 

 and 1840. 96 



Of the old townships Preston, Fishwick and 

 Ashton have become urban in character and Fulwood 

 is a residential suburb ; the others still remain for 

 the most part agricultural. The following figures 

 show the way in which the agricultural land of the 

 parish is at present utilized. In the whole there are 

 but 446 acres of arable land, the great bulk, viz. 

 12,103 acres, being in permanent grass. There are 



In consequence of changes in the boundaries in 

 1894, when the township of Preston was extended 

 to coincide with the municipal borough, Fishwick 



another at Spital Moss in 1796 and a 

 third near Lark Hill in 1797. His 

 business rapidly increased and in 1S02 he 

 was elected a member of Parliament for 

 the borough. He died in London in 

 1 804, and was buried at Penwortham. 



Other mills quickly followed those of 

 Horrocks. See Hardwick, op. cit. 366, 

 660. 



92 Hewitson, op. cit. 40. A larger 

 plan founded on this and the tithe map 

 is inserted in the same writer's Preston 

 Ct. Lett Ree. The field-names given 

 show Cuckstool Pit Meadow near the 

 present infirmary, Causeway Meadow 

 west of h, and Platford Dales still further 

 west. Cockpit Field was opposite the 

 north end of Friargate, near St. Peter's. 

 Avenham gave name to a number of 

 fields on the south of the town. Grim- 

 shaw Street passes through the old Water 

 Willows, to the south of which was 

 Great Albin Hey. Winckley Square has 

 replaced a Town End Field, but there 

 were other fields of the name on the east 

 side of the town. Hepgreave was to the 

 north of the railway station in Fisher- 

 gate. Woodholme seems to have been 

 in the marsh, at the extreme south-west. 

 The common fields were chiefly on the 

 north and west sides of the town. 



Colley's Garden, to the north of Lord 

 Street, was afterwards known as the 

 Orchard. Open-air meetings were held 

 there. 



98 The following references to the 

 mediaeval streets and districts of the 

 town may be useful : — 



Cecily widow of Adam de Grimshaw 

 and Henry son of Henry de Rishton and 

 Margaret his wife in 1394-5 granted on 

 lease to John de Knoll, tailor, and Maud 

 his wife a burgage, together with lands in 

 the Moor Field by the Friars' house, and 

 a plat in St. John's Weind ; the lessees 

 were to build a timber house ; Towneley 

 MS. OO, no. 1054. 



In 1363 William son of John de 

 Walton granted a burgage in Kirkgate to 

 Grimbald the Tailor; ibid. no. 1103. 

 Roger de Birewath had in 1366 a toft in the 

 road to the rectory of Preston ; Kuerden 

 MSS. in, P 7, This road may have 



been the Parsonweind occurring in the 

 same set of deeds, which show that in 

 1388-9 Ellen del Moor had a burgage 

 in Preston and a barn in Parsonweind, 

 and that in 1408 William Winter the 

 younger had a barn in Parsonweind next 

 the kiln ; ibid. James son of John 

 Moor gave James Walton the elder and 

 Ellen his wife (mother of the grantor) a 

 burgage in the Kirkstile in 1441-2 ; 

 ibid. A claim by Emma widow of 

 Henry del Kirkstile shows that one 

 Henry del Moor had land in Preston as 

 early as 1311-12; De Banco R. 190, 

 m. 195. Kirkstile is a frequently recur- 

 ring surname ; e.g. Assize R. 405, m. 4. 

 Lambert Stodagh in 1428-9 granted 

 to John Moor of Preston a grange in 

 Frereweind, &c. t formerly the property 

 of Sir Christopher Preston ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 227. 



Alice widow of Ralph Kekilpenny 

 granted to Robert son of Hugh le Sposage 

 land on Avenham in the town fields of 

 Preston next to land of St. Wilfrid ; OO, 

 no. 1 162. Henry son of William Simson 

 m 1349 released to Roger Watson a 

 roodland in the field called Avenham 

 between land of B. Wilfrid on either 

 side ; ibid. no. 1 1 57. 



The Grethill, where the town's wind- 

 mill formerly stood, is named in a 

 Hoghton deed of 1527 ; Kuerden MSS. 

 iv, P 11. 



Adam son of Adam de Wich in 1335 

 granted to Robert son of Walter de 

 Preston and Maud his wife lands including 

 ij acres on Avenham and £ acre at 

 Hepgreve ; OO, no. 11 17. Adam son 

 of Philip de Preston gave land on Ingle- 

 ridding, next land of the church, to 

 Roger son of Hugh le Sposage ; ibid. 

 no. 1 143. 



Thomas son and heir of John Lussell 

 had in 1527 closes called Rawmoors in 

 Preston; ibid. no. nil. John Lussell 

 and Katherine his wife occur a century 

 earlier (Final Cone, iii, 95), while Thomas 

 Lussell, clerk, and Maud his wife, daughter 

 of Thomas de Howick, had land in the 

 vill and fields of Preston in 1371 ; OO, 

 no. 1132. 



Lands in Woodholme are mentioned 



79 



frequently. Robert son of Roger son of 

 Adam de Preston gave a burgage, &c, 

 and land in Woodholme and Platfordale 

 to Richard de Ribbleton and Helen his 

 wife; Harl. MS. 2042, fol. 171. 

 William son of Hugh de Preston gave 

 land in Woodholme to John the Marshal 

 in 1320-3 ; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 226^. 

 William de Wigan gave land in the same 

 place to Roger de Preston in 1337 ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), 

 W211. 



Adam de Deepdale and Maud his wife 

 sold land in 1354 ; Final Cone, ii, 145. 



94 This plan, in the atlas accompanying 

 Baines' Directory of 1825, is reproduced 

 by Fishwick, op. cit. 



95 In 1802 a tramroad was constructed 

 connecting the terminus of this canal 

 with that of the Leeds and Liverpool 

 branch to * Summit,' west of Brindle. 

 The Ribble was crossed by a slight bridge. 

 The tram wagons ceased running in 

 1859 ; Hardwick, op. cit. 386, 480 ; 

 Hewitson, Preston, 198. The bridge is 

 now used for foot passengers. 



96 Hewitson, op. cit. 199-207. The 

 railway from Preston to Wigan was 

 opened 31 Oct, 1838 ; this gave access 

 to Liverpool, Manchester and the south. 

 Three railways were opened in 1840 — 

 from Preston to Longridge (1 May), to 

 Lancaster (25 June), and to Fleetwood 

 (15 July). The line from Bolton to 

 Chorley was opened in 1841, but owing 

 to difficulties in construction the con- 

 tinuation to Euxton was not ready till 

 1843, when Preston obtained another 

 route to Manchester. 



In 1846 the Fleetwood line opened 

 branches to Lytham and to Blackpool, 

 and the Longridge line was continued by 

 a tunnel to Maudlands. The new line 

 to Blackburn was opened, also a short 

 branch line to the quay by the Ribble. 

 In 1 849 the line to Ormskirk and 

 Liverpool was opened, from which a 

 branch to Southport was made in 1855. 

 The West Lancashire Company's direct 

 route to Southport was opened in Sept. 

 1882. 



96a Statistics from Bd. of Agric. 

 (1905). 



