Lea ( ), Cottam, and Lea Town are villages in the

City of Preston, Lancashire The City of Preston, or simply ''Preston'' (), is a non-metropolitan district, local government district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a populati ...

, England. Together they form the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Lea and Cottam, which has a population of 5,962. In 2011, the population increased to 6,157.

Geography

Lea is the name given to two areas of the western extremities of Preston; Lea Town (a village, despite its name) on the Fylde border, which had a population of 291 in 2011, and the suburban sprawl of Lea along the Blackpool Road through the city. Lea Town and Lea were called English Lea and French Lea in the 11th to 13th centuries; "French" because there was a Norman landowner. Cottam is a former farming community now almost entirely consisting of new build housing.

Governance

The area is represented by Lea and Cottam Parish Council. Lea and Cottam form part of both the Lea & Larches and Ingol & Cottam wards of Preston City Council, both of which elect three councillors. The area is part of the Preston West division on

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

which elects one councillor every four years. From the 2024 General Election, the area is also part of Preston parliamentary constituency, having previously been part of the Fylde constituency.

Demography

From the last census, in 2001, over 83% of the population regarded themselves as Christian, whilst the figure of 11.5% for retired people is one of the highest in the city.

Religion

There are several churches in Lea including Lea Methodist and St. Christopher's. St. Christopher's is home to
2nd Lea Scout Group
'. The Roman Catholic Churches of St Andrew & Blessed George Haydock and St Mary's are located in Cottam and Lea Town respectively.

History

The parish of Lea was formed on 1 April 1934 from part of the former parish of Lea Ashton Ingol and Cottam, which was formed in 1866. Lea parish was part of

Preston Rural District Preston was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded Preston, Lancashire, Preston to the north, west and east. The district was created under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Lo ...

until its abolition in 1974.Preston RD
''Vision of Britain'', accessed 9 June 2014 In 1974 the parish became part of the Borough of Preston, which became a city in 2002. The area was served by Lea Road railway station between 1840 and 1938.

Notable people

* Gordon Ashcroft, footballer

Gallery

File:Savick_Brook_-_'The_Ribble_Link'_-_geograph.org.uk_-_11501.jpg, Savick Brook File:The_Lea_Gate_-_geograph.org.uk_-_93262.jpg, The Lea Gate

References

{{City of Preston culture Geography of the City of Preston Civil parishes in Lancashire Wards of Preston