Prestolee is a small village in
Kearsley, within the
Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in
Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the
River Irwell
The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...
and is one of a cluster of villages between
Bolton and Kearsley, which includes
Stoneclough
Stoneclough is a suburban area of Kearsley in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is located south-east of Bolton, south-west of Bury and north-west of Manchester. It is located on the banks of the River Irwel ...
and
Ringley.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of
Lancashire, during the
Middle Ages, Prestolee was a
chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century.
Status
It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...
within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of
Prestwich-cum-Oldham.
Prestolee is surrounded almost completely by water and is effectively an island, with the
River Irwell
The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary be ...
to the north, west and south and the
Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal
The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. ...
to the northeast. There is one road (Bridge Street) that provides vehicle access over the River Irwell. Prestolee Road also allows access to the village via a small canal bridge but the road is not metalled and not practical for most vehicles. Pedestrian access from the north is facilitated by using
Prestolee Aqueduct
Prestolee Aqueduct is a stone-built aqueduct in Prestolee, Kearsley in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The four-arch structure was constructed in 1793 to carry the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal across the Ri ...
, or the nearby Pack Horse Bridge.
Many countryside walks radiate from Prestolee with particular focus upon the industrial heritage of this region. Not long ago the area was severely damaged by pollution but with the coming of the
Clean Air Act and the demise of the cotton mills the river has once again regained its fish and other wildlife and wild flowers abound.
It has a church (Holy Trinity) that was used by TV show ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' as a venue for many weddings and known to fans as All Saints' Church,
Weatherfield
Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weatherfield has been seen by viewers throughout the y ...
. It also has a
primary school.
As well as the church, its other major landmark is
Kearsley Mill
Kearsley Mill is a , late period cotton mill located in the small village of Prestolee in Kearsley, Greater Manchester, part of the historic county of Lancashire. A near complete example of Edwardian mill architecture, the building now functions ...
, a cotton spinning mill in its previous guise, now home to several industrial uses. At one time there were also two other mills located on the banks of the Irwell to the right of the road bridge from Stoneclough, though these mills were demolished in the 1970s to make way for housing. Prestolee has various shops in or just outside the village, including a greengrocer's, a chip shop (now a takeaway) and a sweet shop later becoming a butcher's before ending as a village community centre. There is a pub, the Grapes Hotel, to the Stoneclough end of the bridge and several others in the near vicinity.
Prestolee has a small primary school.
Villages in Greater Manchester
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
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