Preston, Tyne And Wear
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Preston is a suburb about a mile north of
North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
,
North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered b ...
. Its population was recorded at 8419 in the 2011 census. Historically a separate entity, it has slowly been absorbed into the town to the south and expanded as to form a continuous urban area north to Monkseaton.


History of Preston and 'Preston Township'

The area derives its name from the old English "Preosta", meaning Priest and "Tun", meaning enclosure or homestead. It is first mentioned in a charter dated between 1106 and 1116 and is recorded in the St. Alban's Register. At about this time the lands of Preston were granted by King Henry I to the monks of St. Oswin at Tynemouth. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the lands were returned to the Crown. In 1649, the Township was enclosed and of land were divided and granted to various
copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the man ...
tenants. In 1832 Preston Township, together with
Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
,
North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
and
Cullercoats Cullercoats is a coastal settlement in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth to the ...
was constituted a
Parliamentary Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
and by an order granted on 6 August 1849, the four were incorporated into Tynemouth Borough for municipal purposes. Preston Township lay between North Shields to the south and
Monkseaton Monkseaton is an area of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, in the North East of England. Historically in Northumberland, it is in the north-east of the borough, from the North Sea coast and north of the River Tyne at North Shields. to the north of ...
to the north. To the east was the village of Tynemouth and to the west, Chirton. In addition, when the Shire Moor was enclosed in 1788, approximately of land were annexed to Preston Township. This annex was originally known as Northumberland Place but is nowadays known as West Allotment. Over its history, the main industries of Preston have been coal mining (from the 12th to the 20th centuries), the tanneries of the 13th century, the breweries of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the damask factory of the 19th century and the carriage works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Within the township is Preston Village, described by Parson and White in their descriptive book on Durham and Northumberland of 1828 as: "a very pleasant village north of North Shields to which its Township extends. It occupies a fine eminence which commands an extensive and beautiful prospect. Here are several gentlemen's villas, two public gardens, two common breweries, four public houses and a linen manufactory: besides about 100 houses and cottages which have a neat and clean appearance." William Harold Smurthwaite published a detailed history of Preston in 1992 entitled ''Our Heritage – Preston Township and Preston Village''. It was illustrated by Kevin Bradley, who had previously produced a book about the Township, entitled ''An Illustrated Guide To Preston Township''. This book including original illustrations is currently being published by Kevin Bradley and George Smith; it is available at http://www.prestontownship.org.uk.


Leisure

Tynemouth Pool is situated within the village, as are Preston Playing Fields, and the sporting facilities of John Spence Community High School. Foxhunters Field, a large open area of parkland and playing fields is to be found to the north. The area is also home to many local sporting clubs: North Shields Rugby Football Club which has its clubhouse on Preston playing fields,
Percy Park RFC Percy Park Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in North Shields, Tyne & Wear. The club runs three senior sides and a full set of junior teams. The first XV currently plays in North 1 East. About There are five pitches avai ...
on Preston Avenue, Tynemouth Cricket Club and nearby Tynemouth Golf Club. North Shields Football Club also used to be based at Appleby Park before moving to their current Silkeys Lane site.


Education

The area has two primary schools: Preston Grange Primary School, on the Preston Grange estate, and King Edward Primary School on Preston Avenue. Secondary education is provided by
John Spence Community High School John Spence Community High School (formerly Preston High School) is a co-educational secondary school located in Preston (near North Shields) in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a foundation school administered by North Tyneside Council. John Spe ...
, formerly Preston High School, and further education by Queen Alexandra Sixth Form College (part of Tyne Metropolitan College).


Services

The area contains many of the services for North Shields: North Tyneside East Fire Station, Preston Cemetery, North Tyneside General Hospital (which replaced Preston Hospital in the late 1980s) and a large
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...
supermarket.


Religion

There are a number of churches and religious buildings in the area:


Baptists Together Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. Hi ...

* Preston Grange Community Church


Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

* St Hilda's, Preston Road


Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

* St Mary's, Marden


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

* meetinghouse, Malvern Road


Public Houses

The area has six Pubs
The GunnerThe AlexandraThe SportsmanThe Spread EagleThe Foxhunters
an
The Magic Lantern


References

{{T&W places Populated places in Tyne and Wear North Shields