Prestbury is a village and

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in Cheshire, England, about 1.5 miles (3 km) north of

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,324;Official census figures
Retrieval Date: 10 June 2007 it increased slightly to 3,471 at the 2011 census. Alongside fellow "

Cheshire Golden Triangle The Golden Triangle (sometimes called the Footballer Belt) is an area of affluent small towns and villages in Cheshire, England. The exact three points of the triangle are the subject of local debate but are generally considered to be Alderley ...

" villages,

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

and

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...

, it is one of the more sought-after places in the north. The ecclesiastical parish is almost the same as the former Prestbury local government

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

which consisted of the civil parishes of Prestbury, Adlington and

Mottram St Andrew Mottram St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 493. An affluent village in the Cheshire countryside, it is in the Golden Triangle of Alderley Edge, Prestbury and Wilmslow, 15 mi ...

Toponym

As Prestbury was initially settled by priests its name derives from ''Preôsta burh'', which is sometimes thought to mean "priests' town", but more correctly means a priest's fortified enclosure.

History and geography

Prestbury lies between Macclesfield and

, for the most part on elevated ground above the flood-prone

River Bollin The River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey in the north-west of England. It rises in Macclesfield Forest at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream t ...

. The ancient Forest of Macclesfield is to the east. There is no evidence of a settlement before

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times, although a cemetery nearby which had been excavated in 1808 contained pottery cremation urns and signs of sacrifice and was presumably pre-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. As a result of being initially settled by priests they chose an enclosure with a defensible location on the River Bollin where there was relatively high ground close to the river on both sides so that crossing was easy. From there they could travel to all parts of a parish which was extensive, though thinly populated, in part because the countryside was wild and barren and in part because the forest was reserved for hunting.

The parish

At the time of the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, the parish consisted of thirty-five

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

: * Adlington * Alderley * Birtles *

Bollington Bollington is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, to the east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield and the ancient parish of Prestbury. In 2011, it had a population of 8,310. B ...

Bosley Bosley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 406.Chelford Chelford is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, near to the junction of the A537 and A535 roads six miles (10 km) west of Macclesfield and six miles south-east of Knutsford, and is part of the Tatton constituency. The civil ...

* Fallibroome *

Gawsworth Gawsworth is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,705. It is one of the eigh ...

* Henbury * Hurdsfield *

Kettleshulme Kettleshulme (Old Norse ''Ketil's island'' or ''Ketil's watermeadow'') is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The village is close to the border with Derbyshire, on the B5470 road from Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield in the valley o ...

* Lower Withington *

Lyme Handley Lyme Handley, sometimes known as ''Lyme'', is a small civil parish in between Disley and Stockport, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

* Macclesfield Forest * Marton * Mottram St.Andrew * Newton *

North Rode North Rode is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 178. History North Rode was ...

* Old Withington *

Pott Shrigley Pott Shrigley is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the civil parish and village has a population of 289.

Poynton Poynton is a town in Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south of Stockport. Poynton has formed part of the Cheshire East unitary authority since the ab ...

* Prestbury *

Rainow Rainow is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, in the valley of the River Dean and next to the B5470 road between Macclesfield and Kettleshulme. It straddles the eastern side of the Peak District border of Derbyshire and Cheshire, an ...

* Siddington *

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

* Taxal * Tytherington * Upton *

Wildboarclough Wildboarclough (pronounced Will'berclough) is a village in east Cheshire, England, in the civil parish of Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough within the Peak District National Park. Bilsborough states that the name arises from the rapid rise ...

* Wincle *

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

* Worth Prestbury township was not mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, perhaps because information was not supplied or because Prestbury was only a church, not a manor. Twelve of the other townships are mentioned. Butley was valued at 2

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

at the time of the Domesday Survey, compared with 30 shillings at the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

, Adlington and Macclesfield were both worth 20 shillings and Siddington 5 shillings. The other eight townships were valued "Waste". The church administered the civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs of the parish until the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

created

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

s and civil parishes. Three of the townships, Butley, Fallibroome and Prestbury, constitute the present civil parish of Prestbury.

Village

Prestbury in Cheshire (Bryant map, 1831)

The school, smithies, the mill, inns and the

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

centre on a village street called "The Village", which is broad enough for cattle fairs and the like. Until the 19th century the village street was connected to Pearl Street, the main street of Butley, by a ford. In about 1825, a bridge of two arches was built, linking the village street to a new road ("New Road") passing behind the cottages and the Admiral Rodney pub on the southeast side of Pearl Street. In 1855 the bridge was replaced by the present bridge with one arch.Prestbury Cheshire Website
, accessed 20 October 2007 During the 19th century Prestbury became an important center of the

silk industry Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

. The parish accounted for around a third of the total number of males employed in that branch of

textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in England and Wales in the early 19th century. Swanwick's factory operated and cottages were built for the workers ("Factory Cottages" or "Irish Row"). Weavers' cottages were built on both New Road and the village, with upper storeys for weaving. In the 20th century, improved communications made it possible for Prestbury to develop into a residential community. Prestbury MillPrestbury Cheshire Website
, accessed 17 October 2007 was destroyed by fire in 1940.

Conservation Area

Prestbury in Cheshire - the Village, northwest side

The

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

includes areas neighbouring the village street, the east side of Macclesfield Road as far south as the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church,Prestbury Cheshire website
, accessed 20 October 2007 and New Road as far north as Butley Cottage
, accessed 20 October 2007 and its garden. Macclesfield Road, Prestbury (Cheshire)

Many of the buildings and structures in the Conservation Area are listed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, four of them, The Bridge Hotel, Priest's House, Horner's and Prestbury Hall being regarded as "Focal Buildings". Other buildings are considered to be of townscape merit. Trees and even some hedges are important landscape features. The Manor House was shown as the vicarage on the 1831 map. Brooks Cottages, marked with a plaque reading "Rodger Brooks and Ellen his wife erected this house in the 24 years of his life Ano Dom 1686" are among the listed buildings on the Butley side of the Bollin.

Other areas

Smithy Cottage, built on the site of a former smithy, is just outside the conservation area. Butley Hall is shown on the 1831 map but is outside the conservation area, as are the Butley Ash Inn and Spittle House, which was probably built between 1300 and 1450 as a

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damage ...

hospital. New estates were built during the 20th century to accommodate commuters. The defining characteristic of 21st-century development has been the replacement of quite sizeable houses by large mansions, such as that built for footballer

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

Adlington Hall Adlington Hall is a country house near Adlington, Cheshire. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previ ...

with strong connections with Prestbury is nearby.

Suburban development

Since the 1970s, there has been quite a lot of new build development in the village. Packsaddle Park is a good example of this. It is a suburban development built on the grounds of Packsaddle House. In addition to this, there has been a lot of redevelopment of existing houses in the village.

Governance

Prestbury is situated in

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Co ...

, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

area with

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 ...

status in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. Prestbury falls within the UK parliament constituency of

, a strongly

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

constituency represented by MP

David Rutley David Henry Rutley (born 7 March 1961) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Macclesfield since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Americas and Car ...

, who gained office in the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

. Locally Prestbury is governed by the Prestbury Parish Council which has 10

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s and meets once per month.

Churches

St Peter's Church is a Grade I listed building and houses a Saxon cross within a Norman Chapel in its churchyard. The parish's memorial to the dead of the two

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s is in the west porch. St John's, Adlington, is a daughter church of St Peter's, A new Methodist Church was built in 2001. Prestbury falls within the Catholic parish of St Gregory's, Bollington.

Education

Prestbury Church of England Primary SchoolSchool Portal
accessed 8 November 2007

Sporting facilities

*Badminton club *Bowling club *Cricket club *Football clubs *Prestbury Golf Club,Prestbury Golf Club website
accessed 2 December 2007 a parkland golf course established in 1920, designed by

Harry Colt Henry Shapland "Harry" Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect born in Highgate, England. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison L ...

and currently ranked 70th in the country *Macclesfield Rugby ClubMacclesfield Rugby Club website
accessed 2 December 2007 *Livery yard with indoor arena for hire *Squash rackets club *Tennis clubPrestbury Tennis Club website
accessed 2 December 2007

Transport

The village is a natural traffic hub because of the lay of the land.
, accessed 29 June 2008 The road from Macclesfield to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

(A538) carries traffic between Macclesfield and

through the centre of the village. The Macclesfield to

Hazel Grove Hazel Grove is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, close to the Peak District national park. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, the area was kno ...

road (A523), built in 1810, goes through the parish in a north–south direction, passing to the east of the village. Bus routes 19 and 19X operate between Prestbury and Macclesfield Prestbury railway station is located a few minutes walk from the village centre. It is served by Northern Trains services between

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

and

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. It was opened on 24 November 1845 and was refurbished in 1986. The south entrance arch to Prestbury Railway Tunnel is grade II listed.

Notable people

Numerous stars of sport and entertainment have lived in Prestbury for various lengths of time, including: *

Wes Brown Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Brown began his career with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, jo ...

, professional footballer *

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Middlesbrough. He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and is best known for his 12-year p ...

, professional football player, plays for Manchester United *

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...

, professional footballer for Stoke City *

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the Argentina national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Di María began his career with R ...

, professional footballer, who signed for Manchester United in 2014 but later moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2015 *

Helen Flanagan Helen Flanagan (born 7 August 1990) is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 to 2012; she reprised the role in 2017, before going on maternity leave o ...

, actress and model *

Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...

, professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and former Vice-Captain of England * Alan Green, football commentator for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...