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Preston

Preston (pronounced /ˈprÉ›stÉ™n/ ( listen)) is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.^[1] Preston has a population of 131,900, and lies at the centre of the wider Preston sub-area, which has a population of 184,836, and the Central Lancashire sub-region, with a population of 335,000.^[2]

Preston and its surroundings have provided evidence of ancient Roman activity in the area, largely in the form of a Roman road which led to a camp at Walton-le-Dale. The Saxons established Preston; the name Preston is derived from Old English words meaning "Priest settlement" and in the Domesday Book appears as "Prestune". During the Middle Ages, Preston formed a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness and was granted a Guild Merchant charter in 1179, giving it the status of a market town. Textiles have been produced in Preston since the middle of the 13th century, when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area during the 14th century helped to develop the industry. Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning frame, was a weaver born in Preston. The most rapid period of growth and development in Preston's history coincided with the industrialisation and expansion of textile manufacturing. Preston was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, becoming a densely populated engineering centre, with large industrial plants.

In the early 18th century a writer said Preston was "a pretty town with an abundance of gentry in it, commonly called Proud Preston".^[3] Preston's textile sector fell into a terminal decline from the mid-20th century. Preston has subsequently faced similar challenges to other post-industrial northern towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing issues. However, Preston has continued to develop; it is the seat of Lancashire County Council and Preston North End F.C., one of the oldest football clubs, now houses the National Football Museum.

Etymology

Preston is recorded in the Domesday Book as "Prestune" in 1086.^[4] Various other spellings occur in early documents: "Prestonam" (1094), "Prestone" (1160), "Prestona" (1160), "Presteton" (1180), and "Prestun" (1226). The modern spelling occurs in 1094, 1176, 1196, 1212 and 1332.^[5] The town's name is derived from Old English Presta and Tun, the Tun(enclosure, farmstead, village, manor, estate).^[6] of the Presta (priest or priests).^[7]

Early development

During the Roman period, the main road from Luguvalium (Carlisle) to Mamucium (Manchester) forded the River Ribble at Walton-le-Dale, ¾ mile (1 km) southeast of the centre of Preston. Here was a Roman camp, probably a regional depot for military equipment or other supplies. At Withy Trees, 1½ miles (2 km) north of Preston, the road crossed another Roman road from Bremetennacum (the Roman fort at Ribchester) to the coast.^[8]

In Ripon in 705 AD the lands near the River Ribble were set on a new foundation, and the parish church was probably erected. This parish church was probably situated on the grounds of the present Anglican parish of St. John the Evangelist on Church Street, which was originally dedicated to St. Wilfrid and then later St. John the Baptist. Later, Edward the Elder endowed the lands to the Cathedral at York and then, by means of successive transfers the lands were exchanged between lesser churches, hence the origin of the name Priest's Town or Preston. An alternative explanation of the origin of the name is that the Priest's Town refers to a priory set up by St. Wilfrid near the Ribble's lowest ford. This idea is supported by the similarity of the Paschal lamb on Preston's crest with that on St. Wilfrid's.^[9]

When first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, Preston was already the most important town in Amounderness (the area of Central Lancashire between the rivers Ribble and Cocker, including the Fylde and the Forest of Bowland). When assessed for tax purposes in 1218 - 19 it was the wealthiest town in the whole county.^[10]

Guild Merchant

The right to hold a Guild Merchant was conferred upon the Burgesses of Preston by a charter of 1179;^[11] the associated Preston Guild is a civic celebration held every 20 years, with the next one due in 2012.^[12]

Before 1328 a celebration had been held on an irregular basis, but at the Guild of that year it was decreed that subsequent Guilds should be held every twenty years. After this there were breaks in the pattern for various reasons, but an unbroken series were held from 1542 to 1922. A full 400 year sequence was frustrated by the cancellation of the 1942 Guild due to World War II, but the cycle resumed in 1952. The expression '(Once) every Preston Guild', meaning 'very infrequently', has passed into fairly common use, especially in Lancashire.

Guild week is always started by the opening of the Guild Court, which since the Sixteenth century has traditionally been on the first Monday after the feast of the decollation (the beheading) of St John the Baptist. As well as concerts and other exhibitions, the main events are a series of processions through the city. Numerous street parties are typically also held in the locality.

In 1952, the emphasis was on the bright new world emerging after World War II. The major event held in the city's Avenham Park had every school participating, and hundreds of children, from toddlers to teenagers, demonstrated different aspects of physical education in the natural amphitheatre of the park.

Pre-Industrial Preston

In the mid-12th century, Preston was in the hundred of Amounderness, in the deanery of Amounderness and the archdeaconry of Richmond. The name "Amounderness" is more ancient than the name of any other "Wapentake" or hundred in the County of Lancashire, and the fort at Tulketh, strengthened by William the Conqueror, shows that the strategic importance of the area was appreciated even then.^[13]

Served by the River Ribble which flows through the city, Preston was so much the principal port of Lancashire that in the run-up to the English Civil War King Charles I demanded a quarter more Ship money from Preston than from nearby Lancaster and twice as much as from Liverpool.^{[citation needed]}

The location of the city, almost exactly mid-way between Glasgow and London, led to many decisive battles being fought here, most notably during the English Civil War (1648), and the first Jacobite rebellion whose invasion of England was brought to a conclusion by the defeat of the pro-Catholic and pro-monarchial Jacobite army at the Battle of Preston (1715) which remains the most recent major battle on English soil (though there were further battles with Jacobite or allied forces in Scotland in 1718, 1745 and 1746).^{[citation needed]}

In the last great Jacobite Rising, on 27 November 1745 the Jacobite Prince of Wales and Regent, Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through Preston with his Highland Army on the way south through Chorley and Manchester to Derby intending to take London and the Crown. Preston was the first of quite a few places in England where the Prince was cheered as he rode by and where he was joined by some English volunteers for his Army. One Jacobite eyewitness noted that from Preston onwards, “at every town we were received with ringing of bells, and at night we have bonfires, and illuminations�.^[14] Another Jacobite eyewitness noted in a private letter from Preston on 27 November 1745: “People here are beginning to join [us] very fast; we have got about sixty recruits today�.^[15] From 10 to 12 December the Prince gave his retreating Army a rest in Preston on their long, last and fatal retreat from Derby through Lancaster and Carlisle to their dreadful day of destiny the following 16 April on Culloden Moor near Inverness.^[16]

Industrial Revolution

The 19th century saw a transformation in Preston from a small market town to a much larger industrial one, as the innovations of the latter half of the previous century such as Richard Arkwright's water frame (invented in Preston) brought cotton mills to many northern English towns. With industrialisation came examples of both oppression and enlightenment.

The town's forward-looking spirit is typified by it being the first English town outside London to be lit by gas. The Preston Gas Company was established in 1815 by, amongst others, a Catholic priest: Rev. Joseph "Daddy" Dunn of the Society of Jesus.

The more oppressive side of industrialisation was seen on Saturday 13 August 1842, when a group of cotton workers demonstrated against the poor conditions in the town's mills. The Riot Act was read and armed troops corralled the demonstrators in front of the Corn Exchange on Lune Street. Shots were fired and four of the demonstrators were killed. A commemorative sculpture now stands on the spot (although the soldiers and demonstrators represented are facing the wrong way). In the 1850s, Karl Marx visited Preston and later described the town as "the next St. Petersburg".^[17] Charles Dickens visited Preston in January 1854 during a strike by cotton workers that had by that stage lasted for 23 weeks. This was part of his research for the novel Hard Times in which the town of "Coketown" is based on the city of Preston.

The Preston Temperance Society, led by Joseph Livesey pioneered the Temperance Movement in the 19th century. Indeed the term teetotalism is believed to have been coined at one of its meetings. The website of the University of Central Lancashire library has a great deal of information on Joseph Livesey and the Temperance Movement in Preston.^[18]

Preston was one of only a few industrial towns in Lancashire to have a functioning corporation (local council) in 1835, its charter dating to 1685, and was reformed as a municipal borough by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. It became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. In 1974, county boroughs were abolished, and it became the larger part of the new non-metropolitan district of Preston in Lancashire, also including Fulwood and part of Preston Rural District.

Religion

Preston has a strong Christian (particularly Catholic) history and tradition, and has been called the most Catholic city in England^[who?]. One of the proposed derivations of the name Preston is from 'Priests town' and the lamb on the city's shield is a biblical image of Jesus Christ, the same image that represented St. Wilfrid, a 7th century bishop and the city's patron saint, who is historically linked to the city's establishment. The "PP" on the shield stands for either "Proud Preston" or "Princeps Pacis" (Prince of Peace), another title for Christ invoking Him as protector of the city.^{[citation needed]}

Preston and its suburbs are shared between three Roman Catholic Dioceses: Preston North of the Ribble is in the Diocese of Lancaster, Penwortham, Hutton, Longton, New Longton and West Lancs are in the Arch Diocese of Liverpool, while Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall and Walton-le-Dale are in the Diocese of Salford. Preston is in the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn.

As well as mainstream denominations like Roman Catholicism and the Church of England, the city has seen a recent emergence of new evangelical churches. Preston has a strong history for Free Methodism, as there are currently four Free Methodist churches in the area. Preston's Guild Hall plays host to a large evangelical worship music event called 'Encounter' every year.^{[citation needed]}

Preston was the location of the world's first foreign mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons). As early as 1837 the first Mormon missionaries to Great Britain began preaching in Preston and, in particular, other small towns situated along the river Ribble. Preston is home to the world's oldest continuous branch (a small congregation) of the Mormon Church.^[19] An official memorial to the church pioneers may be found in the Japanese Garden in Avenham Park. In 1998 the LDS erected a large temple at Chorley, near Preston, described by The Telegraph newspaper as "spectacular".^[20] The temple is officially known as the Preston England Temple.

Preston also has a significant Muslim (particularly Sunni Branch) population, the majority of which is of Indian descent (see Ethnicity below). The Muslim population is centred in the Deepdale, Fishwick, Fulwood, Frenchwood and Cottam areas of the city. The city has 13 mosques: 10 in Deepdale, two on Manchester Road and one in Fulwood. The concentration of population of Indian descent is due mainly to the workforce required by the Cotton Mills of the last century. After the 1970s it is also due to the Royal Preston Hospital being located in Fulwood.^{[citation needed]}

Preston City Council

The City of Preston is divided into 22 district council wards represented by 57 councillors. There are nine wards with two councillors and 13 wards with three councillors. The two seat wards cover c. 3600 electors and the three seat wards c. 5400 electors. Preston City councillors serve a four-year term. Preston City Council is elected "by thirds", 19 at a time. One councillor from each of the three-member wards is elected every year for three years. In each of those years six of the nine two-seat wards also elect a councillor. Every fourth year there are no Preston City Council elections, Lancashire County Council elections taking place instead.

After the 2007 local election the Labour Party was the largest Group with 24 members but the Conservatives with 20 seats in alliance with the Liberal Democrats with 10 seats took control of the Cabinet and all committees except the Scrutiny committee. This situation continued after the 2008 local election at which the Conservatives, with 21 Councillors took a net seat from the Liberal Democrats who had 9 seats. Labour remained the largest party with 24 members. Shortly after the election Councillor Christine Abram, a former Liberal Democrat leader, defected to the Conservatives leaving the Liberal Democrats with eight members and the Conservatives with 22, labour still with 24 members.

The local areas of Preston can be found at Districts of Preston

The current mayor is Councillor Keith Sedgewick.

Preston operates a Leader and Cabinet system. The current Leader is councillor Ken Hudson.

Freedom of the City

The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) 7 August 1952 (This was subsequently transferred to:)

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment 9 September 1972

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 1 July 2006

Andrew Flintoff January 2006

Lancashire County Council

The City of Preston contains ten Lancashire County Council electoral divisions with one county councillor in each district.

Parliament

The City of Preston is currently divided between three Westminster constituencies, which will be altered in size and shape when proposed boundary changes are implemented for the 2010 general election.

Currently the three constituencies are: Preston, Ribble Valley, and Fylde. When the proposed boundary changes are implemented, the city will continue to be divided between Preston, and Fylde seats, whilst the northern quarters will be placed within Wyre and Preston North.

Historically, Preston has been divided between such constituencies as Preston North, Preston South, and Fylde South although until 1885 it comprised one constituency called Preston but which included most of west Lancashire.

Physical geography

The River Ribble provides a southern border for the city. The Forest of Bowland forms a backdrop to Preston to the east while the Fylde lies to the west. At 53°45′N 2°42′W / 53.75°N 2.7°W / 53.75; -2.7, Preston is approximately 27 miles north west of Manchester, 26 miles north east of Liverpool, and 15 miles east of the coastal town Blackpool.

Preston is located on top of a hill to the west of the Pennines. It therefore, like most of inland Lancashire, receives a higher than UK average total of rainfall, and is slightly colder. On 10 August 1893 Preston entered the UK Weather Records, with the Highest 5-min total rainfall of 32 mm. As of November 2008 this remains a record.^[21]

Areas and Estates

As with many cities, Preston has developed from a number of former towns and villages.

Civic geography

Barton

Broughton-in-Amounderness

Goosnargh

Grimsargh

Haighton

Lea and Cottam

Whittingham

Woodplumpton

Ethnicity

Preston is a diverse city, although the majority of the non-indigenous people are South Asians, in particular Indians. The ethnic makeup of Preston based on 2006 estimates is as follows (With national average in brackets): 82.2% White British (84.2%), 1.0% White Irish (1.1%), 1.6% Other White (3.3%). 1.6% Mixed Race (1.6%). 8.1% Indian (2.5%), 2.5% Pakistani (1.7%), 0.3% Bangladeshi (0.7%), 0.5% Other South Asian (0.6%). 0.6% Black Caribbean (1.2%), 0.4% Black African (1.4%), 0.1% Other Black (0.2%). 0.8% Chinese (0.7%) and 0.3% Other East Asian and Arab (0.7%).^[23]

Child Poverty

A new council survey in Preston has revealed that 50% of all children living in the city are living in families suffering from financial depression. An estimated 15,380 youngsters are part of the families on the breadline. The Campaign to End Child Poverty report defines children in poverty as children living in homes where occupants work less than 16 hours a week, or not at all, or where the full amount of tax credit is being claimed. The city is one of the most severely affected areas of the North West outside Liverpool and Manchester, with 21% of children in the city living in households which are completely workless and a further 29% in families struggling to get by with working tax credits. And in some areas of Preston, more than 75% of children live below the poverty line. The two worst affected areas of the city are the Deepdale and St George's wards, where 75% and 77% of children respectively are said to be living in poverty.^{[24][citation needed]}

Religion

The 2001 Census recorded 71.5% of the population as Christians, 9.8% as having no religion, and 8.2% as Muslims.^[25] The Hindu and Sikh populations are smaller at 2.6% and 0.6% respectively, but in both cases this represents the highest percentage of any local authority area in the North West. 1.8% of the city's population were born in other EU countries. Though still small in number in Preston, the Mormons (officially known as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - LDS for short) maintain a large profile.

Landmarks

Harris Museum and Art Gallery

The National Football Museum

The Museum of Lancashire

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment Museum

Broughton Cottage Museum

Ribble Steam Railway

Parks

Winckley Square

Miller Park, Preston

Ribbleton Park (formerly known as Waverley Park)

Avenham Park

Moor Park

Ashton Park

Economy

Fishergate Shopping Centre - which has a large Debenhams department store, Primark, TK Maxx, Argos and T.J. Hughes stores.

The Mall (formerly St. George's) - a popular centrally located shopping mall dating from the 1960s.

Road

M61 - Preston to Manchester via Chorley and Bolton

M65 - Preston to Colne via Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley

M55 - Preston to Blackpool via Kirkham

Rail

Preston railway station is a major stop on the West Coast Main Line, with regular long distance train services to London (Euston) and the South East, and Glasgow and Edinburgh to the North. Preston is also a hub for connecting rail services in the North West, with direct services to Blackpool, Lancaster, Blackburn, Bradford, Leeds, Wigan, Bolton, Manchester, Liverpool and Ormskirk. Overall, Preston has direct rail links to twelve cities across the UK; Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Bradford, London, Carlisle, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Lancaster, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Preston once had lines to Southport and Longridge which closed to passengers in 1965 and 1930 respectively. The disused tracks of the Longridge line still exist as far as Deepdale.

Preston is the home of the heritage Ribble Steam Railway, located in Riversway.

Water

The former Preston Port, known as Riversway or The Docks, has been the site of an expanding commercial and residential complex since 1988.

The Marina is just north of the River Ribble which enters into the east of the Irish Sea. This marina has its own chandlery and coffee shop, training courses and boat sales

There are multi-million pound plans to redevelop Preston's Docks (as well as large sections of the River Ribble running through the city) to introduce leisure facilities (ie watersports), new landmark buildings, a new central park opposite Avenham Park, office and retail space, new residential developments and the re-opening of some of Preston's old canals. However, these plans, collectively known as Riverworks, have yet to undergo public consultation, and have already raised concerns amongst locals due to the potential loss of green space and increased risk of flooding.^[30]

Bus

Although lacking any rail based rapid transit network, Preston has a very comprehensive bus network. There are five main operators serving Preston.

Preston Bus, formerly the city's municipal bus company, used to serve the district of Preston, and also operated a route between Preston and Penwortham. In October 2006, Preston Bus started operating the city's two new orbital bus routes.^[31]

Many of the services between Preston and its surrounding area were operated by Ribble Motor Services, then owned by Stagecoach Group, using the name Stagecoach in Lancashire. Several of the company's routes were additionally branded as "Preston Citi"; they connected the bus station to areas of the city such as Penwortham, Longton, Fulwood, Walton-le-dale, Bamber Bridge, New Longton, Ribbleton, Bamber Bridge and Longridge and outside areas of Southport and Leyland. Stagecoach also provided links to , Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Chorley, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as Lancaster and Morecambe under the Stagecoach in Lancaster service.

Competition for routes and passengers resulted in a "Bus War" between the two companies, since buses were deregulated in Great Britain.

On 23 January 2009, Preston Bus was sold to Stagecoach for over £10.4 million. Since then, routes have been changed and the services are now branded as Stagecoach in Preston, which is now the biggest bus operator in Preston.^[32]

John Fishwick & Sons, provides frequent services into the city centre for Lower Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Leyland, Euxton and Chorley. Blue Bus of Penwortham is based in the South Ribble area of Preston with routes to Preston, Leyland, Chorley and Southport. Transdev Lancashire United operates two routes into Preston: one is the 152 to Blackburn and Burnley; the other is the 280 to Clitheroe and Skipton.


A Preston Park & Ride service

Preston also has its own park and ride with three sites; one is at Portway, in the Riversway area, served by PR1, another is just off the A6 at Walton-le-Dale next to Capitol Centre, served by PR2, and the last one is just off the Motorway Junction 31a at Bluebell Way, served by the Orbit.^[32].

Preston is also served by many national bus services. Stagecoach Express, National Express, Eurolines, and Megabus all have a large presence at Preston Bus Station - which is claimed to be the largest or second largest station in Europe^{[citation needed]}.

Preston was one of the first cities in the UK to have its bus network fitted with Realtime,^{[citation needed]} a satellite based technology fitted to every bus stop which aims to provide an accurate time and destination of the next bus arriving using GPS tracking. This service was initially restricted to services within the borough, however, it has now been expanded to cover Fishwick's 111 City Centre/Leyland route due to its popularity.

Air

Although not a public airport; Warton Aerodrome is an active airfield west of the city and is the airfield for the BAE Warton factory. BAE Samlesbury to the east of the town is a former active aerodrome but today it serves as a facility for BAE Systems

Education

The city is home to the University of Central Lancashire. Formerly known as The Harris Institute, Preston Polytechnic, and more recently [1985 - 1992] as Lancashire Polytechnic, "UCLan" is now the sixth largest university in the country. The university currently has over 33,000 students.^[33]

Colleges of Further and Higher Education

Preston College - Mainly based in Fulwood with two campuses – one near the Royal Preston Hospital for A-Levels and vocational courses, and an arts college in Moor Park. Has COVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence) status in Retail.

Cardinal Newman College - Based on a single campus in Avenham, close to the city centre. Specialises in A-Level qualifications.

TUC Education Unit - Based at Buckingham House, Preston city centre

Royal Preston Hospital - A teaching hospital, with a proportion of medical students from the University of Manchester based here for their clinical training.

Runshaw College - Based south of the city in Leyland.

Myerscough College - Agricultural college based just north of the city in Bilsborrow but named after neighbouring village Myerscough.

Hutton Grammar School Sixth Form College, located in Hutton, South Ribble, southwest of Preston.

High Schools

Archbishop Temple Church of England Humanities and Technology College

Ashton-on-Ribble Community Science College

Broughton Business and Enterprise College

Cardinal Newman Catholic Sixth Form College

Christ the King Catholic Maths and Computing College

Corpus Christi Catholic Sports College

Fulwood Academy, formerly Fulwood High School and Arts College

Larches House Short Stay School

Moorbrook School

Our Lady's Catholic High School

Penwortham Girls High School

Preston Muslim Girls

Sir Tom Finney Community High School

Media

Frequency 1350 - student radio for UCLAN, on 1350 kHz AM MW

Magic 999 - Preston and Blackpool, classic hits

Central Radio 106.5 - Preston, launched mid-2008

Rock FM - Preston and Blackpool, pop music

Preston FM - Preston community radio station

City Radio Preston - internet and digital radio station (launched August 2008)

Ramadan Radio - An FM radio that only operates during the Muslim Lunar month of Ramadan.

Other regional stations which include Preston within their coverage include:

BBC Radio Lancashire - Lancashire wide news, talk and classic hits

105.4 Century FM - across the North West, current pop and sport

100.4 Smooth FM - across the North West, easy-listening

Preston North End FC

Preston is famous for Preston North End F.C. (one of the founder members of the Football League and the first team to be crowned English football champions^[34]) and the National Football Museum, the home of English football heritage, currently located at Deepdale Football Ground. Deepdale is the oldest continuously used professional soccer venue in the world^{[citation needed]}. Dick, Kerr's Ladies, one of the most famous early women's football team in Britain, called Preston home. Preston were champions of the Football League in its first two seasons, but have not won it since. Their last major trophy came in 1938 when they won the FA Cup, and they have not played top division football since 1961. They are one of the few English league clubs to have been champions of all four tiers of the English professional league.

Other Sports

Preston Hockey Club was established in 1903 and has since remained one of the North's most prominent clubs.^{[weasel words]}

The Preston Arena is used for cycle racing. The Preston Arena is frequently used by the University of Central Lancashire, based in Preston.

England Test Cricket player Andrew Flintoff is a Preston native, and was granted freedom of the city following the Ashes victory of 2005.

The Preston Mountaineering Club is based in the town and has been in existence for over 70 years.

Speedway racing, then known as Dirt Track Racing was staged at Farringdon Park in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Preston team raced in the English Dirt Track League of 1929 and the Northern League of 1930 and 1931. The best known rider of the team was Joe "Iron Man" Abbott who went on to Test Match successes riding before the war for Belle Vue. After the war Joe appeared for Harringay and Bradford.

Notable people

Robert W. Service, the poet associated with the Yukon, was born in Preston and lived for a time on Winckley Street in the city centre. There is a Blue Plaque commemorating him on Christian Road, near the railway station.

The parents of legendary American outlaw Butch Cassidy lived in Victoria Road in Preston and emigrated to escape religious persecution of their Mormon faith. It was said that, unlike Paul Newman's cinematic portrayal, Butch spoke with a strong Lancashire accent.^{[35][dubious – discuss]}

Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) once owned a property on the corner of Cheapside and Friargate in the city centre (on the site of what is now a coffee bar). A Blue Plaque on the wall of the building commemorates the spot.^[36]

Preston is the home city of the animator Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit, and in September 2007, the City Council announced that it would be raising £100,000 in order to build a bronze statue of the two characters.^[37]

Actress Tupele Dorgu who is famous for her role as Kelly Crabtree in the british ITV soap Coronation Street was born in Preston and her family still live in the area.

Kenny Baker the actor who played R2D2 in the Star Wars films, also lives in the city.

Preston is the home of Sir Tom Finney who played for Preston North End and England.

Television and radio football pundit Mark Lawrenson was born in the then town. He was educated at Preston Catholic College and was a product of the Preston North End youth system before moving to Brighton and Hove Albion and then on to an illustrious career with Liverpool FC.

Twin cities/towns

- Almelo, Netherlands. 2008 was the 60th anniversary of this twinning.

- Kalisz, Poland. 2009 sees the 20th anniversary of this twinning.

- Nîmes, France

- Recklinghausen, Germany