After the Romans pulled out of Britain in the fifth century AD, the area around Preston lost its strategic importance. Once on a major Roman road intersection, the area was relatively isolated from the developing Anglo Saxon kingdoms such as Northumbria and Mercia. At the time, there were three main groups vying for control of Britain, the native Celts, the invading Anglo Saxons and the Norsemen from Scandinavia. All had settlements in the Preston area.

Celtic (English) place names

Archaeological evidence is scant for the post Roman period around the Preston area, therefore place names can be used to provide a clue as to the origins of a particular settlement. River names are usually of British (Celtic) origin. The Ribble itself (Rippel in 710) is a Celtic name. So too is the Darwen (Derwent in 1277) and Hodder (Hoder in 1240). Place names include Walton-le-Dale (Waltune in 1286) and Penwortham (Penuertham in 1149).

The Anglo Saxons gradually arrive?

There is some controversy over whether the Anglo Saxons actually invaded or settled more gradually. It is thought that, in the North, the process was more gradual, with Saxon settlements infilling the existing settlement. Some local place names indicate an Anglo Saxon origin. The name of Preston itself is based on the Anglo Saxon Presota-Tun meaning Tun of the priests, hence the connection with St Wilfrid’s Abbey mentioned later.

Preston, a seventh century village

Some historians suggest that Preston was founded due to a grant of lands along the Ribble to St Wilfrid’s Abbey at Ripon in 670. The Church at Ribchester is dedicated to St Wilfrid, as was the original church on Church Street in Preston. However the present church, built in 1853, is dedicated to St John the Evangelist.

The layout of Fishergate on an east to west alignment, with Friargate at right angles, indicates an Anglian (Anglo Saxon) origin. Villages such as Kirkham still retain this layout.

Amounderness Hundred, a Norse settlement

Anglo Saxon administration for tax gathering was based one estates, or hundreds, and Preston was located at a junction of three hundreds. Preston is in Amounderness Hundred, while Walton is in Blackburn Hundred. Penwortham is in Leyland Hundred. This brings us to the third of our groups, the Norsemen or Vikings. Amounderness literally means the Ness of the Norsemen.

Norse settlement was concentrated in the low lying marshy areas of the Fylde, closer to the coast. This is likely because the Vikings came from previously settled areas in Ireland and the west coast of Scotland. The coastal area around Preston was sparsely populated, as late as the Middle Ages, and Norse settlements seem to be parallel rather than superimposed on the Anglo Saxon settlements. Probable Norse settlements are found mostly in Kirkham and Poulton-le-Fylde. 

Earl Tostig looses Amounderness to William the Conqueror

Just prior to the Norman invasion, Amounderness and consequently Preston was ruled by Earl Tostig of Northumbria. He was killed in 1066 at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Later William the Conqueror granted the lands around Preston to Roger De Poitou.

Roger De Poitou had large land holdings in France and England, and became first Lord of Bowland in around 1090. He also controlled the area to the north of Preston and appears in a stained glass window at Lancaster Priory.

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