Preston has plenty of heritage and history to shout about – this was the message from a public meeting this week.
History is something we’ve covered on Blog Preston for many years and there’s never been a shortage of topics to write about.
We were fortunate to have the late Paul Swarbrick’s wisdom and research to tap into for a number of our 16 years of publishing – when he was co-editor of the site and also part of the Preston Historical Society.
He and his wife Gill provided a treasure trove of fantastic archive pieces exploring all manner of subjects about the city’s history. His full archive of writing about the city’s history remains online to view.
The Preserving Preston’s Heritage meeting, which drew together dozens of people from all different organisations and individuals interested in Preston’s history, got us thinking about the history and heritage topics the city could do more to ‘play up’ and make more of – both for those who live here but also to be seen as an unlikely tourist destination.
Read more: Sixteen excellent things Preston gave the world
While Preston is no York, or Cotswolds, or big city metropolis, it has its own place in the world and the history of Lancashire, the UK and beyond. Here’s what we think the city should lean into…
Perhaps an obvious place to start. But Preston North End recently celebrated their 150th anniversary and Deepdale is one of the oldest continuously used football grounds in the world.
Coupled to this we are one of the founders of women’s football. The Dick, Kerr Ladies. They blazed a trail in women’s football long before the Lionesses of modern day. Formed in 1917 they are commemorated at Deepdale and a blue plaque stands in Strand Road at the factory which is linked with their memory.
Read more: A brief history of the Dick, Kerr Ladies football team
And of course, there’s Sir Tom Finney. Absolute Preston legend. Not just for on the pitch, but off it too for his community ethos and love of the city. Plus all the other Preston players who have achieved notoriety either at Deepdale or further afield after starting out there (David Beckham famously came on loan etc).
Preston is also home to the headquarters of the English Football League (EFL) in Fishergate Hill.
As a city we famously lost the National Football Museum, down the M61 to Manchester, but why could a smaller museum not be brought back as a cousin museum to the main Urbis location in Manchester?
Away from football, Preston also has one of the oldest rugby clubs in the country in Preston Grasshoppers and of course, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff a cricketing legend who calls the city home.
Preston was one of the powerhouses of the industrial revolution. From Richard Arkwright to mills dotting the landscape, the city particularly for the cotton trade was a key staging post.
Not all of this history is something the city may want to celebrate but the different industries which have made up Preston throughout the years still endure – Booths was and remains headquartered here, we have a long connection with aerospace and engineering through BAE Systems and a long-running higher education institute in the University of [soon to be dropping the Central] Lancashire.
Each of these has a history, and many of these have done innovative and new things in their time – or are brands which go beyond the city too. And that industrial history and heritage is all around, from the Docks to converted mill buildings. Preston has always been a place where people work hard, create things and get on.
Perhaps not an obvious choice but Preston’s geographical location means it has always held military significance and has a continued Army presence in Fulwood Barracks – which contains the Lancashire Infantry Museum.
The last battle on English soil was fought in the city – the 1715 Battle of Preston which put down the Jacobite rebellion. You can see our ten part series by Karen Anne Doyle which chronicles the events of November 1715 as running battles were fought on the city’s streets.
Earlier in 1643 and 1648 the city saw two major battles during the English Civil War, including Oliver Cromwell’s rout of Royalists in August 1648 as he advanced through Fulwood and Ribbleton defeating a combined Royalist and Scottish force. It gives name to Cromwell’s bridge in the nearby Ribble Valley marking the route he took towards the city, and Cromwell’s mound is in Fulwood – now hidden behind the big vape business units off Eastway and the Fulwood Central retail park.
The city played a role in both the First and Second World Wars. From the heroics of James Towers who was awarded the Victoria Cross to the Preston Pals and the city’s railway station being a crucial staging post for feeding and looking after soldiers as they made their way to the front. A four year free buffet from 1915 to 1919 was put on for those serving their country as they passed through the station.
From suffragettes, the temperance movement and more there’s always been a trading of different ideas and ideals in Preston.
Edith Rigby, a prominent figure in the battle for women’s right to vote lived in Winckley Square.
While the temperance movement began in the city with Joseph Livesey.
Outside what used to be the public hall, or Corn Exchange (now the 1842 Bar), is a statue marking the events of 1842 when four people were killed during the Plug Plot Riots. This ace video from Preston Pulse also explains what took place in Lune Street when the Riot Act was read by the then Mayor of Preston Samuel Horrocks.
Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park is a Preston lad – and we have the cracking statue by the Market. The animated pair have plenty of nods to the city, including butter pies, dotted throughout their adventures.
Turner Prize winner and acclaimed artist Lubaina Himid is one of us.
The creator of The Bash Street Kids and the Beano illustrator Leo Baxendale was a Preston son.
Read more: 15 literary figures and authors you didn’t know were associated with Preston
John Inman – who had a starring role in Are You Being Served? – was from the city.
We’ve seen our city in TV and film as a location, the city’s recent roll call and credits include A Monster Calls, IP Man 4, Casanova, The Renata Road, Fair Game, Chicken Tikka Masala and more. You can see the full IMDB run through.
Preston has always been a proudly diverse city, with strong Afro-Caribbean heritage and communities – Preston Caribbean Carnival marked its 50th year last year, there’s a large South Asian community and the city’s Mela is always a fantastic and well-attended event.
And events wise, we’ve now hosted the BBC’s Radio 1 Big Weekend and the BBC Radio 2 In The Park festivals. Not forgetting the Preston Guild, every 20 years, the biggest of Preston parties.
We are also home to the first ever KFC in the UK (a decade ago they dared to try and close the Fishergate friend chicken outlet, there was absolute outrage). If that isn’t history and culture combining, what is?
Read more: 33 things everyone who grew up in Preston knows to be true
We couldn’t not mention Preston Bus Station. Love it or loathe it, it’s grade-II listed and a Brutalist icon revered around the world by architectural nerds. You can even buy knitwear dedicated to it.
Preston has its fair share of architecturally significant and listed buildings, from the Harris, to the Harris Institute, to the Sessions House. There’s smaller listed buildings dotted everywhere in and around the city, and many of our parks such as Avenham and Miller Park and Moor Park are listed too due to their beauty and significance.
What did we miss? I’m sure there’s plenty. Let us know in the comments below
The Preston Past and Present and Preston History Facebook groups are regularly full of interesting posts and tid-bits about the city. And the Preston Digital Archive is a fascinating photo resource, as well as the excellent Preston History website.
The Preserving Preston’s Heritage Facebook group is open for anyone to join and anyone interested in getting involved can contact Rachael Bryson for more information.
Once back open, the Harris Museum and Art Gallery also has a community library and many historical records about the city. And the Lancashire Archives in Bow Lane regularly holds events and contains all kinds of records about the city.
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