Preston on the Hill
| Preston on the Hill | |
|---|---|
 Windmill Lane Fingerpost |
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 Preston on the Hill
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| Preston on the Hill shown within Cheshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ5780 |
| Unitary authority |
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| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Warrington |
| Postcode district | WA4 |
| Police | Cheshire |
| Fire | Cheshire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Preston on the Hill is a rural village in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It is located between the villages of Daresbury, Dutton and Preston Brook. The village comprises the hamlets of Windmill Lane, Waterfront, Cotton's Bridge, Tunnel End North, Tunnel Top and Barker's Hollow as well as several farms including White House, Little Manor, New Manor and Humble Bee House.
The name PRESTON means "priest's house or priest's farm".
This may refer to a priest from Norton Priory being housed on the edge of the priory estates.
Despite its prominent position on a hilltop no evidence has been found in Preston-on-the-Hill of Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age man having a settlement or even a fortification there. The Roman road from their settlement at Wilderspool near Warrington to the city of Chester (Deva Victrix) ran through the village, more or less along the lines of what is now the A56.
PRESTON is not mentioned directly in the Domesday Book of AD1086 but it was part of the lands held by William fitz Nigel, Baron of Halton who was one of the most powerful men in the country in Norman times. This part of the manor of Dutton was recorded as having just 2 farms in AD1086.
The first recorded reference to the name Preston is in the Chartulary of the Abbey of St. Werburgh, Chester between 1157 and 1194. During the reign of King John from 1167 – 1216 the township of Preston was purchased by Hugh Dutton of Dutton from Henry de Nuers and his wife Julien. The township rendered eight shillings yearly at the feast of St. Martin (11 November).
In the early 17th Century the manor passed by marriage to the second Baron Gerard of Gerards Bromley. This family became Earls of Macclesfield. In 1705 Lord Gerard conveyed the manor to trustees to be sold for the payment of debts. The manor of Preston-on-the-Hill passed to the Fleetwood family by whom it was conveyed to the Grevilles who sold it to Thomas Brock of Chester and then he bequeathed it to Thomas Yates his nephew. He held the manor at the time that George Ormerod wrote his History of the County Palatine and City of Chester in 1817. He is named as the main landowner in the 1843 Tithe Apportionment. The manor then passed by marriage to Richard Barker. Later in the 19th century the manor was purchased by Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury of the Greenall's brewery family and added to the Walton estate.
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Wikipedia