Preston
a municipal and parliamentary borough of England, in Lancashire, 27 miles N. E. of Liverpool. The environs of the town exhibit much pleasing scenery, and there are some fine public parks. Among the churches, Christ Church is admired for the purity of its Norman architecture. The Catholic church, St. Walburge's, is considered the finest in the town. The original staple manufacture of the town, linen, has been completely eclipsed by the cotton manu- PREVOST facture, of which Preston is now one of the chief centers. Preston also has machine shops, iron and brass foundries, railway carriage works, breweries, malt houses, roperies, tanneries, etc. In 1323 Preston Preston , originally Priest's Town, was taken and burned by Robert Bruce; in the great civil war it espoused the Royalist cause, and was twice captured by the Parliamentarians; in the rebellion of 1715 it was occupied by the Jacobite forces; in that of 1745 the Highlanders, headed by the Pretender, passed through Preston both on their march to London and on their retreat.
Preston was the birthplace of Arkwright. It returns two members to Parliament. Pop. (1917) 106,747.