Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/742

Rh 718 P R E P R E &quot;Prcster John,&quot; or simply &quot;the Presto.&quot; The name occurs on almost every page of the narrative beginning with page 1, though in the translation printed for the Hakluyt Society that which the editor calls &quot;general index&quot; gives no indication of the fact. The name of &quot; Prester John &quot; suggested alike to scholars and sciolists, first in its Oriental and then in its Ethiopian connexion, many fanciful and strained etymologies, from Persian, Hebrew, Kthiopic, and what not, and on the assumption that neither &quot; Presbyter&quot; nor &quot;John&quot; was any proper element of the name. l&amp;gt;ut for these dreams this passing notice must suffice. On the whole subject in its older aspects, see Ludolf s Historia sEthicipica and its Commentary, passim* The excellent remarks of M. d Avezac, comprising a conspectus of almost the whole essence of the subject, are in the Recuvil tie I oyages et de Mcmoires, published by the Societe de Geographic, vol. iv., Paris, 1839, pp. 547-504. Two German works of importance which have been used in this article are the interesting and suggestive Der Presbyter Johan MS in Sage uwl Geschichte, by Dr Gustav Oppert (2d ed., Berlin, 1870), and, most import ant of all in its learned, careful, and critical collection and discussion of all the passages bearing on the subject, Der Priestcr Johannes, by Friedrich Zarncke of Leipsic (1876-79), still unfortunately unfinished, and without the summing up which is required to complete the subject. The present writer has given considerable attention to the subject, and discussed it partially in Cathay and the ll ay Thither, p. 173 sq., and in Marco Polo, 2d ed., i. iiO- 233, ii. 539-543. (H. Y.) PRESTOX, a market -town and municipal and parlia mentary borough of Lancashire, is situated on the north bank of the Kibble, on the Lancaster Canal, and at the junction of several railway lines, 28 miles north-east of Liverpool and 31 north-west of Manchester. It consists chiefly of one long street, running from east to west along a steep ridge above the Ribble, Avhich is crossed by six bridges, three of which are railway bridges. The parish church of St John, rebuilt in 1855 in the Decorated style, occupies the site of a very ancient structure. A large number of ecclesiastical parishes have been formed within recent years, but none of the churches possess special architectural features. The Catholic church of St Wai- Flan of Preston. purgis or St Walpurge is an elaborate structure in the Early Decorated style, erected in 1854, and since then extensively altered. There are several good public build ings, including the town-hall (1867 in the Early Gothic style, from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott), the prison (1789), the corn exchange and markeUiouse (1824), the court house (1829), the borough magistrates court (1858), the covered market (1870), the county offices (1882), the public baths, and the barracks. The most important public institution is the free public library and museum, estab- ished in 1879. The building was erected, from designs by Mr J. Hibbert, at a cost of 75,000 by the trustees of Mr E. II. Harris, whose name it bears, a further sum of 30,000 being appropriated by them to furnish and endow the library and museum, which are to be maintained in efficiency for ever by the corporation. This body gave the site in the principal market-place at a cost of 30,000. Here is placed Dr Shepherd s library, founded in 1761, of nearly 9000 volumes, as well as a collection of pictures, tc., valued at 40,000, bequeathed by Mr R. Newsham. The Harris Institute, endowed by the above-named trustees with 40,000, is established in a building of classical style erected in 1849, wherein are held science and art classes, and where is placed a thoroughly equipped chemical laboratory. For the grammar-school, founded in 1550, a building in the Tudor style was erected in 1841 by private shareholders, but in 1860 they sold it to the corporation, who now have the management of the school. The blue -coat school, founded in 1701, Avas in 1817 amalgamated Avith the national schools. Preston is well supplied Avith public recreation grounds, including Aven- ham Park, the Miller Park with a statue of the 14th earl of Derby, and the Moor Park. Winckley Square, near the centre of the town, has a monument to Sir Robert Peel. Formerly &quot; proud &quot; Preston was a place of &quot; fashion and society&quot;; but the introduction of the linen manufacture at the end of the 18th century completely altered its charac ter. The inventions of Sir Richard Arkwright, Avho Avas a native of the town, found in Preston early acceptance; and owing to its convenient communications by river, canal, and railway, aided by native enterprise, it has become one of the principal seats of the cotton manufacture in Lancashire. There are also iron and brass foundries, engineering works, cotton -machinery Avorks, and steam- boiler Avorks, and a considerable and increasing coasting trade Avith Ireland and England. In 1826 Preston became a creek of Lancaster; in 1839 it was included in the new port of Fleetwood ; and in 1843 it Avas constituted an independent port. The number of vessels that entered the port in 1883 Avas 129 of 9365 tons, the number that cleared 137 of 9854 tons. By the deepening of the Ribble vessels of considerable tonnage can now unload at the neAv quay. But much more extensive operations in connexion with the improvement of the port have (1885) been projected. At an estimate cost of 800,000 the Ribble is to be deepened for a distance of about 12 miles to the point AA here it falls into the Irish Sea, and a neAv Avet dock is to be constructed, Avith an area of 40 acres, in the centre of the Ribble valley, betAveen the existing river -course and the intended diversion of the channel. The dock Avill be 13,240 feet long and 600 feet Avide. Four large warehouses are to be erected along the entire length of its east side. In addition to the main dock a timber dock of 25 acres is to be constructed, and also two large graving-docks, enabling vessels up to 1 000 tons burden to be constructed. The population of the parliamentary borough in 1811 was 17,115, in 1841 50,073, in 1871 85,427, and in 1881 93,720 ; that of the municipal borough, the area of Avhich was extended in 1880 to 3721 acres, amounted in 1881 to 96,537 (males 44,264, females 52,273). Preston returns tAvo members to the House of Commons. At Wai ton-le- Dale, close to Preston, where the Roman road crosses the Ribble, there arc remains of a Roman post. Saxon ware, as well as Koman remains and coins, have been found in the neighbourhood. The mound at Penwortham, to the south-west of the town, was probably a mote-hill of the Saxons. Preston owes its rise to the decay of Ribchester, which it gradually superseded ns the port of the Ribble. In the reign of Athelstane the whole district of Amounderness was granted to the cathedral-church of York. The capital of the hundred, on account of this ecclesiastical connexion, came to be known as &quot; Priest s town,&quot; afterwards changed to &quot; Preston. &quot; It possessed two monastic foundations, (1) a convent of Grey Friars founded in 1221 by Edmund, earl of Lancaster, son of Henry II., a little to the west of the Friargate, and occupied after the dissolution first as a private residence, then until 1790 as the house of correction, and subsequently as cottages, and now super-