Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/262

Rh PRESCOT. 2.50 PRESTEIGN. in the immediate vicinity. The town contains a town- hall, commercial bank, savings-bank, union poorhouse, and police station. The Poor-law Union of Prescot em- braces 20 chapelries and townships. A court-baron is held six times a year, and a court-leet on the festival of Corpus Christ!, when a coroner for the manor and liberty is appointed. Above half the land is in pasture. The impropriate tithes belong to the Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Chester, val. 760, in the patron, of King's College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient stone structure, with a modern towe'r and spire 156 feet high, and containing eight bells. In the interior are several monuments by Vest- macott and Chantrey. The tower was erected on the site of the old steeple, which was struck by lightning in 1789. In addition to the parish church are the follow- ing district churches, viz. St. Thomas's, Eccleston, Christ Church, Eccleston, St. Helen's with Holy Trinity, Parr- Mount, Parr, Farnworth, Rainford, Rainhill, Great Saukey, and Widnes St. Mary, the livings of all which are perpet. curs.,* varying in val. from 350 to 103. The churches at Rainford, Farnworth, and St. Helen's are ancient. Tho parochial charities produce about .898 per annum, besides some almshouses. There is an endowed grammar school, also a Roman Catholic school. The Independents, Wcsleyans, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics have each a place of worship. There are a floral and horticultural society, and the Prescot Har- monic Society, also a lending library. Among the prin- cipal residences are Knowsley and Croxteth Halls. The provost and scholars of King's College, Cambridge, are lords of the manor. Tho tragedian, John Philip Kemble, was born hero in 1757. Market days are Tuesdays and Saturdays. Fairs are held on Ash- Wednesday, 24th and 25th August, 21st October, and 1st November; also fairs every other week for cattle, commencing from Shrove Tuesday to the first Tuesday in May. PRESCOT, an ext. par. place in the upper div. of the hund. of Tewkesbury, co. Gloucester, 2J miles W. of Winchcomb, and 5 N.E. of Cheltenham. The Earl of Ellenborough is lord of the manor. This place was anciently covered with wood, and belonged to the Abbey of Tewkesbury, whence it is supposed to have derived its name Priest's Coed, or Prescot. FRESCO I 1, a hmlt. in the par. of Cropredy, hund. of Banbury, co. Oxford, 5 miles N.E. of Banbury. PRESCOTT, a tnshp. in the par. of Stottesden, co. Salop, 3 miles K. of Cleobury-Mortimer. PRESCOTT, a tnshp. in the par. of Baschurch, co. Salop, 6 miles N.W. of Shrewsbury. PRESHUTE, a par. in the hund. of Selkley, co. Wilts, half a mile S.W. of Marlborough, its post town. It is situated on the river Kennet, and forms part of the borough of Marlborough, containing the hmlts. of Clatford, Elect, and Manton. The village, which is irregularly built, is wholly agricultural. The appro- priation belongs to the I)ean and Chapter of Salisbury. The tithes were commuted for corn rents under an En- closure Act in 1790. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Sarum,val. 186, inthepatron. of the bishop. Thechurch, dedicated to St. George, is an ancient Norman edifice with a square tower. The interior of the church con- tains an ancient font of dark grey marble, and a brass to E. Bailey bearing date 1518. The font is said to be the one in which King John and Edward the Black Prince were baptized. The parochial charities produce about 6 per annum. There is a National school for both sexes. The Marlborough union poorhouse is in this parish. PRESMENNAN, a loch in the par. of Stenton, co. Haddington, Scotland, 7 miles E. of Haddington. It is an artificial lake about 2 miles in length, surrounded by thriving plantations, and gives name to Presmannan House in Lammennuir. PRESTACOTT, a hmlt. in the par. of Belstone, co. Devon, 2 miles S.E. of Okehampton. PRESTATYN, a hund. in the co. of Flint, contains the pars, of Dyserth, Gwaenysgor, Llanasaph, Meliden, Newmarket, and part of Rhuddlan. PRESTATYN, a tnshp. and market vil., in the par. of Meliden, and hund. of Prestatyn, co. Flint, 4 miles N.E. of Rhuddlan. It is a station on the Chester and Holyhead section of the London and North Western railway. It is situated on the coast, and is in conjunc- tion with the hamlet of Nant. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of St. Asaph, val. 233, in the patron, of the crown and bishop alternately. There are ruins of a castle at Prestatyn Plas, erected prior to Henry II.'s time, and which was once the seat of the Banasters, Crevecceurs, Conways, &c. A market is held on Saturday. PRESTBURY, a par. in the lower div. of Deer- hurst hund, co. Gloucester, 1 mile N.E. of Chelten- ham, its post town. The village is situated under the Cotswolds, and is chiefly agricultural. It was formerly a market town, but was burnt in the reign of Henry VII. It was garrisoned by the parliamentarians in the civil war of Charles I. It has a mineral spring, over which is a pump room. The soil is various, with a subsoil of gravel and clay. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 258, with a glebe of 21 acres, and the impropriate tithes for one of 311 Us., part of which latter belong to the Dean and Precentor of Hereford. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Gloucester and Bristol, val. 234. The dhurch, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient stone structure, with a square embattled tower containing six bells. The church contains some tablets to the De-la-Bere and other families. It has recently undergone a complete restoration. The parochial charities produce about .30 per annum, exclusive of an almshouse for ten inmates. There is a National school for both sexes. PRESTBURY, a par. and tnshp. in the hund. of Macclesfield, co. Chester, 2J miles N.W. of Macclesfield, its post town, and 15J E. of Manchester. It is a station on the Manchester and Macclesfield railway. This par., which is of large extent and very populous, includes the town of Macclesfield, the vils. of Bollington, Bosley, Capesthorne, Chelford, Henbury, Hurdsfield, Marton, Poynton, Pott-Shrigley, Rainow, North Rode, Sal- tersford, Siddington, Sutton, Wincle, Woodford, and 15 tnshps., each of which is described under its own head. The soil is in some parts sandy, and in other clayey. A considerable portion of the inhabitants are engaged in the silk and cotton mills, and others in agri- culture. A court leet and baron for the township is held twice a year in May and December. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Chester, val. 500. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient structure, with a lofty tower containing eight bells. On the S. side is an ancient building of stone, supposed to have been a Norman chapel, with an enriched western entrance. The church contains a piscina and several mural monu- ments. The interior was improved and restored in 1857. In addition to the parish church are the following district churches, viz. Macclesfield, Christchurch, St. Paul's, St. Peter, Macclesfield Forestchapel, Bollington, Bosley, Capesthorne, Chelford, Henbury, Hurdstield, Marton, Poynton, Pott-Shrigley, Rainow, North-Rode, Saltersford, Siddington, Suttou St. George, Sutton St James, Wincle, and Woodford, most of which are described under their separate heads; the livings are all perpet. curs., varing in val. from 300 to 48. The parochial charities produce about 40 per annum. There is a free school for both sexes, also a Sunday-school. In the township of Butley, in this parish, several tumuli containing urns and other relics of antiquity, were dis- covered in 1808. T. Legh, Esq., is lord of the manor. Fairs for cattle are held on the 28th April and 22nd October. PRESTEIGN, or LLAN-ANDRAS OF THE WELSH, a par., post, and market town, parliamentary borough, and county town of the co. of Radnor, the par. being partly situated in the hund. and co. of Radnor, and partly in the hund. of Wigmore, co. Hereford, 6 miles E. by N. of Radnor, and 151 N.W. of London.