Prestbury is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, about 1.5 miles (3 km) north of Macclesfield. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,324;[2] it increased slightly to 3,471 at the 2011 census.[3] Alongside fellow "Cheshire Golden Triangle" villages, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge, it is one of the more sought-after places in the north.[4] The ecclesiastical parish is almost the same as the former Prestbury local government ward which consisted of the civil parishes of Prestbury, Adlington and Mottram St Andrew.[5]
Toponym
As Prestbury was initially settled by priests its name derives from Preôsta burh, which is sometimes thought to mean "priests' town", but more correctly means a priest's fortified enclosure.
Prestbury lies between Macclesfield and Wilmslow, for the most part on elevated ground above the flood-prone River Bollin. The ancient Forest of Macclesfield is to the east.
There is no evidence of a settlement before Saxon times, although a cemetery nearby which had been excavated in 1808 contained pottery cremation urns and signs of sacrifice and was presumably pre-Christian.
As a result of being initially settled by priests they chose an enclosure with a defensible location on the River Bollin where there was relatively high ground close to the river on both sides so that crossing was easy. From there they could travel to all parts of a parish which was extensive, though thinly populated, in part because the countryside was wild and barren and in part because the forest was reserved for hunting.
Prestbury township was not mentioned in the Domesday Book, perhaps because information was not supplied or because Prestbury was only a church, not a manor.
Twelve of the other townships are mentioned. Butley was valued at 2 shillings at the time of the Domesday Survey, compared with 30 shillings at the time of Edward the Confessor, Adlington and Macclesfield were both worth 20 shillings and Siddington 5 shillings. The other eight townships were valued "Waste".
The church administered the civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs of the parish until the Local Government Act 1894 created rural districts and civil parishes. Three of the townships, Butley, Fallibroome and Prestbury, constitute the present civil parish of Prestbury.
Village
Prestbury 1831
The school, smithies, the mill, inns and the stocks centre on a village street called "The Village", which is broad enough for cattle fairs and the like. Until the 19th century the village street was connected to Pearl Street, the main street of Butley, by a ford.
In about 1825, a bridge of two arches was built, linking the village street to a new road ("New Road") passing behind the cottages and the Admiral Rodney pub[6] on the southeast side of Pearl Street. In 1855 the bridge was replaced by the present bridge with one arch.[7]
During the 19th century Prestbury became an important center of the silk industry. The parish accounted for around a third of the total number of males employed in that branch of textile manufacturing in England and Wales in the early 19th century.[8] Swanwick's factory operated and cottages were built for the workers ("Factory Cottages" or "Irish Row"). Weavers' cottages were built on both New Road and the village,[9] with upper storeys for weaving.
In the 20th century, improved communications made it possible for Prestbury to develop into a residential community.
The conservation area includes areas neighbouring the village street, the east side of Macclesfield Road as far south as the Methodist church,[11] and New Road as far north as Butley Cottage[12] and its garden.
Macclesfield Road, looking south
Many of the buildings and structures in the Conservation Area are listed by English Heritage, four of them, The Bridge Hotel,[13] Priest's House,[14] Horner's[15] and Prestbury Hall[16] being regarded as "Focal Buildings". Other buildings are considered to be of townscape merit. Trees and even some hedges are important landscape features.
The Manor House[17] was shown as the vicarage on the 1831 map.
Brooks Cottages,[18] marked with a plaque reading "Rodger Brooks and Ellen his wife erected this house in the 24 years of his life Ano Dom 1686" are among the listed buildings on the Butley side of the Bollin.
Other areas
Smithy Cottage, built on the site of a former smithy, is just outside the conservation area.
Butley Hall[19] is shown on the 1831 map but is outside the conservation area, as are the Butley Ash Inn and Spittle House, which was probably built between 1300 and 1450 as a leper hospital.
New estates were built during the 20th century to accommodate commuters.
The defining characteristic of 21st-century development has been the replacement of quite sizeable houses by large mansions, such as that built for footballer Wayne Rooney.[20]
Since the 1970s, there has been quite a lot of new build development in the village. Packsaddle Park is a good example of this. It is a suburban development built on the grounds of Packsaddle House. In addition to this, there has been a lot of redevelopment of existing houses in the village.
St Peter's Church is a Grade I listed building[22] and houses a Saxon cross within a Norman Chapel in its churchyard.[23] The parish's memorial to the dead of the two world wars is in the west porch.
St John's, Adlington, is a daughter church of St Peter's,[24]
The village is a natural traffic hub because of the lay of the land.[30]
The road from Macclesfield to Altrincham (A538) carries traffic between Macclesfield and Wilmslow through the centre of the village. The Macclesfield to Hazel Grove road (A523), built in 1810, goes through the parish in a north–south direction, passing to the east of the village.
Bus routes 19 and 19X operate between Prestbury and Macclesfield
Prestbury railway station is located a few minutes walk from the village centre. It is served by Northern Trains services between Manchester Piccadilly, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent. It was opened on 24 November 1845 and was refurbished in 1986. The south entrance arch to Prestbury Railway Tunnel is grade II listed.[31]
Notable people
Numerous stars of sport and entertainment have lived in Prestbury for various lengths of time, including:
Noddy Holder, musician and actor, best known as the vocalist and guitarist with Slade, moved to the area from the West Midlands after rising to fame during the 1970s.[20]
Lord Tim Hudson (1940–2019), DJ, artist, sports manager and voice actor
Ashley Young, professional football player, plays for Aston Villa[44]
1977 bank robbery
In February 1977, the village made national headlines when two employees at the local branch of Williams & Glyn's Bank were murdered during a robbery. Whilst the sub-branch was closed for lunch 22-year-old senior cashier Ian Jebb was repeatedly stabbed and his assistant 19-year-old Susan Hockenhull kidnapped. As the branch was staffed only by these two, the alarm was only raised when customers were unable to enter the bank after the lunchtime closing period.[45] Miss Hockenhull's body was later discovered on moorland, where she had died from hypothermia.[46]
In October 1977, David Walsh, 30, who was employed as a contractor to service adding machines at the bank and who was known to the victims, was found guilty at Chester Crown Court of their murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He also received 15 years' imprisonment for the robbery, which had netted £2,445.[47][48]
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