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Revision as of 15:35, 30 September 2006 by Arrievaulx (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Prestwich is the most southerly town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England.
The town was formerly a Municipal Borough in its own right, but was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in 1974, along with Whitefield, Radcliffe, Tottington, Ramsbottom and the former County Borough of Bury.
The northern part of the district is known as Prestwich Village, and is the oldest settlement. There is a large Jewish community in Prestwich, forming part of the second largest Jewish community in the United Kingdom.
It is believed that the name 'Prestwich' means 'Priest's Retreat', although some sources disagree with this.
The Church in Prestwich
The village itself has very ancient origins, and at least for the early parts of its history, the fortunes of the village seem to have followed the fortunes of its parish church. We know that a Rector of Prestwich existed by at least 1200. The present large Parish Church, at the end of Church Lane in the village centre, is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin and parts of it date from around 1500, although the last extensions were made at the end of the nineteenth century. It was the centre of the vast ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham. For a time in the 19th century, the Church was referred to locally as St. Bartholomew's, which could be attributed either to the unpopularity of the Blessed Virgin at the time, or to sheer ignorance. The Church Wakes were traditionally held around St. Bartholomew's Day, and this could have reinforced the error.
In 1849, St. Margaret's Church was erected near the gates of Heaton Park, originally as a chapel of ease to the Parish Church, but since 1885 as a Parish Church in its own right. The church was extended many times in the 19th cenutry, in 1863, 1871, 1884, 1888 and 1899. A particular feature of St. Margaret's Church is the splendid Arts and Crafts movement oak carving (including reredos, choir stalls, rood screen, panelling, pulpit, bishop's chair, altar rails, etc.) by Arthur Simpson of Kendal, widely believed to be the finest collection of his ecclesiastical work.
Other Anglican churches in the area include churches dedicated to St. Gabriel, St. Hilda, and St. George.
The Roman Catholic Church in Prestwich began to reappear in late Victorian times. Mass was celebrated in 1889 for the first time since the Reformation. The present Catholic church, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, was opened in 1931 and consecrated in 1956. There are two local Methodist churches, Heaton Park Methodist Church and Prestwich Methodist Church.
There is also a substantial Jewish population in Prestwich, and increasing numbers of Muslims.
Rectors of Prestwich
The list of Rectors is more or less continuous from the fourteenth century, albeit for a rather confused period around the time of the Commonwealth. A particularly famous Rector was the Revd. John Lake, inducted to the living in 1668, who later became one of the Seven Bishops imprisoned in the Tower of London by James II. The Revd. Henry Mildred Birch, Rector from 1852 to 1884, was the first tutor of the future King Edward VII.
The following is a list of Rectors from 1900.
- 1900 - 1940 The Revd. Canon Frederic W. Cooper
- 1940 - 1966 The Revd. Canon Francis Paton-Williams
- 1967 - 1978 The Revd. Canon David E. Ratledge
- 1978 - 1985 The Revd. Canon Thomas N. Evans
- 1986 - 2002 The Revd. Canon Frank Bibby
The living of Prestwich was suspended by the Diocese of Manchester in 2002. A priest-in-charge, residing in the Rectory, was appointed.
Geography
The nature of Prestwich village changed massively in the 1970s, with the erection of the Longfield Shopping Centre. The construction of the motorways near Prestwich also altered the life and habits of the townspeople. In the 1970s, local government changes brought control of Prestwich under Bury Metropolitan Borough Council. It is somewhat different in character from Bury, however, and looks more towards Manchester and Salford . It is geographically nearer to Salford than to Bury.
Prestwich is bounded on its eastern side by Heaton Park, to the north by the M60, to the west by the Irwell Valley and to the south by the City of Salford. The 2 main north-south roads passing from Central Manchester to Bury traverse the district, Bury New Road and Bury Old Road.
Community
Part of South Prestwich is known as Sedgley Park. This area has a large Jewish population, and there are many Jewish businesses, specialist shops and delicatessens along Kings Road and Bury New Road.
There is also a large, predominantly Irish, Catholic community in Prestwich and the surrounding area, with St Monica's RC High School Language College located alongside Bury Old Road.
There is a large Tesco located off Bury New Road in the north part of Prestwich. This is located in grounds originally owned by Prestwich Hospital, a mental health institute, which is now greatly reduced in size. The remaining wards are under the control of Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust. There was originally a Sainsbury's, located in the Longfield Precinct, however, this closed in 2001. Kwik Save closed their store in the late 1990s. The site of this former store is now occupied by a Marks and Spencer store specialising almost exclusively in food and homewares. There was formerly a Co-op emporium located in Tower Buildings, on the corner of Bury New Road and Fairfax Road, however this closed in the 1980s and the building has since been demolished. The first stages of a new development in the Longfield Precinct opened in early 2006, comprising luxury apartments, a new fountain centrepiece, a Sainsbury's Local store and the independent chemist Prestwich Pharmacy, with other shops to come. A new pub has just recently opened called "The Fairfax."
Transport
Prestwich has good transport links with the High Frequency bendy-bus 135 service, the half-hourly 137 Service and the half-hourly 98, all of which run from Manchester to Bury. Other smaller bus routes, like the 484, link Prestwich town centre to outer areas.
Prestwich is served by four stations on the Metrolink line from Manchester to Bury - Besses o'th'Barn to the North, Prestwich in the Town Centre, Heaton Park in the Centre-East and Bowker Vale serving the Brooklands/Sedgely Park community in the South/South East, although Bowker Vale Station is actually in Crumpsall, in the City of Manchester.
Bury Old Road and Bury New Road both run north-south through the town and there are several east-west routes, including Sheepfoot Lane, Scholes Lane and Hilton Lane. Minor roads include Heywood Road, Simister Lane, Park Road, Ostrich Lane, Butterstile Lane and St Anns Road. The M60 Motorway serves Prestwich at junction 17 and is located towards the north of the town centre around 1km/0.5mi away.
Famous residents
The band Elbow lived in Prestwich; Kevin Godley and Lol Creme of the band 10cc were from there, and The Fall's lead singer Mark E Smith has lived there for most of his life. Punk band Sham 69 also lived in the village in the early 80s. Broadcaster and raconteur James H Reeve is a current Prestwich resident. One of the Atomic Kitten band members, Jenny Frost, grew up in Prestwich and attended the local Catholic high school, St. Monicas. The comedienne Victoria Wood was born in Prestwich.
Heaton Park
Greater Manchester's largest public park Heaton Park is situated to the east of the town. The ancient seat of the Earls of Wilton, this was sold to Manchester Corporation in 1902. This Park is in Manchester, now in Blackley but formerly in Crumpsall.
Local Media
One local newspaper that covers the area of Prestwich (as well as neighbouring Whitefield and Radcliffe) is The Advertiser, (one of the GWN Greater Manchester Weekly News newspapers) a weekly freesheet, based in Salford. For the Jewish community there is the Jewish Telegraph Jewish Telegraph website, additionally, there is the Prestwich and Whitefield Guide.
Sport in Prestwich
Football The local amateur team which represents Prestwich is Prestwich Heys. For many years, Prestwich Heys played on the fields just off Heys Road, a site known as Grimshaws. The local high school, Prestwich High as was (now the Arts College), obtained the land for use as their sports fields and Prestwich found a new home on Sandgate Road, just over the border in Whitefield. This field was near the site of the old St Joseph's RC High School (which merged with St Peter's RC High School, rebadged itself as St Monica's and located itself on the St Peter's site) and has been redeveloped to include enclosed concrete "fencing", a car park and club facilities. Prestwich Heys currently play in the Manchester Football League.
Cricket The main cricket team in Prestwich is Prestwich Cricket Club, which has been very successful over recent years. Located between Prestwich Metrolink station and the Grimshaws playing fields mentioned earlier, Prestwich CC also has crown green bowling and tennis facilities as well as a spacious clubhouse. Prestwich CC has been on this site for many years, with the clubhouse having many photos on display from previous teams and players.
Crown Green Bowling Prestwich has a very active bowling scene, with Veterans playing on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, a Ladies League running on Thursday evenings and a Mens LeagueAllbut! website running on Wednesday evenings. Clubs involved in these leagues are usually located in the Prestwich and Whitefield area, but also come from the neighbouring towns of Radcliffe, Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Crumpsall.
Snooker and Billiards As well as a branch of the Rileys snooker chain in Prestwich Village, the Prestwich and District Snooker League brings together different clubs in the area to compete on Thursdays and occasional Tuesdays.
Districts of Prestwich
53°32′N 2°17′W / 53.533°N 2.283°W / 53.533; -2.283
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