Prestwich

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Prestwich
Coordinates: 53.5333° N 2.2833° W Prestwich shown within Greater Manchester
Population	31,693
Metropolitan borough	Bury
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Prestwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town lies between the neighbouring town of Whitefield and the cities of Manchester and Salford.

The northern part of Prestwich is known as Prestwich village, and is the oldest settlement.^{[citation needed]}

There is a large Jewish community in Prestwich, forming part of the second-largest Jewish community in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 Geography and administration 2 History 2.1 Etymology 2.2 Early history 3 Rectors of Prestwich 4 Demographics 5 Transport 6 Present day 6.1 Heaton Park 6.2 Local media 7 Sport 7.1 Football 7.2 Cricket 7.3 Crown Green Bowling 7.4 Snooker and Billiards 8 Bars 9 Notable residents 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Geography and administration

Prestwich was an ancient parish of Lancashire, and became the Prestwich Urban District under the Local Government Act 1894. It was granted a charter to become a municipal borough in 1939. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became an unparished area in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, now one of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.

Districts of Prestwich include:

• Sedgley Park
• Simister
• Rainsough
• Brooklands

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(Agecroft) 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 (A56) and Bury Old Road.

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

The name Prestwich is possibly of Saxon origin, derived from Priest Wic, which in Saxon translates to the priest's farmed land. Another possible derivation of the town's name is Priest's Retreat, one of the village bars is named after this.

[edit] Early history

The early history of Prestwich is inextricably linked with the church. Prestwich 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. It is known 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 19th 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.

It is believed that a Roman fort was built in Prestwich, although its precise location is unknown. Bury New Road, which runs through the centre of Prestwich, was originally a Roman road connecting Manchester to Longridge. Roman coins have been found in Prestwich, most have been found just off Bury New Road and near Prestwich Golf Course, however some have been found in Prestwich Clough about half a mile away from Prestwich village and Bury New Road.

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.

In more recent times, the arrival of Jewish and Muslim families into this thriving urban area of Manchester, resulted in the additional presence of synagogues and mosques, alongside Christian places of worship.

[edit] Rectors of Prestwich

The list of rectors is continuous from the 14th 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 King 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, The Revd. Bryan Hackett residing in the Rectory, was appointed.

[edit] Demographics

There is an area of south Prestwich which is known as Sedgley Park. This area has a sizeable Jewish population, and there are many Jewish businesses, specialist shops and delicatessens along King's 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 Specialist Language College located alongside Bury Old Road.

There is a large Tesco supermarket located off Bury New Road in the northern 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 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. There was originally a large Sainsbury's, located in the Longfield Precinct, however, this closed in 2001. Kwik Save closed their store in the late 1990s and the site of this former store is now occupied by a Marks and Spencer store specialising almost exclusively in food and homewares. Within the precinct there is also an Iceland store and a Home Bargains outlet plus several smaller shops including a baker's, butcher's, optician's, newsagent's and numerous charity shops. Richer Sounds also have an outlet along Bury New Road.

Within the precinct there is also a library, a Bury Metro council office and a well used community centre offering a range of entertainments and activities. A new development - The Radius Building - opened in early 2006 on the site of the old Sainsbury's store adjacent to the precinct. Comprising luxury apartments and retail outlets. As of November 2006 these consisted of: The Fairfax pub, a Sainsbury's Local store, a Superdrug and an independent chemist - Prestwich Pharmacy.

Also in the precinct is a fountain and 'sculpture' consisting of a large curve of glass, rising from ground level to some 10 feet above the ground. Perhaps unsurpisingly, this was rapidly vandalised, and soon fenced off. It has been closed for more than two years. It is currently awaiting demolition. It is to be replaced by a 'grassed area with fountain.'

[edit] Transport

Prestwich has good transport links with the city centre, Bury and other parts of Greater Manchester. The high frequency bendy-bus 135 and half-hourly 137 services pass through Prestwich on Bury Old Road. The 98 bus (which used to be half-hourly but now runs at a high-frequency every ten minutes or less). These three services along with the infrequent 138 service all link Bury to Manchester city centre. These services are provided by First Manchester. Other more locally orientated bus routes, like the 484, link Prestwich village to northern areas of Salford including Pendlebury, Swinton, Monton and Eccles. There are also the X40 and X41 busses (branded as The Lancashire Way and the X43 and X44 buses which are branded as The Witch Way. These buses are operated by Burnley and Pendle. These services that travel from Accrington and Burnley to Manchester stop at Tesco, The Longfield Centre and King's Road.

Prestwich is served by four tram stations on the Metrolink line from Manchester to Bury -

• Besses o'th' Barn on the Whitefield border to the north.
• Prestwich in the centre of the village.
• Heaton Park in the centre-east .
• Bowker Vale on the Blackley border to the south-east.

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 Ann's Road. The M60 motorway serves Prestwich at junction 17 and is located towards the north of the town centre around 1km/0.5mi away, some motorists also use junction 19 at Middleton/Heaton Retail Park for journeys on the M60 East.

[edit] Present day

[edit] Heaton Park

Greater Manchester's largest public park at 259 hectates (640 acres), Heaton Park, is situated to the east of Prestwich village. This was the ancient seat of the Earls of Wilton but was sold to Manchester Corporation in 1902. This park is 4 miles from Manchester city centre, now officially in Blackley but formerly in Crumpsall and is adjacent to Prestwich.

[edit] 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. Prestwich and Whitefield Guide is sold in many local shops. For the Jewish community there is the Jewish Telegraph.

[edit] Sport

[edit] Football

The local amateur team which represents Prestwich is Prestwich Heys FC. For many years, Prestwich Heys played on the fields just off Heys Road, a site known as Grimshaw's. The local high school, Prestwich High School 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 RC High School 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. Other local sides include Bury Amateurs who play their home games at Drinkwater Park, Rainsough and also Prestwich Marauders who have various places where they play their home matches. These teams are usually in the North Bury League or the Bury and Radcliffe League.

[edit] Cricket

The main cricket club in Prestwich is Prestwich Cricket Club, which has been very successful over recent years. Located between Prestwich Metrolink station and the Grimshaw's 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.

[edit] 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 Men's League running on Wednesday evenings, with the results available on the Allbut! website. Clubs involved in these leagues are usually located in the Prestwich and Whitefield areas, but also come from the neighbouring towns of Radcliffe, Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Crumpsall. Other leagues that are played by teams are also featured on this website, namely the Salford League and the Middleton League.

[edit] Snooker and Billiards

As well as a branch of the Riley's 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.

[edit] Bars

• The Church Inn on Church Lane (formerly a cold house for St Mary's Church)
• TGI Fridays
• Riley's Snooker Club
• The Railway and Naturalist
• The White Horse
• The Grapes of Prestwich
• The Priest's Retreat
• The Forresters
• The Red Lion
• The Friendship
• The Woodthorpe
• St Margaret's Inn

[edit] Notable residents

The comedienne Victoria Wood was born in Prestwich.^[1]

The band Elbow, from Bury, lived in Prestwich.

Kevin Godley and Lol Creme of the band 10cc were from there.

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 1980s. 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 Monica's.

Dr Montagu Lomax, who was an assistant medical officer at the Prestwich Asylum from 1917 - 1919, exposed the inhuman, custodial and antitherapeutic practices there in a book^[2] which led to a Royal Commission, increased central control and ultimately the Mental Treatment Act of 1930.^[3][4] However, much of what Lomax described could still be seen in parts of Prestwich Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s.^[5][6]

The amateur astronomer Michael Oates, who resides in Prestwich, has discovered 144 comets using images from the SOHO telescope, and for almost 5 years, held the world record for the greatest number of comet discoveries by an individual.

One other notable resident of the area was the German-born model and singer, Nico, who famously performed on the Velvet Underground's album in 1967, the Velvet Underground and Nico.

Julie Stevens (British actress), who appeared regularly in early episodes of TV series The Avengers and was a mainstay of younger children's TV shows Playschool and Playaway, was born in Prestwich in 1936.

[edit] References

Another notable resident is Abi Finley, who finished 5th on the reality TV show, "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"

Young aspiring singer/songwirter Liam Frost released his first major release in 2006 with his band the Slowdown Family. Titled, "Show Me How The Specteres Dance," the release of the album was completed after exhaustive touring of the Manchester area before moving out to the rest of the country.

[edit] External links