Did You Know?

Early in the 20th century Preston had a strong manufacturing base. This included the founding of The Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works Ltd in 1898. The company was later to be know as the Dick, Kerr Works, who went on to supply trams to Blackpool, Scotland, and the London Underground.

Though Preston was too small to have stone walls it did have stone gates, where tolls could be charged on goods entering the town. By the 12th century, The town had a weekly market. From the 13th century, it also had a fair.

One of the oldest family-run grocery businesses in the UK is E.H. Booth & Co. Ltd whose headquarters are in Preston. In 2006 Booths achieved second place in the list of the World’s Greatest Food Retailers.

Preston North End are one of the founding members of the football league and they are also the first club to have won the league and cup double in 1888 which was the league’s first year.

It might surprise you, but it is home to the UK’s first-ever KFC, opened in 1965 on Fishergate High Street. Ray Allen, the man behind this milestone, personally met Colonel Sanders before setting up shop. This was the first US fast-food chain to open in the UK – it wasn’t until a decade later that McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hut arrived on British shores.

In 1816 Reverend Joseph "Daddy" Dunn, of St Wilfrid's Parish, created an improved gas lighting technique through chemical experiments. Joseph rapidly changed the whole of Lancashire by transporting the cool-gas lighting into the area as well as throughout the UK. By the mid 1800s, it became the second town in England after London to be fully lit by coal gas, making it the first provincial town in England to be lit this way.

In 1901 the population of Preston was almost 120,000. The Leyland steam wagon company was formed in 1896. In 1904 they began making petrol driven vehicles. The name of the company was changed to Leyland Motors in 1907.

It's origins can be traced back to the Roman period with evidence of a Roman road running through the town. The famous Cuerdale Hoard was also discovered near Preston, showing evidence of Viking activity after the Romans. The hoard is one of the largest Viking silver hoards ever found.

St Walburge's Church boasts a towering 309ft spire. The spire is the tallest of any Parish church in England and the third tallest of any church in the UK, with only the spires of Salisbury and Norwich Anglican Cathedral reaching higher. 

In 1816 Reverend Joseph "Daddy" Dunn, of St Wilfrid's Parish in Preston, created an improved gas lighting technique through chemical experiments. Joseph rapidly changed the whole of Lancashire by transporting the cool-gas lighting into the area as well as throughout the UK. By the mid 1800s, It became the second town in England after London to be fully lit by coal gas, making it the first provincial town in England to be lit this way.