Preston
- This article is about Preston in Lancashire, England. For other uses of the name see Preston (disambiguation).
| City of Preston | |
|---|---|
 Shown within Lancashire | |
| Geography | |
| Status: | City (2002) |
| Region: | North West England |
| Admin. County: | Lancashire |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 215th 142.22 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Preston |
| ONS code: | 30UK |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density | Ranked 137th 129,991 914 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 85.5% White 11.6% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
 Preston City Council http://www.preston.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Labour |
| MPs: | Nigel Evans, Mark Hendrick, Michael Jack |
Preston is a local government district and city in North West England. It is the county town of Lancashire, and is on the Ribble river.
Preston is famous for, among other things, its large bus station (with 79 gates), St Walburge's Church (the tallest church in England, with the third highest spire at 94 metres), and Preston North End F.C., one of the oldest Football League teams. City status was granted to Preston in 2002.
Every 20 years, a famous celebration called the Preston Guild takes place. The last Guild celebration took place in 1992 and the next is due in 2012.
The city is home to the University of Central Lancashire, one of the largest universities in the country.
Famous sons include Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the water frame that kick-started the textile industry in the late 18th century, and Francis Thompson, poet (December 18, 1859 - November 13, 1907).
Twin towns are Almelo in the Netherlands, Nimes in France, Recklinghausen in Germany and Kalisz in Poland.
Features of Preston
- Museums
- Parks
Geography
- The River Ribble runs through the city.
- The Forest of Bowland forms an impressive backdrop to Preston.
See also
| Districts of England - North West England | 
|
|
Allerdale | Barrow-in-Furness | Blackburn with Darwen | Blackpool | Bolton | Burnley | Bury | Carlisle | Chester | Chorley | Congleton | Copeland | Crewe and Nantwich | Eden | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Fylde | Halton | Hyndburn | Knowsley | Lancaster | Liverpool | Macclesfield | Manchester | Oldham | Pendle | Preston | Ribble Valley | Rochdale | Rossendale | St Helens | Salford | Sefton | South Lakeland | South Ribble | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Vale Royal | Warrington | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral | Wyre | |
|
Administrative counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside |
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