PRESTON, Gloucestershire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"PRESTON, a parish in the hundred of Crowthorne, county Gloucester, l¾ mile S.E. of Cirencester, its post town, and 6 miles from Cricklade. This place anciently belonged to a priest named Reinbald, chancellor to Edward the Confessor. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Churn, and is wholly agricultural. The surface is generally level, and comprises some rich meadow land on either side of the river. The subsoil is of clay and oolite, and the soil chiefly a loamy clay, with stonebrash and gravel in parts. Slates or stone tiles are found in some places. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, under an Enclosure Act in 1771. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, value £338. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient stone structure with a low tower. There is a parochial school. Miss Master is lady of the manor."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]