Hide

Prestwich

hide
Hide

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"PRESTWICH, (or Prestwich cum Oldham) a parish and township in the hundred of Salford, county Lancaster, 4 miles N.W. of Manchester, its post town, and 5 S.E. of Bury. It is situated on the old turnpike road from Bury to Manchester, and contains the townships of Prestwich, Great-Heaton, Little-Heaton, Tonge-with-Alkrington, Oldham, Chadderton, Crompton, Royton, and Pilkington, most of which are described under their several heads. A large portion of the inhabitants are employed in the cotton mills. [See Oldham.] The county lunatic asylum is a range of brick buildings faced with stone. It includes a chapel, erected in 1851. Near the centre of the parish is a Jewish cemetery, formed in 1841. The living is a rectory with the curacy of St. Margaret's annexed, in the diocese of Manchester, value £1,230. The church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is an ancient structure of red sandstone, with a lofty square tower containing a clock and six bells. Adjoining it is the Wilton chapel, containing several monuments to the Earls of Wilton. The parochial charities produce about £40 per annum. On a site presented by the Earl of Wilton, stands St. Margaret's Chapel, the foundation-stone of which was laid by the Duchess of Cambridge, in 1848. There are numerous district churches, also National, British, and infant schools. Among the principal residences are Butt-Hill, Prestwich Lodge, Headlands, and Wood Hill. T. Drinkwater, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner."