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'Prestwich' is a town within 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 oldest part of Prestwich is known as Prestwich Village. There is a large Jewish community in Prestwich, bordering with Higher Broughton in Salford to form the second-largest Orthodox Jewish community in the United Kingdom.This is where the Jewish community of Cheetham Hill in Manchester, which no longer exists as such, has fetched up.
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
★ 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 west by the 'Prestwich Forest Park' and the Irwell Valley (Agecroft) and to the south by the City of Salford. The two main north-south roads passing from central Manchester to Bury, Bury New Road (A56) and Bury Old Road, traverse the district, .
History
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.
Politics
Prestwich is a part of Bury South Parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Labour MP Ivan Lewis from 1997.
Economics
Prestwich is a self-contained community with a wide range of traditional and superstore shopping. The shops of the Jewish community in Prestwich give it a particular distinction.[1]
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 Irish Catholic community in Prestwich and the surrounding area, with St Monica's RC High School Specialist Language College located alongside Bury Old Road.
Religion
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 migration of Jewish families, mainly from Cheetham area of Manchester and Broughton Park in Salford, and later arrival of Muslims into this thriving urban area of Greater Manchester, resulted in the additional presence of synagogues and mosques, alongside Christian places of worship.
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.
Cemeteries
There are three Jewish cemeteries in Prestwich:
★ Philips Park Cemetery
★ Prestwich Village Cemetery, Bury New Road (in use from 1841 to 1951)
★ Rainsough Cemetery, Rainsough Brow (in use since 1923)
Places of interest
Heaton Park
Europe's largest municipal park at 259 hectares (640 acres), Heaton Park, is situated to the east of Prestwich village, within the City of Manchester. 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.
Transportation
Prestwich has good transport links with the city centre, Bury and other parts of Greater Manchester. The high frequency ''bendy-bus'' and other services provided by First Manchester. There are more locally orientated bus routes, linking Prestwich village to northern areas of Salford including Pendlebury, Swinton, Monton and Eccles. 'The Lancashire Way' and 'The Witch Way' services link Prestwich to Burnley and Pendle.
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.
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' and 'The Bury Times' are sold in many local shops. For the Jewish community there is the 'Jewish Telegraph'.
Culture
Sport
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.
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.
Crown Green Bowling
Prestwich has a very active bowling scene, with Veterans, Ladies, and Men's Leagues. Clubs involved in these leagues are usually located in the Prestwich and Whitefield areas, but also come from the neighbouring towns of Radcliffe, Bury, Ramsbottom, 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. There are also green bowling facilities located in Heaton Park which were built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Snooker and Billiards
The Prestwich and District Snooker League brings together different clubs in the area to compete on Thursdays and occasional Tuesdays.
Private Members Clubs
★ Prestwich Church Institute
★ Prestwich Conservative Club
★ Prestwich Liberal Club
★ Prestwich Royal British Legion
★ Heaton Park Social (Working Men's) Club
★ The Carlton Club
Notable residents
The comedienne Victoria Wood was born in Prestwich.[2]
The band Elbow, from Bury, live 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[3] which led to a Royal Commission, increased central control and ultimately the Mental Treatment Act of 1930.[4][5] However, much of what Lomax described could still be seen in parts of Prestwich Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s.[6][7]
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.
References
1. [1]
2. [2]
3. Montagu Lomax, ''The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor'' London: George Allen & Unwin 1921
4. BA Towers ''The management and politics of a public expose: the Prestwich Inquiry 1922'' J Social Policy (1984) 13: 41-61
5. TW Harding, ''"Not worth powder and shot." A reappraisal of Montagu Lomax's contribution to mental health reform'' British Journal of Psychiatry (1990) 156: 180-187
6. J Hopton ''Daily life in a 20th century psychiatric hospital: an oral history of Prestwich Hospital'' Int Hist Nurs J (1997) 2: 27-39
7. J Hopton ''Prestwich Hospital in the twentieth century: a case study of slow and uneven progress in the development of psychiatric care'' History of Psychiatry (1999) 10: 349-369
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.
External links
★ Prestwich Clough Centenary Committee
★ Prestwich Heritage Society
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