Prestbury, Cheshire
Encyclopedia
Prestbury is a village
, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England
. Prestbury is a long, narrow parish covering 1,165 hectares to the west of the Peak Park foothills and to the east of the sandstone ridge which is ‘the edge’. The village is about 1.5 miles (3 km) north of Macclesfield
.
At the time of the 2001 census, the civil parish had a population of 3,324. It is one of the most sought after and expensive places to live outside of London. The ecclesiastical parish is almost the same as the former Prestbury local government ward
which consisted of the civil parishes of Prestbury, Adlington
, and Mottram St. Andrew
. The population in 2001 was 5,034.
Prestbury is a frequent winner of Best Kept Village/Community Pride Competitions and a popular destination for sightseers.
Prestbury lies between Macclesfield and Wilmslow
, for the most part on elevated ground above the flood-prone River Bollin
. The ancient Forest of Macclesfield is to the east.
There is no evidence of a settlement
before Saxon
times, although a cemetery nearby which had been excavated in 1808 contained pottery cremation urns and signs of sacrifice and was presumably pre-Christian.
Prestbury was founded by priests. Its name comes from Preôsta burh, which is sometimes thought to mean priests' town, but more correctly means a priests' fortified enclosure.
For their enclosure, the priests chose a defensible spot on the River Bollin where there was relatively high ground close to the river on both sides so that crossing was easy. From there they could travel to all parts of a parish which was extensive, though thinly populated, in part because the countryside was wild and barren and in part because the forest was reserved for hunting.
, the parish consisted of thirty-five townships
:
Prestbury township was not mentioned in the Domesday Book
, perhaps because information was not supplied or because Prestbury was only a church, not a manor.
Twelve of the other townships are mentioned. Butley was valued at 2 shilling
s at the time of the Domesday Survey, compared with 30 shillings at the time of Edward the Confessor
, Adlington and Macclesfield were both worth 20 shillings and Siddington
5 shillings. The other eight townships were valued "Waste".
The church administered the civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs of the parish until the Local Government Act 1894
created rural district
s and civil parishes. Three of the townships, Butley, Fallibroome and Prestbury, constitute fhe present civil parish of Prestbury.
The school, smithies, the mill, inns and the stocks
centre on a village street called "The Village", which is broad enough for cattle fairs and the like. Until the 19th century the village street was connected to Pearl Street, the main street of Butley, by a ford.
In about 1825, a bridge of two arches was built, linking the village street to a new road ("New Road") passing behind the cottages and the Admiral Rodney pub on the southeast side of Pearl Street. In 1855 the bridge was replaced by the present bridge with one arch.
During the 19th century Prestbury became involved in the silk industry. Swanwick's factory operated and cottages were built for the workers ("Factory Cottages" or "Irish Row"). Weavers' cottages were built on both New Road and the Village with upper storeys for weaving.
In the 20th century, improved communications made it possible for Prestbury to develop into a residential community.
Prestbury Mill was destroyed by fire in 1940.
The Conservation Area
includes areas neighbouring the village street, the east side of Macclesfield Road as far south as the Methodist Church, and New Road as far north as Butley Cottage and its garden.
Many of the buildings and structures in the Conservation Area are listed by English Heritage
, four of them, Bridge Hotel, Priest's House, Horner's and Prestbury Hall being regarded as "Focal Buildings". Other buildings are considered to be of townscape merit. Trees and even some hedges are important landscape features.
The Manor House was shown as the vicarage on the 1831 map.
Brooks Cottages, marked with a plaque reading "Rodger Brooks and Ellen his wife erected this house in the 24 years of his life Ano Dom 1686" are among the listed buildings on the Butley side of the Bollin.
Butley Hall
is shown on the 1831 map but is outside the Conservation area, as are the Butley Ash Inn and Spittle House, which was probably built between 1300 and 1450 as a leper hospital.
New estates were built during the 20th century to accommodate commuters.
The defining characteristic of 21st century development has been the replacement of quite sizeable houses by large mansions, such as that built for Wayne Rooney
.
Adlington Hall
with strong connections with Prestbury is nearby.
which is one of the oldest parish churches in the country and houses a Saxon cross in its churchyard. The parish's memorial to the dead of the two world wars is in the west porch.
St John's, Adlington, a daughter church of St Peter's
Prestbury Methodist Church
Prestbury falls within the Catholic parish of St Gregory's, Bollington.
Bowling club
Cricket club
Football clubs
Golf club
Macclesfield Rugby Club
Riding school
Squash rackets club
Tennis club
Because of the lie of the land, the village is a natural traffic hub.
The road from Macclesfield to Altrincham
(A538) carries traffic between Macclesfield and Wilmslow
through the centre of the village. The Macclesfield to Hazel Grove
road (A523), built in 1810, goes through the parish in a north–south direction, passing to the east of the village.
Buses 19 and 19X, Prestbury to Macclesfield
Prestbury is served by the Manchester
to Macclesfield to Stoke-on-Trent
railway line. Prestbury railway station
was opened on 24 November 1845 and refurbished in 1986. The south entrance arch to Prestbury Railway Tunnel is grade II listed. The village centre is a few minutes walk from the railway station.
were murder
ed during a robbery
. Whilst the sub-branch was closed for lunch 22-year old senior cashier Ian Jebb was repeatedly stabbed and his assistant (and fiancee) 19-year old Susan Hockenhull kidnapped. As the branch was only manned by the two staff the alarm was only raised when customers were unable to enter the bank after the lunchtime closing period . Miss Hockenhull was later discovered on moorland, where she had died from hypothermia
.
In October 1977 David Walsh, 30, who was employed as a contractor to service adding machines at the bank and who was known to the victims, was found guilty at Chester Crown Court of their murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. He also received 15 years' imprisonment for the robbery which netted £2,445.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Prestbury is a long, narrow parish covering 1,165 hectares to the west of the Peak Park foothills and to the east of the sandstone ridge which is ‘the edge’. The village is about 1.5 miles (3 km) north of Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
.
At the time of the 2001 census, the civil parish had a population of 3,324. It is one of the most sought after and expensive places to live outside of London. The ecclesiastical parish is almost the same as the former Prestbury local government ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
which consisted of the civil parishes of Prestbury, Adlington
Adlington, Cheshire
Adlington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is known as Eduluintune in the Domesday Book. According to the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 1,081 people across 401 households...
, and Mottram St. Andrew
Mottram St. Andrew
Mottram St Andrew is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the village has a population of 629 people. It is an affluent village set in the heart of the Cheshire countryside...
. The population in 2001 was 5,034.
Prestbury is a frequent winner of Best Kept Village/Community Pride Competitions and a popular destination for sightseers.
History and geography
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
, for the most part on elevated ground above the flood-prone River Bollin
River Bollin
The River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey in the north-west of England.It rises in Macclesfield Forest at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream then descends the through Macclesfield and Wilmslow where...
. The ancient Forest of Macclesfield is to the east.
There is no evidence of a settlement
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
before Saxon
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
times, although a cemetery nearby which had been excavated in 1808 contained pottery cremation urns and signs of sacrifice and was presumably pre-Christian.
Prestbury was founded by priests. Its name comes from Preôsta burh, which is sometimes thought to mean priests' town, but more correctly means a priests' fortified enclosure.
For their enclosure, the priests chose a defensible spot on the River Bollin where there was relatively high ground close to the river on both sides so that crossing was easy. From there they could travel to all parts of a parish which was extensive, though thinly populated, in part because the countryside was wild and barren and in part because the forest was reserved for hunting.
The parish
At the time of the Norman conquestNorman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, the parish consisted of thirty-five townships
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
:
- AdlingtonAdlington, CheshireAdlington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is known as Eduluintune in the Domesday Book. According to the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 1,081 people across 401 households...
- Alderley
- Birtles
- BollingtonBollingtonBollington is a small rural town and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, , England, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. It is located east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield., and the ancient parish of Prestbury...
- BosleyBosleyBosley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 406. The village is on the A523 road about six miles south of Macclesfield...
- Butley
- Capesthorne
- ChelfordChelfordChelford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is near to the junction of the A537 and A535 roads, about six miles west of Macclesfield, and six miles south-east of Knutsford. It is served by a small railway...
- Fallibroome
- GawsworthGawsworthGawsworth is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is one of the eight ancient parishes of Macclesfield Hundred. Twenty acres of the civil parish were transferred to Macclesfield civil parish in 1936The country houses...
- Henbury
- Hurdsfield
- KettleshulmeKettleshulmeKettleshulme is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is close to the border with Derbyshire, on the B5470 road from Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield, in the valley of the Todd Brook, a tributary of the...
- Lower Withington
- Lyme Handley
- MacclesfieldMacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
- Macclesfield Forest
- Marton
- Mottram St.Andrew
- Newton
- North RodeNorth RodeNorth Rode is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the population of the entire civil parish was 178....
- Old Withington
- Pott ShrigleyPott ShrigleyPott Shrigley is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census, the civil parish and village has a population of 220. The nearest town is Bollington to the southwest.The village has a Church...
- PoyntonPoyntonPoynton is a town within the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, and the unitary authority area of Cheshire East, England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of the county of Cheshire. Poynton is located at the eastern most fringe of the Cheshire Plain, north of Macclesfield, south of Stockport...
- Prestbury
- RainowRainowRainow is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, located, mostly, on the eastern side of the River Dean valley next to the B5470 road, between Macclesfield and Kettleshulme in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It straddles the eastern side of the Peak...
- SiddingtonSiddington, CheshireSiddington is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It consists of farms, a picnic site, Redesmere, a half-mile long lake, and the Capesthorne Estate. The village is located at the crossroads of the A34 with the B5392 approximately...
- SuttonSutton, MacclesfieldSutton Lane Ends or Sutton is a semi-rural village and civil parish that is situated roughly a mile south of Macclesfield; it includes the hamlets of Gurnett and Jarman. Sutton is in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...
- Taxal
- TytheringtonTytherington, CheshireTytherington near Macclesfield in Cheshire, England is now a residential area. It was once very much a rural setting, with its own stone mansion named 'Tytherington Hall' or 'House', built by the wife of William Brocklehurst in the 19th century...
- Upton
- WildboarcloughWildboarcloughWildboarclough is a village in east Cheshire, England, in the civil parish of Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough within the Peak District National Park. It is famed as being the place where the last wild boar in England was killed. However this is a myth...
- WincleWincleWincle is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. The parish contains the village of Danebridge, which is larger than the village of Wincle itself. It holds parish meetings rather than parish council meetings.-External links:...
- WoodfordWoodford, Greater ManchesterWoodford is a suburban village at the southern extent of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Stockport, north-northwest of Macclesfield, and south-southeast of Manchester...
- Worth
Prestbury township was not mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, perhaps because information was not supplied or because Prestbury was only a church, not a manor.
Twelve of the other townships are mentioned. Butley was valued at 2 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s at the time of the Domesday Survey, compared with 30 shillings at the time of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, Adlington and Macclesfield were both worth 20 shillings and Siddington
Siddington
Siddington may refer to:*Siddington, Cheshire, England*Siddington, Gloucestershire, England...
5 shillings. The other eight townships were valued "Waste".
The church administered the civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs of the parish until the Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
created rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s and civil parishes. Three of the townships, Butley, Fallibroome and Prestbury, constitute fhe present civil parish of Prestbury.
The village
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
centre on a village street called "The Village", which is broad enough for cattle fairs and the like. Until the 19th century the village street was connected to Pearl Street, the main street of Butley, by a ford.
In about 1825, a bridge of two arches was built, linking the village street to a new road ("New Road") passing behind the cottages and the Admiral Rodney pub on the southeast side of Pearl Street. In 1855 the bridge was replaced by the present bridge with one arch.
During the 19th century Prestbury became involved in the silk industry. Swanwick's factory operated and cottages were built for the workers ("Factory Cottages" or "Irish Row"). Weavers' cottages were built on both New Road and the Village with upper storeys for weaving.
In the 20th century, improved communications made it possible for Prestbury to develop into a residential community.
Prestbury Mill was destroyed by fire in 1940.
Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
includes areas neighbouring the village street, the east side of Macclesfield Road as far south as the Methodist Church, and New Road as far north as Butley Cottage and its garden.
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, four of them, Bridge Hotel, Priest's House, Horner's and Prestbury Hall being regarded as "Focal Buildings". Other buildings are considered to be of townscape merit. Trees and even some hedges are important landscape features.
The Manor House was shown as the vicarage on the 1831 map.
Brooks Cottages, marked with a plaque reading "Rodger Brooks and Ellen his wife erected this house in the 24 years of his life Ano Dom 1686" are among the listed buildings on the Butley side of the Bollin.
Other areas
Smithy Cottage, built on the site of a former smithy, is just outside the conservation area.Butley Hall
Butley Hall
Butley Hall is a former large house, now converted in to flats, in the village of Prestbury, Cheshire. It was rebuilt in 1777 for Peter Downes. The house was extended by an addition to the north in the 19th century, and converted into flats during the 20th century...
is shown on the 1831 map but is outside the Conservation area, as are the Butley Ash Inn and Spittle House, which was probably built between 1300 and 1450 as a leper hospital.
New estates were built during the 20th century to accommodate commuters.
The defining characteristic of 21st century development has been the replacement of quite sizeable houses by large mansions, such as that built for Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
.
Adlington Hall
Adlington Hall
Adlington Hall is a country house in Cheshire, England. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previous buildings on the same site since the early 14th century...
with strong connections with Prestbury is nearby.
Churches
St Peter's ChurchSt Peter's Church, Prestbury
St Peter's Church is the parish church of Prestbury, Cheshire, England. It is probably the fourth church on the site. The third, the Norman Chapel, stands in the churchyard. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The Norman Chapel, the lychgate and...
which is one of the oldest parish churches in the country and houses a Saxon cross in its churchyard. The parish's memorial to the dead of the two world wars is in the west porch.
St John's, Adlington, a daughter church of St Peter's
Prestbury Methodist Church
Prestbury falls within the Catholic parish of St Gregory's, Bollington.
Sporting facilities
Badminton clubBowling club
Cricket club
Football clubs
Golf club
Macclesfield Rugby Club
Riding school
Squash rackets club
Tennis club
Transport
The road from Macclesfield to Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
(A538) carries traffic between Macclesfield and Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
through the centre of the village. The Macclesfield to Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove
-Education:Hazel Grove has a number of primary schools and Hazel Grove High School, the local high school. Some do decide to go to other local high schools, such as local Marple Hall, in neighbouring village Marple. The main primary schools in the area are, Hazel Grove Primary School, Torkington...
road (A523), built in 1810, goes through the parish in a north–south direction, passing to the east of the village.
Buses 19 and 19X, Prestbury to Macclesfield
Prestbury is served by the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to Macclesfield to Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
railway line. Prestbury railway station
Prestbury railway station
Prestbury railway station, is an unstaffed station which serves the village of Prestbury, Cheshire, England. It was opened on 24 November 1845 by the London & North Western Railway....
was opened on 24 November 1845 and refurbished in 1986. The south entrance arch to Prestbury Railway Tunnel is grade II listed. The village centre is a few minutes walk from the railway station.
Famous residents
Numerous stars of sport and entertainment have lived in Prestbury for various lengths of time, including:- Noddy HolderNoddy HolderNeville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
, professional musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known as the vocalist, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and occasional bass guitarist with rock musicRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group SladeSladeSlade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
, moved to the area from WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
in the West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
after rising to fame during the 1970s1970sFile:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. - Stan PearsonStan PearsonStanley Clare Pearson was an English football player. He was born in Salford.Pearson was signed by Manchester United as an amateur in December 1935 and turned professional in May 1937. His first senior game came against Chesterfield in 1937. When his career was interrupted by the war, he served...
, professional football player who was part of the great Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
team of the immediate post Second World War years, ran a newsagent's shop and post office in Prestbury for some 20 years until his retirement during the 1980s1980sFile:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. - Wayne RooneyWayne RooneyWayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
, professional football player, moved to Prestbury after signing for Manchester United from EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in 2004. - Alan Green, BBC Radio's senior football commentator.
- Carlos TévezCarlos TévezCarlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
, professional football player, who signed for Manchester United in 2007. But later moved to Manchester City in 2009. - Wes BrownWes BrownWesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...
, professional football player. - Owen HargreavesOwen HargreavesOwen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....
, professional football player who has played for Manchester United since 2007. - Andrew "Freddie" FlintoffAndrew FlintoffAndrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
, professional cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and former Vice-Captain of England. - Robbie SavageRobbie SavageRobert William "Robbie" Savage is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside...
, professional football player who has played for clubs including Manchester United (as a youth and reserve player), Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
, as well as representing WalesWales national football teamThe Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
at international level. - Brian Houghton HodgsonBrian Houghton HodgsonBrian Houghton Hodgson was an early naturalist and ethnologist working in British India and Nepal where he was an English civil servant. He described many species, especially birds and mammals from the Himalayas, and several birds were named after him by others such as Edward Blyth...
, early naturalistNaturalistNaturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and ethnologist, was born at Prestbury at the beginning of the 19th century. - Mike YarwoodMike YarwoodMike Yarwood, OBE is an English impressionist and comedian. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He left Bredbury Secondary Modern School in 1956 and worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse...
, comedian
1977 bank robbery
In February, 1977 the village made national headlines when two employees at the local branch of Williams & Glyn's BankRoyal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
were murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed during a robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
. Whilst the sub-branch was closed for lunch 22-year old senior cashier Ian Jebb was repeatedly stabbed and his assistant (and fiancee) 19-year old Susan Hockenhull kidnapped. As the branch was only manned by the two staff the alarm was only raised when customers were unable to enter the bank after the lunchtime closing period . Miss Hockenhull was later discovered on moorland, where she had died from hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
.
In October 1977 David Walsh, 30, who was employed as a contractor to service adding machines at the bank and who was known to the victims, was found guilty at Chester Crown Court of their murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. He also received 15 years' imprisonment for the robbery which netted £2,445.
External links
- prestbury.com Local news and information
- Prestbury Parish Council Official website
- Plan for Prestbury
- Prestbury Village Community Website
- All about Prestbury, past, present and future
- Oliver Wood's photos A collection of photos of Prestbury and the surrounding area.
- Travel article "The Wilmslow Boys" by A.A.Gill. Prestbury slated as "Smug Central"