Prestbury, Cheshire
Prestbury is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, about 1.5 miles (3 km) north of Macclesfield. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,324; it increased slightly to 3,471 at the 2011 census. Alongside fellow "Cheshire Golden Triangle" villages, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge, it is one of the more sought-after places in the north. 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. Toponym As Prestbury was initially settled by priests its name derives from Preôsta burh, which is sometimes thought to mean "priests' town", but more correctly means a priest's fortified enclosure. History and geography 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. As a result of being initially settled by priests they chose an enclosure with a defensible location 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 conquest, the parish consisted of thirty-five townships: Adlington Alderley Birtles Bollington Bosley Butley Capesthorne Chelford Fallibroome Gawsworth Henbury Hurdsfield Kettleshulme Lower Withington Lyme Handley Macclesfield Macclesfield Forest Marton Mottram St.Andrew Newton North Rode Old Withington Pott Shrigley Poynton Prestbury Rainow Siddington Sutton Taxal Tytherington Upton Wildboarclough Wincle Woodford Worth 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 shillings 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 districts and civil parishes. Three of the townships, Butley, Fallibroome and Prestbury, constitute the present civil parish of Prestbury. Village 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