About Preston
Preston is a city and local government district in North West England. It is the administrative centre of Lancashire, and is on the River Ribble. Preston was granted the status of a city in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Preston forms part of a conurbation with Chorley and Leyland which according to the 2001 census had an overall population of 335,000. Of this, 184,836 lived in the Preston urban sub-area: the figure for those living within the city limits is lower at around 130,000. In the mid-12th Century, Preston was in the hundred of Amounderness, in the deanery of Amounderness and the archdeaconry of Richmond. The name of Amounderness is more ancient than the name of any other Wapentake or hundred in the County of Lancashire, and the fort at Tulketh, strengthened by William the Conquerer, shows that the strategic importance of the area was appreciated even then. The location of the city, almost exactly mid-way between Glasgow and London, led to many decisive battles being fought here, most notably during the English Civil War (1643), and the first Jacobite rebellion (1715) which began here. Served by the River Ribble, Preston was one of the principal ports of Lancashire. King Charles I demanded a quarter more ship money than from Lancaster and twice as much as from Liverpool.