A History of Preston
in Hertfordshire
This site has been created to give information about Preston in the nineteenth century. It contains almost 400 photographs including 83 of people who lived in Preston during this time. There are also 45 maps and charts and 140 newspaper stories involving Preston people. The following are links to relevant web pages:
An in-
The story of how this website evolved is told at this link: Website. It includes
an article in Family Tree magazine -
Contact me with comments, information, photographs and questions. Register your family
interests in Preston -
Censuses of Preston. There are notes and transcriptions of the 1801, 1821 and 1886
Preston censuses. Each of the official censuses from 1841-
As there was no Preston parish in the nineteenth century, there is an explanation of how ‘Preston’ has been defined for this web site. There is also a page explaining how Preston was administered and a copy of the 1844 Tithe Map with a key to land owners and occupiers. The earliest detailed map of the village is at Map1800
To look at areas of Preston in more detail, the village has been divided into segments having photographs, maps and notes: Introduction; Crunnells Green; Church Lane; The Wilderness; Back Lane; Holly Cottages, Back Lane; Preston Green and the Trees of the Green; School Lane; Chequers Lane; Poynders End, Wain Wood, Sootfield Green, Hill End and Kiln Wood. Visits to Preston in the 1890s, 1913 and 1970 are included. Link: Views. A deserted village near Preston? Link: Welei. Family Tree’s article about Welei can be seen here: FTW
There is a feature on Temple Dinsley and a page of 86 photos most dated 1913c and an article about The Cottage/ The Dower House. Nina Freebody’s ‘History of Preston’. Nina’s life celebrated. Link: Nina Freebody
The cottages of Preston -
The three public houses in Preston are featured using the articles written by Preston
historian, Nina Freebody -
Life in Preston in the nineteenth century is described in the following pages: The
Ponds of Preston; Agriculture and farm labourers; Straw plaiting; Crime; Mobility
and movement; Morality, The Preston pound, Preston allotments, Cricket; The children
of Preston contains details of almost 1,300 children who lived in the village in
the 1800s; Marriages and Burials (which attempts to list those who married and died
with a connection to Preston from 1800 -
Preston’s farms will be featured. Included are: Preston Hill Farm; Pond Farm: Castle Farm: Home Farm.
Religion in Preston is discussed and there are pages about the Anglican churches,
Bunyan’s Chapel, Minsden Chapel, parts one and two and the Hitchin Back Street Meeting
Place. Articles re: the building and consecration of St Martin’s are at these links:
1898, 1900. A visual tour of the interior of St Martins in April 2009 is included
Link: St Martins tour. For Parish magazine quotations 1900 -
Perhaps the best way of absorbing the flavour of life in the village is to read newspaper stories from the nineteenth century. There are notes about the need for privacy and the reports are grouped by the following headings: Robbery at Preston Hill; Arson and damage to property; Assault; Drunkenness; Family disputes; Farmers and dealers; Highway offences; Manslaughter, Poaching , Theft and Robbery, a fire at Parsonage Farm, Kings Walden which involved four Preston men and Miscellaneous reports.New news stories: Link News 1/2012.
The information about education gives an absorbing insight into the lives of children
in the village. This is set out in the following pages: First Preston School; Education
in Preston; School mistresses; Attendance and absenteeism; Literacy. There are photographs
from 1896 -
The militia lists of Hertfordshire are discussed with a catalogue of Preston men
1758-
There are pages devoted to Preston families which feature photographs and family
trees. If you have information and/or photographs about your family that you would
like to be included, please contact me. The portal to this section is, ‘People of
Preston’.The families featured so far are: Armstrong; Ashton; Peters, Scott and Swain.
Robert Hinde of Preston Castle: Link: Robert Hinde. Stephen Swain; Link: Stephen
Swain. The descendents of Charles Swain (bn 1818) Link: Charles Swain. The Seebohms
of Poynders End; Link: Seebohm. The Fenwicks; Link: Fenwicks; The Pryor family; Link:
Pryors. James Barrington-
The nearby manor of Stagenhoe is discussed: Stagenhoe
Preston was closely linked with an international opera star in the nineteenth century. Link: Emily Soldene. To learn of her connection with Preston, follow this link: Emily and Preston
Acknowledgments
I have received much help and encouragement during the research for this web site for which I am very grateful. The following have supplied photographs (shown in red) and other material used on this site.
I would like to thank the following: Liz Hunter, Betty Palmer, Jane Cole, Ann Tew,
Chris Newell, Mary Cave-
There is an attempt to unify, describe and catalogue the Currell family who lived
around Hitchin from 1700 -
Harry Hollingsworth has kindly submitted his memories and photographs of the first time that Preston won the ‘Herts Best Kept Village’ competition. Link: Best Kept Village.
My family at Preston
Wray family history
Currell family history
Fairey/Farey family history
The Faireys of Preston, Herts: Link: Fairey family Link: Earlier Fairey history
There is an overview of my family in Preston: Link: My family in Preston -
Wray family history from 1700 -
There are notes concerning manorial rolls and the Temple Dinsley rolls from 1845
-
Breed/Barker family history -
Bradding/Bradden family history -