Preston Blog

Foreword by Kevin Bradley

I was born in Preston - although, at the time, I wasn't aware of it.

It wasn't until some 30 or so years later, after seeing a little of the world, that I returned to the nest and began my love affair with the village through which i am shortly to guide you.

Nowadays a stranger would probably pass through Preston without a second glance, assuming it was just another part of the vast metropolis which is now Tyneside.

Such is the growth of the area that towns and villages which were once once obviously independent, expanded and merged until boundaries ceased to exist.

Yet each of the towns and villages has a history of its own - a history which strangers may find uninteresting, but a history nevertheless. Preston is no exception.

It was not so long ago that Preston was a village in the country and a lot of the village atmosphere can still be felt. I experienced it when I returned in 1982 and it made me want to know more about the origins, the people and the places in which i was born.

What follows is the result of my researches - not an easy task, since little has been recorded about the village. But I hope it is of interest and that the people of Preston, to whom i dedicate this work, will continue to preserve the village spirit.