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Coordinates: 51°54′50″N 2°02′30″W / 51.913889°N 2.041667°W
| Prestbury | |
 The Burgage, Prestbury |
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 Prestbury
Prestbury shown within Gloucestershire |
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| Civil parish | Prestbury |
|---|---|
| District | Cheltenham |
| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTBURY |
| Postcode district | GL52 |
| Dialling code | 01242 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire | |
Prestbury is a medium sized village near the edge of the Cotswolds. It is on the outskirts of the larger town, Cheltenham, and forms part of the borough of Cheltenham, despite retaining its own parish council as a civil parish. It is part of the Tewkesbury parliamentary constituency, represented by Laurence Robertson MP of the Conservative Party. It gives residents and visitors alike the opportunity to go to a more urban centre of shopping and recreation, or enjoy the surrounding countryside.
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Retail
The village has several shops including the Prestbury Village Stores and the Burgage Stores. There is a doctor's surgery, a post office and a public library with internet access and DVDs for hire. There is a carvery called the King's Arms, which used to be the village's main pub. It was here that the celebrated 19th century jockey Fred Archer grew up, as his father was a landlord of the pub. There are three other pubs in Prestbury; the Plough, the Beehive and the Royal Oak. There are also two hairdressers and a bank, as well as a pharmacy and a butcher.
Prestbury Racecourse
The village is also home to Prestbury Park, the Cheltenham Racecourse, which holds the world famous Gold Cup race each March. Racehorse trainers Frenchy Nicholson and his son David Nicholson had stables in Prestbury. Notable apprentices of his include Pat Eddery, Walter Swinburn and Mouse Morris (2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup winning trainer with War of Attrition).
History
The name of the village means "Priests fortified place", from Anglo-Saxon preost and burh, possibly from a fortified manor house belonging to the Bishop of Hereford in the 13th century. The settlement is mentioned as Preosdabyrig in 899-904. It Prestbury appears in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as Presteberie, part of the property of the church of Hereford, with residents as 18 villagers, five smallholders, a priest, a riding man and 11 slaves. By the 13th century it had become Presbery. In 1249 the Bishop of Hereford was granted permission to hold a weekly market along with a three-day annual fair in August.[1]
The village became eclipsed by Cheltenham following the end of the medieval period. The market started to decline in the 15th century and had lapsed completely by the start of the 18th century, In the middle of the 18th century a mineral spring was discovered in the parish, and by 1751 a local landowner, Lord Craven, had a business providing bathing and lodging. However it did not last past the end of the century.[1]
The Prestbury War Memorial is a Cotswold stone gothic revival column with six engraved panels commemorating the villagers who died in the First World War (1914–18).[2] The memorial was severely damaged in October 2011 in an act of vandalism when the column was toppled to the ground and smashed.[3]
There are claims that Prestbury is the most haunted village in England,[4] and one of the most haunted in Britain.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Gloucestershire Historic Towns Survey: Prestbury". http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/utilities/action/act_download.cfm?mediaid=21199.
- ^ "Prestbury War Memorial". remembering.org.uk. http://www.remembering.org.uk/prestbury_memorial.htm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "Prestbury war memorial in Gloucestershire vandalised". BBC News. 8 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-15227057. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ Simpson, Jacqueline; Westwood, Jennifer (2008). The Penguin Book of Ghosts: Haunted England. Penguin. p. 207. ISBN 978 0141920740. http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=3p0qoHaxqMIC.
- ^ Karl, Jason (2007). An Illustrated History of the Haunted World. New Holland Publishers. p. 90. ISBN 978 1845376871. http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=2FXOagNuv0wC.
External links
Media related to Prestbury, Gloucestershire at Wikimedia Commons
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