Despite its prominent position on a hilltop no evidence has been found in Preston-on-the-Hill of Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age man having a settlement or even a fortification there. The
Roman road from their settlement at
Wilderspool near
Warrington to the city of
Chester (
Deva Victrix) ran through the village, more or less along the lines of what is now the
A56. Preston is not mentioned directly in the
Domesday Book of AD1086 but it was part of the lands held by
William fitz Nigel,
Baron of Halton who was one of the most powerful men in the country in
Norman times. This part of the manor of
Dutton was recorded as having just two farms in AD1086. The first recorded reference to the name Preston is in the Chartulary of the
Abbey of St. Werburgh, Chester between 1157 and 1194. During the reign of King John from 1167 – 1216 the township of Preston was purchased by Hugh Dutton of Dutton from Henry de Nuers and his wife Julien. The township rendered eight shillings yearly at the feast of
St. Martin (11 November). A windmill For Preston on the Hill (c. 1842) is noted on tithe maps on Plot 67 is indeed the one specifically labelled “Windmill” or “Windmill Farm” on the map. • This plot is distinct from other barns or farmsteads numbered in the 300s (those may be later additions or misreadings from certain copies). • The apportionment schedule usually lists: • Plot number • Owner • Occupier/Tenant • Acreage and use (e.g., arable, meadow, orchard, windmill) For Plot 67, it typically records: • Occupier: John Smith • Owner:Yates • Land Use: “Windmill, yard and buildings” • Acreage: Small, just covering the mill building and immediate land In the early 17th century the
manor passed by marriage to the second
Baron Gerard of Gerards Bromley. This family became
Earls of Macclesfield. In 1705 Lord Gerard conveyed the manor to trustees to be sold for the payment of debts. The manor of Preston-on-the-Hill passed to the
Fleetwood family by whom it was conveyed to the Grevilles who sold it to Thomas Brock of Chester and then he bequeathed it to Thomas Yates his nephew. He held the manor at the time that
George Ormerod wrote his History of the
County Palatine and City of Chester in 1817. He is named as the main landowner in the 1843 Tithe Apportionment. The manor then passed by marriage to Richard Barker. Later in the 19th century the manor was purchased by
Gilbert Greenall, 1st Baron Daresbury of the
Greenall's brewery family and added to the Walton estate. A number of old cottages were removed and brick houses renovated or demolished and re-built at the end of 19th century. In 1941 Lord Daresbury sold the estate mainly to his tenants. Preston-on-the-Hill was formerly a
township in the parish of Runcorn, in 1866 Preston on the Hill became a civil parish, on 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished to form Preston Brook. At the time of the
Hearth Tax in 1664 the population was 130, and it probably remained at about that level until the opening of the canal. By the time of the first headcount of population in 1801 the number was 333, rising to 594 in 1851 but dropping back to 454 in 1901 as the canal became less active. In 1931 the parish had a population of 355.
Religion The village of Preston-on-the-Hill is in the ecclesiastical parish of All Saints
Daresbury. The first reference to a religious house in the village is of a Meeting House for the
Methodists in 1764. This was a house almost directly opposite the present chapel. This house was soon found to be too small and so a move was made across the road to a house on the site of the present chapel. It was at this house that
John Wesley preached on two occasions, on 7 April 1781 and 12 May 1783. The first part of the 19th century saw a religious revival and the need for larger premises. In 1818 a
Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built on Aston Lane in the neighbouring village of Preston Brook. The Society of Primitive Methodists was formed in 1812, and supporters of this group stayed at the Meeting House in Preston-on-the-Hill. The present chapel was opened formally on 4 January 1883. It was considerably altered in 1975. Perhaps the best known church in the area was the converted canal boat built in about 1840 by Lord
Francis Egerton. For some years this boat went up and down the canal to be used by boatmen and their families. By 1860 it had been lifted out of the water and placed by the side of the Runcorn arm of the canal near its junction with the Bridgewater Canal.
Charles Dodgson, the vicar of Daresbury and the father of
Lewis Carroll, held services there for the boat people. It became known as the Watermen's Church. St. Faith's, a mission church from All Saints Daresbury was built in 1887, with funds from the
Greenall family. It went out of use in the late 1990s and was subsequently sold for development into a house.
Education Morris & Co.'s Directory of 1874 records a National School for children of both sexes in Preston-on the-Hill, supported by the Bridgewater Navigation Co. A Board School was built in 1877 for 30 children. In 1892 the average attendance was 27, with Miss Stormont as mistress. Board schools came into being following the
Elementary Education Act 1870, and were able to raise funds from the local rates.
Bridgewater Canal The single most influential thing to happen in the history of the villages of Preston on the Hill and neighbouring Preston Brook was the opening of the
Bridgewater Canal in 1776. The canal was linked with the
Trent & Mersey Canal in 1772 at a point just 11 yards inside the north end of the Preston Brook tunnel. This spot is marked today by a milepost on the path over the tunnel, which was used to walk the horses that pulled the boats the three-quarters of a mile to the other end near Dutton Locks. In January 1776 the final mile of the canal through the
Norton Priory estate was cut and the canal opened for through traffic. Many trans-shipment warehouses were soon being built and the area really came into being as a very busy transport centre. Few of these original buildings are left but examples still standing are the Stafford Warehouse on the main canal, which has now been converted into apartments, and Stitt's Warehouse on the Runcorn arm which is now a commercial building. The business activities in Preston Brook were encouraged by the opening in 1837 of the railway with a passenger station and a goods yard to allow materials to be transhipped to and from the canal. It was not until the third quarter of the 19th Century that canal traffic declined as the railway network spread throughout the country. The passenger station was closed on 1 March 1948, and the Goods Depot on 1st. September 1958. For almost one hundred years all boats were horse drawn and were "legged" through the tunnel, however in 1865 steam tugs were introduced, but the tunnel had no air vents, resulting in a number of boatmen being overcome by fumes and dying. Very soon ventilation shafts were sunk. A section of the Preston Brook tunnel collapsed much more recently in November 1981, and the tunnel was closed for repair until April 1984.
Developments The M56 motorway was officially opened on 23 September 1971. Its building had resulted in the compulsory purchase of a significant quantity of farmland. Of the residential developments in the village, the Waterfront houses were completed at the end of 1999, having been built on the site of the house of the manager of the warehouse known as The New Stafford Warehouse. The building became a restaurant under the name Neptunes Landing and then a nightclub called The Old No.1. It was converted into apartments as part of the Waterfront development. The Granary apartments at the corner of Hilltop Road is a new building, but the site has been the home of a milk distribution depot and for its last few years a scaffolding yard. The apartments were completed in 2002. The Runcorn
Poor Law Workhouse once stood on a site at the corner of Barkers Hollow Road and Northwich Road (A533) now occupied by three bungalows. The original workhouse was built between 1855 and 1857 for 280 inmates. The workhouse infirmary was enlarged in 1881–82, with further extensions in 1895 and a nurses' home in 1906. Sumner's Farm (named after the original occupiers in the 1840: its outbuildings on Windmill Lane were converted to residential use in 2005 with further plans to develop its gardens for further residential development Windmill Cottage and farm was significantly redeveloped in 2020 with two significant barn conversions visible from the M5(m6, farm extension and refurbishment of windmill cottage farm and two new five bedroom dwellings currently on sale for £950,000.
Historical significance for conservation status Set on a historic ridge, Preston-on-the-Hill traces its roots to Roman transport routes and medieval landholdings of the Barony of Halton. Today, its linear form, 18th-century farms, and canal heritage reflect a village shaped by centuries of agriculture, trade, and community life. Preston Brook Once a thriving canal and railway hub, Preston Brook played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution, linking the Midlands to the Port of Liverpool. Its historic wharf, cottages, and canal-side landscape reflect a legacy of trade, travel, and working waterways. A56 Bridge (Preston Brook Bridge) "Rebuilt in 1930 to accommodate growing traffic, the A56 bridge stands at the heart of Preston Brook’s historic transport hub, linking canal, rail, and road networks that once powered the village’s commercial growth and Industrial Revolution." Preston-on-the-Hill Water Pump "Cast-iron village pump by J & W Killon of Chester, a reminder of life before piped water and the resilience of a self-sufficient rural community." The Wharf (Preston Brook Wharf) "Established in the 1770s, Preston Brook Wharf was a pioneering trans-shipment hub of the Industrial Revolution, linking canal, rail, and road transport and preserving traditional canal crafts to this day. Preston-on-the-Hill Methodist Church "Built in 1883 on the site of an 18th-century meeting house where John Wesley preached, this chapel served the local farming and canal communities for over a century. A landmark of nonconformist faith and village life." The Old Church – St. Faith’s Mission Chapel "Built in 1888 by Sir Gilbert Greenall, St. Faith’s Mission Chapel served the canal boating community as a daughter church to All Saints Daresbury. Known locally as the Boatmen’s Church, it remains a landmark of spiritual and social heritage. Windmill Farm 18-century farmstead central to Preston-on-the-Hill’s agricultural heritage, Windmill Farm reflects the enduring legacy of tenant farming families who shaped the village’s rural character." The Old School "Built in 1874 to replace the canal boat school, this National School served both canal and farming families, supported by the Bridgewater Navigation Company." Brook House "Built in the late 18th century, Brook House served as the Agent’s residence for the Bridgewater Canal. Its Gothic style and canal-side location reflect the village’s industrial heritage and managerial presence." Gauge House "This three-storey L-shaped house was built by the Bridgewater Canal Company to accommodate canal managers. Set beside the Gauging Dock, it stands as a symbol of Preston Brook’s role in Britain’s canal transport history." Stafford House (The Old Number One) "Constructed circa 1772 for the Trent and Mersey Canal Company, this Grade II listed warehouse once bustled with trade. Its gabled loading bays and robust brickwork recall Preston Brook’s heyday as a trans-shipment hub." ==Governance==