The area derives its name from the old English "Preosta", meaning Priest and "Tun", meaning enclosure or homestead. It is first mentioned in a charter dated between 1106 and 1116 and is recorded in the St. Alban's Register. At about this time the lands of Preston were granted by
King Henry I to the monks of
St. Oswin at Tynemouth. At the time of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the lands were returned to the Crown. In 1649, the Township was enclosed and of land were divided and granted to various
copyhold tenants. In 1832 Preston Township, together with
Tynemouth,
North Shields and
Cullercoats was constituted a
Parliamentary Borough and by an order granted on 6 August 1849, the four were incorporated into Tynemouth Borough for municipal purposes. Preston Township lay between North Shields to the south and
Monkseaton to the north. To the east was the village of Tynemouth and to the west, Chirton. In addition, when the
Shire Moor was enclosed in 1788, approximately of land were annexed to Preston Township. This annex was originally known as Northumberland Place but is nowadays known as West Allotment. Over its history, the main industries of Preston have been coal mining (from the 12th to the 20th centuries), the tanneries of the 13th century, the breweries of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the damask factory of the 19th century and the carriage works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Within the township is Preston Village, described by Parson and White in their descriptive book on Durham and Northumberland of 1828 as: "a very pleasant village north of North Shields to which its Township extends. It occupies a fine eminence which commands an extensive and beautiful prospect. Here are several gentlemen's villas, two public gardens, two common breweries, four public houses and a linen manufactory: besides about 100 houses and cottages which have a neat and clean appearance." Preston was formerly a
township in the parish of Tynemouth, in 1866 Preston became a separate
civil parish, on 1 April 1908 the parish was abolished and merged with Tynemouth. In 1901 the parish had a population of 3337. == Leisure ==