This page contains a list of recent additions to the site starting with the latest items
(Left) This is Ezra Boston (1892 -
(I am grateful to Natalie Davies for kindly giving permission to include this photograph)
Above are Mr and Mrs James Hedley, licencee of Red Lion 1920 -
Above are George S. Sharpe and Annie White who were married at St Marys, Hitchin on 10 October 1900. George was born in 1878, the son of Samuel who was born at Preston in 1848. Samuel’s parents were John and Mary Sharpe. (I am grateful to Pat for providing this photograph.)
July 2008
I have been kindly provided with a listing of 312 people buried at St Martins, Preston from 1906 until 2005. I also have a note of the monumental inscriptions and their location in the burial ground. If anyone would like to research a relative’s burial, please contact me. Link: Contact page. Almost half of those interred at St Martins (including my grandparents) are in unmarked graves i.e. they have no monumental inscription.
A letter from Canon Hensley dated 1898 in which he expresses reservations about the
burial ground; a letter from a former curate concerning the St Martins’ original
building fund and a letter in the Hertfordshire Express outlining the history of
Anglican worship at Preston are to be found at this link: St Martins -
An article by Nina Freebody regarding the history of Preston is included. Link: History of Preston.
August 2008
This month, the spotlight focuses on Wain Wood and Bunyan’ Cottage and Dell. Link: Wain Wood.
Ninety-
Four photographs of Preston schoolchildren from 1896 to 1922 are included and a report about the closure of Preston school in 1977 which features Mary Woodhams (nee Chalkley). Link: School photographs.
Two photographs of the newly-
Above: The attractive setting of Preston Green August 2008
September 2008
Was there an animal pound at Preston? If so, where was it situated? Link: Preston’s pound
The allotments of Preston in the nineteenth century and their importance in the life of the villagers is researched.
Link: Allotments.
Join me in a visit to Minsden Chapel. Link: Minsden visit.
(Above) School Lane viewed from Preston Green 1930c
October 2008
There is an article about the trees of Preston Green from 1761 until today. Link: Green’s Trees
Details from the Preston Rate Book of 1837 are available and its value for local history purposes is analysed. Link: Rate Book 1837
A new batch of news stories relating to Preston people and the village is added. Link: News Oct 2008. Included are reports of the birching of my uncle (aged 12); Preston farmers before the courts in 1901; an arson attack at Preston; poaching at Wain Wood and an accidental death at Temple Dinsley. There is also a report about the hardship of straw plaiters in 1894 and a revealing and detailed article about the condition of farm labourers cottages. Heavy going, but worth ploughing through!
November 2008
Nina K Freebody -
There is a new collection of news reports relating to Preston people. They include
a burglary at Preston Post Office; an assault by a Preston man on his disabled wife;
the conviction of a poacher with eighty-
December is ‘Swain month’: devoted to one of Preston’s most prominent families in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The saga of the Swains is related with epitomes of wills, references to manorial rolls and maps. Link: Swain saga. There is also a Swain family tree (Link: Swain tree) with notes to keyed individuals on tree. Link: Swain tree key) Recounted is the story of Stephen Swain (born 1820) who travelled to Australia and joined the gold rush to California and again in New South Wales. Link: Stephen Swain.
Preston was closely associated with one of the most popular yet notorious international British opera singers in the nineteenth century. Her mother was Priscilla Swain of Preston. Read her life story. Link: Emily. How do we know of her ties with Preston? Link: Emily and Preston.
There is an alteration to the Ward family story which involves a correction to the history of the Red Lion. Links: Ward correction: Red Lion.
December 2008
January 2009
The legacy of Sir Edwin Lutyens at Preston is revealed. It features a synopsis of
his life-
February 2009
The morality of Preston villagers is statistically analysed. Link: Morality
Reports of the laying of the foundation stone and Consecration of St Martin’s are available. Link: Consecration
March 2009
Continuing the occasional series of pages exploring the history of Preston’s farms, the next to be researched this month is Castle Farm. Link: Castle Farm. As a bonus, included also is the full text of an article by Mary Forbes Curling (July 1873) Traditions of Sterne and Bunyan. This contains her memories of Hunsdon House, Preston and the relationship between Sterne, Robert Hinde and Bunyan. Link: Traditions of Sterne.
Also included this month is a poem about a (straw) plait girl from the nineteenth century that will appeal to those who have young ones in their family who worked at this craft. Link: Plait Girl poem.
April 2009
There is a transcription of the 1911 census for the whole of Preston. Link: 1911 census. The census is analysed Link: 1911 analysis. To help searches there is also an alphabetical list of all the residents. Link: 1911 alphabetical
Also this month, the moving story of Norah Gribble and her daughter, Mrs Leslie Grace Seebohm of Poynders End is recounted. Both Mrs Gribble and Mrs Seebohm are buried in St Martins graveyard. Link: Gribble.
May 2009
Following a tour of St Martins in April 2009, I am delighted to include a photographic record. This may be of interest to those whose relatives worshipped, were baptized, married or buried in this Church. Link: St Martins.
Continuing this religious thread, there is an article featuring the Hitchin Back
Street Meeting House with a list of baptisms of Preston babies (1788 -
Preston Gallery
June 2009
D E Frost’s History of Preston Cricket Club is included in its entirety with pen-
The saga of Samuel Winch (born in Preston and deported in 1830). Link: Samuel Winch
July 2009
The Seebohm family of Poynders End is spotlighted -
August 2009
Detailed visitors impressions of Preston in the 1890s, 1913 and 1970 are recorded together with some new photographs. Link: Historical visits
The story is told of the Pryor family who owned most of Preston in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Link: Pryors
September 2009
Lord of the Manor (1901-
October 2009
November 2009
Preston men, born and/or lived in the village who fell or fought in The Great War are listed. Link: Preston soldiers
A listing of 322 people (1906 -
December 2009
The history of Home Farm on the Hitchin Road is examined together with the Lake and Brown families who farmed there in the nineteenth century. Link: Home Farm
January 2010
February 2010
The story is told of Chalkley Whitbread -
Also, Samuel Hall and his family are featured. He lived in the village for more than twenty years, was landlord of the Red Lion and then lived at Chequers Lane. A tale of disappointment and tragedy. Link: Sam Hall
March 2010
Minsden Chapel is one of the most frequently searched subjects by visitors to this website. This month, the legend of the ‘Ghost of Minsden’ is recounted together with its photograph. There is also a poem about the chapel (c1750) and new sketch (c1840). Link: Minsden ghost
The family history of Simon and Rebecca Stevens (Preston ‘schoolmaster’) is recounted. Link: Simon Stevens
April 2010
On March 19, Family Tree magazine published my article about this web-
May 2010
A ‘lost’, then ‘found but mislaid’ deserted village a mile from Preston is revealed. Link: Deserted village
Another instalment of the Swain story is added -
The final chapter in the harrowing account of the Hall family of Chequers Lane is told. Link: Sam Hall.
This month the spotlight falls on Holly Cottages, Back Lane -
An intriguing glimpse of how Preston children viewed life in their village a century ago has been found. See this story from the files of the Daily Mirror. Link: Mrs Tidy
June 2010
July 2010
July sees the launch of the first part of a project to recount a detailed history
of Preston. All references to the village have been sought and collated. The section
up-
The story of Sootfield Green is recounted -
The Scott family who lived on Blacksmiths Lane/Church Road for more than a century are featured. This page has several remarkable photos of Preston from the 1950s. Well worth a look! Link: Scott
August 2010