Preston, Lancashire

Preston is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England, and the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire. It gained city status in 2002 as England's fiftieth city, in the fiftieth year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The name comes from Old English for priest's settlement, and the Domesday Book records it as Prestune. A Guild Merchant charter of 1179 gave it the status of a market town, and wool weaving, later helped by Flemish weavers in the fourteenth century, grew into a textile industry that made Preston a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution. Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning frame, was born in the town. After the textile sector declined from the mid twentieth century, tertiary education and the defence industry became the main employers. The city is the seat of Lancashire County Council, hosts the main campus of the University of Lancashire and is home to Preston North End football club.