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113-525: The original format incorporated the three Welsh clubs then playing in the Football League ( Cardiff City , Swansea City and Wrexham ) along with Merthyr Tydfil and four League of Wales clubs (now the Welsh Premier League ). Until the 2001–02 season, Merthyr Tydfil had a guaranteed place, as Newport County and Colwyn Bay were not invited to take part. From then onwards, the highest placed of

226-579: A bypass around the town centre, as well as a new bus station . On 6 April 2012 the city's residents performed the Preston Passion , a dramatised version of the Passion of Christ , which was broadcast live by BBC One . The unparished urban settlement of Preston is represented by 19 of the 22 council wards within Preston City Council which is based at Preston Town Hall on Lancaster Road. From

339-519: A "Proms In The Park", featuring José Carreras , Katherine Jenkins and the Manchester Camerata . In the mid-12th century, Preston was in the hundred of Amounderness , in the deanery of Amounderness and the archdeaconry of Richmond . The name "Amounderness" is more ancient than the name of any other "Wapentake" or hundred in the County of Lancashire, and the fort at Tulketh, strengthened by William

452-489: A Creditor's Voluntary Agreement and pays in full any other footballing creditors. Failure to do either of these will result in a second, potentially unlimited (though in practice usually between fifteen and twenty) points deduction. The other main situation in which is a club may lose points is by fielding an improperly registered or otherwise ineligible player. If a club is found to have done this, then any points earned from any match that player participated in will be deducted;

565-439: A large increase in goals, and numbers on shirts were introduced in 1939. Between 1923 and 1926, Huddersfield Town were the first team to win three consecutive league titles (and never won another one, though they finished as runners-up for the following two years). This was equalled by Arsenal between 1932 and 1935, during a period from 1930 to 1938 in which they won five titles out of eight. Manchester City (1936–37) became

678-489: A large profile. Preston has places of worship for people of a wide variety of religions, including churches of many Christian denominations. There are also places of worship for Buddhists , Hindus , Muslims , the Jehovah's Witnesses , Latter-day Saints , Sikhs and The Salvation Army , amongst others. Preston was also home to an Ashkenazi Orthodox Jewish synagogue on Avenham Place, formed in 1882, but this closed during

791-558: A modern-architecture Guild Hall opened in 1972, to replace the Public Hall. The town was by-passed by Britain's very first motorway , built and operated by engineer James Drake, which was opened by Harold Macmillan in December 1958. Within a decade, this formed part of the M6 – giving Preston a direct motorway link with Manchester and Birmingham . The late 1960s saw the completion of Ringway,

904-512: A new record October high temperature of 26.9 °C was set. The absolute minimum is −13.3 °C (8.1 °F), recorded during February 1969. In a typical year the coldest night should fall to −6.8 °C (19.8 °F), and 40.2 nights should receive an air frost. The lowest temperature in recent years was −9.2 °C (15.4 °F) during December 2010. Annual rainfall totals just under 1000 mm per year, with over 1 mm of precipitation falling on 150 days. All averages refer to

1017-477: A number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. His idea might have been based upon a description of a proposal for an early American college football league, publicised in the English media in 1887 which stated: "measures would be taken to form a new football league ... [consisting of] a schedule containing two championship games between every two colleges composing the league". The first meeting

1130-516: A private letter from Preston on 27 November 1745: "People here are beginning to join [us] very fast; we have got about sixty recruits today". From 10 to 12 December the Prince gave his retreating Army a rest in Preston on their long, last and fatal retreat from Derby through Lancaster and Carlisle to their dreadful day of destiny the following 16 April on Culloden Moor near Inverness . The 19th century saw

1243-563: A result of the Heysel disaster , where crowd trouble involving Liverpool fans at the European Cup final in Belgium resulted in 39 spectator deaths during a crush in a Juventus fan section. The loss of life occurred when a surge in the crowd (moving away from clashes between rival supporters) caused a wall to collapse. Inadequate segregation, stewarding and policing as well the generally poor condition of

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1356-529: A significant decline in league attendances as a result of the recession and the ongoing problem of hooliganism . This did no favours for the financial position and league standing of numerous clubs, and several – including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swansea City and Middlesbrough – were almost forced out of business as a result. The fortunes of the First Division clubs suffered a fresh blow in 1985 when all English clubs were banned from European competitions as

1469-451: A transformation in Preston from a small market town to a much larger industrial one, as the innovations of the latter half of the previous century such as Richard Arkwright 's water frame (invented in Preston) brought cotton mills to many northern English towns. With industrialisation came examples of both oppression and enlightenment. The town's forward-looking spirit is typified by it being

1582-524: Is approximately 27 miles (43 km) north west of Manchester , 26 miles (42 km) north east of Liverpool , and 15 miles (24 km) east of the coastal town Blackpool . The current borders came into effect on 1 April 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 merged the existing County Borough of Preston with Fulwood Urban District as an unparished area within the Borough of Preston . Preston

1695-616: Is derived from the Old English words Presta and tun . The tun (enclosure, farmstead, village, manor, estate) of the Presta . During the Roman period, Roman roads passed close to what is now the centre of Preston. For example, the road from Luguvalium to Mamucium (now Carlisle to Manchester) crossed the River Ribble at Walton-le-Dale , 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1 km) southeast of

1808-564: Is supported by the similarity of the Paschal lamb on Preston's crest with that on St Wilfrid's. When first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book , Preston was already the most important town in Amounderness (the area of Central Lancashire between the rivers Ribble and Cocker , including The Fylde and the Forest of Bowland ). When assessed for tax purposes in 1218 – 19 it was the wealthiest town in

1921-554: Is the seat of Lancashire County Council , houses the main campus of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and is home to Preston North End , a founder member of the Football League and the first English football champions in 1889 . In that season, the team also won the league and cup double and went unbeaten in the league. It took 115 years until another team went a full season unbeaten. After winning another league title

2034-542: The 2015–16 season, the first such during the Premier League era. Another important change was made at the start of the 1981-82 season when it was decided to award three points for a win instead of two, a further effort to increase attacking football. (This scoring rule was not added by FIFA to the World Cups until the 1994 cup after the perceived dominance of defensive play at Italia 90 ). The early 1980s also saw

2147-520: The Battle of Preston (1648) , and then the first Jacobite rebellion, whose invasion of England was brought to a conclusion by the defeat of the pro-Catholic and pro-monarchial Jacobite army at the Battle of Preston (1715) . Letitia Elizabeth Landon alludes to this latter defeat in her poetical illustration, Preston , to an engraving of a painting by Thomas Allom , in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book 1834. In

2260-717: The EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy . The operations centre of the Football League is in Preston , while its commercial office is in London. The Football League consists of 68 professional association football clubs in England and 4 in Wales. It runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. It also organises two knockout cup competitions, the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy . The Football League

2373-525: The Europa League by this route, these clubs did not enter the Welsh Cup in the following season. The Football League The English Football League ( EFL ) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League , it is the oldest football league in the world , and was the top-level football league in England from its foundation until 1992, when

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2486-516: The Freckleton district claimed the lives of 61 people in 1944. For some 20 years after 1948, Preston became home to a significant number of Asian and Caribbean Commonwealth immigrants, who mostly worked in the manufacturing industry. However, an economic decline hit the town once again in the 1970s, capped by the closure of the Courtaulds factory in 1979 (nearly 3,000 job losses) and the decline of

2599-614: The Northern League ), plus Darwen. The bottom clubs of the lower division were subsequently required to apply for re-election to the League at the end of each season. In 1893 two clubs were relegated from the First Division and two promoted from the Second, but one of those relegated, Accrington, chose to resign from the Football League rather than play in the Second Division. Meanwhile Bootle

2712-563: The Preston Power Loom Weavers' Association was founded, and by 1920 it had more than 13,000 members in the town. The Preston Temperance Society, led by Joseph Livesey pioneered the Temperance Movement in the 19th century. Indeed, the term teetotalism is believed to have been coined at one of its meetings. The website of the University of Central Lancashire library has a great deal of information on Joseph Livesey and

2825-549: The Southern League joined the League to form a new Third Division, which in 1921 was renamed the Third Division South upon the further addition of more clubs in a new Third Division North . One club from each of these divisions would gain promotion to the Second Division, with the two relegated clubs being assigned to the more appropriate Third Division. To accommodate potential difficulties in this arrangement, clubs in

2938-589: The UEFA Europa Conference League . The EFL Trophy, established in 1983, is for clubs belonging to EFL League One and EFL League Two. The organisation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1988 with a Centenary Tournament at Wembley between sixteen of its member clubs. After four years of debate, the Football Association finally permitted professionalism on 20 July 1885. Before that date many clubs made payments to "professional" players to boost

3051-423: The docks on the River Ribble , which finally closed in 1981. Mass unemployment was firmly back in Preston by the early 1980s, although it was now very much a national crisis due to the recession of that time . The rehousing of families from town centre slums to new council houses continued after World War II, though it slowed down to a virtual standstill after 1975. The face of the town centre began to change in

3164-571: The 1960s, with old developments being bulldozed and replaced by modern developments such as the St George's Shopping Centre , which opened in 1966, and the Fishergate Shopping Centre which was built nearly 20 years later. The remains of the Victorian town hall, designed by George Gilbert Scott and mostly destroyed by fire in 1947, were replaced by an office block (Crystal House) in 1962, and

3277-524: The 1970s: founder members of the League Derby County (1971–72 and 1974–75) and Nottingham Forest (1977–78), both clubs managed by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor . Nottingham Forest's title in 1977–78 turned out to be the last occasion that a first-time champion won the First Division title during The Football League era, before the First Division clubs formed the Premier League in 1992. The next first-time League champion club would be Leicester City in

3390-409: The 1991–92 season and planned to raise the number again to 94 clubs for 1992–93, but after Aldershot and Maidstone United both went out of business within a few months of each other in mid-1992, this plan was abandoned. The issues creating the uncertainty in the game all centered on money. The increasing influence of money in English football was evident with such events as the first £1m transfer in

3503-547: The 2024 General Election, Preston is divided between two Westminster constituencies, namely Preston and Ribble Valley . The County Hall is located on Fishergate and is the main office for Lancashire County Council . The River Ribble provides a southern border for the city. The Forest of Bowland forms a backdrop to Preston to the northeast while the Fylde lies to the west. At 53°45′N 2°42′W  /  53.750°N 2.700°W  / 53.750; -2.700 , Preston

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3616-737: The 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II 's reign. Preston has a population of 114,300, the City of Preston district 132,000 and the Preston Built-up Area 313,322. The Preston Travel To Work Area, in 2011, had a population of 420,661, compared with 354,000 in the previous census. The south bank of the Ribble is part of the Preston urban area, although it forms the South Ribble borough that is administratively separate. Preston and its surrounding area have provided evidence of ancient Roman activity, largely in

3729-699: The Christian and Catholic faith is long and deep here in Preston." Preston lies in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster and the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn . There are at least 73 churches, chapels, missions and meeting houses, as well as 15 cemeteries and burial sites, for which records exist. Carey Baptist Church , on Pole Street, was built in 1826 for the Calvinistic Methodists of Lady Huntington . Formerly known as St Paul's Chapel, it

3842-750: The Church of St John the Evangelist and prior to the reformation; St Wilfrid's Parish Church, is located on Church Street, in the centre of the city. From its origin, it has been the parish church of Preston. The church of St George the Martyr , located on Georges Road, was founded in 1723. One of the many large active Roman Catholic parish churches is St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs , located on Garstang Road. St Walburge's Church , designed by Joseph Hansom of Hansom Cab fame, has, at 309 feet (94 m),

3955-568: The Conqueror , shows that the strategic importance of the area was appreciated even then. The location of the city, almost exactly midway between Glasgow and London, led to many confrontations with Scotland . Preston was burned by the Scots during The Great Raid of 1322 but two years later had quickly recovered. Decisive battles were also fought here, most notably during the English Civil War at

4068-571: The FAW Premier Cup just once, beating arch-rivals Swansea City in the 2002 final. Wrexham appeared in all but three finals. The only Welsh Premier League clubs to have played in the final are Barry Town, Rhyl, The New Saints and Llanelli. The 2007 final was the first final not to include one of the English Football League clubs. In the last final, on 11 March 2008, Newport County beat Llanelli at Newport Stadium. The FAW Premier Cup

4181-578: The Guild Court, which since the 16th century has traditionally been on the first Monday after the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist celebrated on 29 August. As well as concerts and other exhibitions, the main events are a series of processions through the city. Numerous street parties are held in the locality. In 1952 the emphasis was on the bright new world emerging after the war. The major event, held in

4294-581: The League. There would be a further wait until 1931 before a southern club, Arsenal would win the League for the first time. Unlike in most other Leagues in Europe, no single English club managed to remain ever-present in the division during the 104 years of its existence as the top division in the country. Everton comes closest, missing just four seasons through relegation, and remains one of only three clubs in England to have played over 100 top-flight seasons, along with Aston Villa and Arsenal . Arsenal are also

4407-635: The Midland League, and New Brighton Tower from the Lancashire League to the Second Division. After a few years, other northern clubs began to catch up, with the likes of Newcastle United and Manchester United having success. From 1900, Aston Villa ( 1899–1900 , 1909–10 ), Liverpool (1900–01, 1905–06), Sunderland (1901–02, 1912–13), The Wednesday (1902–03, 1903–04), Newcastle United (1904–05, 1908–09), Manchester United (1907–08, 1910–11) and Blackburn Rovers (1911–12, 1913–14) all won two titles prior to

4520-488: The Midlands such as Mansfield Town or Walsall would sometimes be moved from one-Third Division to the other. Following this burst of post-war growth, the League entered a prolonged period of relative stability with few changes in the membership, although there were changes on the pitch. In 1925, a new offside law reduced the number of defending opponents between the attacking player and the goal from three to two, leading to

4633-540: The Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two with the top clubs of the National League . Currently four of the EFL clubs are from Wales – Cardiff City , Swansea City , Wrexham and Newport County  – the rest of the 72 are located in England. The Football League had a sponsor from the 1983–84 season, and thus was known by various names. The English Football League also organises two knock-out cup competitions,

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4746-668: The River Ribble. Preston is home to the world's oldest continuous branch (a small congregation) of the church. An official memorial to the church pioneers may be found in the Japanese Garden in Avenham Park. In 1998 the church erected a large temple at Chorley , near Preston, described by The Telegraph newspaper as "spectacular". The temple is officially known as the Preston England Temple . St. John's Minster , formerly

4859-733: The Royal Hotel is long gone, the site is marked with a commemorative red plaque on the Royal Buildings in Market Street . The first season of the Football League began a few months later on 8 September with twelve member clubs from the Midlands and north of England : Accrington , Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley , Derby County , Everton , Notts County , Preston North End, Stoke (renamed Stoke City in 1926), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers . Each club played

4972-408: The Second Division expanded to sixteen (net increase one) with the addition of Bury from the Lancashire League, Leicester Fosse (later Leicester City) and Burton Wanderers (who later joined with existing Second Division club Burton Swifts to form Burton United ) from the Midland League, while Northwich resigned and Middlesbrough Ironopolis disbanded. Both Liverpool and Bury won the division at

5085-484: The TV coverage money for live matches was also split between both clubs. The losing semi-final teams each received £25,000. The losing finalists received £50,000, with the winners receiving £100,000. The competition's most senior clubs were accused of taking the competition lightly. Cardiff City in particular, following the arrival of ambitious owner Sam Hammam enjoyed relative success in the Football League but Cardiff City won

5198-654: The Temperance Movement in Preston. Preston was one of only a few industrial towns in Lancashire to have a functioning corporation (local council) in 1835 (its charter dating to 1685), and was reformed as a municipal borough by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . It became the County Borough of Preston under the Local Government Act 1888 . In 1974, county boroughs were abolished, and it became part of

5311-425: The ageing stadium were attributed as contributory factors. In a similar vein, playoffs to determine promotion places were introduced for the 1986–87 season so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time to aid in the reduction over two years of the number of clubs in the First Division from 22 to 20. For the first two seasons, the playoffs were contested between

5424-453: The bottom two clubs of the First Division and the top two clubs of the Second Division was brought into disrepute when Stoke and Burnley colluded in the final match to ensure they were both in the First Division the next season. At this point both divisions of the League expanded to eighteen, with the addition of Barnsley from the Midland and Yorkshire Leagues, Burslem Port Vale, Glossop from

5537-503: The centre of Preston, and a Roman camp or station may also have been here. At Withy Trees, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2 km) north of Preston, the road crossed another Roman road from Bremetennacum (the Roman fort at Ribchester ) to the coast. An explanation of the origin of the name is that the Priest's Town refers to a priory set up by St Wilfrid near the Ribble's lowest ford. This idea

5650-451: The city centre including the Miller Arcade , the Town Hall, the Harris Museum , the Minster Church of St. John the Evangelist (formerly Preston Parish Church, elevated to Minster church status in June 2003), the former Corn Exchange and Public Hall , St. Wilfrid's Catholic Church , Fishergate Baptist Church, and many beautiful Georgian buildings on Winckley Square . Many Catholic and Anglican parish churches are also to be found throughout

5763-437: The city centre, and surrounded by built-up areas, suggesting a degree of urban warming is likely, particularly during clear and calm nights. The absolute high recorded at the weather station was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) during July 2022. In a typical year the warmest day should reach 27.6 °C (81.7 °F) and 5.9 days in total should attain a maximum temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or more. In October 2011,

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5876-488: The city including: Latin Church Catholics, Baptist , Christadelphian , Congregational , Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion , Evangelical , Methodist , Pentecostal , Presbyterian , Swedenborgian and Wesleyan Methodist . The Society of Friends meet at the Preston Friends Meeting House at 189 St George's Road. Preston has a strong Roman Catholic Christian history and tradition, recently noted by Archbishop Vincent Nichols in his Guild 2012 Mass Homily: "The history of

5989-480: The city's Avenham Park , had every school participating, and hundreds of children, from toddlers to teenagers, demonstrated different aspects of physical education in the natural amphitheatre of the park. The 2012 guild formally opened on 2 September with a mayoral proclamation and the return of "friendship scrolls" that had travelled the world. Highlights in the programme for the 2012 celebration included two concerts in Avenham Park – one by Human League and another,

6102-436: The city's patron saint who is historically linked to the city's establishment. The "PP" on the city shield stands for "Princeps Pacis" (Prince of Peace), another title for Christ invoking Him as protector of the city, though it is also often taken to stand for the city's nickname "Proud Preston". In fact, there were originally three letters "P" on the coat of arms , with one being lost over time. The 2001 Census recorded 72% of

6215-443: The competition became firmly established in the footballing calendar. It was not until the dawn of the 1970s, though, that all 92 Football League clubs regularly participated in the competition season after season. Substitutes (one per team per match) were first allowed for injured players in 1965 and for any reason the following year. The first ever League game to be held on a Sunday took place on 20 January 1974 (11:30 kick-off) and

6328-512: The competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from the Football League to the Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places. At the lower end, two League Two clubs lose their Football League status with relegation to the National division of the National League , while two teams from that division join League Two of The Football League in their stead. Promotion and relegation are determined by final league positions, but to sustain interest for more clubs over

6441-460: The competitiveness of their teams, breaking FA rules and arousing the contempt of those clubs abiding by the laws of the amateur Football Association code. As more and more clubs became professional the ad-hoc fixture list of FA Cup, inter-county, and ordinary matches was seen by many as an unreliable stream of revenue, and ways were considered of ensuring a consistent income. A Scottish director of Birmingham-based Aston Villa , William McGregor,

6554-414: The cotton industry. Electrical goods manufacturing and engineering arrived in the town, and the building sector enjoyed a boom with nearly 3,000 council houses being built between 1920 and 1939. Some 1,500 houses were built for private sale. Despite its heavy industry, Preston endured only a handful of Luftwaffe air raids in World War II and there were no fatalities in the town, although an air crash in

6667-447: The first English town outside London to be lit by gas. The Preston Gas Company was established in 1815 by, amongst others, a Catholic priest: Rev. Joseph "Daddy" Dunn of the Society of Jesus . The Preston and Wigan Railway arrived in 1838, shortly afterwards renamed the North Union Railway . The Sheffield firm of Thos. W. Ward Ltd opened a ship breaking yard at Preston Dock in 1894. The more oppressive side of industrialisation

6780-436: The first attempt. In 1895 Loughborough replaced Walsall Town Swifts . In 1896 Blackpool from the Lancashire League and Gainsborough Trinity from the Midland League replaced Burslem Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra . In 1897 Luton Town from the United League replaced Burton Wanderers. Automatic promotion and relegation for two clubs in each division were introduced in 1898. The previous system of test matches between

6893-470: The first club in the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup "double" in 1960–61, a season after Wolverhampton Wanderers had come within a whisker of achieving the feat themselves (Wolves won the 1959–60 FA Cup and were runners-up to Burnley in the League by a single point). Post-Second World War changes in league football included the use of white balls in 1951 and the first floodlight game (played between Portsmouth and Newcastle United) in 1956, opening up

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7006-443: The form of a Roman road that led to a camp at Walton-le-Dale . The Angles established Preston; its name is derived from the Old English meaning "priest's settlement" and in the Domesday Book is recorded as "Prestune". In the Middle Ages , Preston was a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness and was granted a Guild Merchant charter in 1179, giving it the status of a market town . Textiles have been produced since

7119-403: The former). The EFL's 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions: the EFL Championship , EFL League One , and EFL League Two (previously the Football League First Division , Football League Second Division and Football League Third Division respectively; they were renamed for sponsorship reasons). Each division has 24 clubs, and in any given season a club plays each of the others in

7232-417: The game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at

7345-415: The game, that of Trevor Francis from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in February 1979. The first £2million player transferred between English clubs was Tony Cottee , who moved from West Ham United to Everton in July 1988 – although several players had already been sold by English clubs to foreign clubs for even higher fees. Before the formation of the FA Premier League, the highest transfer fee paid

7458-399: The game. In the first ten seasons, the only other clubs to win (single) league titles were Everton and Sheffield United. A new Second Division was formed in 1892 with the absorption of the rival 12-club Football Alliance . Alliance clubs Nottingham Forest , The Wednesday (later renamed Sheffield Wednesday) and Newton Heath (later renamed Manchester United) joined thirteen League clubs in

7571-459: The industrialisation and expansion of textile manufacturing . Preston was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution , becoming a densely populated engineering centre, with large industrial plants. The town's textile sector fell into terminal decline from the mid-20th century and Preston has subsequently faced similar challenges to other post-industrial northern towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing issues. Preston

7684-415: The larger part of the new non-metropolitan district, the Borough of Preston , which also included Fulwood Urban District and much of Preston Rural District . The borough acquired city status in 2002. By 1901, nearly 120,000 people were living in Preston, now a booming industrial town. New industries arrived in Preston during the interwar years which helped ease the pain felt through the sharp decline of

7797-623: The last great Jacobite Rising, on 27 November 1745 the Jacobite Prince of Wales and Regent, Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through Preston with his Highland Army on the way south through Chorley and Manchester to Derby intending to take London and the Crown. Preston was the first of quite a few places in England where the Prince was cheered as he rode by and where he was joined by some English volunteers for his Army. One Jacobite eyewitness noted that from Preston onwards, "at every town we were received with ringing of bells, and at night we have bonfires, and illuminations". Another Jacobite eyewitness noted in

7910-413: The league for the following year in a process called " re-election ". In 1890, Stoke were not re-elected to the league and was replaced for the 1890–91 season by Sunderland , who won it in their second, third, and fifth year. Stoke was re-elected for the 1891–92 season, along with Darwen , to take the league to fourteen clubs. Preston North End, Aston Villa, and Sunderland dominated the early years of

8023-404: The league would return to 22 for the 1991–92 season, which increased competitiveness in the 1990–91 season as four teams would be promoted from the Second and Third Divisions instead of the normal three (with the seventh-place being the minimum position for the playoffs), while in the Fourth Division an unprecedented five promotion places were up for grabs, with the eighth-place being high enough for

8136-561: The length of the season, one promotion place from each division is decided according to a playoff among four clubs, which takes place at the end of the season. It is possible for a team finishing sixth in the Championship or League One, or seventh in League Two, to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings. Since the 2004–05 season, penalties have existed for clubs entering financial administration during

8249-576: The longest serving member of the top division, present since 1919. The League was suspended for four seasons during the First World War and resumed in 1919 with the First and Second Divisions expanded to 22 clubs. On resumption West Bromwich Albion (1919–20) and Burnley (1920–21), both original twelve clubs, won their first-ever titles (in Albion's case their only title to date). In 1920, leading clubs from

8362-471: The lowest placed team to avoid automatic relegation and three highest-placed teams to miss out on automatic promotion in the division below before it was altered from the 1988–89 season to include just the four clubs who had missed out on automatic promotion in the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions. 1986–87 was the first season of the decade where Football League attendances increased, helped by improved economic conditions and falling unemployment nationally. At

8475-459: The mid-13th century when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area in the 14th century helped develop the industry. In the early-18th century, Edmund Calamy described Preston as "a pretty town with an abundance of gentry in it, commonly called Proud Preston". Sir Richard Arkwright , inventor of the spinning frame , was born in the town. The most rapid period of growth and development coincided with

8588-726: The mid-1980s. Preston has a significant Muslim ( Sunni Branch, particularly Hanafi school) population, the majority of which is of Gujarati Indian descent. The Muslim population is centred in the Deepdale, Riversway, Fishwick, Fulwood and Frenchwood areas. Preston has 12 mosques: five in Deepdale & St George's, one in Frenchwood, one in Riversway, two in Adelphi and three in Fishwick. A wide range of denominations are, or have been, represented in

8701-414: The most dramatic nights in League history, when Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–0 at Anfield in the last game of the season to win the League on this tiebreaker – by a single Michael Thomas goal in the final minute of the final game of the season. Both teams would finish with the same amount of goal difference, but Arsenal had scored more goals during the season. Two clubs won their first League titles during

8814-496: The neighbouring city of Lancaster . On 10 August 1893, approximately 32 millimetres (1.3 in) of rain fell in Preston in 5 minutes, being a record for the most rainfall to fall in that time in the United Kingdom . One of the proposed derivations of the city's name coming from 'Priests' town'. The lamb on the city shield is a biblical image of Jesus Christ, and the same image that represented 7th-century bishop St Wilfrid ,

8927-479: The new First Division, giving it sixteen members. Darwen from the League was allocated to the new Second, and Alliance club Birmingham St George's disbanded at that point. The Second Division started with twelve clubs, eight remaining Alliance clubs with the addition of Northwich Victoria (from The Combination ), Burslem Port Vale (later renamed Port Vale, from the Midland League ), and Sheffield United (from

9040-673: The new Third Division, and those in the bottom half made up the Fourth Division. An earlier suggestion that the Third Division South should become the Third Division and the Third Division North become the Fourth Division on the basis of better attendances and that they tended to fare better when promoted was rejected. Four clubs were promoted and relegated between these two lower divisions, while two clubs exchanged places in

9153-510: The only other club to be added to the list of Football League winners prior to the outbreak of the Second World War , the fourteenth club to achieve the feat since 1888–89. In the 1938–39 season Everton won the title for the fifth time but suffered the same fate as in 1915 , being champions when football was suspended due to the World War. The League was suspended once more in 1939 with

9266-550: The opposing club(s) do not earn any points from this, however. The EFL organises two knock-out cup competitions: the EFL Cup (officially known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons) and the EFL Trophy (officially known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy also for sponsorship reasons). The EFL Cup was established in 1960 and is open to all EFL and Premier League clubs, with the winner eligible to participate in

9379-501: The others twice, once at home and once away, and two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. This points system was not agreed upon until after the season had started; the alternative proposal was one point for a win only. Preston won the first league title without losing a game and completed the first league–cup double by also taking the FA Cup . Teams finishing at the bottom of the table were required to reapply for their position in

9492-417: The outbreak of the First World War , while Everton added a second title to their much earlier success in the last season, 1914–15. It was not until the early years of the 20th century, and the expansion of both Leagues to 20 clubs (in 1905), that further southern clubs such as Chelsea and Clapton Orient (later Leyton Orient ) (1905), Fulham (1907) and Tottenham Hotspur (1908) established themselves in

9605-637: The outbreak of the Second World War, this time for seven seasons. The Third Divisions were expanded to 24 clubs each in 1950, bringing the total number of League clubs to 92, and in 1958 the decision was made to end the regionalisation of the Third Divisions and reorganise the clubs into a new nationwide Third Division and Fourth Division . To accomplish this, the clubs in the top half of both the Third Division North and South joined together to form

9718-400: The pattern for various reasons, but an unbroken series were held from 1542 to 1922. A full 400-year sequence was frustrated by the cancellation of the 1942 guild due to World War II , but the cycle resumed in 1952. The expression '(Once) every Preston Guild', meaning 'very infrequently', has passed into fairly common use, especially in Lancashire. Guild week is always started by the opening of

9831-565: The period 1971–2000. In October 2014 Preston was officially ranked "the wettest city in England", and third wettest in the UK behind Cardiff and Glasgow . It was also ranked "the gloomiest city in England", as it gets fewer hours of sunshine in a year than any other English city or town. However, in March 2018 the Lancashire Evening Post reported that Preston has lost its "soggy city status" to

9944-631: The playoffs. The end of the ban on English clubs in Europe also helped boost interest in English football. However, the economy was now in another recession and added to that the clubs in the top two English divisions were faced with the requirement of having all-seater stadiums by 1994–95 to comply with the Taylor Report that followed the death of 97 Liverpool fans as a result of the Hillsborough disaster in April 1989. The League also expanded to 93 clubs for

10057-522: The population of the City of Preston as Christians, 10% as having no religion, and 8% as Muslims. The Hindu and Sikh populations are smaller at 3% and 0.6% respectively, but in both cases this represents the highest percentage of any local authority area in the North West. 2% of the city's population were born in other EU countries. Though still small in number in Preston, the Latter-day Saints maintain

10170-477: The possibility of midweek evening matches. By far the biggest change for league clubs during this era was a new cup competition open to all the members of the League, the Football League Cup . The League Cup was held for the first time in 1960–61 to provide clubs with a new source of income with Aston Villa winning that inaugural year. Despite an initial lack of enthusiasm on the part of some other big clubs,

10283-411: The same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season. Clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the next higher division, while those at the bottom may be relegated to the next lower one. At the top end of

10396-465: The same time, automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the Football Conference were introduced for one club, replacing the annual application for re-election to the League of the bottom four clubs and linking the League to the developing National League System pyramid. Emblematic of the confusion that was beginning to envelop the game, the number of clubs at the top of

10509-435: The season. If a club enters administration before 31 March of any given season, they will immediately be deducted twelve points; entering administration from 1 April onward will see the points deduction either held over until the end of the season (if the club finishes outside the relegation places) or applied the following season (if the club was relegated anyway). Also, it is required that a club exiting administration agrees to

10622-471: The soldiers and demonstrators represented are facing the wrong way). In the 1850s, Karl Marx visited Preston and later described the town as "the next St Petersburg ". Charles Dickens visited Preston in January 1854 during a strike by cotton workers that had by that stage lasted for 23 weeks. It is believed that the town of "Coketown" in the novel Hard Times was inspired by this visit to Preston. In 1858,

10735-641: The tallest spire in England on a church that is not a cathedral and the third tallest in the UK. In July 2016, St Ignatius Church in Preston, which had been gifted by the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster to the Syro-Malabar Catholic community, was raised to the status of a cathedral by Pope Francis . It now serves as the seat of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain . There are many notable buildings dotted in and around

10848-467: The three were invited. Colwyn Bay never subsequently qualified. From the 2004–05 season, the competition was expanded to 16 clubs – the top 10 placed clubs from the Welsh Premier League , joined by the two best-placed of the three teams: Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay, the Welsh Cup winners plus Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham. The competition offered a healthy prize fund. A share of

10961-545: The time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. Preston, Lancashire Preston ( / ˈ p r ɛ s t ən / ) is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire , England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding district obtained city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in

11074-519: The top 22 clubs split from it to form the Premier League . The Football League was rebranded as the "English Football League" (EFL) from the 2016–17 season. The EFL is divided into the Championship , League One and League Two , with 24 clubs in each division, 72 in total, with promotion and relegation between them; the top Championship division clubs change places with the lowest-placed clubs in

11187-507: The upper divisions until 1974 when the number increased to three. Clubs to win their first League titles in the quarter-century following the Second World War were Portsmouth (1948–49 and 1949–50), Tottenham Hotspur (1950–51 and 1960–61), founder members of the League Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59), Chelsea (1954–55), Ipswich Town (1961–62) and Leeds United (1968–69). Tottenham Hotspur became

11300-485: The whole county. The right to hold a Guild Merchant was conferred by King Henry II upon the burgesses of Preston in a charter of 1179; the associated Preston Guild is a civic celebration held every 20 years, the last being in 2012. It is the only guild still celebrated in the UK. Before 1328, celebrations were held at irregular intervals, but at the guild of that year it was decreed that subsequent guilds should be held every 20 years. After this, there were breaks in

11413-534: The year afterwards, the team has not won a championship since and their latest major trophy was the 1938 FA Cup . The demonym for residents of the city is "Prestonian". Preston was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Prestune . Various other spellings occur in early documents: Prestonam (1094), Prestone (1160), Prestona (1160), Presteton (1180), and Prestun (1226). The modern spelling occurs in 1094, 1176, 1196, 1212, and 1332. The town's name

11526-401: Was an effort to prevent unduly defensive play encouraged by the greater advantage in limiting goals allowed. In the event that clubs had equal points and equal goal differences, priority was given to the club that had scored the most goals. There has been only one season, 1988–89, when this level of differentiation was necessary to determine the League champion, and this was the occasion of one of

11639-510: Was broadcast on BBC Wales . However, after BBC Wales withdrew their sponsorship of the competition in 2008, the competition was cancelled. In the 2011-12 season the FAW announced that the six exiled clubs would again be invited to play in the Welsh Cup. Merthyr Town , Newport County and Wrexham all accepted but Cardiff City , Colwyn Bay and Swansea City rejected the invitation. However, because UEFA refused to give any of these clubs entry into

11752-584: Was designated as part of the Central Lancashire new town in 1970. The climate of Preston is of a temperate maritime type, with a narrow range of temperatures, similar to the rest of the British Isles. Being relatively close to the Irish sea, this is more pronounced than areas to the south and east of Preston. The official Met Office weather station is located at Moor Park, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of

11865-622: Was dissolved because of financial problems. Yet the Second Division expanded to fifteen clubs for season 1893–94 (net increase three) by adding five new clubs: Liverpool from the Lancashire League , Middlesbrough Ironopolis and Newcastle United from the Northern League, Rotherham Town from the Midland League, and Woolwich Arsenal (later Arsenal), who became the first team from the South of England to compete. For its third season 1894–95,

11978-469: Was founded in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor , originally with twelve member clubs. Steady growth and the addition of more divisions meant that by 1950 the League had 92 clubs. Financial considerations led to a major shake-up in 1992, when in a step to maximise their revenue the leading members of the Football League broke away to form their own competition, the FA Premier League , which

12091-563: Was held at Anderton's Hotel in London on 23 March 1888 on the eve of the FA Cup Final. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester at a further meeting on 17 April at the Royal Hotel. The name "Association Football Union" was proposed by McGregor but this was felt too close to " Rugby Football Union ". Instead, "The Football League" was proposed by Major William Sudell , representing Preston, and quickly agreed upon. Although

12204-429: Was played between Second Division rivals Millwall and Fulham at The Den . Millwall won 1–0. The first ever Sunday top-flight game was between Chelsea and Stoke a week later. Beginning with the 1976–77 season, the clubs finishing level on points began to be separated according to goal difference (the difference between goals scored and goals conceded) rather than goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). This

12317-583: Was purchased by the Baptists in 1855. It is a Grade II listed building. The church survives remains active in the community. Preston was the location of the world's first foreign mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons). As early as 1837 the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Great Britain began preaching in Preston and, in particular, other small towns situated along

12430-407: Was renamed the Premier League in 2007. The Football League therefore no longer includes the top twenty clubs who belong to this group, although promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Premier League continues. In total, 145 teams have played in the Football League up to 2024 (including those in the Premier League, since clubs must pass through the Football League before reaching

12543-512: Was seen during the Preston Strike of 1842 on Saturday 13 August 1842, when a group of cotton workers demonstrated against the poor conditions in the town's mills. The Riot Act was read and armed troops corralled the demonstrators in front of the Corn Exchange on Lune Street. Shots were fired and four of the demonstrators were killed. A commemorative sculpture now stands on the spot (although

12656-403: Was the first to set out to bring some order to a chaotic world where clubs arranged their own fixtures, along with various cup competitions. On 22 March 1888, he wrote to the committee of his own club, Aston Villa, as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers , Bolton Wanderers , Preston North End , Stoke and West Bromwich Albion ; suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide

12769-446: Was £2.9million for the transfer of Dean Saunders from Derby County to Liverpool during the 1991 close season. The first £3million player was Alan Shearer , who moved from Southampton to Blackburn Rovers in July 1992, the summer before the first Premier League season. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into

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