Fulwood is a suburb[1] of Preston, Lancashire, England, in the northern half of the City of Preston district. It had a population of 28,535 in 2011 and is made up of five wards.[2]
Fulwood began to develop in the second half of the 19th century and, until 1974, it was governed independently from Preston. It has retained a distinct identity and character, and the majority of the settlement is in the Fulwood Conservation Area.[1]
History
Fulewde, 1199; Fulewude, 1228; Fulwode, 1297. The extract below by John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72) described Fulwood and its history during its early Victorian foundations: "FULWOOD, a township-chapelry in Lancaster parish, Lancashire; on the Lancaster and Preston railway, 1.5 mile N of Preston. It has a station on the railway; and its post town is Preston. Acres, 2077. Real property, £6,218. Pop. in 1851, 1,748; in 1861, 2,313. Houses, 172. This was part of the ancient royal forest of Fulwood, now enclosed; and Preston race-ground was part of it. Extensive barracks are here. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester."[3]
Economy and society
Fulwood has expanded in the 20th century, and has been popular with housing and business developers, with its close links to the M6 and M55 motorways. Since the 1970s when the Central Lancashire New Town was proposed, large sites have been made available for development, such as Longsands, which is a residential area, and "East Preston", where many businesses are currently located, including the Lancashire Evening Post (LEP), Asda, Royal Mail sorting office, Independent Inspections, Xchanging, CPC,[4]EDS and Holiday Inn.[5] The B6241 (Eastway) provides a vital route, bypassing much of the residential and central areas of Preston, and a road via Longsands connects it to the M6 motorway (at junction 31A which was opened in the 1990s) and the Bluebell Way business park on the boundary with Brookfield.
Since the mass migration of Indians, Fulwood has been a popular place of residence for well-known, and wealthy families of the Vora Patel community, many of whom have resided here for several generations. Many families of this community amassed great wealths during the economic prosperity of the textiles industry in Northern England and, to this day, retain much of their wealth and have bought many of Lancashire's historic properties.[10]
Architecture
The former Fulwood Workhouse
Fulwood is one of the greener parts of the Preston area, however it is nevertheless a fairly built up area, with buildings dating back to the Victorian gentrification of the region, and earlier. Due to large investments during the late Victorian era, Fulwood was an area of much development by wealthy Preston industrialists. Some of the finest Victorian buildings of Lancashire can be found in Fulwood,[11] such as the Fulwood Barracks, Fulwood Union Workhouse, and Harris Orphanage. Many of the larger houses in Fulwood were also built during the Victorian period, particularly those in the Nooklands cul-de-sac.
Parks
The town has seven different greens, consisting of Conway Drive, South Drive, Mill Lane, Sherwood, Levensgarth Avenue, Tower Lane and Andertons Way. This makes Fulwood one of the greener districts of Preston.
Following a further boundary review completed in 2023, Fulwood is again split between parliamentary constituences, with Greyfriars and Sharoe Green being moved into a revised Ribble Valley constituency and the rest of Fulwood being included in the Preston constituency. These changes took effect for the 2024 General Election.
Fulwood has one men's cricket team in the competitive Lancashire league structure, Fulwood & Broughton CC (known as F&B). The 1st XI playing in the Northern Premier Cricket League, with other teams playing in the Palace Shield structure. There is also a T20 and women's team at the club.[12] There are two social men's cricket teams in Fulwood; an F&B midweek team and Preston Grasshoppers CC, both of whom play in the Boddingtons Village Cricket League.[13]
Fulwood's local football team is Fulwood Amateurs F.C. (known as Fulwood Ams). The men's 1st XI play in the West Lancashire League Premier Division (Level 11 in the English football pyramid).[14][15] In the 2021-22 season, Fulwood Amateurs won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield.
Preston's rugby union team, Preston Grasshoppers R.F.C. (known as Hoppers), are based in Fulwood. The men's 1st XV play in the RFU National League 2 North (Level 4 in the English rugby union pyramid), with 4 other men's senior teams in the North West Leagues, and a women's team in the Women's NC 1 North West.[16] Hoppers are one of the oldest rugby clubs in the north of England, and in the 2021-22 season, they won the John Burgess Lancashire Cup.[17]
Fulwood Leisure Centre is on Black Bull Lane.
Preston's Guild Wheel cycle route runs through Fulwood.
Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west.
Preston is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2000 by Sir Mark Hendrick, a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party.
Ribble Valley is a constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Maya Ellis, of the Labour Party.
Wyre and Preston North was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 2010, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
Clayton Brook is a large residential estate in Lancashire, between the city of Preston and the town of Chorley. It forms part of the Clayton-le-Woods civil parish, and is in the Clayton-le-Woods North ward of the borough of Chorley.
Broughton is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north of Preston city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,735, decreasing to 1,722 at the 2011 Census, increasing to 2,467 at the 2021. The parish is included in Preston Rural East ward of Preston city council, and the Preston Rural division of Lancashire County council.
The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions – three for first teams, and two for reserve teams. The league is currently sponsored by Lancaster-based radio station The Bay. The top division, the Premier Division, sits at step seven of the National League System and is a feeder league for the North West Counties Football League, although promotion and relegation is based upon application to the National League System Panel.
The City Council elections for the City of Preston, Lancashire were held on 4 May 2006 on the same day as other 2006 United Kingdom local elections. Nineteen electoral wards were fought. The only change was that Labour gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats, continuing to be the largest party, but the Council remained under no overall control
Elections to the Preston City Council took place on 3 May 2007.
Elections to Preston Borough Council were held on 6 May 1999. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council after a Liberal Democrat councillor defected to them on the night of the counting of the votes.
Cadley is a largely residential suburban area of Preston, Lancashire, England, and an electoral ward. The population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 4,589. It is usually considered to be a district of the larger suburb of Fulwood, but was historically separate as evidenced, for instance, in the name of Fulwood and Cadley County Primary School.
Ribbleton is a suburb and ward of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It is located to the east of the city centre, between the A59 New Hall Lane and the B6243 Longridge Road. The M6 motorway also runs through the area. The ward had a population of 7,351 recorded in the 2001 census increasing to 8,548 at the 2011 Census.
Greyfriars is a largely residential suburban area of Preston, Lancashire, England, and an electoral ward. It is nowadays usually considered to be a district of the larger suburb of Fulwood, but was historically separate as evidenced, for instance, in the name of the private home from which the name is taken.
College is an electoral ward and one of the districts of Preston. The population of the Ward as taken at the 2011 census was 3,578. College is in the Fulwood area in northern Preston, Lancashire, England. The ward is based in the Sharoe Green area with the name being derived from the central placement of Preston College.
The City of Preston, or simply Preston, is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a population of 151,582 (2022). The neighbouring districts are Ribble Valley, South Ribble, Fylde and Wyre.
Elections to the Preston City Council took place on 5 May 2011, the same day as other 2011 United Kingdom local elections. This was also the date of the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum. At this election, The Labour Party regained majority control of the council.
Elections to Preston City Council took place on 3 May 2012, the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.
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