Prestolee

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Prestolee
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Prestolee
Location within Greater Manchester
OS grid reference SD754057
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MANCHESTER
Postcode district M26
Dialling code 01204
Police Greater Manchester
Fire Greater Manchester
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°32′49″N2°22′12″W / 53.547°N 2.370°W / 53.547; -2.370

Prestolee is a small village in Kearsley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell and is one of a cluster of villages between Bolton and Kearsley, which includes Stoneclough and Ringley. It is dubbed the "Island Village" as it is surrounded on all sides by water. [1]

Historically part of Lancashire, during the Middle Ages, Prestolee was a chapelry within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham. In Wilson's 1870–1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales it is described as having a population of about 1,600. [2]

Prestolee is surrounded almost completely by water and is effectively an island, with the River Irwell to the north, west and south and the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal to the northeast. There is one road (Bridge Street) that provides vehicle access over the River Irwell. [1] Prestolee Road also allows access to the village via a small canal bridge but the road is not metalled and not practical for most vehicles. Pedestrian access from the north is facilitated by using Prestolee Aqueduct, a grade II listed structure which carries the canal over the river, [3] or the nearby Pack Horse Bridge.

The area around Prestolee forms part of various countryside walks with particular focus upon the industrial heritage of this region. [4] Not long ago the area was severely damaged by pollution but with the coming of the Clean Air Act and the demise of the cotton mills the river has once again regained its fish and other wildlife and wildflowers abound.

It has a grade II listed parish church (Holy Trinity). [5] This was used by TV show Coronation Street as a venue for many weddings and known to fans as All Saints' Church, Weatherfield. It also has a primary school.

Another other major landmark is the grade II listed Kearsley Mill, a cotton spinning mill in its previous guise, now home to several industrial uses. It is described by English Heritage as "A near-complete example of an early C20 spinning mill designed specifically to be powered by electricity generated on site, by steam turbine generators." [6] [7] At one time there were also two other mills on the banks of the Irwell to the right of the road bridge from Stoneclough, though these mills were demolished in the 1970s to make way for housing. [1] Prestolee has various shops in or just outside the village, including a greengrocer's, a chip shop (now a takeaway) and a sweet shop later becoming a butcher's before ending as a village community centre. There is a pub, the Grapes Hotel, to the Stoneclough end of the bridge and several others in the near vicinity.

Prestolee has a small primary school. [8] The book The Idiot Teacher by Gerard Holmes tells the history of the school, run for very many years by Edward "Teddy" O'Neill (1890-1975), who believed children should be self-directed in their education. [9] [10] [11]

Prestolee Wood is a small woodland (3 ha (7.4 acres)) owned by the Woodland Trust, beside the A667 road to the east of the village, north of the river and the canal. [12]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kearsley Mill</span> Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

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Kearsley is a town and an unparished area in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, and it includes the area of Ringley and the village of Prestolee. The town contains 21 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The Manchester and Bolton Railway was built through the area, and two railway bridges are listed. Also passing through the area are the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, which is now disused, and the River Irwell; listed buildings associated with these are bridges, an aqueduct, and milestones. The other listed buildings include a set of stocks, a house later used as a social club, two churches, a tower remaining from a demolished church, and a former spinning mill.

References

  1. 1 2 3 ""I wouldn't live anywhere else": The island village in Greater Manchester surrounded on all sides by water". Manchester Evening News. 2 April 2023.
  2. "Prestolee, Lancashire". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  3. Historic England. "Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Aqueduct over River Irwell (1162420)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  4. "Hidden Walking Gems in Salford: Clifton to Farnworth" (PDF). Salford City Council. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  5. Historic England. "Church of the Holy Trinity (1350354)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  6. Historic England. "Kearsley Mill (1267954)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  7. Gee, Chris (13 November 2024). "Textiles firm to replace 49 'harmful' windows at historic mill". The Bolton News. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  8. "Welcome". www.prestolee.bolton.sch.uk. Prestolee Primary School. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  9. Holmes, Gerard (1952). The Idiot Teacher. Faber & Faber. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  10. "History". www.prestolee.bolton.sch.uk. Prestolee Primary School. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  11. "'Idiot teacher' who was an education pioneer at Prestolee". The Bolton News. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  12. "Prestolee Wood". Woodland Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2024.

Further reading