CHURCH.
The name Preston, the priests' tun, (fn. 17)
may indicate ecclesiastical ownership of the vill
before 1066. About 1280 Thomas Lyart was vicar
of Wellington and rector of Preston chapel. (fn. 18) By
1336, whence institutions were regularly recorded, the independent status of Preston church
was established. (fn. 19)
The advowson apparently descended with the
manor, whose partition caused uncertainty over
the exercise of turns. (fn. 20) From the earlier 18th
century the right of presentation was held by
Preston hospital and the Charltons. The Charlton
family presented for one turn in three, last doing
so in 1940. (fn. 21) When the rectory was united with the
benefices of Kynnersley and Tibberton in 1978,
patronage of the united benefice was vested in the
patrons of the three former livings jointly. (fn. 22)
A proportion of the great tithes in Preston
township was paid to the Wellington tithe owners.
The amount due to St. John Charlton in respect
of the rectorial tithes of Wellington was questioned in 1743. (fn. 23) A territorial apportionment was
later made, possibly in the later 18th century. (fn. 24) In
1838 the township's tithes were commuted to
£235 a year: the great tithes to £199 shared
equally between St. John Chiverton Charlton and
the rector; the small tithes to £36, those in
Preston parish producing £23 for the rector, those
in Wellington parish £13 for the vicar of
Wellington. (fn. 25)
There were 24 a. of glebe in 1724, (fn. 26) 23 a. and a
cottage in 1884, three cottages and some land
having recently been sold. (fn. 27) In 1942 the War
Department compulsorily purchased 16 a., (fn. 28)
c. 9
a. remaining in 1981 as glebe. (fn. 29)
In 1743 the parsonage, a 'very poor' house, was
let for £2. (fn. 30) Described in 1799 as a small thatched
cottage, (fn. 31) it was a two-roomed baffle-entry farmhouse of two storeys with some internal subdivision, c. 10.36 × 5.79 metres overall. Outside was
a four-bayed barn. In 1827 the parsonage was
extended and modernized by W. T. Birds,
apparently the first resident rector for over a
century. The old house was encased within a new
brick rectory, which had over twice the floor space
of the old, the rooms including two parlours
downstairs and four bedrooms upstairs. (fn. 32) The
rectory was sold in 1954 and became a private
house. During the Second World War its cellars
were designated the village's air-raid shelter. (fn. 33)
The living was valued at 60s. in 1535, (fn. 34) £24 in
1665, (fn. 35) £70 in 1799, (fn. 36) £198 in 1828-31 and 1871,
and £231 in 1932. From 1900 or earlier the rector
was usually chaplain of the hospital, with a
stipend of £40 in 1917. (fn. 37)
Two medieval incumbents surnamed Preston
may have been members of the family holding
part of the manor. (fn. 38) Only one pre-Reformation
rector is known to have been a graduate, the
pluralist William Grinshill, 1422-8. (fn. 39) There was
no pulpit in the church in 1576. (fn. 40) From the later
17th century, or earlier, the living was generally
held in plurality. Samuel Pritchard, 1678-1714, (fn. 41)
also held Eyton upon the Weald Moors. (fn. 42) William
Sockett, 1714-?32, (fn. 43) also served the chapel at
Wombridge although it was not a dependent
chapelry of Preston. (fn. 44) Wombridge did not have
rights of marriage until 1760 and largely relied on
Preston and its incumbents until c. 1805. (fn. 45) Henry
Wood, c. 1743-1795, (fn. 46) a pioneer of steam power,
also held High Ercall and Kynnersley, (fn. 47) the latter
living also being held by his curate (fn. 48) and successor
at Preston, Richard Spearman, (fn. 49) 1795-1826. (fn. 50) In
1799 there was one service on Sundays, alternating mornings and evenings with Kynnersley;
communion was celebrated quarterly and there
were 20 communicants. (fn. 51)
W. T. Birds, 1826-61, (fn. 52) was also perpetual
curate of Penley (Flints.). (fn. 53) In 1843 he instituted
an additional service at the hospital for residents. (fn. 54)
William Houghton, 1861-95, (fn. 55) wrote several
books, mainly on natural history, (fn. 56) and was an
authority on eastern languages, for which he was
granted a civil list pension. (fn. 57) Between the 1890s
and 1930s there were usually two Sunday services, although in the period 1910-17 three or
four were normal. (fn. 58) In the early 20th century
Preston was served by elderly rectors whose
incumbencies were brief; some also held Kynnersley. In 1933 it was revealed that no churchwardens had been appointed for a number of
years. (fn. 59) H. J. Moreton, 1947-74, held the living
with that of Hadley. (fn. 60) In 1981 the weekly Sunday
morning service at Preston had a congregation of
c. 20. (fn. 61)
The church of ST. LAWRENCE, so called in
1871, (fn. 62) is of red brick with stone dressings, and
consists of a chancel with north vestry, nave, and
west tower. It replaced a church which was said c.
1736 to be beyond repair and so small that it
would not contain more than half the inhabitants
of Preston, (fn. 63) the population having recently increased with the opening of the hospital. Little is
known of the earlier church except that it had a
bell tower (perhaps built after 1553) and clock
and was built at least partly of stone. In 1553
there were two small bells, a silver chalice, and a
gilt paten. (fn. 64) The new church was built between
1739 and 1742, the nave and lower stages of the
tower being of that date. (fn. 65) The keystone of the
west doorway is inscribed 'T.H. 1739', Thomas
Higgins being the churchwarden whose name
appeared on the list of petitioners for a brief. (fn. 66)
The tower contains two bells, one of 1715. (fn. 67) The
plate is 18th-century and later. (fn. 68) The chancel and
vestry were added in 1853; Preston hospital bore
the expense of the chancel and of new pews at the
east end of the nave for its widows and children. (fn. 69)
The top stage of the tower may also be of that
date. There was a west gallery containing a barrel
organ and, in 1843, 30 seats for the poor. (fn. 70) The
gallery was removed in a major restoration of 1905
when the pews and pulpit were rebuilt, incorporating much 18th-century panelling, and a new
font was installed. (fn. 71)
The registers begin in 1693 and are complete
thereafter. (fn. 72)