Preston, Hertfordshire
Historical Description
Preston, a hamlet in Hitchin parish, Herts, S miles S of Hitchin. It has a post and telegraph office under Hitchin; money order office, Hitchin. Preston Castle or Shandy Hall was the residence of Sterne's " Uncle Toby," but has been completely demolished. Temple Dinsley belonged to the Knights Templars. There are a school chapel (used by the Church of England) and a Baptist chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Hertfordshire | |
Civil parish | Hitchin | |
Hundred | Hitchin and Pirton | |
Poor Law union | Ware |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Preston from the following:
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hertfordshire is online.
Maps
Online maps of Preston are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hertfordshire newspapers online:
- Hertford Mercury and Reformer
- Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser
- Watford Observer
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hertfordshire, 1572 and 1634. Edited by Walter C. Metcalfe, F.S.A. is available on the Heraldry page.