POYNTON. 249 FRESCOT. Si miles S.E. of Stockport, its post town, and 6| N. of Macclesfield. It is a station on the Macclesfield branch of the London and North-Western railway. The village, anciently called Ponynton and Poynington, is situated near the Macclesfield canal, and on the main road from Macclesfield to Stockport. A large portion of the inha- bitants are engaged in the collieries. A court-baron is held twice in the year. The glebe comprises about 18 acres. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Chester, val. 85. The church, dedicated to St. George, or St. Thomas, was rebuilt in 1789, and subsequently enlarged. The parochial charities are of small amount. There are National schools for both sexes, also for infants, in which last a Sunday-school is also held. Lord Vernon is lord of the manor and principal land- owner. The hall, built about the middle of the 16th century, was taken down by Sir George Warren at the end of the last century, and a modern mansion erected on the site, which is surrounded by well-laid-out grounds. POYNTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Ercall Magna, co. Salop, 6 miles N.W. of Wellington, on the river Roden. POYNTZ PASS, a station on the Dublin and Belfast Junction railway, co. Armagh, Ireland. POYSTON, a hmlt. in tho hund. of Roose, co. Pem- broke, 2 miles N. of Haverfordwest, within the limits of which borough it is situated. PRATLEY'S LODGE, an ext. par. place in the chplry. of Leafield, par. of Shipton-under-Wychwood, co. Oxford, 4 miles N.W. of Witney. It is situated in Wychwood Forest. PRAWLE, a hmlt. in the par. of Chivelstone, co. Devon, 6 miles S.E. of Kingsbridge. It is situated near Prawle Point, and is a coastguard station. PREBAN, or BRABAN, a par. in the bar. of South Ballinacor, co. Wicklow, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, 2 miles S.W. of Aughrim. Rathdrum is its post town. The surface is mountainous, but consists in general of a good soil. The stream Deny flows along the southern border, and the interior is traversed by the road from Tmehely to Rathdrum. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Ferns, val. 150, in the patron, of the bishop. The church was built by the late Board of First Fruits in 1827. There are a Roman Catholic chapel and three day schools. PREBEND-END, a precinct in the par., hund. and CO. of Buckingham. PRECELLY, or PERCELLY, a range of mountains in the co. of Pembroke. They extend in length nearly 12 miles, and attain an elevation at Cwn Ccrwyn, the highest peak, of 1,758 feet above sea-level. PREEN- CHURCH. See CHURCH PREEN, co. Salop. FREES, a par. in tho Whitchurch div. of the hund. of North Bradford, co. Salop, 14J miles N. of Shrews- bury, its post town, and 5 N.E. of Wem. It is a station on the Crewe and Shrewsbury branch of the London and North- Western railway. It comprises the chplries. of Calvorhall, or Cloverley, Whixhall, and Darliston, and 7 tnshps. The village, which is large, was formerly a market town. A large portion of the land is heathy. Numerous fossils are found in the neighbourhood. A portion of the inhabitants are engaged in the coal, lime, and slate trade, which is carried on by means of the Ellcsmere canal. The parish is intersected by the road from Whitchurch to Shrewsbury, and by the London road from Chester to Birmingham. The glebe comprises 68 acres. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Lichfield, val. 571, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Chad, is an ancient cruciform structure rith a modern tower containing six bells. The interior 01 the church contains tombs of the Hills, two old figures of Moses and Aaron, and some pieces of tesselated pave- ment. In addition to the parish church are the follow- ing district churches viz. at Calverhall, Fauls, and the livings of which are all perpet. curs., vary i from 120 to 50. The parochial cha- I per annum, besides a small Idowment to Industry Hall school, situated at Lower There is a National school for both sexes. Ine .Independents and Primitive) Methodists hav. a place of worship. There is also a school for both sexes, including infants, at Frees Heath, founded and supported by Lady Hill. Frees Hall is tho principal residence, where the first Viscount Hill was born in 1772. Viscount Hill is lord of the manor and principal landowner. A fair for live stock is held on the second Mondays in April and October. PREESALL-WITH-HACKENSALL, a tnshp. in the par. of Lancaster, hund. of Amounderness, co. Lancaster, 7 miles N.E. of Poulton-le-Fylde, and 2 E. of Fleetford. The village, which is of small extent, is situated near the river Wyre, and is wholly agricultural. There is a small endowed school, also a place of worship for the Independents. There is a cemetery, which is used by this and the neighbouring township of Stalmine- with-Stainall. D. H. Elletson, Esq., is lord of the manor. PREESE, a hmlt. in the par. of Kirkham, hund. of Amounderness, co. Lancaster, 4 miles N.W. of Kirkham. PREMNAY, a par. in the district of Garioch, co. Aberdeen, Scotland, 2 miles S.W. of Old Rayne, and 7 N.E. of Alibrd. The par., which is about 3j miles long by 2 broad, contains the vil. of Auchleven. The surface is generally level, and in good cultivation, exclusive of the uncultivated and uninhabited part of the many- topped mountain of Bennochie, which attains an eleva- tion of nearly 1,000 feet above sea-level. This mountain was formerly a royal forest, but there are no trees now upon it, except about its base, the slopes supplying the inhabitants of the neighbouring parishes with peat for fuel. Along the banks of the river Gadie the soil is both fertile and early, but in other parts it is of middling quality. There are granite quarries. Tho par. is in the presb. of Garioch and synod of Aberdeen. The minister has a stipend of 170. The church was rebuilt at the commencement of the present century. There are charities for the poor producing about 80 per annum. PRENDERGAST, a par. in the hunds. of Haverford- west and Dungleddy, co. Pembroke, 1 mile from Haver- fordwest, its post town, and 10 from Narberth. It is a suburb of Haverfordwest, situated at the bridge on tho river Cleddy. Here are ruins of Prendergast Place, formerly the seat of the Stepneys and Prendergasts, from which family the parish derives its name. Tho living is a rect. m the dioc. of St. David's, val. 183. The church, dedicated to St. David, is an ancient struc- ture with a low turret. The chancel contains tablets to the Picton family, &c. PRENDWICK, a tnshp. in the par. of Alnham, N. div. of Coquetdale ward, co. Northumberland, 8 miles N.E. of Rothbury. PRENTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Woodchurch, lower div. of the hund. of WirraD, co. Chester, 3 miles S.W. of Birkenhead railway station, and 6 N. by E. of Great Neston. PRESCOT, a par., post and market town, in the hund. of West Derby, co. Lancaster, 8 miles E. of Liverpool, 61 S. of Lancaster, and 2 from the Huyton station on the Liverpool and Manchester branch of tho London and North- Western railway. This parish, which is very extensive, is situated on the edge of a rich coal field, and is traversed by the road from Liver- pool to Manchester and by the Liverpool and Manchester railway, which latter passes about a mile S. of the town. It comprises St. Helen's, Eccleston, Farnworth, Parr, Rainford, Rainhill, Great Sankey, Whiston, Button, Windle, Peasley Croft, and seven other townships. Tho town of Prescot, consisting chiefly of one long straggling street, is a petty sessions town, and received a charter for a market and fair in the 7th year of Edward III. The sessions for tho Proscot div. of tho hund. are held at the new court-house on the first and third Tuesdays in every month, and at tho townhall of St. Helen's on tho alternate Tuesdays. The town is well built, and is celebrated for its manufacture of watch movements, tools, and coarse earthenware, which are carried on to a great extent. There are also cotton and flax mills, and collieries, potteries, and glass works
