I.—PROUD PRESTON.
Proud Preston—or Priests' Town, as it was originally called from the number of its religious houses—merited the epithet applied to it, albeit somewhat derisively.
Proud were its inhabitants—proud of their town—of its fine situation, its beauty, its salubrity—proud of their wives and daughters, whom they deemed, and not erroneously, the handsomest women in the kingdom.
As a place of fashionable resort, where the best society could be found, Preston, at the period of our story, ranked higher than any other town in the North of England. A great number of gentry resided there—many of them belonging to the oldest Catholic families of the county, and these persons gave an aristocratic character to the place.
But the Preston gentry were not as wealthy as they were proud. High Churchmen as well as Roman Catholics abounded in the town, and the only thing low about the parish church was the steeple. Hence the old rhyme:
Proud Preston, poor people,
High church, and low steeple!
Delightfully situated on the summit of a ridge, rising gradually from the Ribble, which sweeps round it on the south, and commanding extensive and beautiful views in every direction, Preston, from its salubrious climate, and contiguity to the sea, enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most agreeable and healthy towns in England.
In the early part of the eighteenth century Preston was but a small place, and could boast little regularity of construction, but it had a remarkably clean and cheerful aspect.