Prescot

Prescot's name is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon prēost "priest" + cot "cot", meaning a cottage or small house owned or inhabited by a priest, a "priest-cottage". (ME prest, preste, priest, OE prēost, LL presbyter, Gk πρεσβύτερος presbýteros "elder, priest") In the 14th century, William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre, obtained a charter for the holding of a three-day market and moveable fair at Prescot, to begin on the Wednesday following Corpus Christi. In 1593, the English political philosopher Gerrard Winstanley's parents, Edward and Isabell Winstanley, originally from Wigan, were married in Prescot. From the mid-1590s to 1609, Prescot was home to the Prescot Playhouse, a…

Prescot Museum houses a permanent exhibition about the history of clock and watch-making in the town, and several temporary exhibitions per year. The Georgian building is now also home to Knowsley Council's Arts and Events Service. On the edge of the town is the estate of the Earl of Derby, which includes the Knowsley Safari Park. In recent years, several cultural and arts events have been established in the town, including the annual 10-day Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts and an annual Elizabethan Fayre. The Shakespeare North Trust promotes William Shakespeare's historic connection with the town, a subject being researched at Liverpool's John Moores University. Inspired by the…