It is believed that Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times" was inspired by his time in Preston.
- Preston, a city and in the county of Lancashire, northwestern England. It is located at the lowest bridging point of the River Ribble estuary before it flows into the Irish Sea.
- The name Preston is derived from Priests’ Town, suggesting early settlement of religious origin dating back to the Anglo-Saxon. Preston had become an important market town and administrative centre. Preston Market Place still occupies the same location some 1,000 years later.