Prescot

Prescot is a town and civil parish, within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England and is a post town in the Liverpool postcode area. It is 8 miles to the east of Liverpool city centre and lies within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. Prescot is situated in the Liverpool Urban Area. At the 2001 Census, the population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 females). Prescot marks the beginning of the A58 road which runs through to Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The town is served by Prescot railway station.

History
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.

From about 1593, into the early years of the 17th century, Prescot was home to the Prescot Playhouse, a purpose-built Shakespearean theatre.

During the 18th and 19th centuries it was at the centre of the watch and clockmaking industry. This ended with the failure of the Lancashire Watch Company in 1910. In later years BICC Cables was the main employer in the town.

Accent
Originally people from Prescot talked with a Lancastrian accent, but since the 1970s the accent started to change becoming more scouse, with people from inner city areas of Liverpool moving to Prescot. Prescot is now considered scouse as well as the surrounding areas like Rainhill and Whiston. The accent starts to change as soon as you hit St. Helens, with people talking with a stronger Lancastrian acccent. For example Johnny Vegas's accent sounds much more Lancastrian compared to Steven Gerrard who only lives a few miles apart.

Governance
The town was contained in the Prescot Urban District in the administrative county Lancashire from 1894. When the administrative counties were abolished in 1974 the district became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the metropolitan county of Merseyside.

Churches
The centre of Prescot has seven churches. Dominating the skyline is the 17th-century Prescot Parish Church of St Mary's. Tucked away behind St Mary's is the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady and St Joseph. Prescot Methodist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009, but the building has since been shut down indefinitely. The congregation continues to exist, however, meeting in the adjacent church hall, known as Prescot Methodist Centre. Also in the town are a Salvation Army church, an Elim Pentecostal church (Prescot Community Church), a Plymouth Brethren Gospel Hall and the Zion Independent Methodist Church.

Places of worship shut down or relocated over the past 20 years include the United Reformed church, the Kingdom Hall (Jehovah's Witnesses) and an independent charismatic church called simply Prescot Christian Fellowship.

Tourism, leisure and places of interest
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 famous estate of Lord Derby, which includes Knowsley Safari Park.

In recent years, a number of 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 was founded in 2007 to promote William Shakespeare's historic connection with the town, a subject currently being researched at Liverpool's John Moores University. Attempts to raise funds to rebuild the town's Elizabethan theatre have so far been unsuccessful.

Sport
The town's local football team Prescot Cables currently play in the Unibond League.

Notable residents

 * Screenwriter Peter Briggs who wrote the film Hellboy, was born in neighbouring Whiston and grew up in Prescot.
 * Actor Daniel Craig (James Bond 007), spent at least part of his childhood growing up in Prescot.
 * Actor Sue Johnston (Brookside, The Royle Family).
 * Shakespearean actor John Philip Kemble was born in Prescot. His house has since been demolished, but the road has been renamed Kemble Street. The John Kemble Pub stands on this street in his memory.
 * Actor Sam Kelly (Porridge, The Two Ronnies, All or Nothing)
 * Nonsense-poet and artist Edward Lear.
 * Classical pianist Paul Lewis, who featured as a soloist at the 2005 Last Night of the Proms, was a student at Prescot Grammar School.
 * Dave McCabe - Lead singer of the Merseyside Band The Zutons.
 * Danny McCall, former Brookside actor and star of West-End hit The Sound of Fury, based on the life of Billy Fury
 * Australian politician Jeanette Powell
 * Lord Stanley, one-time Governor General of Canada after whom the Stanley Cup and Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, was named
 * Stuart Sutcliffe, early member of The Beatles attended Prescot Grammar School
 * Organist Professor Ian Tracey of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
 * Professor Sid Watkins, world-renowned neurosurgeon who served twenty-six years as the FIA Formula One Safety Delegate and Medical Delegate, head of the Formula One on-track medical team, and first responder in case of a crash.
 * Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson was once a Member of Parliament for Huyton, incorporating Prescot
 * Former Everton FC player Mark Ward.
 * Hollyoaks actor Stephanie Davis