Prestbury, Gloucestershire
| Prestbury | |
|---|---|
 The Burgage (road), Prestbury |
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 Prestbury
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| Prestbury shown within Gloucestershire | |
| Population | 6,981 |
| OS grid reference | SO971239 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHELTENHAM |
| Postcode district | GL52 |
| Dialling code | 01242 |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
Prestbury is a medium-sized village near the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the outskirts of Cheltenham, and forms part of the borough of Cheltenham, despite retaining its own parish council as a civil parish. It is part of the Tewkesbury parliamentary constituency.
The parish of Prestbury had a population of 6,981 according to the 2011 census.
The name of the village means "Priests fortified place", from Anglo-Saxon preost and burh, possibly from a fortified manor house belonging to the Bishop of Hereford in the 13th century. The settlement is mentioned as Preosdabyrig in 899-904. Prestbury is listed in the 1086 Doomsday Book as "Presteberie", part of the property of the church of Hereford, with 18 villagers, five smallholders, a priest, a riding man and 11 slaves. By the 13th century it had become Presbery. In 1249 the Bishop of Hereford was granted permission to hold a weekly market along with a three-day annual fair in August.
The village became eclipsed by Cheltenham following the end of the medieval period. The market started to decline in the 15th century and had lapsed completely by the start of the 18th century. In the middle of the 18th century a mineral spring was discovered in the parish, and by 1751 a local landowner, Lord Craven, had a business providing bathing and lodging. However it did not last past the end of the century.
The Prestbury War Memorial is a Cotswold stone gothic revival column with six engraved panels commemorating the villagers who died in the First World War (1914–1918). The memorial was severely damaged in October 2011 in an act of vandalism when the column was toppled to the ground and smashed.
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