To be truthful I have only visited Preston on about half a dozen occasions. A majority of the time I was watching Preston North End play my beloved Chelsea, but I have visited Preston on non-sporting occasions. I have always found the town quite agreeable with a number of fine churches. But like many of the smaller cities in Lancashire and Yorkshire, I felt that Preston was in decline after the loss of some its base industries. But Preston is a proud city and has an event which is held every twenty years that dates back to 1179 when King Henry the Second granted Preston the right to have a Guild Merchant and also awarded the town its first Royal Charter.
As we are all aware, Preston is a great distance from Hungerford but at present they are slightly linked. How may you ask is an industrial city in Lancashire linked to a small rural town in West Berkshire? To find your answer you will have to pay a visit to the Antiques Arcade and visit the stall in the cellar as it is likely you will find souvenirs celebrating the Preston Guild.
In an abstract way, I collect them and have a selection of medallions dating from 1882 to 1992 and a variety of cups, teapots and glasses dating from 1922 to 1992. They are fun to collect and are ridiculously inexpensive (the most I ever paid was £4.50 for the nine medallions). I think it was their obscurity that first attracted me to lightly collecting these items as I knew as little about the Preston Guild as I do about cooking. That was until I decided to research the subject and write this short article.
Before I start have you noticed something about the years on which the celebrations are held?
Correct! Give the boy at the back of the hall a lollipop.
The celebrations are held every twenty years and are always held in a year ending with a two. If you study the recent sequence you will see what I mean.
2012 -1992 –1972 -1952 –1922 –1902 –1882 and backwards.
But wait, even though my maths are poor should the sequence have read 1942 instead of 1952? You are totally correct, but the celebration was not held in 1942 for obvious reasons. The good people of Preston decided after the war to celebrate the event in 1952 instead.
The sequence would then have read 2002 -1982 –1962 -1942 –1922 –1902 –1882 with the next celebration being held in 2022 instead of 2032.
But enough of these numbers. What is the Preston Guild and quite why is it so unique?
Well the guild was a collection of traders, merchants and craftsmen who held a monopoly of trade within the town and because of this, only members of the guild could trade in Preston. If a newcomer arrived at its gates, then they could only trade with permission from the guild.
All members of the guild would have to swear loyalty to the Mayor and the Guild Merchants in a public court. Their background and the credentials were then checked to confirm eligibility and after a small fee was paid, they would be admitted (or re-admitted) as a burgess (a member of the Guild Merchant). These gatherings were quite infrequent and really were only required once in a generation.
Because of this, in 1542 it was decided that they would take place every twenty years.
Owing to the rarity and infrequency of the event it attracted large numbers of people to Preston and as normal, it was a good opportunity for many processions and a great excuse for much feasting and socialising. This went on until 1790 when the town was granted a freedom to trade, which in essence abolished the need for a guild.
However, the Preston Guild celebrations were already woven into the fabric of the town and people carried on celebrating every twenty years. As the years passed the nature of the celebrations changed and events such as horse racing took place and circuses and fairs were very popular.
In 1822, a balloon ascended into the Lancashire sky but crashed not far away causing its owner a Mr Livingstone to break his leg when he fell out (happily he survived). Apart from the very popular balloon ascents of 1822, some forty years later the world famous tightrope walker Charles Blondin (1824-1897) performed over the Preston Marsh during the 1862 celebrations.
Just departing from Preston for a moment Blondin has always been a hero of mine and whilst researching this article, I found out that the great man had lived (and died) in Ealing not far from where I lived. It also answers my question of why there is a Blondin Avenue in the Northfields area of Ealing. Blondin’s last house can still be seen (it is called Niagara House and can be found opposite the Plough public house in the Northfields Avenue).
Also if you are lucky, you might bump into my favourite weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker who lives in the area.
If you are there, do visit Northfields Underground Station as it is a fine example of Charles Holden’s work. It is very striking.
But enough of this as I have yet to find much about tightrope walkers or weather forecasters in the Arcade and have never found even a page about Charles Holden here in Hungerford. When I do, I will write an article about them.
Let us get in our motor car and return to Preston, enough of this nonsense.
As you can imagine, when the Victorians took charge it was a grand affair many famous actors performed in the town. There were regattas and massive firework displays. The Guild Mayor presided over the lavish proceedings and no expense was spared. The highlight was the civic procession and the mayoral banquet. These were reported lavishly during the Victorian era, although the first account of a Preston Guild was published in 1682.
Twenty-six guilds have passed and have all been recorded and I would imagine that these accounts would be fascinating to read.
The 2012 Preston Guild was reported in the local paper as being the Best Guild Ever and I wonder how the 2032 guild will be remembered. It is one of the many events that we celebrate in this lovely country of ours which date back centuries.
In Hungerford, we have the Hocktide celebrations which are held every year whereas in Preston, they are twenty years apart, but that is the fun of it all. We celebrate the future and the past at the same time and long may it continue.
If this has interested you and you would like to own a memento of the Preston Guild celebrations, then pop into the cellar in the Hungerford Arcade. When I last looked in late May, there were a few items available for purchase. They may still be there. I promise I will not buy the remaining Preston Guild items.
To be truthful I have only visited Preston on about half a dozen occasions. A majority of the time I was watching Preston North End play my beloved Chelsea, but I have visited Preston on non-sporting occasions. I have always found the town quite agreeable with a number of fine churches. But like many of the smaller cities in Lancashire and Yorkshire, I felt that Preston was in decline after the loss of some its base industries. But Preston is a proud city and has an event which is held every twenty years that dates back to 1179 when King Henry the Second granted Preston the right to have a Guild Merchant and also awarded the town its first Royal Charter.
In an abstract way, I collect them and have a selection of medallions dating from 1882 to 1992 and a variety of cups, teapots and glasses dating from 1922 to 1992. They are fun to collect and are ridiculously inexpensive (the most I ever paid was £4.50 for the nine medallions). I think it was their obscurity that first attracted me to lightly collecting these items as I knew as little about the Preston Guild as I do about cooking. That was until I decided to research the subject and write this short article. 
But wait, even though my maths are poor should the sequence have read 1942 instead of 1952? You are totally correct, but the celebration was not held in 1942 for obvious reasons. The good people of Preston decided after the war to celebrate the event in 1952 instead. 
All members of the guild would have to swear loyalty to the Mayor and the Guild Merchants in a public court. Their background and the credentials were then checked to confirm eligibility and after a small fee was paid, they would be admitted (or re-admitted) as a burgess (a member of the Guild Merchant). These gatherings were quite infrequent and really were only required once in a generation.
Because of this, in 1542 it was decided that they would take place every twenty years.
If this has interested you and you would like to own a memento of the Preston Guild celebrations, then pop into the cellar in the Hungerford Arcade. When I last looked in late May, there were a few items available for purchase. They may still be there. I promise I will not buy the remaining Preston Guild items.
