1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Prescot

PRESCOT, a market town and urban district in the Ormskirk parliamentary division of Lancashire, England, 8 m. E. of Liverpool by the London & North Western railway. Pop. (1901), 7855. It is of considerable antiquity, and received a grant for a market and fair in the 7th year of Edward III. A church existed in the 13th century. The present church of St Mary is in various styles, with a lofty tower and spire and carved timber roof. The chief industry is the making of watches, and the town has long been celebrated for the production of watch movements and tools. The industry was first introduced in 1730 by John Miller from Yorkshire. There is also a manufacture of electric cables. John Philip Kemble, the actor, was born at Prescot in 1757. To the north of the town is Knowsley Park, the demesne of the earls of Derby, with a mansion of various dates from the 15th century onward, containing a fine collection of pictures. Prescot was formerly of greater importance in relation to the now populous district of south-west Lancashire; it was also a postal centre, and it is curious to notice that such addresses as "Liverpool, near Prescot" were necessary.