Preston offers several historical perspectives: a listed church building, the built-up character of the village centre and examples of medieval field systems. These topics differ in scale: the Church of All Saints focuses on specific architectural features, while the village layout and field systems describe broader contexts. This lets you choose the focus of your stay based on whether you are more interested in architecture, local history or landscape history.

Church and architecture

The Church of All Saints in Preston is a Grade I listed building. Its north arcade dates from the 13th century. The building is constructed partly of cobbles and partly of ashlar; the tower is in the Perpendicular style. Thus, the same church brings together listed status, a dated architectural feature and characteristics of its construction. The date refers to the north arcade, while the materials and style of the tower describe other aspects of the building. Anyone interested in historic architecture can therefore look beyond its listed status alone.

Village centre and history

The historic village centre is the focus of the Preston Conservation Area. In the central core, the buildings are closely grouped and stand directly at the pavement edge. This description draws attention to the arrangement of the buildings and complements the consideration of individual structures with the layout of the village as a whole. The distinction is useful: the information about the church and the Conservation Area concerns different scales—a specific building and the central village centre.

The history of the village can also be viewed through two different points in time. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Preston was recorded as “Prestune”; the name means “priest’s estate”. Until 1830, traffic between Hull and Hedon passed through Preston because there was no direct main road. The name takes us back to the 11th century, while the traffic information relates to the period up to the early 19th century. Together, these details point to linguistic and transport-related aspects of the village’s history.

Landscape and Nun’s Walk

Examples of medieval field systems can be seen around Preston. They add a historical landscape perspective to the topics focused on buildings and the village centre. The densely built-up central core and the field systems raise different questions about Preston’s history: the arrangement of buildings in one case, the earlier layout of the fields in the other. If landscape history is your main interest, focus on these field systems; for architecture and village layout, the church and village centre offer distinct points of interest.

Nun’s Walk is the locally used name for a public footpath in Preston between Main Street and Luck Lane. In 1995, Preston Parish Council renovated the path as part of the Preston Parish Trail. In July 2026, a proposed route change was under consultation. Check the current route before going for a walk. The 1995 renovation is part of the path’s history; the consultation concerns a later proposal to change the route.

Discover more destinations: Kirkburn, Coniston, Withernwick, Hornsea, Skipsea, Howden, South Cave, Melbourne

For the main travel overview: East Riding Of Yorkshire.