Description
Preston, a parish in Dorsetshire, on Weymouth Bay, 3 1/2 miles NE of Weymouth station on the G.W.R. It includes the tithing of Sutton Poyntz, and has a post office under Weymouth; money order and telegraph office, Weymontb. Acreage, 2625; population, 678. There is a coastguard station. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is old, has been restored, and has a tower. There is a Wesleyan chapel. In a meadow in this parish the remains of a Roman villa were discovered in 1842.
Parish Church
The church of St. Andrew is an edifice of stone, in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch, and an embattled western tower containing 4 bells: there is an ancient font: the church was restored and two stained windows inserted: there are 300 sittings: in 1907 the churchyard was extended by half an acre, and a lych gate was erected in 1911.
The register dates from the year 1693.
