Why visit Prescot
Townapedia lists 3 museums and landmarks, 34 parks and trails, 92 places to eat and 8 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Shakespeare North Playhouse, Shakespeare North, Prescot Museum and World of Glass.
Weather in Prescot
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It lies about 8 miles (13 km) to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 females). The population of the larger Prescot East and West wards at the 2011 census totalled 14,139.
From the Wikipedia article Prescot (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Prescot
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Things to do8
Shakespeare North
Cinema and theater
Auditorium in Merseyside, England
Citadel Arts Centre
Cinema and theater · 3.0 mi
Arts and community centre in St Helens, England
Museums and landmarks3
Prescot Museum
Museum
Local museum in Prescot, Knowsley, Merseyside, England, UK
Aspinal Street, Prescot
Mo-Fr 10:00-17:00; Sa 10:00-13:00
World of Glass
Museum · 3.0 mi
Museum and visitor centre in St Helens, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Parks, trails and playgrounds34
Victoria Park
Park · 3.3 mi
Park in St Helens, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
Valerie Park (Prescot Cables FC)
Sports field and stadium
Eaton Street
22 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes92
Brunch at No 10
Cafe · Breakfast · 1.2 mi
10 Greenes Road
Mo-Tu 09:00-13:00; We-Sa 09:00-14:30; Su 09:00-14:00
Maturo, Prescot
Restaurant · Steak House
79-81 Eccleston Street
Mo-Th 15:00-22:30; Fr-Sa 12:00-23:30; Su 12:00-22:00
Mermaid Tavern Prescot
Bar and pub · Local
21 Market Place
Mo-Th 15:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-00:00; Su 12:00-23:00
Poco Bar & Cafe
Cafe · Coffee Shop
30 Eccleston Street, Prescot
We-Sa 09:00-16:30; Mo-Tu 09:00-15:30; Su 16:00-21:00
Quick & Tasty
Restaurant · Burger, Chicken, Friture, Kebab, Pizza
67 Eccleston Street
Su-Th 16:00-00:00; Fr-Sa 16:00-00:30
80 more on the map.
History
Prescot's name is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon prēost "priest" + cot "cot", meaning a cottage or small house owned or inhabited by a priest, a "priest-cottage". (ME prest, preste, priest, OE prēost, LL presbyter, Gk πρεσβύτερος presbýteros "elder, priest")
In the 14th century, William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre, obtained a charter for the holding of a three-day market and moveable fair at Prescot, to begin on the Wednesday following Corpus Christi.
In 1593, the English political philosopher Gerrard Winstanley's parents, Edward and Isabell Winstanley, originally from Wigan, were married in Prescot.
From the mid-1590s to 1609, Prescot was home to the Prescot Playhouse, a purpose-built Shakespearean theatre, probably located on Eccleston Street. In the sixteenth century it was a small town of about 400 inhabitants, and not much bigger by the late seventeenth century.
Read more of the history
During the 18th and 19th centuries it was at the centre of the watch and clock-making industry. This ended with the failure of the Lancashire Watch Company in 1910. In later years the BICC company was the primary industrial employer in the town. BICC ceased operations in Prescot in the early 1990s before the site was demolished and later cleared. The land remained desolate until 2000 when it was then regenerated into what is now known as Cables Retail Park, the name of which is a reference to the BICC and the history of the site on which it was built.
From the History section of Prescot on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Prescot
Arts and culture
Prescot Museum houses a permanent exhibition about the history of clock and watch-making in the town, and several temporary exhibitions per year. The Georgian building is now also home to Knowsley Council's Arts and Events Service.
On the edge of the town is the estate of the Earl of Derby, which includes the Knowsley Safari Park.
In recent years, several cultural and arts events have been established in the town, including the annual 10-day Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts and an annual Elizabethan Fayre.
The Shakespeare North Trust promotes William Shakespeare's historic connection with the town, a subject being researched at Liverpool's John Moores University. Inspired by the historic Prescot Playhouse, the Trust has built the Shakespeare North complex in Prescot, including a Shakespearean playhouse and an educational centre. In April 2016, Knowsley Council granted planning permission for the new playhouse. Construction work on the new The Shakespeare North Playhouse was completed in late 2022.
Stone Street (53°25′45″N 2°48′17″W), running between High Street and Eccleston Street, is just 26 inches wide at its southern end and is one of the narrowest streets in Britain.
From the Wikipedia article Prescot, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Prescot
John Philip KembleBritish actor and manager (1757-1823)Photo: William Beechey, Public domain
Kyrle BellewBritish actor (1850–1911)Photo: Sarony (photographer), Public domain
David O'BrienBritish swimmerPhoto: Firecat003, CC BY-SA 4.0- Carl BakerEnglish footballer (born 1982)
- Doug LivermoreEnglish footballer and manager (born 1947)
- Sylvia GoreBritish footballer (1946-2016)
- Ged BrannanEnglish association football player and manager (born 1972)
- Reg ButcherFootballer (1916-2000)
- Lally StottBritish singer-songwriter and musician
- Kevin SimmsEnglish rugby union footballer
- Neville ColemanEnglish footballer (1930-1981)
- Shaun WhalleyEnglish association football player (born 1987)
Born in Prescot, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Churches and places of worship30
Prescot Pentecostal Fellowship - Malayalam Worship (Prescot, Whiston, St Helens, Liverpool)
Church · 1.0 mi
Old Colliery Road
Shopping10
Gas and EV charging5
Schools, colleges and libraries18
St Leo's and Southmead Catholic Primary School
School · Roman Catholic · 1.4 mi
Lickers Lane, Prescot
Healthcare14
Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre
Clinic and pharmacy · 1.1 mi
Old Colliery Road
Map of Prescot
214 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 7 miles away.
- Whiston 1 mi southeast, about 1 min by car
- Rainhill 2 mi southeast, about 3 min by car
- St Helens 3 mi northeast, about 5 min by car
- Knotty Ash 4 mi west, about 7 min by car
- West Derby 5 mi west, about 7 min by car
- Old Swan 5 mi west, about 7 min by car
- Childwall 5 mi southwest, about 7 min by car
- Woolton 5 mi southwest, about 8 min by car
- Halewood 5 mi south, about 8 min by car
- Widnes 5 mi southeast, about 9 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Prescot
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Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Eccleston Street, Prescot 2, Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eccleston Street, Prescot 1, Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Stadt Moers Park, Frombowen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Folly, Victoria Park, St Helens, Paul Brooker, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Holy Cross & St Helen Church 1, Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- North west view of Loyola Hall, Rainhill, Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Improvements plaque at Prescot railway station, Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Valerie Park Stadium Prescot, Gb100000, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Mary's Church, Prescot 2, Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Whiston Hospital, Merseyside, Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Mary's Church, Prescot, Sue Adair, CC BY-SA 2.0
- MTL North 0238 F238YTJ (8949312364), Alan Sansbury from Liverpool, England, CC BY 2.0
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.