Beacons have a long history in
Britain. They have been built on prominent places to signal messages across the
country, probably since prehistoric times. The most famous incident is the
response to the Spanish Armada in 1588. A century earlier, beacons were built
in expectation of an invasion from France. When the inventions of radio
beacons, telephones and cable communication made this function obsolete,
beacons took on a celebratory role.
King Edward VII called for a nationwide
chain of beacons to be lit for his coronation in 1902. Preston built their
beacon on top of the hill near Atherstone Hill Farm, from which dozens of other
beacons could be seen.
In 2012, a similar event was
organised for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Another was built in 2016
for the Queen's 90th birthday. This time, Preston's beacon was built
in the field called Watching Hill, probably named for its prominent location
and near 360° visibility. It may have once been the site of a signal beacon.
As flames roared up and smoke
billowed, it was easy to imagine, several hundred years earlier, a watchman
lighting another beacon as a vital message raced across Britain.
How often has this happened in
Preston's history? We shall probably never know.
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