Preston was a local government district coterminate with the town of Preston in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, northwest England from 1835 to 1974.

Preston was one of only a few industrial towns in Lancashire to have a functioning corporation in 1835, its charter dating to 1685, and was reformed as a municipal borough by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835

Municipal Corporations Act 1835

The Municipal Corporations Act 1835  – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...

.

Under the Local Government Act 1888

Local Government Act 1888

The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...

 it became a county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

. As part of the terms of any county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 in England, it was decided that to let the then Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...

 have authority over Preston would be impractical due to its large size, population and industry, and so the district was independent from the administrative county

Administrative counties of England

Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

 of Lancashire it would otherwise have been part of.

The county borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 and its territory transferred to Lancashire to be combined with Fulwood Urban District

Fulwood Urban District

Fulwood was an urban district of Lancashire, England.It was subject to some changes in its boundaries:*1 April 1934: lost to County Borough of Preston...

 and part of Preston Rural District

Preston Rural District

Preston was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded Preston on the north, west and east sides.The district was created under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, with its area being split between the new...

, becoming the new non-metropolitan district of the Borough of Preston.