Prees
Prees is a village and civil parish in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. Its name is Celtic and means "brushwood".
The civil parish includes the smaller settlements of Sandford, Darliston, Fauls and Mickley to the east of the village.
Prees is northeast of the small town of Wem. It is also west of Market Drayton and south of Whitchurch. A number of nearby villages share the name Prees: Prees Village, Prees Green, Prees Heath and Prees Wood. All were formerly known as Prys - Wood or Prys, etc. The population in 2001 was recorded at 2688, increasing to 2,895 Census.
History
The church in the village dates back to the 14th century, however the tower is younger.Several ancient coins was found on farmland outside Prees in 2017. They included four 300-year-old coins that date to the time of James I and Charles I.
Also located in Prees is the Prees Church of England Primary School and Nursery, a Victorian building that holds much history.
Transport
Roads
The A41 and A49 roads pass on either side of the village.Railway
West of the village of Prees, but not in the village or the parish as the name would suggest, is the railway station of Prees. It lies on the Welsh Marches Line, between Whitchurch and Wem. There is a regular service with pre-determined stops. The station is not in the village itself because Captain Black, a wealthy resident in the village stated that the station had to be exactly one mile away from the centre of the village, which at the time was the mill, located on Mill Street. This was so that it could be easily reached as a route out with the goods produced.Bus
The village is served by the 511 bus route, operated by Arriva Midlands North, which runs between Shrewsbury and Whitchurch via Wem. Some services terminate in Wem and do not continue to Whitchurch.| Bus operator | Route | Destination | Notes |
| Arriva Midlands North | Shrewsbury → Hadnall → Wem → Prees → Whitchurch | Some services terminate in Wem. |
Canals
Prees was the intended destination of an arm of the Ellesmere Canal. However the arm was only completed as far as Quina Brook. The arm is now known as the Prees Branch of the Llangollen Canal, and is navigable for about a mile to Whixall Marina; the following 3/4 mile is still followable on the towpath as it passes through Prees Branch Canal Nature Reserve.Notable people
- James Fleetwood an English clergyman, vicar of Prees and later Bishop of Worcester
- Thomas Gilbert an English ejected minister of the seventeenth century.
- Philip Henry an English nonconformist clergyman and diarist, ordained in Prees in 1657
- General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill GCB, GCH as a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. His doric column stands in Shrewsbury.
- Sir Robert Chambre Hill CB Kt a British Army cavalry officer, fought in the Peninsular War
- Major-General Clement Delves Hill a British Army Officer who fought in the Battle of Waterloo
- Francis Sandford, 1st Baron Sandford KCB, PC known as Sir Francis Sandford a British civil servant who implemented the Elementary Education Act of 1870, buried in Prees
- Sir Henry Maddocks KC an English lawyer and Conservative Party politician
- Thomas Oakley a British electrician and politician, MP for The Wrekin 1924-1929
- William Hutchings soldier and English amateur cricketer, played in 24 first-class matches for Kent and Worcs
Governance