The area derives its name from the old English "Preosta", meaning Priest and "Tun", meaning enclosure or homestead. It is first mentioned in a charter dated between 1106 and 1116 and is recorded in the St. Alban's Register. At about this time the lands of Preston were granted by King Henry I to the monks of St. Oswin at Tynemouth. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the lands were returned to the Crown. In 1649, the Township was enclosed and of land were divided and granted to various copyhold tenants. In 1832 Preston Township, together with Tynemouth, North Shields and Cullercoats was constituted a Parliamentary Borough and by an order granted on 6 August 1849, the four were incorporated into Tynemouth Borough for municipal purposes.