[2] Humans have been in the Long Preston area since prehistoric times; remains have been found in caves on the hills above Settle and an axe head dated to the Stone Age was found in the area of Bookil Gill.

[3] The presence of a Roman Road through the village, led to the discovery of a small fort in what is now part of the churchyard.

[4] Long Preston is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is described as Prestune,[5] later being registered as Prestona in Cravana.

[9] A school was built in the village during the reign of Edward IV (1461–1483) as part of the Hammerton Chapel.

Between 1923 and 1935, Long Preston was the railhead for the construction of Stocks Reservoir built by the Fylde Water Board (FWB).

Steam traction engines hauled material between the FWB depot, to the west of the current station, by road to Tosside where connection was made with a 3-foot gauge industrial railway system that served the dam construction project.

[14] In the 20th century, most people were employed in the village at the garage, wool warehouse, auction mart, farms or in the surrounding area, e.g. Skipton.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a livestock auction mart, shoe shop, tailors, butchers, bakers, post office, cafés, wool warehouse and corn mill.