The club was founded on 28 September 1869 at a meeting held at the Bull Hotel, Preston, making it one of the oldest 'northern' rugby union teams.

In 1929 the club agreed a six-year sub-tenancy with Preston speedway team, and a dirt track was constructed around the perimeter of the rugby pitch.

[5] At the end of the 2015–16 Season Preston Grasshoppers accepted an offer from the RFU to replace the grass surface at Lightfoot Green Lane with an artificial 3G pitch.

Under longstanding Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer and head coach Paul Arnold, the side were the stand-out side in the division with number 8 Matthew Lamprey scoring 32 league tries during the campaign to set a new club record for tries in a league season, beating the previous best of 27 set by Michael Lough in the 1998–99 National 2 North championship winning season.

Joel Unsworth succeeded Arnold as head coach for the 2022-23 season whilst Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer also departed after 15 years in the role.