The village comprises the hamlets of Windmill Lane, Waterfront, Cotton's Bridge, Tunnel End North, Tunnel Top and Barker's Hollow as well as several farms including White House, Little Manor, New Manor, Windmill Farm and Humble Bee House.

The Roman road from their settlement at Wilderspool near Warrington to the city of Chester (Deva Victrix) ran through the village, more or less along the lines of what is now the A56.

Preston is not mentioned directly in the Domesday Book of AD1086 but it was part of the lands held by William fitz Nigel, Baron of Halton[3] who was one of the most powerful men in the country in Norman times.

He held the manor at the time that George Ormerod wrote his History of the County Palatine and City of Chester in 1817.

By the time of the first headcount of population in 1801 the number was 333, rising to 594 in 1851 but dropping back to 454 in 1901[6] as the canal became less active.

In 1818 a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built on Aston Lane in the neighbouring village of Preston Brook.

The Society of Primitive Methodists was formed in 1812, and supporters of this group stayed at the Meeting House in Preston-on-the-Hill.

Charles Dodgson, the vicar of Daresbury and the father of Lewis Carroll, held services there for the boat people.

This spot is marked today by a milepost on the path over the tunnel, which was used to walk the horses that pulled the boats the three-quarters of a mile to the other end near Dutton Locks.

The business activities in Preston Brook were encouraged by the opening in 1837 of the railway with a passenger station and a goods yard to allow materials to be transhipped to and from the canal.

It was not until the third quarter of the 19th Century that canal traffic declined as the railway network spread throughout the country.

The Granary apartments at the corner of Hilltop Road is a new building, but the site has been the home of a milk distribution depot and for its last few years a scaffolding yard.

A short section of the A56 Chester Road runs through the northwest of the village from the M56 Junction 11 Daresbury roundabout to the Preston Brook canal and railway bridges.

This section is approximately equidistant between the small market town of Frodsham and the main population centre of Warrington providing the village with good access to both.

The junction with the M56 provides the village with easy access to North Wales, the M6 Lymm Interchange, Manchester Airport and City Centre.

This road provides the village with easy access to the centres of the small towns of Northwich to the southeast and Runcorn and Widnes to the northwest.

The main artery through the village is Windmill Lane joining with Barker's Hollow Road, which runs north to south connecting the A56 and the A533.

Higher Lane to the south of the village forms an approximate boundary with Dutton and joins with Daresbury and the A533.