Francis Preston and Co
of Ardwick, Manchester
See also Francis Preston
1825 Baines Directory lists John Preston as a spindle and fly maker, Ancoats Bridge; house - 127 Great Ancoats Street.
1855 Government contract for bayonets and ramrods for the army.
1856 Machinist, of Ardwick Spindle Works, Manchester
1858 'PRESTON and McGREGOR’S PATENT MACHINES for FORGING and CUTTING FILES, at One-Third the Cost of those made by Hand, may be seen at Work daily, on the Premises of the Maker, FRANCIS PRESTON, ANCOATS BRIDGE WORKS, MANCHESTER.'
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 26 October 1858
1859 Advert: 'BULLETS for the ENFIELD and LANCASTER RIFLES, made by patent machinery, to be had wholesale from the maker, FRANCIS PRESTON. Ancoats Bridge Works Ardwick, Manchester. Established 1816.— Contractor to her Majesty's War Department and the Honourable the East India Company.'[1]
1869 Advert: 'Velocipedes, manufactured by PRESTON BROTHERS, Ancoats Bridge Works, Ardwick, Manchester (Established 1826). Wholesale and for Export. The various parts are made interchangeable upon the same principle as now pursued by the English Government in their manufactory of Rifles, so that if an accident happens to any part of the Velocipedes the damaged parts van be easily replaced. Agent for Birmingham: T. Heath, 94 Hatchett Street.'[2]
1870 'SPEIGHT’S DOFFING PATENT for SPINNING and TWISTING FRAMES.— Notice is hereby given, that by an Agreement, dated the 26th of January, 1869, the sole LICENSE to make the fliers, tubes, wharles, oil cups, &c., &c., was GRANTED to Messrs. FRANCIS PRESTON & Co., Machinists, Ancoats Bridge Works, Manchester — Dated February, 1870.
A. & G. W. FOX, Solicitors, Manchester.
Bradford Observer, 28 February 1870
See "'Clay's' Breech Loader 1862" by Steven Roberts for a summary of Preston's involvement in arms production [3]. The source also refers to his partnership in the Ardwick Spindle Works with William Seed, and with Preston's involvement with the Lancashire Steel Co.