Oreston

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Oreston, formerly a village on the southern bank of the Cattewater, is now a suburb of Plymouth.

Famed for its limestone quarries, stone from which was used in the construction of Plymouth Breakwater, the name is thought to derive from "ore stone".

But this ex-fishing village is much more than just an old quarry, in which there was ore and stone. The Oreston Quay lays host to many different events including carnivals, concerts and is also a perfect spot for a picnic.

There is also a well-established community with the inclusion of a school - Oreston Community Primary School. This school has grown and developed over the last few years and has, in some ways, made the area much more popular and a more desirable place to live. It has suffered none of the disorder and youth gang problems suffered by neighbouring Plymstock although controversially it is covered by the same police and city council 'Dispersal order' enabling police to break up and drive off groups of two or more persons if they believe that to do so would assist in preventing a breach of the peace.

Alexander Selkirk, the man whose seafaring adventures inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, lived at Oreston for a while. Selkirk married Frances Candish a pub landlady there in 1720, the year after Defoe's book was published.

Oreston is home to two churches, the small Anglican The Church of The Good Shepherd, which hosts daily communions and services for seasonal holidays such as Christmas and Easter, which recently underwent reconstruction and now has a new roof, and the larger Oreston Methodist Chruch.

Oreston offers many small, local services. It is home to a small cornershop style shop called "The Quay News," a pub called "The King's Arms," a small dock and slipway in "Oreston Quay," and is home to approximately 3,000 residents.