
Priestley taught (subject: 'belles-lettres') at what was the biggest 'Dissenting Academy' in the country. His dissenting beliefs took the form of a kind of Unitarianism. Warrington finally became an independent unitary authority on April 1, 1998.
Tolerance of dissent has of course been in decline since then, but even to this day it is possible to walk along the main Railway Station platform in Warrington wearing nothing but plastic.
H.