Leyland is a town in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, 6 miles south of Preston. The population was 35,578 at the 2011 Census. The name …Leyland is a town in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, 6 miles south of Preston. The population was 35,578 at the 2011 Census. The name of the town is Anglo-Saxon, meaning "untilled land". Leyland was an area of fields, with Roman roads passing through, from ancient Wigan to Walton-le-Dale. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book. In 1066, King Edward the Confessor presided over the whole of Leyland. The manor was divided into three large ploughlands, which were controlled by local noblemen. In the 12th century, it came under the barony of Penwortham.