The Architecture Of Preston

Introduction

Most people may know me as a Novocastrian but I was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire and I support the Football Team, Preston North End (that can never change) and still have a great affinity for the place. My sister and many relations still live in the area.

I included Bruce Springsteen's "My Home Town" from "Born In The USA" because it was generic enough, and I am going back there tomorrow to see my sister Yvonne for her birthday.

Preston Guildhall

My first gigs in Preston were at the old public hall which had a sprung dancefloor and I performed there in my school choir. Then it was half demolished and turned into a Wetherspoons so I can never visit it again unless someone reputable takes it over.

It was opened in 1973 and to me looked like a spaceship had landed in Preston. It contained an amazing main hall and the smaller Charter Theatre (where I saw Camel and Van Der Graaf Generator).

It closed but is now scheduled to reopen, and in my opinion, still looks amazing.

I remember going to see Gong with a girl I really fancied Joan Yaxley, think I can say that fifty years on, as saw loads of bands including Queen supporting Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, Leonard Cohen, and Elvis Costello. Cohen was very funny and a superb performer.

The Harris Museum

This is a building that has always impressed me and I used to take Juliet and Kirsty around here to see the amazing impressive exhibits when we lived in Leyland.

I remember Preston North End being presented with the Third Division Trophy when they were promoted under Alan Ball Snr around 1970, and you can read a little about the team here.

This is almost like a Greek Temple standing over the centre of Preston with the Market Square in front of it. I hope to have time to visit tomorrow.

Preston Bus Station

This is the building that inspired this story. My friend Nick posted a picture on Instagram below

and given that he is normally in Italy, Scotland, or somewhere exotic in the world I wondered where the hell it was as it looked so much like Preston Bus Station so I messaged him and asked. It turned out that it was Preston Bus Station and as Nick is an architectural expert I was not too surprised that he had shared this. One of his books is below

My friend Harry said it has the biggest gutters in the world.

This is probably the only example of brutalist architecture that is also quite beautiful in its own way.

St Walburge's Church Spire

As I come into Preston on the train I see the spire of St Walburge's Church. As it's the tallest spire of any parish church in England it is hardly surprising that it stands out.

St Walburge's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Preston, Lancashire, England, northwest of the city centre on Weston Street. The church was built in the mid-19th century to a design by the Gothic Revival architect Joseph Hansom, the designer of the hansom cab, and is famous as having the tallest spire of any parish church in England

This is taken from the Wikipedia entry and you can read the full text here.

This is the official site for the church if you want to go into even more detail, but they are some amazing images.

Conclusion

I know I will publish this and have forgotten so many things, but I hope you have enjoyed these four examples of Prestonian architecture.

Thank you so much for reading.