Many years ago this week, 23rd July, would have been Preston Wakes Week, usually 2 weeks. The town closed down and everyone went to Blackpool. The factories and shops were closed and even the newspapers weren’t delivered.
Today was a sunny Tuesday and the streets were quiet at 9.30am. The objective was to reach the new Tom Finney mural on North Road taking in the urban scenery and UCLan on the way.
The Corn Exchange pub Preston, The former Public Hall, dance and music venue.
Starting at the Corn Exchange in Lune Street with it’s large brutal statue commemorating the put down of the workers protest nearly 200 years ago.
Then, noticing St George’s Church was open deciding to take look inside, a first, a very nice interior, probably the best in Preston, high-anglican judging by the catholic style statues. St George’s Ward where the shopping centre of the same name stands. The church was built in 1723 but modified several times, the exterior casing over the old church being 1848. I was reading that Real Madrid updated their ground by casing the old one, Preston set a good example.
St George’s Church, Preston
Crossing Ringway there was a good view of the re-modelled surface of Friargate.
Friargate viewed from Ringway
The Black Bull pub, further down than the Black Horse, both feature tiles. It was a Boddington’s pub last time I went in but that was a long time ago, in fact it’s frightening to think it was over 50yrs ago.
Halewood’s Book Shop for old books, there’s another further down Friargate.
The Dog & Partridge pub
The Sun Hotel
The mural of Pauline in the Yellow Dress, painted by Shawne Sharpe, on the side of the Northern Way. Pauline looks to have more attitude than the original.
It was an ambitious purchase of the painting by the Harris Art Gallery some 80yrs ago. Then early in this century buying the actual dress on the painting for the Harris dress collection. Those interested in art know that Pauline is Preston’s Mona Lisa.
Then it’s the last pub on Friargate. The Lamb & Packet
The Lamb & Packet Friargate Preston
Across the roundabout is UCLan and the Adelphi Pub. UCLan having two new buildings; the Innovation Centre and the Student Centre. To keep up with the flavour the Adelphi has been painted blue and a mural of flowers has been painted on the side.
The Adelphi’s mural. Colourful, floral.
The old Harris College Corporation Street building, now UCLan, still stands.
An old Harris building behind the UCLan Innovation block looks so 1960s, which is what it is. It’s unlikely they foresaw that this whole area of Preston would be re-built to accommodate the buildings and student living accommodation.
Behind here was the Engineering Block, about 4 stories high. It had asbestos problems.
An aside. In those days we used slide rules to do calculations, I still have three. In my last year I bought a Sinclair calculator with sines and tangents etc but the battery only lasted about half an hour. Then an awesome Texas TI51 or thereabouts.
Back across the roundabout and along Moor Lane. So called because Preston moor was along there, now Moor Park, believe it or not. But there was a battle on the Moor in the Civil War where Cromwell beat the Royalists. It was a telling victory. Preston’s seen quite a few battles, Jacobites.
The tall building was a telephone exchange.
The last windmill in Preston. There are a few round about, Clifton, north west of Preston, is probably the nearest. I always thought there was a windmill at the back of the Adelphi but perhaps it was an alcohol fuelled hallucination.
There was a pub called the Crossed Keys beyond the old telephone exchange that competed for pie and peas with the Adelphi. Now it’s all student apartments. Quite a shock to see the Urban Hub on the other side of Moor Lane. I wouldn’t have believed it was Preston.
The UCLan Vernon Building looks quaint among the modern architecture.
Next door to the Urban Hub is the building with the Tom Finney mural. Another created by Shawne Sharpe in June 2024. If Pauline is Preston’s Mona Lisa then Tom Finney is Preston’s Pele. He played over 400 times for Preston, and over 70 times for England, scoring 30 international goals.
Is this peak mural?
The former Unicorn Pub and the Moorbrook Pub on North Road
Looking north where Garstang Road begins
Walking back through UCLan. A bit surprising to find these old flats sitting so squat among the higher rise new buildings. They seem to be empty.
The Vinyl Tap pub and music ‘rock and roots’ venue with food. Adelphi Street. Looks good.
There used to be a pub near here called the Lancaster that had local bands, or groups as they were, several times a week. It was very popular and a bit off the normal drinking route. Having looked it up The Lancaster pub was quite a walk up Walker Street to Lancaster Road and looks like it’s a letting agency now.
The Vinyl Tap
The UCLan Library. Across the road has changed so much. Looking on Google Maps Street View this building was faced by terraced houses, if you view Streets it still has the old terraces viewing from the west, but not when viewed from the east. Quite pleasing terraces with arched front doorways. They’re a good feature in Preston, around Winckley Square. Now it’s faced by the modern Student Centre, dramatically different and pleasingly open.
The Student Centre that also faces onto the Adelphi Roundabout.
Nice to see that St Peter’s Church is kept as a UCLan building.
Onto Fylde Road showing more UCLan buidlings. This road leads to Preston Dock and the Fylde and Blackpool.
Fylde Road and another pub, Ships. Next to the UCLan Innovation Building.
The Student Centre
The view up Friargate from the Adelphi Roundabout.
The view up Friargate from Ringway, towards the Harris Museum and Art Gallery.
St Joseph’s Orphanage. A characterful building that set on fire awaiting renovation. It looks like the tower might remain.
Bistro Pierre took over the old Baptist Church on Fishergate and it now looks better than I ever recall.
Onto the Preston Railway Station or is it Train Station. A Pendolino bound for London, taking the longer route via Birmingham, sits at Platform 4.
It was a good walk.