Preston-Then and Now. The Changes of Half a Century. No. IV.

Preston-Then and Now.
1813-1893.
The Changes of Half a Century.
No. IV. 

PRESTON-THEN AND NOW: 1813-1893.
THE CHANGES OF HALF A CENTURY.

No. IV

On the right of Deepdale-road, opposite the Enclosure, stands the finest line of private residences in Preston. It was built about 1846 by Mr. George Mould, contractor, who had then in hand the construction of the Preston and Long-ridge railway tunnel under the west side of the town, from the then Deepdale terminus to Maudland, for the Fleetwood, Preston, and West Riding Railway Company, who had bought the line. At the inauguration of this extension of the undertaking, the late Mr. T. B. Addison, Recorder of the Borough, and Chairman of Quarter Sessions, took part, and, having been induced to don a navvy's smock look frock for the occasion, he cut his one sod and trundled it in a barrow about twenty yards, "amid the cheers of the spectators." Mr. Addison was chairman of the directors of this previously unprosperous railway, which was opened in 1840, and there were frequent calls upon the shareholders. At one of their meetings an irate shareholder said he "wished an earthquake would come and swallow it up," to which the chairman, with a sarcastic smile, rejoined, "I'm afraid an earth-quake won't come to gratify you." Our next object of note is the Preston and County of Lancaster Royal Infirmary, in Deepdale-road, of which the old House of Recovery forms a part. Ground was broken for the Infirmary proper in April, 1866, by Mr. O. R. Jacson, who laid the foundation stone in July of the same year, and in January, 1870, opened the building, which was erected from the design of Mr. J. Hibbert, at a cost of nearly £19,000. Six or seven years afterwards fever wards were added, the expense, £7,000, being defrayed by the late Mr. E. R. Harris; and Mr. Jacson has also been a donor in the same direction. We return now to Saul-street, where, in 1851, the Baths and Washhouses were opened by Aldermen John Catterall, Mayor, and immediately afterwards Mr. John Livesey, editor of the "Preston Guardian," had a warm bath, the first person who made use of the establishment. The total expenditure on the Baths and Washhouses was upwards of £11,000. Next we come to the Magistrates' Court and Police-station in Lancaster-road, on the south side of the Orchard, erected in the mayoralty of Alderman Spencer, 1857,. from the design of the late Mr. J. H. Park, and opened in the following year, during the mayoralty of the late Mr. John Humber. The old lock-up in Avenham-street was then razed, and the mill of Messrs Horrocks, Jacson, and Co., was extended upon the site. Of the Orchard, which a hundred years ago was called "Colley's Garden," it may be said that for three generations it has blossomed only in bricks and mortar. The foundation stone of the United Methodist Free Church, erected in 1862, on the north side of the Orchard, was laid by the Rev. John Guttridge, the first minister, and a man of mark in his day among the Dissenting community; and the Congregational Chapel, on the east side of the Orchard, was built in the following year. The very fins Covered Market occupies an area of 4,048 square yards of the Orchard. The roof is a remarkable specimen of the engineering skill of Mr. Garlick, as it has no internal support, the outer pillars alone maintaining it in position. The late Mr. Joseph Clayton entered into a contract with the Corporation for its erection in February, 1870, for £6,070, but when he had constructed about one-fourth of the roof a severe storm on the night of the 6th August destroyed it utterly, and he gave up the contract, declaring that no roof made on that principle would stand rough weather. Messrs. Bennett and Co., of Birmingham, then undertook the work for £9,000, but they also gave it up, alleging a similar objection. Its construction was then undertaken by Messrs. Allsup and Son of this town, who completed it at a cost of £9,126, and it has withstood many severer storms than that of 1870. In preparation for the Guild of 1882, the Corn Exchange was greatly enlarged and materially altered internally. At the west end the pork shambles were abolished to permit of the extension of the building, and internally the alteration was so great as to almost obliterate any trace of its former aspect. The original building was erected at a cost of $11,000 in 1824, the inner court, or "area," being then open to the sky; but in 1858, a glass roof, designed, we believe, by the late Mr. Philip Park (then borough steward, and Mayer in 1863-4) was erected, and thus the area was made available for large public meetings, concerts, balls, &c., in all weathers. The alterations and enlargement were designed and carried out by Mr. B. Sykes, and were completed at a cost of about £16,000; and the structure has since been designated the "Public Hall," in which Preston possesses the largest hall in Lancashire. Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall has an area of 10,241 square feet, the Free Trade Hall in Manchester 18,770 feet, and the Preston Pablic Hall 14,076 square feet. It has sitting accommodation for 2,764 persons, and standing room for about 800 others; -but if standing room only be required several thousands more could be admitted. It was in the Guild week of 1882, during the Mayoralty of Alderman E. Birley, that the foundation stone of the Harris Free Library and Museum was laid in the Market-place, with Masonic ceremony, by the Earl of Lathom. Prince Leopold (Duke of Albany), the Queen's youngest son, and the Duchess, had accepted an invitation to the Guild, but almost at the last moment his presence was prevented by illness, and the Duke of Cambridge attended in his stead at the Queen's command. He was present at some of the festivities and at the laying of the foundation stone of the Free Library and Museum. This noble structure, the envy of other Lancashire boroughs, was designed by Mr. James Hibbert, the architect of several other redeeming features of the town. It is indeed "ornamentum perennius"-a joy for ages, and a lasting honour to the designer. For this magnificent building we are indebted to the late Mr. E. R. Harris, solicitor and prothonotary, who died en the 27th June, 1877, aged 78 years. He bequeathed the whole of his property and money to the town of Preston, amounting with interest to the enormous sum of £285,850, the disposal of most of which was left to the discretion of trustees, of whom Mr. O. R. Jacson was chairman, and foremost in this and other great benefits that Mr. Harris's bequest has enabled them to confer upon the town-the Harris Orphanage in Garstang-road, the Technical School at Avenham, munificent grants to churches and schools, &e. For the Free Library and Museum alone the trustees granted £105,000, of which $75,000 were devoted to building and furnishing, £15,000 for endowment, and £15,000 for books of reference, works of arts, &c. The site of the building has cost the Corporation £80,000, as it involved the demolition of all the valuable places of business on the east side of the Market-place. By this demolition eight public-houses were razed the Blue Anchor, in Anchor-court; the Shakespere Inn and Swan-with-Two-Necks, in Strait Shambles; the Cross Keys, the Wheat Sheaf and White Hart, in Gin Bow Entry;

and the Shoulder of Mutton and Bull and Butcher, in Lancaster-road, at the east end of Gin Bow Entry. The license of the Cross Keys Inn, which stood at the north-west corner of the Entry and facing the Market-place, was removed to the corner house adjoining, occupied in old times by members of the Pedder family.

Eighteen months ago it was proposed in the Town Council by the Streets and Buildings Committee that the thoroughfares north and south of the Harris Free Library should be named respectively Harris-street and Jacson-street.

Alderman Hibbert objected that this would be to "belittle" the structure bearing the former name that it would be a ridiculous gilding of refined gold; and most people will entirely agree with him.

He moved, and Mr. Yates Booth seconded the motion, that that portion of the committee's proceedings be referred back for reconsideration, and the proposition was carried by 18 votes against 10. It is a matter of surprise that not a single voice was raised in the Council Chamber at the time in favour of a commemoration of the name of the late Mr. Richard Newsham, who bequeathed to the inhabitants pictures and objects of art valued at about £17,000. Besides this splendid bequest, Mr. Newsham in the course of his long life was a most generous benefactor to various churches and schools. He was one of the gentlemen who bought a Dissenting Chapel in Avenham-lane, and converted it in 1841 into a chapel-of-ease to the Parish Church, when it was named "St. James's." It has since been rebuilt from the design of Mr. Hibbert, the cost, £2,000, of the upper portion of the tower being defrayed by Mr. Newsham, who had previously contributed £3,000 to the building fund. Contiguous to the church, in Knowsley-street, stand the Commercial Schools, built at the expense of Mr. Newsham in 1844, as a memorial of his parents. With these benefactors we must name the late Miss Roper, to whom we owe the Catholic Men's Club, in Friargate; Mrs. Maria Holland who built and endowed the Orphanages in Theatre-street and Mount-street; and Mr. Joseph Livesey, who erected six drinking fountains in various parts of the town. Of such gifts Walter Savage Landor says:-

"Man's only relics are his benefits;
These, be there ages, be there worlds between,
Retain him in communion with his kind."

Not far from St. James's Church on the opposite side of the road, the old cottages formed out of an ancient workhouse built more than 200 years ago, gave way in 1850 to a lodge for the Avenham-street mill of Messrs. Horrocks, Jacson, and Co.; but it was afterwards filled up and the site is now covered with shops and houses. The workhouse on Preston Moor, erected in 1788, and those also at Woodplumpton and Penwortham, were closed when the palace at Fulwood was opened in 1868; but the workhouse at Ribchester has been retained for the imbecile poor only. Diverging into Glover-street, we must mention the Blind Institute, the foundation-stone of which was laid by the late Ald. J. J. Myres, (Mayor) and was opened in 1874; and making another deviation from Avenham-lane, we see Bairstow-street, built on what was formerly the garden of Avenham House, long occupied by the father of the late Mr. Newsham. At the end of Avenham-lane stands the Harris Technical Institute, erected as the "Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge," from the design of Mr. John Welch. The foundation-stone was laid by the late Mr. Thomas German, in 1846, and the building was opened in 1849, at a cost of about £6,000, raised by subscription and donations, with & grant of £250 from the Corporation. In 1882 the building was transferred by the Council of the Institution to the Harris trustees, who granted £40,000 for the purpose of converting it into a technological college. The beautiful Avenham Walks in front of that building were largely extended in 1846. Previously, at the end of the present upper walk, there was a rough declivity to the river, where now there are flights of steps and terraces. From these terraces the old Prestonian would scarcely recognise the landscape of his youth. The Ribble still winds through the valley; the woods beyond, the old Tram Bridge, the village of Walton, and Hoghton Tower, are all still there, but "trade's unfeeling train" has been busy here also; it has thrown three railway bridges across the valley and the river. The North Union Railway spanned them in 1888, the East Lancashire line in 1846, and the West Lancashire in 1882. When the East Lancashire brick-built arches that carry the line from the south end of the bridge to the high ground beyond were finished, one of the labourers had a marvellous escape, or rather series of escapes, from death. He was engaged on an arch near the bridge when he felt it giving way, and jumped on to the next arch, which also fell; and the next, and the next, until he reached safer foothold, 18 arches having fallen behind him as he ran. A few years ago these arches were filled in and buttressed with soil; so that, now the line seems to have been constructed on a solid embankment.

PRESTON-THEN AND NOW: 1843-1893.
Date: Saturday, Saturday, Mar. 25, 1893
Publication: Preston Chronicle 

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