Hooray on Sunday 28th September 2025 the Harris re-opens after 4 years of transformation costing around £19m. We visited as members of the Friends of the Harris in December 2024 before the exhibits began to be returned and then after opening. Shown below on the 6th October and 10th November 2025.
6th October 2025 Visit
The Foucault Pendulum. A long term favourite
Clytie. Restored at the Lancashire Conservation facility in Preston and now back in place. Clytie was a water nymph who became a heliotrope in Greek mythology.
Wallace and Gromit exhibition ‘Accrington Queen’.
A fine bronze, one of many in The Harris.
10th November 2025 Visit
On this visit we stayed on the ground floor to focus more with just a quick visit to the Wallace and Gromit Exhibition upstairs.
Wallace and Gromit Exhibition until 4th January 2026
The Red Rose of Lancashire in the book exhibition.
It’s the first time we’d been in the Harris Museum and needed hard hats and hi-viz jackets, but it was Friday the 13th. Our tour was arranged for members of the Friends of the Harris as a preview of the building before they start bringing in the collections. We were generously guided by Programmes & Collections Manager, James, and by Fundraising & Development Officer, Robina.
The first room visited was the Family Library although temptingly we could see the Ground Floor Rotunda which would enable sight of the main feature of the building which is the view up 100feet and the new lantern roof.
The Harris Rotunda and the new lantern ceiling window from where the awe inducing Foucault Pendulum will swing, demonstrating our planet’s rotation.
The rooms look large without furniture and collections. This will be the entrance room from Lancaster Road, note the uncovered fireplaces:
Looking up the stairs:
The First Floor Discover Preston Gallery will have a light refresh but will be largely unchanged. The Harris Office has moved down into the basement creating a new gallery space and IT Hub, and the Reading Rooms will also host events.
The first floor with a view of the Miller Arcade upper floors. The museum format will be a ‘blended’ display where related items will be displayed together rather than divided by collection.
The Balcony Area on the upper floor. The tone of the wall paint is darker on higher floors where the light is brighter.
The frieze between floors:
Looking down:
Looking up to the Egyptian Gallery:
A closer view of the lantern:
Down in the basement, the staff office and collections storage will take up some of the space:
Other areas seen were the modern toilet facilities in the area next to the Flag Market and the new location for the cafe on the ground floor. Also the new stairs at the Lancaster Road side.
The big question is; When will it re-open? You may ask but let’s say next year just in case.
It was a good tour mirroring the one we had after the building was emptied and before the work began in 2022.
Related posts on our website:
Here’s our Harris webpage which has a short piece about our last visit on the 6th May 2022. Click here
Here’s a post dated 2022 on our blog about ‘the Harris your place’. The original proposal – Click here
Here’s a post on this blog about The Friends of the Harris visit to the Lancashire Conservation Studio.Click here
The Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library is proposing a major facelift. So far £3.7 million is in place and support and development funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. The next stage is a £4.5 million application in November 2020. A further £2.3 million will come from donations.
The plan includes making better space for local artists and events and families. Creating ‘blended’ art, museum, book exhibitions. Changing the library. Moving the cafe and shop and opening new doors for access to the building. A lift will be installed in the south east corner.
Find out more at the bottom of the page.
#HarrisYourPlace proposal June 2020
#HarrisYourPlace proposal June 2020
#HarrisYourPlace proposal June 2020
To read more, view plans and videos about the scheme please view the The Harris website page on this link.
An interesting display between 21st September and 24th November 2019 to mark the 50th year of Preston’s Bus Station and it’s car park. Controversial because of its brutal style and that it was accessible to passengers only through subways and an overpass.
For many years it was the largest bus station in Europe. Now only one side is in use.
The Harris display laid out plans and models of the architect ideas. Plus some items from the bus station like the barber’s chair.
To match the grey concrete most of the display was in grey with only a couple of coloured items which stood out.
The Beautiful and the brutal at the Harris Preston
A lovely day 30th October 2019. Just right for a walk in the country, a wander round some shops and pop into The Harris Museum and Art Gallery. About 3 miles.
Leaving the station in Butler Street, turn right towards the multi-storey car park and then across and over the Fishergate Centre car park to the far corner where you bear right up the road into Avenham Park.
In the park turn right. You’re quite high up and need to drop and cross the main route, that goes into Miller Park, and carry on above the Japanese Gardens. After 50 yards bear right on the cycle track onto the former railway line and cross the river. Good views.
Crossing the river with the Tram Road Bridge in the distance:
The view downstream crossing the river:
Cross the Ribble on The East Lancs Bridge, now a footpath/cycle track for today’s walk:
Then turn left at the other side and follow the river past the Tram Bridge and carry on until you can see the Capital Centre where you can get a coffee in Waitrose. The tributary is the River Darwen, from Darwen near Blackburn. The river side path has some mud and you need to keep on the raised bit on the left. Turn left at the obvious track crossroad.
At the side of the river path. Farmers working the rich soil of the Ribble flood plain:
You might find the road has a huge puddle. There is a 1 foot high fence you can step over before reaching puddle.
After your coffee you can look in some shops.
Then follow London Road, the main road,A6, over the bridge and turn sharp left along the other side of the river.
A nice track along the river with a good view across to the River Darwen and it’s bridge. Also a view of the Tram Bridge.
The Tram Bridge (closed) from the north bank:
Just Before you get to the Tram Bridge, climb up high on the right on a winding path, up a steep tarmac slope then onto steps with the captured guns from Sebastopol. Then onto the Promenade with view over the park. Facing is the Harris Institute an old place of learning, now empty.
The captured guns from Sebastopol overlooking the river:
The view over Avenham Park from the Promenade:
Then go to the left of the Institute till you come to Winkley Square. Nice Georgian sunken square. Go to the far end up Winckley Street as it’s a nice street with a cafe or two.
The Harris Institute, former place of learning:
Winkley Square sunken Georgian Square:
Turn right on Fishergate and make your way toward Waterstones, where you turn left and head onto the Flag Market which is an open square with good buildings around it. The Harris being the main one, Grade I listed.
The War Memorial, and Shankly Hotel in work:
The Harris has a fantastic collection. Must be one of the best in Britain for a place of Preston’s size. There is a cafe.
The Harris Museum and Art Gallery:
The latest exhibition inside the Harris, The Beautiful and Brutal: 50 years of Preston Bus Station:
Another new feature, The Wellness Room inside the Fine Art Gallery, a place for peaceful reflection:
Plenty more to see in The Harris. Large Fine Art Gallery, Discover Preston. Lot’s of pottery and perfume bottles. Fashion. Community Heritage Library and Main Library, Cafe.
The Harris, Museum, Art Gallery and Library. Preston.
The Friends of the Harris, a registered charity, are working with The Harris to revitalise and do critical repairs to the building and its presentation.
They have held several public discussions and learnt what the public want – such as Preston’s hidden collections on show, new spaces to enjoy, more opportunities to be inspired, and for the Harris to be your place. And here for the others who need it too – forever.
Now, there is a one in 100 year opportunity to make the Harris uniquely special again – for everyone.
Every donation will help show how much support there is and so generate money from larger funders.
The Friends of the Harris have set up a donations page for the public at The Big Give as linked below:
Preston City Council Lancashire County Council Preston, South Ribble & Lancashire City Deal Contributions from local people Arts Council England The Harris Trust Trusts and Foundations: Conditional Heritage Lottery Fund: Conditional
The following are the objectives as shown on the donations page:
The Solution:
We will reinvigorate the Harris, combining the library, museum and art gallery to create exciting new facilities:
Blended library, museum and gallery in a beautifully refurbished heritage space with many more collections on show
Using Preston people’s stories to draw visitors through the Harris and our collections, creating a richer experience
New central ground floor hub for events, meetings and activities
New rear entrance on Lancaster Road with welcome area, stairs/lift, retail and cafe
AIMS
Aim 1
A better welcome for more people, including young people and those hardest to reach in Preston
» We will open up the Harris, creating new entrances on on Harris Street, Jacson Street, and on Lancaster Road facing Preston Guild Hall
» We will create a new welcome area along with additional lift, stairs, buggy storage, toilets, changing places toilet and lockers
» We will deliver a range of community-led activities to help everyone enjoy, create, learn and make as well as better opportunities for artists
What success will look like
We will welcome 100,000 more people each year; 460,000 annually.
We will use audience research and postcode data to record visits by young people and hard to reach communities
Aim 2
To create the UK’s first blended museum, art gallery and library in a beautifully refurbished space:
» Community-led displays of Harris collections from historic books to contemporary art, encouraging learning and interaction for all ages
» More objects from our collections on show, including those which have rarely been displayed before such as the historic book collection
» We will provide opportunities for local and community creativity to be enjoyed and celebrated alongside artwork of national significance.
» We will refurbish the building with critical repairs to the roof, windows, stonework and rainwater systems to make the building safe for the future
What success will look like
Displays will include objects from our history and art collections, with many not displayed for many years, including historic books
The Harris will be revitalised and busy.
Aim 3
Creating an inspirational, animated central hub:
» The existing ground floor café area in the rotunda will become the heart of the building – a dynamic hive of activity and events for all ages
» Surrounding the rotunda will be exciting new displays blending books, art and heritage along with an extended café and retail space
» Also on the ground floor will be improved digital access and a multi-use space for meetings, conferences and entertainment.
» Our improved spaces, cafe, retail and meeting rooms for hire will help to generate more income to make the Harris sustainable for the long term
What success will look like
The hub will be filled with a regular programme of activity, aimed at a wide range of audiences.
The cafe, retail and meeting room will attract new users and generate income
Aim 4
Using Preston’s wonderful history and stories to create a richer visitor experience for all ages:
» Local stories will inspire routes around the Harris and our collections, themed on playing, exploring, questioning, creating and connecting
» The themes will inspire local people and provide a safe, welcoming, trusted and accessible place for everyone to enjoy and learn from the collections
» Displays will be community-led, involving young people, those hardest to reach and communities most in need in Preston
What success will look like
Thematic displays will provide a better ‘way in’ to our collections for people, who will comment positively
Community-led displays will mean a longer dwell-time in the galleries
The Harris, Preston. Reach for the Sky
IMPACT
The heritage of the Grade I Harris building will be preserved and protected
The Harris will welcome 100,000 extra visitors each year through our improved displays, facilities and events, including local people and tourists
More young people and more people/communities who are harder to reach and found the Harris inaccessible in the past will visit
The Harris will be more financially sustainable through increased income from better services and contribute to Preston city centre regeneration
Risk
The project leaders have considered a wide range of risks relating to the building work and to other factors such as planning delays, staff changes, budget changes and partner relationships. A comprehensive risk register has been developed which assesses the level and likelihood of risk in each case and outlines the mitigation which has been put in place and who is responsible. We would be delighted to provide a copy of this document on request – please email harrisfriends@preston.gov.uk
Reporting
We are very grateful to everyone who contributes to this project. Donors who wish to be kept informed will be added to an email mailing list to receive updates several times a year and will be invited to appropriate events such as the re-opening of the Harris building and other celebrations.
BUDGET
Budget – Project Cost: £10,796,693 comprising:
£7,399,348 Building works Repairs to roof, stonework, windows, electrical services. Construction of new spaces.
£705,750 Public activities Collections displays, exhibitions, interpretation, events and community activities for the public
£32,500 Marketing Promoting through press, website, social media, print and other means to local and tourist visitors
£65,990 Staffing Extra staff to help us deliver the project effectively
£460,000 Professional Fees Cost of architects, designers, technical and construction staffing etc
£1,090,000 Contingency Allowance for unforeseen expenses if required
£1,043,105 Inflation Allowance for anticipated inflation
Current Funding / Pledges
Source Amount
Preston City Council £1,000,000 Guaranteed
Lancashire County Council £1,000,000 Guaranteed
Preston, South Ribble & Lancashire City Deal £1,000,000 Guaranteed
Contributions from local people £335,000 Guaranteed
Arts Council England £277,000 Guaranteed
The Harris Trust £100,000 Guaranteed
Trusts and Foundations £250,000 Conditional
Heritage Lottery Fund (applied for – result expected Dec 2018) £4,700,000 Conditional
BACKGROUND
Location
The Harris is Grade I listed, with collections of British art, history and books and a vibrant events programme.
7 of Preston’s 22 wards are among the UK’s 10% most deprived and it has very high rates of young people not in education or training, of suicide and depression.
With a travel to work population of 420,000, the city centre is on the up, with new bars, cafes, a hotel and a re-energised theatre/concert hall. Now is the time to revitalise our greatest cultural and heritage asset too.
Beneficiaries
Following great progress in increasing the Harris’ audiences recently and using Harris audience research and Preston’s Equality Data Hub, we have identified the following people who will benefit most:
Families visiting with children
Young people including students
Local people who currently have low engagement with the Harris – often experiencing deprivation
Disabled people
BAME community
Cultural Tourists – from the 60 minute drivetime to Preston area
WHY US?
Why Us?
The Friends of the Harris were founded in 1972 and we are a registered charity.
Our role is to support all aspects of the Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library which is owned and managed by Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council who will deliver the project.
We have supported multiple projects at the Harris over many years, aimed at a wide range of communities. These have included capital projects, most recently the creation of the £1.8million Discover Preston gallery in 2012.
People
Rachel Mulhearn
Head of Culture, Preston City Council, who has extensive experience in leading capital projects in museums and galleries.
Hilary Machell
Harris Capital Fundraising Manager, who has led the Harris’ fundraising for 20 years, including the £1.8 million Discover Preston gallery in 2012.
Greta Krypczyk-Oddy
Chair, Friends of the Harris, who has led the Friends since 2008 and supported the organisation to fundraise effectively for the Harris
The Friends of the Harris have set up a donations page for the public at The Big Give as linked below
The 26th October 2018 is the 125th birthday of the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston. Congratulations!
Three exhibitions are on and these are Whittingham Hidden Lives, Windrush Generation and Preston Indoor Market. All end on 25th November 2018.
Whittingham Asylum was built in 1873, closed in the 1990s and demolished in 2016. This exhibition explores the lives of the patients and their treatment including the special railway line. Whittingham was at one time the biggest mental hospital in Britain.
To complement the national event celebrating the arrival of the SS Windrush 70 years ago bringing people from the Caribbean the Harris has ‘Windrush Generation’ about the lives of the black community in Preston. The exhibition has a 1960’s living room and experiences of the black community in Preston. Plus 6 artworks by Anita George.
The painting below is one of six by Anita George on display celebrating black British artists who broke through in the 1980s. The central portrait is Lubaina Himid, Professor of Contemporary Art at UCLan in Preston who in 2017 was the first black female artist to win the Turner Prize:
Preston Indoor Market Photographic Display by Joseph Gudgeon:
Preston Indoor Market was built in 1972 and closed in 2018. A new indoor market with a modern design has been built under the canopy of the outdoor Victorian Covered Market. In this exhibition Joseph Gudgeon recorded detailed and characterful features and people of the old indoor market before it closed.
Dear Harris, (abridged)
Is your permanence set in stone?
On the road to death do you tread?
Frequented by the old, neglected by the young,
But the young will polish your dreary lungs.
Will the alien beam of technology blight your splendour?
Yours, Blaze Transformers
A thought provoking piece and nicely written. In reply, apologies for the poetry in advance:
Dear Blaze,
Does splendour and excellence improve with age,
Does fashion change though the beam be the rage,
A classical line loving the light,
Was it that ‘Everything is going to be alright’,
Ideas and energy expanding thought,
Bringing your offspring to see what were,
The good old days of 2 nought 2 nought.
Yours Made in Preston
The latest exhibition at the Harris is ‘Comics’. 23rd June to 23rd September 2018. Three large rooms of comic artwork, much of it original so no photography allowed of single pieces of work. Who knew that the artist of the Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Minx was from Preston and started at the Lancashire Evening Post, Leo Baxendale 1930 – 2017. That’s some time ago so the exhibition takes in the old, nostalgia, and the new. Good to read those old comic strips. Some of Roy of the Rovers as well. Well presented and worth seeing.
If you know the Harris, is an icon ‘Hannibal’s Sister’ or ‘Pauline in the Yellow Dress’? Your choice, but on 28th April we took in a talk by two Sisters from the St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk about creating religious icons. In the afternoon you could make your own icon but that was booked up. The Harris has a lot on at the moment and we followed up by viewing the special exhibitions; Lubaina Himid: Hard Times, The Courtauld Connection, Before Sound and The Gentleman’s Wardrobe. The strange thing about the Harris is there is something new everytime you go, although the staff claim it was always there, is it an in joke?
Starting with the icon talk we learnt that creating icons is an exacting task taking several weeks, starting with the wooden base and building it up. Especially a large one, perhaps with many figures and painted for a special family event. As well as the icon studio the Convent works to help the destitute. There was a display of fine icons and some made for a cheaper budget. It was fascinating to listen to and meet the Sisters from Minsk, Belarus.
The Lubaina Himid Exhibition Hard Times contains several works including the Turner Prize winning work. Also on the stairs in the gallery are 2 more works and another in the Fine Art Gallery as part of the Harris collection. The adjacent rooms have items by other artists that are part of the exhibition.
Preston once had a large rayon producing factory owned by Courtauld’s. A display in the Fine Art Gallery shows the history of the factory and the lives of the workers. This is set around a painting by Eugene Boudin on loan from the Courtauld Gallery in London. The painting was selected by former employees. See our separate write up.
The Gentleman’s Wardrobe is a work around the story of male carers who feel they were let down by the system. Their voices can be heard inside the wardrobe while you can sit inside with the doors closed for the full experience.
In front of the Wardrobe is The Cart Room, a collection of carts with paintings of fish and insects. Quite novel and rural feeling.
Before Sound is an elegantly hung work showing a huge Musical Stave with the treble clef at the bottom. Such a note could be almost in the visible spectrum, although probably no-where near.
Preston Street Style is a longer term exhibition. Preston is my Paris is a clever take of an advert and was used in the 2012 Preston Guild. An exhibition of street clothing through time. I can’t help but admire who-ever thought of Preston is my Paris, it’s one of those phrases that comes to mind in certain places in Preston, ironic perhaps. In Certain Places is familiar too.
The Preston Courtaulds factory operated from 1939 to 1981 producing Rayon. The display at the Harris shows a video of its history along with worker’s stories, maps and a painting from the Courtauld Gallery in London. The painting was selected by former workers and is on loan at the Harris until 20th May 2018.
Painting by Eugène Boudin, ‘Deauville’ painted in 1893.
The Preston Open Exhibition for local artists is held at the Harris Art Gallery during December and finishes on the 21st January 2018. This year’s has a wide selection of creations, some tableaux based on the gallery’s own collection plus a range of paint, photo, sculpture, pottery and more.
Here are 11 selected for one reason or other and with random comments:
If the artists want their name mentioned or to explain the work please let us know.
A pleasing representation of the painting in the Harris ‘Why War?’ by Charles Spencelayh.
Pea green boats and owls, what’s not to like. Wish you were here:
An imposing multi-layered quite large work with ivy leaves on the hat:
Well done for this mosaic of vivid colour and flowing fragment shapes, a volcanic eruption perhaps:
A tableau of the painting ‘Pauline in the Yellow Dress’ which has been in the Harris since the 1940s, she’s an old gal with a sophisticated air:
A fullsome piece of meadowland flower bringing bright summer into our dark winter:
These are good. The wooden ones have a haunted feel of garden decay, but good decay.
Good colour and old city feel. Edinburgh Old Town perhaps except for the flag.
This seems like all the elements of the world from our beginning as reptiles in the sea to a bed of cash with cars and elephants representing man and nature feeding off this bottle of fuel but then it might not be. An interesting piece:
This is good as well, the wiring is different, don’t label is the message, an autism piece:
Peaceful reflection on the Lancaster Canal, enjoyed for the reflections. There’s another reflection piece of a well known garden that’s nicely done as well:
Big maps always drive the imagination, and well drawn on each continent. Is this our planet with hunger, war and greed reaching to a world of complacency and conceit or is that too much? Heaven, life and hell maybe.
Two displays to catch the eye in the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library, Preston.
Winckley Square Inside Out
A display created by the Friends of Winckley Square and Preston Photographic Society. A set of placards on both sets of stairs from the entrance to the first floor of the Harris Museum.
It featured a display showing the interior of the houses on Winckley Square, the one below being a typical example. Very interesting. Winckley Square was looking good on that day with a low winter sun shining on the buildings through the leafless trees.
Harry Potter: A History of Magic display
The second display is in the Reference Library and has a series of cabinet displays and placards, plus a desk and secret room, describing the history of magic and potions in the World of Harry Potter. It was very well presented and took longer than expected to cover.
