Uncategorized – Page 2 – Made In Preston

Deepdale Retail Centre and Preston Football Ground walk – 11th February 2023

Deepdale Retail Centre near the football ground and within reach of three motorway junctions. Easy to park, although it does get busy on the road outside, and we haven’t been at weekend.

M&S, Boots, Next, Game, JD, TUi, Craft Shop, Wilko, Poundland, Flannels, Sport Direct. Plus more, a kitchen place. Also a Curry’s next door.

Deepdale Retail Centre, Preston, February 2023

We saw the floodlights so after the shops and a coffee in M&S we took a walk along Blackpool Road, past St Gregory’s Church to the ground.

The brilliant statue, called Splash! based on a photograph, of Sir Tom Finney, Preston North End and England’s Flying Winger of the 1950’s stands outside the ground.

Just past Splash! is a mural celebrating Preston’s famous women footballers of the 1920’s. Based at Dick, Kerr, a Scottish Company who had a big engineering factory on Strand Road next to Preston Docks making trams, planes, trains, electric motors.

St Gregory’s Church on Blackpool Road near the football ground. Quite an imposing front.

Preston Centre walk 31st January 2023

A windy wintery day. The Harris Museum parcelled for refurbishment viewed from Lancaster Road. How bright will it look when all is revealed in 2024.

The Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library under cover until 2024. As at 31st January 2023. — The Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library on 31st January 2023. Under cover until 2024.

Preston Market, half outdoor, half indoor. The old Victorian Covered Market with another just across the road. Big and busy.

Preston's Victorian Covered Market with an indoor section at the far end. — Preston’s Victorian Covered Market with an indoor section at the far end.

Wallace and Gromit outside the Preston Market entrance.

Wallace and Gromit outside Preston Market

Orchard Street with the Black Horse pub on the right and St George’s Shopping Centre across the road.

The view of St George's Shopping Centre entrance from Orchard Street — The view of St George’s Shopping Centre entrance from Orchard Street

The corner of Friargate and Ringway being reworked up to Fleet Street.

In Fox Street, the old St Wilfred’s School with two Blue Plaques.

Fox Street’s old buildings.

Fishergate looking east.

Fishergate looking west with the former Baptist Church, now a Bistro Pierre.

Travelling west down Fishergate Hill with Lancashire County Council’s building next to the railway line.

Strand Road with the former East Works of English Electric Traction, Dick Kerrs and more lately Alstom, now empty probably.

A few photos from a walk in Preston 1st November 2022

Walking from the south east corner of the open Fishergate Centre car park you go out onto the street and turn right past a small car park and carry on to Milller Park. The view is below:

There are some nice properties in the area:

Walking back into the centre through Winckley Square along Cross Street to pedestrianised Cannon Street, there are some interesting properties. Remember the song Matthew and Son, the work’s never done.

Glovers Court from Waterstones taking a back route along Cross Street and Winckley Square to the car park:

Harris Museum and Art Gallery Jigsaw 2022

In 2022 a new jigsaw of the Harris Museum and Art Gallery is available to buy at the Library. Note that while the Harris building is being upgraded the Library is in the Guild Hall.

Photo of the Harris Museum, Preston, Jigsaw(half of it) and box

The jigsaw is a 360 degree photo of inside the building and it looks like it’s a photo of some time ago. It’s not an easy jigsaw and has some quirky features such as being long and thin and one that would be a spoiler to say what it is.

Until you do it you don’t realise how little you know of some features but how much you know of others. It’s a well designed jigsaw with pieces that look similar having a similar shape, but they aren’t the same. It involved some swapping around when the mistakes come to light. At first it seems like it will take years to do then things suddenly speed up. All part of the fun of jigsaws.

Covid 19 data in Preston March 15th 2021

Preston appeared to have less Covid 19 than similar places in northwest England but in late February the slow decline left Preston in the top ten case areas in England and on some measures, it is said, at the top.

On 10th March 2021 Preston was 7th in England and top in the north-west with 142 cases per 100,000 on a 7 day average. Blackburn and Darwen was 12th. South Ribble 23rd. Data taken from Gov website by @UKCovid19Stats on twitter.

The charts below are from the Government websites:

British Commercial Vehicle Museum re-opens after Covid Closure

On Saturday 18th July 2020 the British Commercial Vehicle Museum (BCVM) in Leyland re-opened after its Covid-19 Closure.

We visited just a few days later. The first museum visit for several months. Things have been adjusted to protect everyone.

On arrival just after 10am there was space on the museum car park and plenty of space on the Park and Display Car Park next door. We were going to look round Leyland so paid just 80p for 3 hours parking.

At the door we were greeted by a happy gent wearing a visor who took our contact info for test and trace, if needed. Then we paid to enter, buying an annual pass. It makes it easier to decide where to go when you don’t need to pay extra.

In the cafe the tables are more spread out with a one way system, the serving staff wore visors. We had a coffee.

The museum has sanitation points all around to keep your hands clean. Especially on the touch displays, which you are advised to use a pencil provided to make selections. Plus the lorry simulator and other walk on displays.

A one way scheme is in operation for a circuit round the museum. There didn’t seem to be as many buses as usual. The Fishwick’s were there and the Ribble Tiger Cub coach, a classic. An interesting exhibit not seen before is the Petrol Tanker, a large item. The TV Detector van stood out. How could anyone not see that outside your house.

The TV Detector Van at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum — The TV Detector van with its 2 antennae for detecting your TV and checking if you have a TV license.

We browsed in the shop and bought a BCVM shopping bag, you never know when you’ll need it.

After the museum we walked to the Railway Station to look at some trains, about a 10 minute walk. Quite a bit of rail traffic with the Pendolino ‘City of Preston’ passing at speed on a Glasgow to London train.

Pendolino 'City of Preston' — Avanti West Coast Pendolino ‘City of Preston’ passes Leyland

With our annual pass there’ll be more visits.

Harris Your Place – Plan up for Review

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.

The Harris, Preston, #HarrisYourPlace — #HarrisYourPlace proposal June 2020

The Harris Preston 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.

Harris Your Place Consultation

There is also a survey and a Zoom consultation on the page. Note that the survey will close in early July.

Trains in Preston: A time of change December 2019

On December 9th First Trenitalia, to be known as Aventi, take over the West Coast Main Line services from Virgin. Express services between London Euston, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh via Preston are effected.

Also in December new trains, Class 397, are being introduced by First Trans-Pennine Express on the Manchester to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Liverpool to Glasgow and Edinburgh all via Preston. These replace the Class 350 which appear more like suburban trains.

This gives First a monopoly of services to Glasgow and Edinburgh from Preston.

Virgin have run the West Coast Main Line successfully since March 1997 and most people are sorry to see them go. However the government decided their bid was non-compliant over a dispute about pension liabilities.

Also Northern has introduced its Class 195 Diesels and 331 Electric version of the new ‘Civity’ trains. These run on diesel between Manchester Airport and Barrow. The electric versions run from Manchester to Blackpool and Liverpool to Blackpool.

Virgin have had their logo removed from the Pendolino pending conversion to the new operator on 9th December 2019

The new Class 195 Northern Rail at Preston operating a service to Barrow in Furness

The new Class 397 electric train in sidings at Preston operated by First Trans Pennine Express

Virgin Trains Pendolino unloading at Preston 26th November 2019

Harris Art Gallery Exhibition – Beautiful and Brutal 50 years of Preston Bus Station

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 Harris, Preston — The Beautiful and the brutal at the Harris Preston

A Walk from Preston Station

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.

Railway Improvements – New trains and electrification Northern Rail

Northern Rail are obtaining 101 brand new diesel and electric trains from CAF of Spain. Many of these will be assembled in Newport, Wales. There are also 243 ex-ScotRail diesel trains, class 158, and ex-Thameslink electric trains, class 319, being refurbished for use by Northern.

The Class 195 started operating in July 2019 and will be introduced as they are delivered through to 2020. The Class 319 began operating in April 2018. This will release the old class 142 Pacer trains which are very old.

Electrification through Bolton is complete enabling electric services from Preston to Manchester along that route since 11th February 2019 several years later than originally planned due to difficulties with the line.

Class 195 diesel train at Preston.

Class 319 electric train at Preston.

Museum of the Moon at the Harris

This is an excellent exhibition at the Harris in Preston, The Museum of the Moon until 24th February 2019. The star exhibit being a 23ft diameter moon hanging over central atrium, at night it’s illuminated. While we were there dozens of school children were visiting and with half term coming up it’s bound to be a favourite and free entry.

Another excellent piece of work is a precise paper model of the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo missions to the moon. This large model is around 20ft long and built to scale. From the model the rocket stages can be clearly viewed including a model of the Lunar Module that was transported in the rocket.

The actual rocket is a phenomenal size almost like blasting off Blackpool Tower, there is one at the Space Centre in Florida.

The Saturn V rocket that powered Apollo to the Moon. A large scale and precise model.

The Lunar Module and Crew Compartment of the Saturn V paper model.

The space suit of the Apollo astronauts is shown.

The space suit of the Apollo missions to the moon.

A piece of moon rock.

The model of the moon in context at the Harris Museum of the Moon, Preston.

There is also a computer from the space ship which being in the 1960s is less capable than a cheap calculator depending far more on human skills, as we saw in the movie Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks which required to be manually steered back to earth due to a malfunction.

The exhibition contains many moon oriented themes with poetry, maps, paintings and family activities. Don’t we love the man in the moon.

The Preston Open Art Exhibition at The Harris

Every year artists from the PR postcode are invited to submit work to be exhibited and categorised prizes are awarded. The 2019 exhibition finishes on 20th January 2019, below are some photos from the exhibition:

Preston Open Art Exhibition 2019 at The Harris

Harris 125th and Triple Exhibition

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

In honour of the hanging at the Harris.

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

Dear Harris, The Harris, Preston — Dear Harris

Tail winds at BAE Systems Lancashire

First there was Tornado, then there was Typhoon and what next? The concept for the anticipated next aircraft project at BAE Systems in Lancashire and the Royal Air Force has been announced as the Tempest, photographed below.

A concept design for a two engine fighter bomber with a capability to fly unmanned. The UK government has allocated £200m a year for 10 years and there is a partnership with BAE Systems, Rolls Royce engines, MBDA missiles and Leonardo of Italy plus of course UK MOD and RAF.

As usual the partnerships for the next European Combat Aircraft are being debated with rival offerings from the big players. Earlier this year Airbus and Dassault of France announced they would partner for the next Future Combat Aircraft project excluding the UK. The UK continued with its discussions with Japan, Sweden and Turkey. More recently, in fact this week, the head of Airbus proposed that BAE Systems merge its military aircraft business with Airbus and there is talk from France and Germany for the UK to join their project to strengthen European Security. Slightly ironic considering the UK is being excluded from the European GPS system due to security. The difference between politicians and industry perhaps.

The RAF is looking to be flying the Tempest by 2035 along with the Typhoon and Lightning II (F35). As future partners are unknown it can’t be said what the future workload will be locally. A partnership including France is likely to result in a debate about who leads and who gets which juicier parts of work. Other partners are likely to allow the UK to lead the project which usually means designing and building the forward end and cockpit. In any event it’s likely that Final Assembly which involves test flying will be in the UK, hopefully at Warton, for RAF aircraft.

At the Farnborough Air Show the UK also announced that Typhoon will be used as the bridge for technology on the Future Combat Aircraft. Several upgrades will be introduced later this year and future technology used to keep the Typhoon in service for another 30 years.

Work in Lancashire continues on Typhoon manufacture and development, F35 rear fuselage work is ramping up. Other concept projects like Taranis and now Tempest will hopefully lead to another 30 years of work taking the local sites to over 100 years old.

Iconic Art at the Harris

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.

Yes, a good day at the Harris.

Courtaulds at the Harris

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.

Ikea at Cuerden

The first Ikea in Lancashire is earmarked for the proposed 160 acre Cuerden retail site at the end of the M65 other retailers are being discussed. This nice green field site is another extension to the built up area south of Preston.

Preston’s New Market

The Victorian Covered Market has been updated with a stylish structure creating an internal market space under the canopy. On entering from Orchard Street there are 3 smart stalls, as it’s just opened there are a few stalls still being made. The Earl Street entrance is for butchers. At the time some of the stalls were still being fitted out.