Photos of things and places recently lost in Preston.

It amazes me how quickly some things change in Preston. And how disappointingly others don’t change at all.

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I have been taken pictures in and around the city since 2007. Not that long but my camera has witnessed most of the changes big and small. Here is a small collection of vanished, lost or forgotten things gone or changed in the not so distant past.

Let us know if these photos stir up any memories.

Starting off the opening image above caught the inglorious end of the large white plastic letters that once graced the side of the Guild Hall in Preston that spelt out Celebrity Restaurant. The now trendy sixties font piled on the street waiting to be thrown away. Does this mean the Guild Hall has no celebrities anymore? Or no restaurant. Or both.

Next is the large hole at the side of Marsh Lane following the demolition of the old Boatmans pub whose landlord was Alex Heaton in the 1970s, It became the Fighting Cocks for a short while before brand new student accommodation was built on the site. The new building is called Boatmans House.

Next is a derelict building once known as Preston’s number one Steam Laundry. A Victorian relic that was left to ruin. The original laundry works extended the entire length of the long building that runs through to Blackpool Road. Partly knocked down last year.

I could run a very long series on lost pubs of Preston but for now this is Kings Street Tavern on Manchester Road completely demolished to make way for houses and a takeaway.

Before we all had watches and mobile phones timepieces on buildings used to be a regular occurrence. They used to say you could judge the health of the business the clock was on by how well it kept time. If at all! This one is an old Jubilee clock on Fylde Road. It used to be on the side of a garment factory since demolished for student accommodation (although nothing has been built so far). Jubilee Clocks were erected to commemorate the Golden or Diamond Jubilee of various British monarchs, most commonly, Queen Victoria’s.

Another old timepiece could be found on Garstang Road near Withy Trees in Preston. On the side of Charter House building which is now a popular Italian Restaurant. Not sure what the THR refers to so if anyone knows…

Booths supermarkets used to have a huge presence in the city centre. Not just at Fishergate where their famous clock bridge still arches proudly across Glover’s Court but warehouse space at various locations. This shows one of the last buildings at the old Queens Street site. A huge new retail complex is due to be built on the now derilict space. Hopefully anyway.

Anyone remember or use the Olympic Gym off Ribbleton Lane? Someone told me it was once owned by a famous boxer. Other than that there’s not much info.

The National Football Museum. It came and went in a flash. Moderately successful and slowly building a good following the museum was one of the few real attractions we had to get visitors into Preston. Created a bit of a scandal when controversially re-located to Manchester. Now it is a very sad a slowly decaying sight.

Hope you find this interesting and the article generates some comment. If have any information on any of the subjects in the photos let us know or if you have any of your own Preston photos add them to the Preston Group on Flickr