Main Block to St Wilfrids Roman Catholic School is a Grade II listed building in the Preston local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 June 1950. School. 3 related planning applications.
Main Block to St Wilfrids Roman Catholic School
- WRENN ID
- high-kitchen-hemlock
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Preston
- Constituency
- Preston MP: Sir Mark Hendrick (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 12 June 1950
- Type
- School
- Address
- Main Block to St Wilfrids Roman Catholic School, Fox Street, PR1 2AB
- OS grid reference
- SD 536 293
- Coordinates
- 53.75834, -2.70391
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The main block of St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic School, dated 1814, is a school building that has been altered and enlarged. It is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, forming an L-plan layout with a rectangular main range and a rear wing to the left. The building has two storeys over a basement and features a symmetrical façade with a 2:3:2 window arrangement. The centre of the building slightly projects forward and includes a pediment with a lozenge displaying the date "1814".
The façade has a plinth, a first-floor band, a plain frieze, and a moulded cornice. The main entrance features an Ionic doorcase, which has been rendered, with engaged columns, a frieze that reads "CATHOLIC SCHOOL", a moulded cornice, cavetto jambs, panelled double doors, and an elliptical fanlight with radiating glazing bars. The windows have raised sills and wedge lintels, with altered 6-pane glazing.
On the left return wall, there is a doorway with a plain surround, a pulvinated frieze, a moulded cornice, and a rectangular overlight, along with one window to the right, another window, and a blind window above. A small modern rear wing, which is not of special interest, has replaced the original rear wing. The right-hand gable wall features a basement storey with various 4-pane sashed windows. The rear and interior of the building have not been inspected. Historically, the school was built by Father Joseph Dunn S.J., who was an early pioneer of gas lighting, and it is said to be the first school ever lit by piped gas.
Local climate
Main Block to St Wilfrids Roman Catholic School sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,300 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 92% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 60% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 3 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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